My brother owns a 2003 Silverado, which has a problem with the airbag warning light.

"About 2 yrs. ago my Chevy Silverado pickup truck’s “Service Air Bag” warning light came on. I drove home and shut off the engine and then called the Chevrolet dealership to let them know what happened.
I was told that without the warning light on they can’t do anything to fix the problem. The next day when I started the engine the warning light didn’t come on so I figured all was OK.

About 1 year later when I started the truck, the warning light came on. So I drove to the dealership and left my truck in line to see what the mechanic could do. Unfortunately, when they had to move the truck, one of the employees moved my truck and shut off the engine. I spoke with the service manager and he was upset that someone shut off the engine, but I was again told that without the warning light on, they couldn’t do anything.

Well, just this past week it occurred again (with only about 6 weeks apart) the warning light was on. I brought a list of things that needed to be done but the first item on the list was the “Service Air Bag” light. I drove to the dealership. Before anything else I told the service manager that the engine needs to continue running (and I told him “why”.)

I brought the truck in on a Wednesday, March 29, 2003. Today is Friday, and the mechanic is still puzzled and from the way he discussed things he feels like there is a wiring problem but he couldn’t determine exactly what it is.

At this point I am really frustrated. What if I am driving my truck and I am on I-95 and the light comes on ... what if the airbag deploys while I am driving? The airbag might deploy and it would almost certainly cause a disastrous accident.

The mechanic feels that if the warning light comes on, the airbag will NOT deploy unless it does what it’s was designed to do, which is that the airbag will deploy if there is an accident hard enough to allow the airbag to do its job.
Can anyone here suggest what he should do next? Is this a dangerous problem, as he thinks it might be? If the Chevy dealership can't find the problem, any advice on what he should do next?

 

I have a 1997 Cadillac Deville. About three or four months ago my Service Air Bag light came on. It didn't come on all the time and seem to do it more when the car was warm inside. When it was cold like in the winter time it didn't come on. This went on for two or three months. Then one day I was driving home from eating out and my wife was with me. All of a sudden she complained that something hot hit her foot and I smelled antifreeze. When I go home I noticed the heater core was leaking out from under the dash. The I realized I had water in the floor board on the passenger side. Well after I replaced the heater core the air bag light still came on when it was warm in the car. Then I sucked all the water out of the floor board the best I could. Then I found that when the service air bag light came on, I could turn the car off and then crank the engine back up and sometimes the light wouldn't come back on. All the info I could find mentioned the wiring. The more I dry out the floor board seems to minimize the service air bag light coming on. Good Luck.

 

I think you're saying that if the wiring had a problem, a leak might cause the wire to "short out" or something similar. One more thing to check.

You're also saying if the light is stuck "on", shutting off the car and turning it back on might "fix" things. Maybe that's why the shop can't find the problem if the light is not on while they check, they'll never find it. Sounds reasonable.

His main concern is that the air bags might inflate incorrectly, while he is driving. Since I know nothing about the wiring in his truck, I don't know how serious that concern is.
What exactly is that light supposed to indicate? Should it normally be on, or off?

 

After checking around, I found this:

https://www.carsdirect.com/car-safet...d%20Driving%20

I'll forward this page to my brother, but it's his mechanic who will need to understand it. I understand things better from having read the article, and it did list a few things the mechanic can do, such as resetting the software.

 

Is there any fault codes?

 

Are there any fault codes?

 

I will ask my brother. Are these codes viewable to him, or only to a mechanic with the proper tools?
I think that all he sees is the warning light.

 

You"ll need a scan tool.

 

Update. The local dealer told my brother that the problem light is on because the passenger airbag has a problem. They also said the "module", whatever that is, is no longer available.

I was able to find this video:

Are these sensors really discontinued, and if so, is there a currently available replacement part?

 

post the code. if the code is for an impact sensor....swap the left and right sensor...if the code follows the sensor...the sensor is bad
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...sh+sensor,1564