AMDguy

Hi All,
Just got myself a 2006 RX-8. Was owned by a mechanic (who did work on rotaries, and he knew the 8 pretty well) who took perfect care of it and did all of the recommended maintenance stuff. Anyways, I noticed that it was idling rough, so I cleaned the MAF, and then the ESS (there was a giant chunk of metal on it, and it was disgusting), and then did the brake pedal stomp thing so that the ECU could "relearn" everything. Idle is all fixed, but immediately after I did the brake pedal stomp thing, my airbag light came on (it was NOT on before). When I turn the car on, it is flashing 1 time, and then 9 times, and then it stays on. I have read some other threads, and I think it is either one of the seat belt buckles (the unit you clip the buckle into, that tells the ECU you are buckled in), but I am very suspicious because it only came on after I did the reset. I am going to be installing a water temp gauge on Saturday, for which I will have to disconnect the battery for a while, so hopefully that fixes it... Any and all thoughts appreciated

CaymanRotary

The connectors under the seat are usually the problem. Can also check the connectors behind the glove box.Just go under there and make sure your connections are good and tight. the flashing is a code for which sensor or wire it is. Possible you blew a fuse or shorted a wire while working on your fuel trims.

AMDguy

Yea, I figured it might be that, I found the thread that lists all of the codes, but I had a really hard time understanding how they were formatted, but that was one of the possibilities... I am going to be installing a water temp gauge this weekend (I think, maybe next weekend due to time...), and I will have to disconnect the battery for that, so I will check them then (I don't want airbags exploding in my face when working)

CaymanRotary

Especially if you still have the factory, metal shooting Takata's still in haha. I'm sure you'll figure it out.

AMDguy

no, the previous owner told me all the recalls were done, so if I get in an accident, then I won't have a face full of metal, which is nice to know...

AMDguy

ok, a bit of an update, when I was installing the water temp gauge, I disconnected the battery (duh), and checked the connectors under the seats, and also the connectors for the belt buckles, and they were all nice and snug. I really hope it is not a problem with the actual airbags, because I do not have the budget to fix that at the moment, and the inspection is coming up in January. Any tips?

D_a_Z_z_Z

Hi AMDguy, did you ever get that solved? I have my airbag light on too, I'll look at the code with my OBD-dongle this weekend, but I was curious about the outcome in your case!
In my case, I lowered the seat (DIY found on this forum) to try and get a little bit more headroom to fit in with a helmet on track days, and I am afraid it pushed on the connector and damaged something. Heated seats and electric adjustment still works though...

mazdaverx7

iTrader: (6)

You can always remove your seat and check the connector and wiring for damage. Scanning the car and retrieving the stored code is the first step and will point you in the right direction.

AMDguy

Strangely, the car actually did not show any stored codes on my OBD II reader. It would way there were 2 faults on the SRS module, but then I click on it, and it says nothing... Anyways, no, I did not get this fixed, but I think it is either the passenger or the driver weight sensor, if I am interpreting the code charts correctly (here on 8club). My car currently has an extremely spacious engine bay as I am attempting a rebuild, so I cannot progress any further on this issue at the moment, but I will be getting back to it at some point.

D_a_Z_z_Z

Quick update - I had the same as you AMDguy, ran the OBD scan tool and found nothing (even though I used the extended address range). But the airbag light usually popped up after engine start and 1-2 min driving. I ran the scan tool without any drive cycle, might have been the reason (but I did look for unconfirmed codes too).
Assuming it was linked to the lowering of the seat, I disconnected and connected again (a couple of times) both connectors under the driver seat and this morning, no light any more! I'll keep you posted if it comes back.
Funny thing, while airbag light is now off, my oil level light was back on for 5 min this morning, although I did do the oil change not long ago...this car is a Christmas tree on wheel!

AMDguy

Gee, that was easy... i tried to push the connectors under my seats, but I did not actually unplug them, I just pressed them together a bit.. I will try unplugging them.

mazdaverx7

iTrader: (6)

Perhaps your code scanner does not have the ability to read SRS codes? There will be stored codes if the airbag light is illuminated.
Keep us updated on what you find with the connectors under your seats.

AMDguy

The code scanner definitely has the ability to read the SRS codes, in fact, when I connect it to the car, it will show all the various modules (power train control, power steering, SRS etc.) it will show that the SRS module has 2 faults, but when I click "read codes" (so I can actually see what error code it is) it says there are no faults on the SRS module. Reading everything else works quite nicely. I even have live data from the SRS module. I cannot figure out why it does this... Perhaps it is because the UI of the app is terrible. The code reader is an Autel, a little palm sized Bluetooth thing. Not sure about exact model. The app you use with it is called Autel MaxiAP 200. it is terrible.

D_a_Z_z_Z

For my part, I am using a Veepeak and free app Car scanner. I initially bought the Veepeak to use TrackAddict but that app only reads the Powertrain ECU data. So I tried Car scanner but couldn't find the code. Again, might be because it needs a drive cycle to confirm the airbag code - or maybe since it was fixed by unplugging/plugging, maybe the fault was trigger by vibrations during the drive cycle...agree with you, since it was consistently coming up, I would think there should be a stored code.
If the light comes back on, I'll try and read the codes right away.

AMDguy

When I bought the car, it was fine, but when I took out the battery to install a Mishimoto low temp t-stat (wonder if that had anything to do with overheating... I've heard spotty things about their stuff), as soon as I started the car when I was done, it came on. I had done nothing at all on the interior of the car. The fact that it came on in the first place is very strange to me.

mazdaverx7

iTrader: (6)

I wonder if you bumped one of the connectors for the front impact sensors. Maybe pulled some wiring causing a pin fit issue? Would love to know what the codes are for the SRS fault.

AMDguy

I highly doubt it is that; I don't know where the front impact sensors are, but I am fairly sure I did not touch/bump any wiring. Also, the code gets blinked out by the airbag light in the cluster every time I start up. it blinks once, then pause, then 9 times, so it is code 19 (or 1-9, however you want to write it). Where exactly are the front impact sensors?

CaymanRotary

Looking that code up turns up that it's the sensor that detects if a passenger is seated. The car doesnt know if anyone is in the passenger seat. Better to get it scanned with a tool that can read airbag codes to know for sure.

AMDguy

Thank you for that. I looked it up, but the way the codes are written confuses me. This does not make sense though, because when a passenger (who is heavy enough) sits in the front seat, the passenger airbag would turn on, unless it would still do this... And why would it only turn on after I installed the T-stat? When I pulled it down the driveway to do the work, the light was not on. the instant I started it after reconnecting the battery, it turned on with the aforementioned code.

CaymanRotary

That's why the scan tool is so much better. You'll get exact information on what is causing the problem.

AMDguy

This code is actually the reason why I got a code reader (I got this one: and the app sucks), but for some reason, it refuses the display the codes for the SRS module. Maybe it is just user error?

CaymanRotary

Probably have to pay to unlock that part of the app. You should check with the manufacturer of your OBD2 device.

AMDguy

Interesting thought... I don't think that is it though, because there are a few features I do have to pay for and it will ask you, a big dialog comes up. I really don't think I have to pay for it... maybe it is just a bug in the software.

CaymanRotary

If you can’t figure it out, might have to suck it up and take it somewhere with a good scan tool. If only just to find out what code it is.

AMDguy

I already know the code (19) because the airbag light in the cluster blinks it out when the car is started. Like I said, it blinks once, then pauses for a second or two, then blinks 9 times... It is just annoying that the scan tool I bought for specifically the purpose of reading the airbag code (and live ECU data, which it works great for), does not read the airbag code.