YorkshireGlobecar Posted May 6, 2022 Share Posted May 6, 2022 Warning light on and Airbag failure displayed. On startup this morning, and ever since. Has not been standing without use. Good battery fully charged. No obvious loose connections under either cab seat. I would be grateful for any ideas that mean I don't have to go to Fiat dealership who will no doubt say I need a new ecu and charge me a fortune for the privilege. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddy Posted May 6, 2022 Share Posted May 6, 2022 If it turns out that you do need an Airbag module repair www.crashdata.co.uk should be able to help for less cost than a Fiat replacement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bounty hunter Posted May 6, 2022 Share Posted May 6, 2022 If you need to remove Airbag Module here are the directions John REMOVE, REPAIR/REPLACE FAULTY ECU MODULE ON FIATS AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT ON FIAT DUCATO My friend has a motorhome built in 2015 based on a Fiat Ducato and noticed his airbag & seat belt tensioner warning lights illuminated on his dashboard. This is a known fault on Fiats and indicates a faulty ECU module which controls the airbags. Google suggested repair costs at main Fiat garages varying between £500 - >£1000 but also highlighted a company who could possibly repair the ECU Crash Data were contacted and confirmed they could under certain circumstances repair the unit at a cost of £30-£60 and if not they could supply a new unit costing £180. The decision was made to remove the unit and send it to Crash Data who only accept units by post. Removal Process Disconnect battery and wait 30 minutes DO NOT RE-CONNECT WITHOUT ECU UNIT INSTALLED Remove unit which is situated on floor underneath cup holder on main dashboard. Unit was secured with 3 x 10mm nuts and 2 scart type plugs were removed. Noticed unit made in 2014. Unit posted Tuesday, arrived Wednesday and was unable to be repaired. Also unit is no longer available and has been replaced with an updated model. However the airbag ECU has to be coded to the main ECU to enable them to talk to each other and Crash Data had never done this on an updated replacement unit but were willing to try and if it didn’t work they would take the unit back and replace with an un-coded unit which could be taken to a Fiat Dealership for coding. Unit arrived Friday morning, re-fitted by reversing removal process, and 30 minutes later van was running perfectly CRASH DATA Throughout this process they have been helpful, courteous and professional. They now know that if units get updated and replaced they can take the code from your original unit and successfully code the new unit. I first contacted them by email on Saturday afternoon and within an hour I had a reply even though they were closed Total cost including postage was £187.20 which was a massive saving https://www.crashdata.co.uk/Default.asp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YorkshireGlobecar Posted May 9, 2022 Author Share Posted May 9, 2022 Many thanks. Guess I will have to take the van to Fiat for diagnostics though, just in case its not the ecu and its a problem with 1 of the sensors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted May 9, 2022 Share Posted May 9, 2022 I think there is a safety warning to be given here. Both the airbags and the seat belt pre-tensioners are actuated via an explosive charge. If attempting DIY repairs in this area, make absolutely certain that you have, and exactly follow, the instructions, and that the instructions are appropriate to the year and model of Ducato involved. Injury is possible if either system is activated while working in close proximity. It'll also cost you to have the spent units replaced! Tread soft! ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddy Posted May 9, 2022 Share Posted May 9, 2022 Could be worth a call to Crashdata first ,to see what they say , as the cost for them to check your module may be less than a Fiat diagnostic check ( the module is easy to remove with the information about doing this on the Crashdata website) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevec176 Posted May 9, 2022 Share Posted May 9, 2022 There are numerous posts on here about the Airbag Bag failure and several people said they've contacted Fiat to complain as the controller failure is a known problem and Fiat have supplied a replacement free so might be worth contacting Fiat first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayc Posted May 9, 2022 Share Posted May 9, 2022 I had great service from this Morecambe company https://northernautotech.co.uk/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Den Posted May 9, 2022 Share Posted May 9, 2022 I contacted Fiat direct. Our MH was 4 years old and the service I received was superb Start to finish is less than 5 days All I paid was 1 hr labour. I took it to Worcester Fiat professional, which is no longer a professional Fiat franchise. But with a recall for brake pipe checks I booked Gloucester Fiat professional which also was a very good experience. All you have to do is contact Fiat direct and mention you have been advised of the airbag module causing problems. It’s worth a try. It worked for me easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YorkshireGlobecar Posted May 10, 2022 Author Share Posted May 10, 2022 Thanks I will get in touch with the local dealership and see what response I get Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YorkshireGlobecar Posted May 10, 2022 Author Share Posted May 10, 2022 Brian Kirby - 2022-05-09 5:11 PM I think there is a safety warning to be given here. Both the airbags and the seat belt pre-tensioners are actuated via an explosive charge. If attempting DIY repairs in this area, make absolutely certain that you have, and exactly follow, the instructions, and that the instructions are appropriate to the year and model of Ducato involved. Injury is possible if either system is activated while working in close proximity. It'll also cost you to have the spent units replaced! Tread soft! ;-) Thanks Brian. I would only attempt a DIY repair, I would only do so if absolutely sure what I was doing. I will try contacting Fiat first, and see if I can get anywhere when I tell them its a known problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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