Air Bag Dash Light

[dhs1223]

I recently pulled the gauge cluster to install a carbon fiber gauge bezel. I put everthing back together and everything worked fine. Now about a week or so later the AIR BAG idiot light on the dash stays on. When I start the car, the light cycles or flashes as it always had done in the past, but now it stays on.

 

Do I need to be concerned? Is it just coincidence that it happened a week after I had the gauge cluster out of the car?

 

I would appreciate any insight into this little problem. I am planning a long trip at the end of this week, and I don't want to experience problems far from home because of this.

 

The owners manual suggests that if the light stays on that the car should be serviced ASAP or that the air bag system may not function properly. I am not worried if the air bags should fail to deploy in an accident, I just wonder if they might deploy prematurely because of an electrical fault.

 

Thanks for listening.

[Brian P]

dealer's going to have to scan the airbag module and see what's going on. There's a chance the airbag may deploy for no reason.

[DiscoStudd]

I believe that when the Air Bag light is on, there's no chance of it deploying because the air bag's module disables it. If you really want to be on the safe side, then remove the air bag's fuse, disconnect the negative battery cable, then disconnect the CPA connector under the dash (driver's side,) like so:

 

 

 

Pull out the green pin, then depress the tab on the connector, and remove.

 

I totally agree that you need to take it to the dealer to have it scoped out. If it isn't worth the money they want to charge to fix the problem, then disable and remove the airbags altogether...

[Brian P]

Actually, there's still a chance the airbag will deploy. There was a recall for 1995 Cutlass Supreme, and a steady or flashing airbag light (after the startup flashing) is one of the signs that it may happen. Under the recall, GM states if you see this, to pull over to the side of the road and shut the car off. So as long as the recall hasn't been performed, you can still get it taken care of at the dealer.