dreaded seat-swap airbag light

[spiffyjiff]

does anyone have a durametric that will clear this? or, wasnt there someone at the last tech inspection that was doing it for charity? because i would be MORE than happy to donate $ (in the persons name!) to a good cause rather than go to the stealership.

[Landjet]

Good luck with that, I've had that light for 3 years and still trying to get rid of it.

[spiffyjiff]

Good luck with that, I've had that light for 3 years and still trying to get rid of it.

did you ever try to get the stealer to clear it and/or try a durametric? and coincidently, rkvl porsche has a cayman in there right now whose owner recently swapped to buckets and they "cant seem to clear the fault". ...oh great. :\

[Landjet]

My shop tried to clear with Durametric and the PST2 module, they clear the airbag light but then it comes back. Only trouble with the diagnostic tools is they are not always very accurate in describing the problem. They point you in the general direction but don't hit the nail on the head in all cases.

Already replaced the seatbelt buckle, that didn't solve it. Next will be to dig in the guts of the seatbelt reel. The ground wire under the seat can also be part of the problem. Evidently if you disconnect the battery before swapping seats then you don't get this problem.

Good luck with yours.

[spiffyjiff]

Evidently if you disconnect the battery before swapping seats then you don't get this problem.

Good luck with yours.

nope, BMAN and i disconnected battery and didnt reconnect until everything was reinstalled and bolted down. i have a feeling i will not be able to clear this one... :?

thanks larry.

[Landjet]

Well I guess that bit of info is incorrect then. I think you will be able to clear it but first you have to pinpoint the ghost in the system.

I have been very lazy about fixing mine otherwise I would have tracked it down by now. Other mods took precedent.

[tbernard]

When I installed my DAS bar, the airbag light came on. But then I had to move the car with no seats, so I knew the cause... I have the enthusiast durameteric and was able to clear the fault after I got everything back together. It hasn't come back. The enthusiast version ties it's self to the VIN in the car, you can use it on 3 cars. The pro version cost 3x as much and can be used on unlimited number of cars.

[smdubovsky]

Chris,
Where are you in MD? I have a pro durametric.

[spiffyjiff]

Chris,
Where are you in MD? I have a pro durametric.

thanks stephen! i live in germantown/work 9-5 in gaithersburg but could meet you somewhere in the area depending on time of day.

i'll PM my cell #.

[good hands]

This problem goes back to the 99 996 models. You'd think they could get right at some point ?

[Trak Ratt]

This problem goes back to the 99 996 models. You'd think they could get right at some point ?Why? I learned a long time ago that if it doesn't make the car go fast, turn corners or stop, P doesn't really care :p

[spiffyjiff]

Why? I learned a long time ago that if it doesn't make the car go fast, turn corners or stop, P doesn't really care :p

or, with the new model apparently, that it has rear baby-latch, a bloated physique, and an impossibly inaccessible engine bay thus requiring spending more $ at the local stealership.

(what? whaaaat? am i bitter much??)

[BMAN]

You can try the Durametric but I think it requires the Porsche PIWIS tool. IIRC, it's not a matter of clearing the code. You will likely have to remove record of the previous air bag sensor and establish a connection with the new sensor.

[spiffyjiff]

ok so here it is: yes, the correct way would be to get the dealer to recalibrate seat sensors BUT if you have a durametric pro (BIG shout out to SMDUBOVSKY!!!) you can go to airbags --> AWS --> and select "NO". that's it!!! the ECU no longer thinks there is a weight sensor so it does not condition the airbag deployment accordingly. FWIW, i do also have installed the manual, key-operated airbag cutoff. thus i know the light/system is still working correctly as i tested it by turning off the airbag manually - the console light went on.

and BMAN, to turn off the annoying seatbelt chime while on track, you can use the tool to toggle "seatbelt buckle - driver" / "seatbelt buckle - passenger" to NO.

thanks again, stephen!!

[Landjet]

My tech has been working on this while my car has been at the shop. I'm picking up the car today so will see if he solved it. Otherwise......Hey Stephen....:D

[smdubovsky]

The durametric won't do 996 airbag coding. I had to go to matt demaria to code the baby seat belt buckle on my tt. Fairly easy w/ a piwis or whatever he has.

[Landjet]

Looks like I'll have to find a PIWIS if all else has failed.

[tbernard]

and BMAN, to turn off the annoying seatbelt chime while on track, you can use the tool to toggle "seatbelt buckle - driver" / "seatbelt buckle - passenger" to NO.


I didn't know this, grabbing my cable now to fix my car. Thanks for posting!!

[Landjet]

Got the car back and they said they couldn't get the airbag light to go on. Strange since it has been going on everytime I've started the car for years. This makes me wonder if some wire was grounded out and now it isn't. We'll see if it comes back.

[tbernard]

Got the car back and they said they couldn't get the airbag light to go on. Strange since it has been going on everytime I've started the car for years. This makes me wonder if some wire was grounded out and now it isn't. We'll see if it comes back.

Or the bulb finally burnt out.

[smdubovsky]

Or they just put a pc of tape over the bulb behind the cluster.

[tbernard]

I couldn't find the coding in Durametric, but I did find out they decided in the 6.0 release that the Enthusiast version would not have coding included. So in short don't buy it. You can reset codes and the service light. But other then that you're SOL!