How to Fix Wiring Under Driver's Seat?

Just wondering if anyone has any idea how to release or "open" the driver's side seat on an 01 New Beetle so I can do stuff under the seat?

I need to check some wiring under there to see f the wires are broken or disconnected.

I'm rying to figure out how best to approach this to fix an airbag code that said there's an intermittent or otherwise bad connection. I'm not going to spend too much time outside, so I'm doing my homework indoors first.

Note: I noticed the wiring harness, or wire assy is yellow, if this helps. All I need is to lift the seat bottom, somehow, to get to it.

Maybe someone knows what I'm talking about. If not, I'll try to take pictures to illustrate.

remove the trim pieces on the back of the rails, then there are two 13mm nuts at the front center of the seats.

What code do you have for your airbag light?

Yes, you want to remove the seats rather than disassemble it in place. It is a 5 minute job to take the seats out once you do it once, maybe the first time will take 15.

I usually remove the trim pieces first also; this guy did it backwards but the pictures are nice:

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=4515002

The Beetle will be tighter for space but I would assume the seats attach in the same manner.

Nice linky

So, this is the same on a Beetle?

Are there any air bag issues I should be aware of before I attempt to do this?

I'd hate to have the air bag come flying out at my head.....ouch! Then I'd have a big mess on my hands.

Oh yeah, disconnect the negative battery cable as a precaution.
I've had my radio go into SAFE mode maybe twice of the 25 times I've disconnected the battery. So I'd have the radio code handy as a precaution.
I'd bet my bottom dollar the beetle is the same, but maybe someone with one can confirm.

Oh boy, I just installed a newer (used) VW reconditioned radio last week....no code. Disconnect the Negative (black) battery cable from the post, correct? That disables all the electronics? Will that do anything to screw up the info stored in the ECU?

beetle looks the same according to threads i've seen. no need to remove the neg batt cable, airbags don't blow if the key is in the off position (it says so right in the owner's manual)

bbarbulo said:

beetle looks the same according to threads i've seen. no need to remove the neg batt cable, airbags don't blow if the key is in the off position (it says so right in the owner's manual)

Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll double check (just to be sure).

radio code only resets when it's actually removed... taking the battery out doens't ask for a code. i've changed the battery before no prob, then i took the radio out for repair, when i put it back in, it asked for a code.

bbarbulo said:

radio code only resets when it's actually removed... taking the battery out doens't ask for a code.

Click to expand...

Disconnecting the battery actually can, at least for some radios in some model years (I have Monsoon 2001). As I said, it's done it to me on two occasions; it's weird that doesn't do it often but it can.

I too am 99.99% sure the airbags won't go off if you do this job with the battery connected. But why not take a 5 minute step to provide, potentially, some extra safety, especially when you have an airbag fault code and things may not be functioning as designed? The Bentley manual recommends disconnecting the battery AND putting installing (I quote) "a safety device (VAS 5094) to prevent accidental deployment of the airbag units." Nobody does the latter, I think it prevents against you somehow introducing current to the harness accidentally. Another act some recommend along these lines is to discharge yourself of any static electricity against the door frame before disconnecting the airbags. I'm not trying to scare you, I have never heard of anyone having seat airbags go off while removing the seats. I've read a pulse of 2-3 AMPS is required to set the initiator off; you won't be carrying that statically.

The Bentley manual also recommends obtaining the radio code before disconnecting the battery..hmmm. Like I said, doesn't usually happen but can.

Disconnecting the battery will reset the clock, and trip odo. It can also may, according to Bentley, "erase fault codes and basic settings in engine management and automatic transmission control modules. Some driveability problems may be noticed until the system re-adapts to operating conditions" Convienence features like one-touch automatic windows may also be affected I know. But I've never noticed any thing other than clock, trip odo, and the occasional radio.

All of this can be ignored if you supply what amounts to the static draw to your car while the battery is disconnected:


FYI the two bolts you remove from the front of the seat are to be torqued to 17 ft-lb.

eb2143 said:

Disconnecting the battery actually can, at least for some radios in some model years (I have Monsoon 2001). As I said, it's done it to me on two occasions; it's weird that doesn't do it often but it can.

I too am 99.99% sure the airbags won't go off if you do this job with the battery connected. But why not take a 5 minute step to provide, potentially, some extra safety, especially when you have an airbag fault code and things may not be functioning as designed? The Bentley manual recommends disconnecting the battery AND putting installing (I quote) "a safety device (VAS 5094) to prevent accidental deployment of the airbag units." Nobody does the latter, I think it prevents against you somehow introducing current to the harness accidentally. Another act some recommend along these lines is to discharge yourself of any static electricity against the door frame before disconnecting the airbags. I'm not trying to scare you, I have never heard of anyone having seat airbags go off while removing the seats. I've read a pulse of 2-3 AMPS is required to set the initiator off; you won't be carrying that statically.

The Bentley manual also recommends obtaining the radio code before disconnecting the battery..hmmm. Like I said, doesn't usually happen but can.

Disconnecting the battery will reset the clock, and trip odo. It can also may, according to Bentley, "erase fault codes and basic settings in engine management and automatic transmission control modules. Some driveability problems may be noticed until the system re-adapts to operating conditions" Convienence features like one-touch automatic windows may also be affected I know. But I've never noticed any thing other than clock, trip odo, and the occasional radio.

All of this can be ignored if you supply what amounts to the static draw to your car while the battery is disconnected:

FYI the two bolts you remove from the front of the seat are to be torqued to 17 ft-lb.

Click to expand...

Thank you for this info. #1, I don't have a radio code for my newly installed reconditiond radio. Will this present a problem? #2, will I need a vag to reset the air bag light after I'm finished tinkering around with the wiring? #3, I don't have a torque wrench, yet For now, I'm doing this by hand.....maybe get it tight and then one turn? What does "about" 17 ft./lb of torque pressure feel like when turning a bolt by hand?

Thanks....very much!

This is what I did today, in the snow....lol!

I pulled back the seat and took all the steps in the diagrams to disconect the seat from its tracks.

I looked under the seat for any wires, unplugged couplers and any indication as to why the air bag light is on. I paticuarly paid attention to the wiring from the seat belt as I know it is common for these wires to sever or cause problems throwing a wiring fault code when the air bag light is on.

I traced the wiring from the seat belt to under the seat and to where it plugs into the coupler (harness). I saw no breaks and bare wires or disconnected things. I checked all the wires I could see. I saw none in any wires.

So, I unpluged wiring harness to the seat belt and plugged it back in again couple of times. I plugged it back, nice and secure, checking to be sure there was a good connection.

If my plugging and unplugging activity did any good, I can't tell. Do I need a tool to reset the air bag light? If I did something good, would it go off all by itself and stay off?

Unfortunately, the air bag light is still on.

Bump.....I could use a few more tips....if anyone can help, see above question regarding resetting. If there are any tips on resolving this issue, I could really really use them!

Also, do I need a VAG COM opposed to a different scanner tool (if any) for this problem, resetting or checking the code and so forth?

I have to repair this air bag light, my inspection is due this month.

I have a picture of the underside of my seat, wiring included. I'm pointing to the wiring related to the seat belt.

I'm not sure other ways to diagnose this issue, other than looking for a bad connection or an exposed or severed wire. I didn't see any, but I didn't remove any electrical tape or other things to look further. I figured I better not. So I unplugged and plugged the connectors to see if they may have been disconnected for some reason.

I'd hate to order a new seat belt buckle and replace the seat belt buckle wiring harnes just to find out it didn't resolve the problem.

Any suggestions?

Your air bag light is on, but you're concerned with seat belt wiring?

Try disconnecting the air bag connector and reconnecting it. From what I've not read above it looks like you're just guessing at the problem. What fault code is in the air bag controller?

A random fix could be to disconnect the yellow connectors under both front seats and reconnect them. This will clean off a bit of oxidation in the connects and correct the fault. You'll still need to clear the fault code or wait a few driving cycles to determine if it will clear after the controller determines the fault is no longer present.

i have a dr side seat airbag ignitor fault to ground code as well, the seatbelt wiring was torn but that's not what was causing the code (fixed the wiring, cleared all codes, code for the ignitor still came back). i tore the seat apart, pulled the fabric off, checked all the wiring, did not find anything obvi wrong... i'd love to get a solution to this issue as well. but i'm hopefully getting new seats this week, so we'll see if a new airbag fixes the problem.

also, note that disabling the dr side seat airbag doesn't make the fault go away. i disabled it just so it wouldn't set the bag off by way of faulty wiring.

Sorry I missed your questions the other day. Sounds like you had no problems and probably left the battery connected.

As MOGolf said, if you have no tool to delete the DTC, wait a few days and it should turn off itself if you have changed anything.

I also don't understand why you are targeting in on the seat belt wiring if you have an airbag light on. It just occurred to me, you do know that there is an airbag in your seat right?

If all the connections and wiring look good, clean, etc and the code keeps returning (like bbarbulo), what I would do (as someone not very good with wiring) is to find a friend with a MKIV, swap seats, clear the code, and see if the code still returns. If the airbag code is gone while borrowing your friend's seats you've isolated the problem to the connection or airbag in your seat. What I would then do is go to VWvortex.com or a salvage yard and put a new airbag in my seat. I have seats in my basement that I might be willing to part out an airbag from...

MOGolf to the rescue!

MOGolf said:

Your air bag light is on, but you're concerned with seat belt wiring?

Try disconnecting the air bag connector and reconnecting it. From what I've not read above it looks like you're just guessing at the problem. What fault code is in the air bag controller?

A random fix could be to disconnect the yellow connectors under both front seats and reconnect them. This will clean off a bit of oxidation in the connects and correct the fault. You'll still need to clear the fault code or wait a few driving cycles to determine if it will clear after the controller determines the fault is no longer present.

Click to expand...

Reasons why I think its a driver's side seat belt wiring issue:

#1. Lug_Nut used a diagnostic tool on my TDI at the HO5G gtg. The computer read-out said the problem had to to do with an intermittent open circuit for the driver's seat airbag igniter. I don't remember the fault code number, but I'll look up the codes and try to refresh my memory. Otherwise, I'll go to NAPA today and get them to use an OBD to look up the code for free.

#2. I read or heard from someone that there may be a technical service bulletin, recall or complaint about the seat belt buckle issue causing an air bag light warning. I'll do my best to find this bulletin. If I do, I'll post it on this thread.

#3. My daughter has an 01 Beetle (gasser) and her air bag light went off. She had her driver's side seat belt buckle and wiring harness replaced and the problem was fixed. She mentioned the technicial said it was a common problem. The seats sliding back and forth often sever or damage the seat belt wiring harness causing an air bag fault.

#4. While looking for the seat belt part on 1st VW parts.com, I messaged a guy named Zeb. Zeb also told me that often the seat belt wiring faults the air bag light because it's so short. Moving the seat around could cause the fault code.

#5. Back in April, 09, I asked Patrick Motors in Auburn, MA to diagnose my air bag light. I mentioned I wanted a diagnostic but I also said I thought the problem could be the seat belt buckle. I'm not sure whether or not they used a scan tool or simply gave me an estimate or repair costs.

They wrote, "Customer found air bag light on." "DIAG AIR BAG LIGHT" "Found air bag light on du to left frontseat belt buckle will need newbuckle estimate for repair 335.00..."

Patrick VW has misdiagnosed problems I've had before and I've had several issues with their service department. Therefore, I don't take stock in this diag, particularly when there are no diag code numbers on the receipt and I told them I thought it was the seat belt buckle.


PS:
I read in a volkswagen.com thread that many people have air bag light issues in their VWs. Unfortunately, this thread doesn't seem to address troubleshooting very well.
http://www.volkswagenforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4796

I just went to Advance Auto Parts to get a scan. They used an OBD II Scanner and it wouldn't read the air bag code. I'm working on finding a vag com in my area, assuming this will help.

Generic scanners read the engine ECU. You need a VW group specific unit to read the other controllers.
The air bag issue might be resolved or it might still exist. The intermittent nature of your fault would continue to be displayed for many engine start-stop cycles until it is cleared. If it recurs even just once during those 50(?) cycles the code is held. Clearing it with a VW specific tool can speed the process. That won't show that the problem is permanently corrected, just that it hasn't happened since the re-set.

got new seats, once i put them in i'll let you know if the code returns (i will clear it with vagcom). might be a week plus... same code: intermittent ignitor to ground fault.

Perhaps the airbag control module is bad. Bilzer had the same situation he did get it reflashed in the end he bought a junk unit so far nbo probs.

bbarbulo said:

i have a dr side seat airbag ignitor fault to ground code as well, the seatbelt wiring was torn but that's not what was causing the code (fixed the wiring, cleared all codes, code for the ignitor still came back). i tore the seat apart, pulled the fabric off, checked all the wiring, did not find anything obvi wrong... i'd love to get a solution to this issue as well. but i'm hopefully getting new seats this week, so we'll see if a new airbag fixes the problem.

also, note that disabling the dr side seat airbag doesn't make the fault go away. i disabled it just so it wouldn't set the bag off by way of faulty wiring.

Click to expand...

When I was researching a driver's AB warning code for a friend, I found this on the VW Vortex, that deals with the side airbag warning code (seat airbag) (you wire around the yellow AB connector under the seat):

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=269293

Also, the Bentley CD has a TSB for diagnosing the various air bags on the car.

--Nate

PeterV, what do you mean by "junk unit?"

Are you referring to a used part? Like seat or air bag?

HoneyBeetle,

You'll need someone with VAG-COM to check the code for the airbag and to reset it. I had an airbag light come on on my 2005 Beetle last Fall. It happened when I started the car with the seat in the up position and my dad was just getting in and locking the seat back down. I have VAG-COM and was able to reset the code. It hasn't come on since.

Eric

Shenandoah said:

HoneyBeetle,

You'll need someone with VAG-COM to check the code for the airbag and to reset it. I had an airbag light come on on my 2005 Beetle last Fall. It happened when I started the car with the seat in the up position and my dad was just getting in and locking the seat back down. I have VAG-COM and was able to reset the code. It hasn't come on since.

Eric

Click to expand...

Lug_Nut cleared the code for me. The light went back on immediately.

I'm trying to get in touch with another member near my area with a VAG COM whom I met at the HO5G gtg. Onlyinabeetle is helping me with that.

bbarbulo said:

got new seats, once i put them in i'll let you know if the code returns (i will clear it with vagcom). might be a week plus... same code: intermittent ignitor to ground fault.

Click to expand...

Please let us know what happens when you swap the seat. If you have any other diagnostics, please let us know.

Apparently, this is a common problem and one that many do not know how to diagnose well.

This would be worth the effort for someone to create a TDI How To Thread.

I have a 2000 NB with the same problem, when I spoke to the tech at the dealership he indicated that the wire inside the seat between the back and the seat will brake internally with no outward sign of failure. As I remember it the part was about $30. Because of our current weather it will be spring before I tear into this project and can confirm his diagnosis.

Your air bag light is on to inform you that the system is working and that it may not deploy in the event of an impact. Three things need to happen to deploy an air bag. An impact has to trip one of the sensors. The sensor then sends a signal to the computer. The computer then will compute if the impact was sever enough to deploy the airbag. If you are uncomfortable working on this just unplug the air bag.

I had the airbag light come on in my 2002 Beetle several months ago. The passengers side seat belt had gotten some abuse over time (I had already taped it together with black electrical tape). One time it got further crushed by folding the seat forward. Right after the crushing, I noticed the air bag light on the dash. I looked at the buckle and could see two wires coming out of the bottom of the buckle that were completely severed. Since the thing was on its last legs anyway, I just bought a new buckle and put it in (1stvwparts). If you can take your seat out, its not that much harder to put in a new buckle. I went to look under the drivers seat to see how the wires go back in and could tell right away that that buckle had also been replaced on that side (I bought the car used in 2007) because some of the parts that attached the old wiring to the seats were still there. The airbag light did not go out after fixing all this. I didn't have VCDS yet, so I found a shop that scanned it for me and cleared the code. I forget the code but I think it was specific to the passenger seat belt buckle. The shop cleared the code and it hasn't come back. I think the code would have been helpful if I didn't already know it was caused by the seat belt buckle. I wouldn't tear into anything without first getting the code.