I have a 2000 Honda Accord Coupe (125,000 miles) with front and side airbags.

I looked through the forums but I couldn't find the help I needed. I need some guidance in how to troubleshoot this.

The SRS light is on solid. I've tried resetting the SRS light, it does the turn off/turn on when I cross the MEC but on the last step it doesn't flash twice like it's supposed to, then stays solid. So then I pulled the code by jumping the MEC and reading the flashes. The SRS code is 1-1 open circuit driver's airbag. I've looked this up to read open circuit drivers airbag.

I don't know where to go from here. Does this refer to the driver air bag only or does it include the drivers side airbag? The side airbag light turns on then off when you turn the ignition key to on. So my intuition tells me it's just the driver's airbag. I ask this because there's a tear in the side of the seat and I thought perhaps the wire to the side airbag was damaged or pulled loose.

Here's the background. I bought the car with the light on, the previous owner said they had to replace the instrument cluster and the light has been on since but wasn't on prior.

Does this just mean that there's a wire disconnected someplace (open circuit)? I looked upwards under the dash where the yellow airbag connectors meet for the drivers airbag (at the base of the steering column) and they look connected but I haven't pulled them apart and reseated them yet.

I read something on one forum referring to a bad wire reel. I don't know what that is. Or how to check/test it.

Any advice to help me diagnose this would be appreciated. And I can save some time, I don't want to just hide the light. I want to make the airbag system function safely and properly.

Thanks for the help!
:Isaac:

 

I agree that driver's air bag is likely. You will need to measure bag resistance to see if it's open. You should only do this w/ shop manual in hand to guide the check. If you don't have a Honda manual, go to ebay, seller automanualsource, and purchase the 98-02 Accord emanual. I checked and he has this for $21.99, a bargain. This should provide the key info you need to perform this check.

Used car airbags are available. Check ebay and car-part.com.

good luck

 

What should the resistance measure? Where do you measure it at? The shop manual will have the steps for me?

Does any one have that excerpt from the manual?

I've also been reading and seeing people ask about the horn/cruise. I haven't tried them yet. I will try them when I get home and see if they work. If they don't work, is that an indicator that it's the cable reel? And if they work, what's the next likely symptom?

 

This may require special instrumentation and you will need to fully understand what you are doing. Air bag can explode under some circumstances.

The driver's airbag is connected through the cable reel, which is a likely place for a fault. Cable reel replacement requires removal of the steering wheel on earlier (94-97) models, so yours likely will also.

I have no info on resistance values for the airbag.

I found plenty of airbags on ebay, but don't know if they fit your coupe.

This is a complicated issue, so unless you're willing to purchase a shop manual and dig into details, you're better off seeking help.

good luck

 

I'll see what I can find about a service manual. I was hoping I'd find someone on this forum with some experience with similar issues or trouble shooting.

I've done lots of work on cars, (welding core supports and straightening front ends) but I never dabble with airbags for the obvious reasons. I'd like to learn how to trouble shoot these kinds of issues to add to my knowledge base.

I've read up on how to remove the airbag and clock spring from my accord. I'm still just a little lost on the testing method because the things I had read didn't including testing just replacement.

 

I think you'll be all right if your meticulous about following the safety info in the shop manual, primarily safety jumpers and avoiding any power source to the air bag.

That's why I have a problem w/ measuring resistance as to do this you must apply a voltage (small but still voltage) through the airbag actuator coil.

The $22 for the Honda shop manual is cheap insurance when the penalty for being wrong is severe injury or death.

It's similar situation to crawling under a car on a jack or insisting on jack stand supports. I would never do the former, but have no problem w/ the later.

good luck

 

I called a friend of mine and borrowed his copy of the Honda ESM for 98-02 Accords. I read through the section on troubleshooting the SRS light.

That was good advice.

I also just checked, neither the horn or the cruise works. Does that sound familiar to anyone? I don't see how that could've been damaged by replacing the instrument cluster since you don't need to open up the steering column to do that. So it may have just been coincidence.

It refers to using a 2-ohm tool for testing the resistance on the cable reel. I had seen briefly in some of my other searching the other night on home brews to make this tool using a resistor from radio shack. Any one know off hand? I'll search the forums too in case it's out there.

I still welcome any tips or suggestions.

Thanks for all the help.
:Isaac:


Edit: I was wrong. The horn and cruise do work. I hit the horn and heard nothing before because... duh... I had the horns removed from front end while I was doing the repair work. *sigh* But since the car is back on the road both the horns and cruise operate normally.

 

FYI, not to draw traffic to other forums, but I did come across steps for bypassing the driver airbag with a dummy resistor. That's the same thing as the Honda Tool, sending a false signal to the SRS. That should allow me to trouble shoot if it's the airbag that's bad or the cable reel. If the SRS light goes off, the airbag or connection is bad. If the light stays on, the airbag is good and it's either another connect or the cable reel.

It's basically a 2ohm 1/4 watt resistor and that's all. Nothing special about it.
HOW TO: Bypass SRS for Aftermarket Wheel - Honda-Tech

I have the front end torn apart right now while I replace the core support. So once I have the front end back together and I a battery back in the car I'll use this to trouble shoot and repair the airbag system.

Cheers.

 

Following up:

I bought a 2.2 ohm 1/4 watt resistor from an electronics store. They tested it and it's actual read was 2.1 ohms.

I followed the instructions in the link I provided and then reset the srs light. Presto! I've isolated the airbag itself and found that to be the issue since my radio and cruise controls still operate normally.

Tomorrow I'm getting an airbag from a junkyard and everything should be golden from there.

Thanks for everyone's help!
:Isaac:

 

Thanks for posting your fix. That's very useful. Your persistence and determination paid off.

good luck