QuestionQUESTION: Is ther a good way to tell if the pre-tenioners have fired? The drivers bag was deployed and had been replaced and the computer flashed and so on, but before I put it back together, I want to make sure the seatbelts are ok. The belts seem to function normally. The car is not on the road and there is no dealer near me.
ANSWER: The air bag control module records the number of times that the seat belt pretensioners have fired. You'll need to have the dealer or someone else who can communicate with the air bag computer read that data.
Make sure the air bag lamp comes on or flashes during the bulb check and then goes out. If so, it's a good bet the seat belt didn't fire. If the lamp doesn't come on or flash, you should suspect it's been disconnected. If it comes on and stays on, there are further problems with your air bag system that need to be corrected.
I'm not sure what you mean when you say the computer has been flashed. Once an air bag deploys, the computer must be replaced. These codes cannot be cleared.
When a driver's air bag deploys, Hyundai says the following must be replaced:
-- Driver's air bag
-- Any seat belts and buckles worn in the collision
-- Air bag floor and dash harnesses
-- Air bag computer
-- Clock spring
-- Front impact sensor
-- Seat track (includes position sensor).
I strongly encourage you to register for a free account at www.hmaservice.com (requires Internet Explorer) and read technical service bulletin (TSB) 04-90-001. Because of an error in cataloging the TSB, you'll need to use 2004 Elantra as your year and model.
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QUESTION: Thanks for the quick response HT. What I meant by "flashed" is erasing and re-writing the EEPROM in the computer. The program loaded is the factory code for this exact make and model. A company called Airbag Systems in Allen Texas does this task as the main part of their business. I do understand why Hyundai and the other manufactures would replace so many parts as they want to assume no risk. I guess all I was asking (as I haven't removed the reteactor units yet) is there a visable indicator that they have been deployed. The belts physicaly work fine, lock-up as they should and pull and retract smooth as silk. As I had stated, the car is not on the road and there is no dealer anywhere near to me to get it to so I'm going this alone. Thanks.. Jakkie
AnswerThat's what's usually indicated by the term "flashed." I wasn't even aware it was possible to do this. Since this has been done, you probably cannot retrieve the data from the computer.
There are typically three indicators that a seat belt pretensioner has fired:
1. Air bag lamp on with code for high resistance in pretensioner circuit of appropriate belt.
2. Seat belt locked or will not retract.
3. Balls rolling around inside firing tube.
In every instance I can recall, a fired pretensioner always resulted in the trouble code. But the seat belt didn't always lock or fail to retract. And I believe the balls in the firing tube only apply to certain retractors.
