failed inspections and srs light & code

[yoface13]

although cool, the state inspector guy failed my truck for a few things yesterday. one of which being the srs light. i thought he was going to be cool about the srs light as i'm pretty sure that's been on for the past 3 years and no one's made a peep about it.

anyways, any ideas on the srs light? i'm getting the code b1020. something about a fault on the passenger pretensioner circuit. then it says permanent right next to it. won't clear.

i've unplugged and replugged the pretensioner connector. cleaned it thoroughly. it also looks like the the shop tried to do the same.
secured and unsecured the seat belt a hundred times. sprayed qd electronic contact cleaner in there.
replaced rotary coupler.

oh, and just in case anyone was wondering, i was also failed on fogs not going off with main beams, wipers and power steering leakage. first of all, i didn't think i was leaking. second, definitely did not think that would have been a fail item. lame.

what would you guys try next? i've seen that there are ridiculous tsb's on over harnesses and stuff, but maybe there's something i'm overlooking? maybe just a disassembly and reassembly of the pretensioner or a new one?

v/r,
david

 

[messar]

I'd have a look at the wiring harness into the control unit - there are only 2 wires to the pre-tensioner. If nothing obvious, grab a used one off ebay, (looks like 30$ or so), and switch it out to see if the light goes out. Rave has big warnings about probing the circuit with a multimeter, which I'd be agree with.....

You could also disconnect the harness both at the control unit, and the pre-tensioner, and measure the resistance of the wire to see if there is a break.

 

[p m]

Holy cow, and people complain about California being uptight with vehicles...

 

[ukoffroad]

Here in VA you never know. My old RRC flew through with all kinds of little issues, no cats as well for 5 years before someone dinged me. Last time in the DII they failed me because the tires rubbed just a bit on the arms.

 

[fishEH]

Wow, Virginia blows. Haha!

 

[The Fourth Amigo]

Honestly,I removed the binnacle and placed a neat square of black electrical tape over the SRS light back in 2009.

 

[fishEH]

Honestly,I removed the binnacle and placed a neat square of black electrical tape over the SRS light back in 2009.

Wasn't sure how the SRS tied into the D2. I just yanked the bulb on my D1 along with the Antilock light.

 

[yoface13]

Yeah. It was kind of weird. Oh well. Va is the best.

I'll take a look at the harness again. Will is sending out a pretensioner so I'll try that in a couple days.

 

[yoface13]

hi everyone. so i forgot about not messing around with the multimeter and measuring resistance. i got about 3 ohms out of the driver's side pretensioner and 7 ohms out of the passenger's side. based on my reading, the 7 ohm reading is out of norm and is prob what's throwing the code. any ideas on what could be causing 4 extra ohms of resistance within the pretensioner? i might saturate it alcohol then stick a ball inflater on the compressor and see if it's some sort of co-cola dried up in there or something.

 

[robisonservice]

It sounds like you need a new pretensioner. Try a used one if you like, but pretensioners tend to deteriorate and any one that comes from a Discovery (now at least 10 years old) is likely to be close to failing as well. I'd go new for that reason. Get the code cleared after you change it.

In many states (mine being one of them) the state inspection system plugs into your car and reads codes right through the OBD connector. For that reason, removing a check engine or SRS light will not do any good. The codes are still there and you just add the inoperative light as one more failure item.

Many of the things you cite as reasons for failing are new in the past 5 years in MA too. Many states are tightening up the inspection standards; yours is one of them I see.

None of what you mention sounds like a big deal, luckily

 

[yoface13]

I was thinking the same thing about a new pretensioner vs a used one. It appears that the problem is getting my hands on one. No one on the internet has one. Dealer item only? If so, I'm guessing it's going to be one of those things they won't sell to a civilian.

Understanding the risk, I could just loop a 3 ohm resistor. It'd be as safe as it is now since the DCU won't be firing the pretensioner with the light on. Sound feasible?

 

[robisonservice]

Yes, putting a resistor in parallel with the existing pretensioner will fool the controller into thinking all is well. And in an accident the pretensioner may still function. In the last few years we have seen more and more cases of resistance on these parts being just a little too high - not a full open circuit at all.

Still, if you can get a new part I suggest you do so. If the system can be 100% for $100-some dollars why compromise? For us, the resistors are a last resort on cars where actual repair parts are NLA. If the dealer network has a pretensioner (I'm pretty sure they do) there is no reason they will not sell it to you.

 

[yoface13]

Concur. Thanks for the advice, John! I'll double-check the parts network to see if they can get a new one then check with the dealer. I'll pull this resistor trick to get this rejection sticker off of my window in the meantime.

David

 

[yoface13]

for the record, wiring a resistor in parallel did fix the srs light issue. 7 ohms is beyond spec and throws the open circuit code... I wish I knew what the upper limit was, but this is something to consider if you're looking into something similar.

 

[yoface13]

In order to not have to leave the truck all day for the reinspection at the original place I took it, I went to colonial's "quicklane" here in cville. They are not disco friendly. Failed me again. The friggin' power steering hose wasn't clean enough for them. And his guy doesn't like the hella auxiliary lights cause it doesn't say dot or sae on them. What a bunch of crap.

I want to punch the radio every time I hear their stupid commercial.

 

[JohnB]

What a bunch of BS. Washington state just did away with vehicle testing a few years ago and I get the feeling Oregon will be next.

 

[robisonservice]

Arbitrary inspectors make me crazy too. Every year we get a few cars with some "defect" that is only in the inspector's imagination.

You're in Charlottesville? I'm going to Richmond Wednesday to speak at a conference and I'm at William and Mary teaching a class every third or fourth Monday/Tuesday

 

[yoface13]

How'd they get rid of inspections? How do we (VA'ians) get this to happen? At both places, they talked a bunch of jive about getting $20,000 fines and the police coming in and delicensing them and SWAT team snipers perched on nearby buildings... come on, first of all, that's never happened in the history of inspections. Second of all, I'm not a cop. Thirdly, no one has circled back to an inspecter, post-accident, to inquire or lay blame regarding an incorrectly-passed component... in the history of inspections! Fourth, just say you want to "fix" my steering problem. you rat bastards. Come out and say, hey, I don't have anything to do for 4 hours next Tuesday, so, come back, leave your car, i'll put a new hose clamp on your hose(or i may not even do that), put it back on the reservoir, clean up the evidence of the leak, call it a complete steering system calibration and functional check, charge me 5 hundo, then call it a day. OILY HOSE?!?!?!


I'm sorry for that. Oily hose, though. It's literally (and by literally, I mean post-y2k-teenager-vernacular literally, which is to say, figuratively) blowing my mind.


John, yes, I am in Charlottesville. It's quintissential Virginia and you will feel right at home if you are accustomed with W&M and rest of the Williamsburg. PM if you want to try to grab lunch or something. I promise I won't mention a thing about inspections.


I might.

 

[JohnB]

West coast does not have the rust issues that I assume VA does. Our inspections have never had anyone who looks at your car. The only thing they check is what is coming out of your tail pipe.
Since the majority of cars are now OBD and most people who have a check engine light tend to get it fixed as soon as they can.
Most the older cars on the road that are not OBD seem to owned by car enthusiast who keep them in good shape.

 

[red64chevelle]

Honestly,I removed the binnacle and placed a neat square of black electrical tape over the SRS light back in 2009.

+1

Worked great on my 96.