First off hello everyone! new honda owner here, took home a pre owned 08 civic ex-l a few weeks ago. And everything was good.

Then, the SRS light decided it was time to stay on. From the info i found here and other places like youtube i thought i could troubleshoot it myself.

The DTC that is present is 3-3, or low resistance in driver's seat belt tensioner, per this list :https://honda-tech.com/forums/tech-misc-15/complete-srs-code-list-3111979/

So, i tore off the trim on the B pillar and checked it out... unplugged the tensioner from the harness, and put a 2.2 ohm resistor in its place. Reset the SRS memory, still a 3-3.

Left the driver belt tensioner wire harness unplugged, without resistance. This time and i get code 3-3 and 2-1... the list says that's passenger side airbag open circuit, seemingly unrelated.

At this point i was thinking this had to be either a wiring fault or computer fault, so i swapped in a brand new SRS unit- same story, same codes.

I decided i would check to see if other codes matched up with the online resources i have found, and they don't:
Unplugging the driver seat buckle tensioner- 2-7, not on the list...
Unplugging passenger seat belt tensioner- 2-2, list says high resistance passenger air bag

So the logical explainations i can think of:

1. The SRS unit in this model has different DTCs
2. Wiring harness is seriously messed up.
3. I cant read the codes properly? I am jumping pins 4 and 9 on the OBDII port and counting the flashes. Light stays on for about 5 seconds, off for a bit, then three long blinks, a pause, then 3 quicker blinks. I even took a video and compared it to someone doing it on youtube...

Can anyone give me advice on what to do from here? is it time to give up and take it to the dealership?

 

Might be a wild guess, but check the seat harnesses, they might be unplugged or contaminated. They are part of the SRS system as well.

Post up if you find the solution.

 

OK so i got the issue resolved- without dealer help.

The SRS unit in my car and the one i briefly replaced it with do indeed use different DTC's than all the lookup tables i have found.

I systematically disconnected one SRS component, cleared the memory, and checked the code until i found something that gave me no additional codes other than 3-3.

It was the left side curtain airbag. With it disconnected the computer throws the code 3-3 like i was getting before but no additional codes, unlike all the other components i checked. Placed the 2 ohm resistor on the wire harness and bam- no more codes.

With a shot of contact cleaner on both sides of the wire harness and a wiggle for good luck i reconnected everything as it was, and cleared the computer. Still no code :D

So at least for now, problem solved.

And for anyone else with SRS issues on 8th gen civic sedans, here is the DTC list i came up with just by unplugging and checking, wash, rinse, repeat.

1-1 Driver Airbag open circuit
1-2 Passenger Airbag open circuit
2-1 Driver side seat belt tensioner open circuit
2-2 Passenger side seat belt tensioner open circuit
2-7 Driver side seat buckle tensioner open circuit
2-8 Passenger side seat buckle tensioner open circuit
3-1 Driver seat side airbag open circuit
3-2 Passenger seat side airbag open circuit
3-3 Driver side curtain airbag open circuit
3-4 Passenger side curtain airbag open circuit (didnt actually check this one-just followed the pattern)
4-1 and 4-2 Yellow wire harness under interior fuse box open circuit (front impact sensors?)
4-3 Driver side impact sensor open circuit
4-4 Passenger side impact sensor open circuit
6-1 Driver seat buckle sensor open circuit
6-2 Passenger seat buckle sensor open circuit

Memory reset behaved oddly (would not give me the two blinks to confirm) with the following disconnected-

7-1 Large white wire harness under Driver seat open circuit (active headrest?)
8-1 and 8-5 Large white wire harness under Passenger seat Open Circuit (active headrest?)

Hopefully somebody finds this useful later down the road.

 

Thanks for posting up the helpful information!

 

The headrest is purely mechanical; I've taken a couple Si seats apart and was surprised to see that.

The driver seat should have one white plug, I think it's for the seatbelt-plugged-in sensor (it's from the buckle).

The passenger seat should have two white plugs, I think one's for the seatbelt-plugged-in sensor and the other for the occupant detection system (pressure sensors within the back cushion and seat rails along with a computer).

 

I found this post and it has been somewhat useful for me.

2007 civic sedan front end crash.... installed new driver air bag, passenger seat belt, and passenger seat.

after resetting the light, I get the 8-1 and 8-5 codes.

wondering if you know anything on how to fix those codes?

i put in the old seat, and still get the 8-1 and 8-5 codes.


should i treat them as under seat codes, or faulty srs codes?

 

Did you replace the passenger seatbelt buckle?

 

i swaped 2010 ex seat from accident car in my 09 civic and have now 3 codes that cant rest untill i do a fix pleas help me !!
codes are
8-5
2-7
3-1
hope some one can help