Hi Guys,

I'm almost done with a 2004 Element I bought at an auction (Copart). The passenger side airbag deployed and I have a 10-4 SRS code. I know I need to replace the pass. bag and send out the module for reset. I know where that thing is (forward in the center console under the shifter. My problem is, I don't see how to get that thing out! I see the T30 screws and the wiring connectors and all, just not the basics. Can anyone tell me what I need to do to get that thing out of there? Do I need to take the whole dash apart? I feel a little obtuse asking this sort of thing, but I'm kinda stuck. Thank you for any pointers

 

chirp... chirp...

In case it's helpful to anyone else out there, there is a 3rd screw between the SRS module and the firewall that's almost impossible to see without a mirror and a flashlight. Why the heck anyone would build it that way is beyond me. The screw didn't make it back in for reassembly.

My module came back I reset it using the jumper on the connector at the fuse panel method, and now I have a 2-1, which is a "open circuit in passenger's inflatable airbag module". I'm reading that to mean either a true open circuit or high resistance. I replaced the seat with a junkyard seat that didn't have the airbag blown. The wiring and plug and such look ok, still had factory clips on it. My concern is, if I unplug the connector under the seat and check the resistance of the wiring in the seat(which means toward the airbag) with a meter, is that enough to trigger the airbag? The SRS module has to send a small current in that circuit to test it itself, but is that current similar to a regular VOM? I've been on edge during this whole process because I don't want to set any off.

I've also read in other forums that a simple 2K - 2.2K ohm resistor placed across the terminals in the airbag plug under the seat (looking toward the SRS module) is enough to convince the SRS module there is an airbag there and all is well. If that resistor doesn't work, the fault is in the wiring between the SRS module and the plug under the seat. Has anyone tried that?

My end game here is to get the car inspected here in CO and get a title for it. It has a salvage title now, and I'm trying to make it roadworthy, and I (believe) I need to not have any SRS codes to pass inspection. Thank you!

 

Update:

The 2-1 is apparently not related to the airbag in the seat, but the one in the dash. That one has 2 inflators, where the one in the seat has 1. That means 4 wires going to the bag itself instead of 2, which would apparently mean 2 resistors and not 1. The guys at San Diego Airbags (who reset my SRS module) pointed that out to me. They also pointed out that my Element might still have an outstanding recall having to do with that airbag. I'm not normally one to pursue recalls, but they were right. I called my local Honda stealer and they said the recall needs to be done. Appointment is tomorrow. I'm hoping that complying with the recall will make the SRS code go away, and I can get on with the VIN inspection.

 

The best part about talking to yourself is you always know what your answer is going to be.

The car is back from the local Honda dealer, Kuni Arapahoe Honda in Centennial Colorado. The 2-1 is still there. I re-seated all the connections on the SRS module and no change. I was going to try to troubleshoot the wiring between the passenger airbag in the dash and the SRS module, but there is apparently no additional connector between the 2 units, and I'm not dumb enough to connect a VOM to the leads going to an airbag inflator.

I decided to that maybe the code is really talking about the airbag under the seat. That was the one I messed with afterall. So I disconnected it, and no change in the codes! So if there is no change in the codes, then that suggests that the code is actually referring to the airbag under the seat, which I thought was another code altogether (12-1), so I'm a little confused about that.

I don't have a clue what I'm doing here, I'm just trying to fix the damn light without setting off another airbag.

Anyway, moving along...

I replaced the seat with a junkyard seat that still had an intact airbag, so I still had the old seat sitting around (I tend to keep old parts until I'm 100% certain I don't need them anymore). So I clipped off the airbag connector from the old seat to do some testing. I placed a 2K Ohm resistor across the wires in the pigtail and connected that to the wire going to the SRS unit. I'm trying to see what it takes to convince the SRS unit there is an airbag there. No change. I placed a 1K Ohm resistor in there and still no change. I tried 100, 47, 10, and 5 Ohm, still no change. So I just shorted them together, and now I get a 2-3, which is a short circuit in passenger airbag. OK, that's progress! Except I also still have a 2-1... Derp.

How can I have an error code that shows both an open and a short in the same circuit? Either the SRS module has gone bye bye, or the 2-1 and the 2-3 aren't referring to the same circuit.

I have an email back to the guys who reprogrammed my SRS module to see if they have any input. I also have a call back in to the dealer asking about the repair. I doubt they'll call me back though, we'll see.

 

Update: it would appear I misread the code. It was a 22-1 not a 2-1. I mis-interpreted those quick flashes.

I called the dealer after the airbag recall, saying I had a 2-1 and they called me back and said it might be related to what they dId and could I bring it back, so I did. They read it and told me it was the 22-1 passenger seatbelt pretensioner high restastance. They pointed out to me how the seatbelt buckle thing on the seat was decidedly shorter than the other one; that the tensioner had gone off. Luckily for me, I got a replacement seat from the junkyard because the airbag hadn't deployed. The seatbelt thing did though. I still had the original seat in the backyard, and that one's seatbelt thing hadn't gone off! So I just swapped em, cleared the code, and no more airbag light.

So that's it for my airbag problems. Since nobody's reading this anyway, probably no point, but I don't like leaving things undone.

 

Thanks for the write up, I'm currently working on a 05 CRV and this will be helpful.

 

thanks for the posts.
ridiculously difficult to find accurante info on this. wierd as it is not uncommon.
I believe my Element is an 08 EX, so the SRS module is under the woofer. cant find a vid on how to take it out. even the company that is going to reset it said "look it up on our webpage" where they have a generic Civic one... grrrrr.
i will look for that hidden screw.
I had to reset my old account to get in here and comment. hahaha
oh, and btw, for anyone in 2019
you can get airbag "Test resistors" that plug into the sensor part and bypass as if there was an active airbag. just in case you dont wanna replace the whole seat. ;-p
they are like $7 for a legit one, or $1 a piece for the cheapie sent from china ones.

 

Thanks
how were you misinterpreting the code ?

 

IIRC, you get the codes by shorting the pins on the appropriate plug under the dash. I can’t exactly remember which plug or which pins were shorted, but when you shorted them, the SRS light flashed in a pattern, and that’s how you read the codes. Kind of old school but that’s the only way without a pricey scan tool, which I didn’t have. I just counted wrong.