Airbag warning light

I had the horn problem with my 95 Riviera that many have. Horn goes off in middle of the night and blows continuously until fuse blows. I learned it was a problem with the horn activator membrane under the airbag cover. I got a replacement from a 96 Riviera donor car and when installed, the horns worked fine. Now I have a new issue. The airbag warning light does it's standard repeat seven times when the key is turned, but rather than going out, the warning light continues to stay on. All the radio and hvac buttons are working OK. ANy ideas? The mechanic did not disconnect the battery or the airbag relay when he did the switch, (He's got more guts than I do!) Is there any chance there is some sort of wiring difference between the 95 and 96? I haven't tried disconnecting the battery to see if the computer will reset. (Is this a possibility?)

The person who did the switch thinks the airbag is bad. (It doesn't appear to have been deployed or been disturbed in any way.) NY ideas out there?

I also seem to have lost the horn on the drivers side. What's the easiet way to test it? Just connect it to a 12v source? Thanks for any help.

The factory scan tool has the capability to reset the airbag light on the riv. The light will come on if the bag is disconnected for some reason, even if reconnected (there i s more to this but that's the gist of it). If your mechanic does not have the GM Tech Ii or equivalent, the telltale will glow. What I would do is either you or your mechanic call a GM dealer, talk to service department, tell them about the repair and ask them to reset the system. They may need to charge you 15 minutes or more shop time for this depending on their policy - shops differ on this. My guess would be the nicer your car looks the cheaper they will do it. But that's only a guess.

As for the horn, the riv horns are not that well protected from the elements, odds are yours merely died. Yes you can disconnect the harness and test it with 12 v, no magic in that. Be sure to bring a sense of humor to the replacement task.

If the airbag light wasn't on before, and the key wasn't cycled to the "Run" position with the airbag or airbag connector disconnected, the airbag light should not be on. Simply doing a repair won't turn the light on unless something is wrong.

Airbags don't have to be programmed to our Rivs, and are nothing more than a resistance value as far as the air bag module is concerned. Yes, disconnecting your battery for about 20 minutes will "reset" everything, but I'm guessing that the airbag light will be coming back on.....

Myguess is the mech cycled the key to move the steering wheel during the horn pad replacement. My further guess is that about 15 minutes of diagnosis will reveal anything else that might be wrong with that circuit, as long as the mech is not allergic to automotive electronics (some are).

Abaddon wrote:

If the airbag light wasn't on before, and the key wasn't cycled to the "Run" position with the airbag or airbag connector disconnected, the airbag light should not be on. Simply doing a repair won't turn the light on unless something is wrong.

Airbags don't have to be programmed to our Rivs, and are nothing more than a resistance value as far as the air bag module is concerned. Yes, disconnecting your battery for about 20 minutes will "reset" everything, but I'm guessing that the airbag light will be coming back on.....

I think that even if it were the case, and the Ignition had been turned on during the process, the light should've gone off after the car was put back together and the Ignition cycled. Each key cycle, the module does a resistance check on the entire air bag loop. Only if the resistance is wrong will it set a light. That's why I'm thinking that

A) the '96 airbag is bad
or
B) the '96 airbag isn't compatible
or
C) someone forgot to plug something back in
or
D) someone pinched a wire putting it back together

Maybe I'm thinking too deep here, but all the malfunctioning airbag sensors and airbags I've replaced never required a light reset, UNLESS there was deployment. But, with a deployment, the module itself needs to be replaced as well. We can rule that out....

Does anyone have a diagram as to where all of the airbag connectors are? If the system checks itself every time I can only assume that something came disconnected.

I've had a problem with the ABS light on as well. But I believe the clockspring got damaged when I put a new steering wheel on there. You can access the ABS connectors under the driverside kick panel RIght above the pedals, They are some yellow wires. There are also some fuses down there for the HOrn and ABS I believe.

I am thinking about installing a Grant steering wheel in the near future. How would I go about disabling the Airbag(edit) light?

I don't understand how replacing the steering wheel would affect the ABS.  

I dont know about ABS, but your airbag light will come on. I just live with it.

ruben abs is your brakes not your airbag bud

LOL I meant airbag! I also have the ABS light on tho

I meant airbag guys sorry! 

Yea I have a piece of electrical tape over my Airbag light from when I damaged the clockspring.

I'm half tempted just to take out the bulb. I'm going to check the connections first though.

Buick had issues with the SRS light coming on for a simple terminal fretting concern. One of the problem connectors is above the passenger side hush panel, under the glove box. You can easily fix this problem simply by unplugging the connector, and plug it back in. Do this a few times, add some Dielectric Silicone Grease, and the problem goes away.

What happens is the terminals oxidize ever so slightly causing higher resistance in the connector, which turns on the SRS light. I believe the codes set for this problem were

B1015 Passenger Deployment Loop Resistance High

B1021 Driver Deployment Loop Resistance High

If you get any other code than these 2, chances are you have a bad SIR component somewhere, or something isn't plugged in. I just thought I would post this to possibly help some of you out. I've repaired a few Rivieras and other older Buicks by doing exactly what I've posted above.

I was unsure of putting this here or in the Android/IOS section so if it needs moved go ahead and move it.

http://actronuscan.com/u-scan-features.html

This claims to be able to read and possibly clear an airbag light. I'm half tempted to get it to see how it works, and I need a new bluetooth adapter anyways. Right now you have to pay to unlock the feature as well as for the device itself, so it may be a bit pricey. That being said, I consider it an investment because it still works on check engine lights.

Sorry if this is deemed as the wrong place to put this.


EDIT: This can't read any airbag codes on OUR cars. Feel free to delete this post.