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[Kate]

Been having a problem with the airbag system.  Got some diagnostic data which says that the battery voltage is 11.25.  Does this mean that the battery is faulty?

Many thanks!

Date and time>,24/07/2011. 14:2955

Workshop information:

hkj


Selected model>,1998 (W),Omega-B,Body,Airbag SAB6

Control Unit:


KW82 protocol initialized.

ECU ID= DC,90565938,S0052655,440602,1398,


Measuring blocks information:

System Voltage,11.25 V
System Voltage Status,Okay
Airbag Configuration,Side Airbags
Pretensioner Configuration,Driver&Passenger
Driver Airbag Squib Circuit Resistance,3.05 Ohm
Passenger Airbag Squib Circuit Resistance,2.12 Ohm
Driver Pretensioner Circuit Resistance,2.30 Ohm
Passenger Pretensioner Circuit Resistance,2.30 Ohm
Driver Side Airbag Squib Circuit Resistance,2.85 Ohm
Driver SAS Message Status (Side Airbag Sensor),Okay
Passenger Side Airbag Squib Circuit Resistance,2.43 Ohm
Passenger SAS Message Status (Side Airbag Sensor),Okay
Reset Passenger Side Airbag After Activation (DTC69),Inactive
Reset Driver Side Airbag After Activation (DTC68),Inactive
Reset Pretensioning Devices After Activation (DTC67),Inactive
Driver SAS Initialisation Status (Side Airbag Sensor),Okay
Driver SAS Communication Error (Side Airbag Sensor),None
Passenger SAS Initialisation Status (Side Airbag Sensor),Okay
Passenger SAS Communication Error (Side Airbag Sensor),None
DTC set since,0

[Martian]

11.25V is a bit low, even if the reading was taken with the ignition on.

Assuming the alternator is doing it's job correctly, I'd try charging the battery overnight from a mains charger and see how it holds up for a few days.

The off load voltage of a good battery should be between 12.4 - 12.7 volts.

[Kate]

11.25V is a bit low, even if the reading was taken with the ignition on.

Assuming the alternator is doing it's job correctly, I'd try charging the battery overnight from a mains charger and see how it holds up for a few days.

The off load voltage of a good battery should be between 12.4 - 12.7 volts.

Thanks.

Could the faulty airbag sensor have caused a slow drain? The mig wouldn't start if not used everyday but only since the airbag light came on.

[Martian]

Could the faulty airbag sensor have caused a slow drain?

No, all the sensor does is to tell the ECU to deploy the bag it is related to in the event of a collision.

The mig wouldn't start if not used everyday

Assuming the alternator is working correctly and there isn't another fault on the car that has caused the usual quiescent current to increase, that is indicative of a failing battery.

[Kate]

Could the faulty airbag sensor have caused a slow drain?

No, all the sensor does is to tell the ECU to deploy the bag it is related to in the event of a collision.

The mig wouldn't start if not used everyday

Assuming the alternator is working correctly and there isn't another fault on the car that has caused the usual quiescent current to increase, that is indicative of a failing battery.

What spec is a mig battery?  Should I get a new one or will a used one do?

[Bionic]

Fancy meeting you here  Should have rang me
Hiya Kate (and Gill) if I still had it the first thing I would do would be to give the battery a long trickle charge but the problem with that is that you would have to take it off cos its too far from where its parked to your house for a lead. Best other option would be to take it to a tyre station and have them 'Resistance Test' it. NOT the hand held meter type cos it does not place any strain on the battery to test for weak cells.
Short runs with many gadgets running will soon knock down even a healthy battery so give scarface a good long run regularly......

[Kate]

Fancy meeting you here  Should have rang me
Hiya Kate (and Gill) if I still had it the first thing I would do would be to give the battery a long trickle charge but the problem with that is that you would have to take it off cos its too far from where its parked to your house for a lead. Best other option would be to take it to a tyre station and have them 'Resistance Test' it. NOT the hand held meter type cos it does not place any strain on the battery to test for weak cells.
Short runs with many gadgets running will soon knock down even a healthy battery so give scarface a good long run regularly......

Thanks Ray.  I have been doing mostly short runs really with the blower on 5 as it's been really warm down here.

Me and Gill changed the airbag sensor in the door today so hopefully that little problem will be fixed now. (The airbag light was on). 

Guffer changed the HBV for me last week as it was leaking.  (Thanks again Guffer).

Other than that Scarface has been doing really well!

How's your mig doing then?  Hope she's not another Scarface now if you know what I mean! 

Sorry I'm really bad emailer Ray! The oof has been distracting me a lot lately!

[cristina]

No probs, mine is running well and according to the other half she is now called 'Goldie'! Can't think why though....must be my age
Sounds very much like the battery was just not getting enough charge back into it cos the leccys on these do whack a great deal out of them on short runs. Just do as advised and you will probably find thats its ok. Buy yourself an emergency starter pack, they are cheapish and you can hook that up if you decide to take the battery off to trickle charge it overnight. Just remember to hook it up in tandem (parralel ie + to +) before you disconnect the main battery and it will then retain the settings. Do the same when you put the main battery back. Or do as I do and use a small 12v bike battery. Both ideas do work though.
Might even get to visit sometime again.....you never know...... Pillock I bought it from still hasn't sent the other bits though so frig keeping him posted as to what I am doing with it.

[Kevin Wood]

I would suggest measuring the voltage at the battery itself with a multimeter. 11.25 is indeed low, but most ECUs in the car report a lower voltage than the true battery voltage in my experience.

Have a work through this guide for the full diagnosis before condemning the battery. http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1225724099

[Martian]

What spec is a mig battery?

The autistic bit of me could have so much fun answering such an open ended question, but I've had my ritalin this morning so I'll be sensible 

Assuming you are talking the 2.5 Elite (as per your profile), it needs a battery that can do 65Ah with a CCA (Cold Cranking Ability) of 600 Amps if memory serves me correctly.

Should I get a new one or will a used one do?

The trouble with secondhand batteries is that you can't tell how long they will last, and you can't guage whether the CCA is anywhere near enough unless you "drop test" it.
As a brand new battery is approx £60 with a 3 year warranty, I'd buy new if you intend to keep the car.

[Kate]

No probs, mine is running well and according to the other half she is now called 'Goldie'! Can't think why though....must be my age
Sounds very much like the battery was just not getting enough charge back into it cos the leccys on these do whack a great deal out of them on short runs. Just do as advised and you will probably find thats its ok. Buy yourself an emergency starter pack, they are cheapish and you can hook that up if you decide to take the battery off to trickle charge it overnight. Just remember to hook it up in tandem (parralel ie + to +) before you disconnect the main battery and it will then retain the settings. Do the same when you put the main battery back. Or do as I do and use a small 12v bike battery. Both ideas do work though.
Might even get to visit sometime again.....you never know...... Pillock I bought it from still hasn't sent the other bits though so frig keeping him posted as to what I am doing with it.

I've had to take the battery of twice to charge it and I managed to put the radio code in no bother.

What other bits are you waiting for for yours?  Is she running well then?

It would be great to meet up with you Ray, it's a shame you live so fay away!  I know you enjoy pub visits and I kind of like them too!

[Kate]

I would suggest measuring the voltage at the battery itself with a multimeter. 11.25 is indeed low, but most ECUs in the car report a lower voltage than the true battery voltage in my experience.

Have a work through this guide for the full diagnosis before condemning the battery. http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1225724099

Thanks very much Kevin, that's really helpful!

[Kate]

What spec is a mig battery?

The autistic bit of me could have so much fun answering such an open ended question, but I've had my ritalin this morning so I'll be sensible 

Assuming you are talking the 2.5 Elite (as per your profile), it needs a battery that can do 65Ah with a CCA (Cold Cranking Ability) of 600 Amps if memory serves me correctly.

Should I get a new one or will a used one do?

The trouble with secondhand batteries is that you can't tell how long they will last, and you can't guage whether the CCA is anywhere near enough unless you "drop test" it.
As a brand new battery is approx £60 with a 3 year warranty, I'd buy new if you intend to keep the car.

Thanks for that! Where do you get your batteries from?

[twiglet]

Get one from Vxl on TC Kate. I wouldn't go anywhere else! 

[Martian]

Thanks for that! Where do you get your batteries from?

Get my batteries from a local independant tyre/exhaust place called G-Force.
Last battery I bought was for our Isuzu Trooper and they charged £62 all in for the heavy duty version (95Ah, 750 CCA) with a 4 year warranty (everywhere else was around the £90 mark for the same thing).