Problems, problems and more problems

blitzboi · Aug 17th, 2004, 11:11 PM

Okay, so yesterday I was finishing installing my new 4-channel amp under the front passenger seat, and I forgot to disconnect the (+) battery cable before disconnecting the airbag wire... DOH! I've disconnected them a few times before, but all those times I was smart enough to remove the battery cable BEFORE the airbag wire.

So now the airbag light blinks all the time when the car is running. I checked the connector and wires, thinking something might be loose, but they're all fine to my eye.

So naturally I went searching for an answer on nissanforums. Apparently this is a common problem, as there are about a thousand threads about the topic for all the various Nissan models. All the "solutions" seem to revolve around the door-open switch. The basics of the instructions are to get into the car, shut the door, turn the key to the "ON" position, open the door, press the door-open switch 7 times, shut the door and then start the car.

I've tried this "solution" about 10 times and that damned light is still blinking away. Perhaps Nissan changed the procedure for the L31 Altimas, as none of the threads I ran across specifically mentioned this model. Has anyone ever got this procedure to work on the L31 altima?

And somewhere along the line I got something wierd happening, probably because I pushed that stupid door-open switch a few too many times out of sheer frustration. The horn honked and the car wouldn't start at all. I left the key in the "ON" position and then the window wipers started going, first slowly, then faster. Then, one at a time, the various headlights (DRLs, lows, highs) came on and went off, followed by the electric radiator fan at two or three different speeds. Removing the key from the ignition seemed to stop this impromptu (but slightly entertaining) nonsense. I'm guessing I accidentally entered some kind of diagnostic mode or whatever. Anyone seen this before?

Any help on this airbag light thing would be most appreciated. I don't want to look like a dunce and take it to the NI$$AN stealership.

TIA!

altimobile · Aug 17th, 2004, 11:56 PM

"I'm guessing I accidentally entered some kind of diagnostic mode or whatever."
I'm guessing you entered the twilight zone dude.

blitzboi · Aug 18th, 2004, 12:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by altimobile

I'm guessing you entered the twilight zone dude.

Kinda reminded me of that old movie "Christine"... freaky!

blitzboi · Aug 20th, 2004, 11:31 AM

Okay, so I visited the local Ni$$an stealership, who did a diagnostic on it and then called me to say there was a current open connection on the left-hand side right at that point in time. I asked him if they could just reset the light and give me the car back, and he said no because there is a fault in the system the light would just come back on 5 mins later.

So I told them to go ahead and fix the supposed wiring "fault", not because I couldn't have done that myself, but simply because I have no way of knowing when I've been successful (because the airbag light will continue flashing until they reset it).

So, when I picked up my car I asked the service rep for a copy of the Consult-II printouts, which he photocopied for me. I didn't look at them until I came home, and now I think they lied to me about there being an existing "open fault"

The printout is as follows:

------------------------------------
SELF-DIAG [CURRENT]

DTC RESULTS

NO DTC IS DETECTED
FURTHER TESTING
MAY BE REQUIRED.

SYSTEM: AIR BAG
DATE: 08/20/2004 10:04:28
PROG No. 303A

SELF-DIAG [PAST]

DTC RESULTS

SIDE MODULE RH
[OPEN]
[B1129]
------------------------------------

Now, if I'm interpreting this correctly, it's basically saying there _was_ a fault in the past (i.e. when I took the seat out), but there isn't now.. right? So basically I got screwed, right?

That's the last time I'm going anywhere near a dealership unless it's for warranty repairs... GRR!

Coco · Aug 20th, 2004, 01:05 PM

damn bro, sorry about your bad experience.

blitzboi · Aug 21st, 2004, 12:18 AM

It's okay.. it was my mistake and the result was I had to pay the piper (so to speak). I'll just make sure next time I take the effing seat out that I disconnect the (+) battery cable first... DOH!