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Jim Grant's Tech Tips
'97 Civic SRS Light
Q:
I had
my '97 Civic serviced for the extended emissions warranty. When I picked
the car up the SRS (airbag) light was activated. The dealer told me the
light was on because of a low battery. I replaced the battery but the
light is still on. The dealer wants $89 to reset the light. I think this
is outrageous. Will a low battery cause the light to come on? If so, is
it a coincidence that the battery went low under the dealer's care or
is the dealer responsible for the problem?
A:
First,
you have to realize how outrageously priced the scantool and software
are for diagnosing your vehicle. It is not provided free to anyone it
has to be purchased and the annual software updates are no bargain. As
for who to blame? There is no answer to that question until the information,
the diagnostic code in the SRS (airbag) system is identified. Once you
know the code that the air bag system has stored in memory, then it can
be determined if it was related to the service that the dealer performed.
It should be written down in the event the light should turn back on and
have the same problem. If you do not record the information you will only
be relying on a human memory. Not the most reliable thing, that human
memory gets too creative over time, you know? You can have the dealer
or a local repair facility address your problem. The dealer will likely
use a scan tool but codes can be accessed with a jumper wire. The codes
can be cleared as well. You want to record the code information and any
well equipped repair facility can provide the answer to your air bag (SRS)
problem.
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