grottoman

Hello all- I found this very helpful thread with two great diagrams, but with the thread being from back in 2011, I thought I'd start a new one rather than add on to an old one...
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sc4...t-on-dash.html


I've given it to my niece on her 16th birthday 5 years ago, and took it back to work on it while she was away for a bit. So now I'm trying to get it back to her with improvements (timing belt, water pump, antenna swap, hood wrap, new seat covers, etc).

So I just had her 2003 sc430 front seats reupholstered at a local shop.
In the 7-10 days it was there, the battery died and was disconnected / dead and then replaced, so the seats may have been out when the battery was disconnected, etc.
Upon pickup, the airbag light was on.
They took the seats back out and checked the connectors on the seat, all seemed ok.
But the light is still on.
Today I went to a Lexus certified tech 3rd party mechanic shop, and they ran diag on the SRS system and showed driver and passenger open circuit squib codes, plus a passenger side seatbelt code.
In addition, the passenger seat motors are all working except the recliner lever.
(I also went to a Lexus dealer who declined to help in anyway, claiming that the reupholstery by a third party meant they wouldn't work on the car).

Having found the diagrams linked in the thread above (attached here as well), it seems likely to me that while they checked the connectors in the seats, they may have loosened or dislodged the connectors below the seat...

It seems to me that it's likely / possible that
B13- the right hand seat occupancy sensor / connector
P32- the right hand / passenger seat reclining motor connector
S26- left hand / driver side airbag squib
S27- right hand / passenger side airbag squib

were all either loosened or dislodged during the removal and replacement of the seats. Does that seem possible?

Also- they reupholstered the side fabric on both doors as well (above the armrest- can't seem to upload the image of this). Is there a chance connectors or wires were dislodged or loosened in that area of the doors, that could cause the open circuits in the two squibs?

Thank you for any feedback.

(BTW, we disconnected the battery for a half hour and reconnected, but both the mechanic and dealer said the system gets tested on each startup so no battery reset has any effect).

DshngDaryl

Yes, I agree it sounds like they didn't plug in all the wires. My guess is you can look under the seat from the back and see if you can see the wire harnesses. You can make sure they are all tight. You are particularly looking for the yellow ones.

DshngDaryl

take a look at this ebay ad. These are what you are looking/feeling for under your seats
https://www.ebay.com/itm/16674236450...Bk9SR8i9uPyYZA

grottoman

Thank you Daryl-
So far we did find a connector not plugged in, which was the power recliner motor... Oddly, even the manual lever couldn't recline it all the way back- apparently when the motor got disconnected it left a limit on the backward motion, which wasn't relieved until the motor was reengaged.

I'm looking at fuses for the airbags, just in case they got blown in the process of their work.

If I can resolve the airbag codes I think I'm good to go, fingers crossed. My niece is waiting, ha!

(I also just noticed the side door panels weren't put on quite right either, as when I closed the passenger door to drive home after getting the passenger motor working, the door panel sort of came half detached towards the front of the car, argh!

But perhaps there's an SRS circuit connector in there on both sides that might not be plugged in?

Thanks!

DshngDaryl

I believe the airbags are in the seats and not the door panels. So it is not likely the panels have anything to do with your problem

DshngDaryl

you are probably looking for fuse 16
https://fuse-box.info/lexus/lexus-sc...001-2010-fuses

I am hoping for you, but I would be surprised if that is the reason

grottoman

Found that fuse, yep, thanks, and probably not the issue, agreed... Looks ok but I don't have a replacement and haven't tested it yet.
The fact that they share a fuse and are both throwing open circuit made me hopeful...

grottoman

The yellow airbag connectors all seemed ok- but I've seen in other threads that connectors sometimes just get loose, or aren't maintaining contact, and people have duct taped them together- but mostly they've been seeing intermittent airbag light, while mine has been constant...

Still googling to see what else can be looked at...

Thanks again!

grottoman

Hail Mary thought-

Can I swap seats from a 2007 to a 2003 safely?

I have my own 2007 sc430.
Is it possible I could swap my seats for my niece's 2003, and see if the airbag light goes out?
That would indicate it's 'in the seats', and I could debug that on my own time / at my leisure (or not worry about it) in my car, while she would be good to go.

I'm going to start googling to see if that swap should work- I know the airbag brains (xcu) may not match, etc, but hoping I could do a swap and see what happens...

Feedback welcome!

(If the light went off, then I'd swap seat covers and ship her car up).

Thanks!

iolmaster

iTrader: (1)

The configuration of the airbags changed in that time frame. I doubt that would work.

grottoman

Bummer... Thank you iol...

Bgw70

if it were me, i would take pictures of the connectors in both car to compare. The 2007 may have an extra plug for seat occupancy detector but the rest of the connectors might be the same. Only one way to find out.