I have a 97 E320 and the airbag light came on because of a bad contact piece. So, I bought a new contact piece. When I put the new one in, will the SRS light turn itself off or am I going to have to take it to the dealer to have them reset it? Is there anything I should know before attempting to replace this part?
Thanks

 

I'm not sure what you mean by "contact piece", but I'm going to assume its the clock spring behind the steering wheel. First thing you have to do is remove the airbag by unscrewing the two Torx bolts behind the steering wheel. Then you unplug the 2 horn wires and the airbag squib connector. Next you remove the steering wheel by removing the big Allen bolt in the middle of the wheel. Make sure after you remove the bolt and before you remove the steering wheel that you mark the position of the wheel in relationship to the shaft. Once the wheel is off, the clock spiral is held on by 2 Phillips screws, very easy. The SRS light will remain on until the code is erased by the dealer, it will not automaticlly reset.

 

Good assumption, the clock spring is exactly what I'm referring to. Thanks for your input, I appreciate it very much. I saw your post on how to remove the steering wheel earlier, but I wasn't sure if this was more involved or not. Thanks again.

 

Shouldn't the battery be disconected before any air bag work to prevent it from going off?

Richard

 

It's not necessary on these cars. As long as the ignition is off and the key is out, the airbag system is completely safe to work on.

 

uhh, you wouldn't happen to know what size those two Torx bolts are would you??? it's pretty difficult to see and it's kind of a tight fit, so, it would save me some time.
Thanks

 

It's Torx 25 for the 2 behind the steering wheel and then it's a 10mm hex for the center of the steering wheel. $74 to reset the SRS light. Thanks again mbtech208, I'll let you guys know on Friday if this fixed the problem.

 

Problem solved...for now. The light is off, I just hope it doesn't come back on in a week. So, what one dealer originally told me would be a $1200 fix to replace the air bag was actually a $220 (would have been $280 if the dealer did it) fix to replace the clock spring. Thanks again mbtech208, I appreciate your help.

 

You're welcome. Next time I'm in Ohio, you owe me dinner.

 

mbtech208,
You're a good man , your input is very helpfull
where are you in California ? If Orange county then I am pleased to buy you lunch ... no problem. And we can talk about cars .....

 

You got it.