Airbag ECU faults on Peugeot motorhomes

RayD

RayD

Joined
Jun 4, 2020
Posts
108
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167
Location
Essex
Funster No
71,433
MH
Bailey AA79-4T
Exp
Since 2019
I’ve been reading of many people having these faults and whereby Crashdata appear to be able to correct some of the faults, certainly it was a temporary fix in our previous Bailey 765 the fux only lasted a few months!!

I was just wondering, with our motorhomes having ability to turn round the drivers and passengers seats, could this be a major cause of these faults occurring?

We don’t seem to get Peugeot Boxer van owners complaining about aurbag failures as much as motorhome owners!

Any comments welcome.
 
In my humble opinion, I think your normal Peugeot van owner uses his van a lot more than campervan/motorhomes and thus the van doesn’t stand around a lot doing nothing! In this “stand” time the battery voltage can drop maybe causing the airbag fault!
 
Our ecu went on a Peugeot base Oct '23.
It's fitted with a Fiat air bag ecu which was replaced. You only get a 1 year warranty on it though, 2 years if replaced on a Fiat based vehicle.
 
RayD said:
We don’t seem to get Peugeot Boxer van owners complaining about aurbag failures as much as motorhome owners!
Click to expand...
If you look on the Fiat forums there are quite a few fault reports on vans.

Most vans are company owned so if it goes wrong it gets fixed and no one starts posting on forums about it.

Best to get a new ECU the repairs generally don't last.

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Hi Ray D
A few years ago, I had the same fault, after quite a bit of research, I found what I believe could potentially be the answer, I'm not saying it is the answer but it's the best I found.
It seems a lot of the passenger airbag ECU problems stem from over voltage basically frying a chip or two within the ECU. Companies like Crashdata can reprogram the chip if the chip has been corrupted from a small over voltage, basically like a reset of the chip and that will be as good as new. However, if the chip or chips have suffered a major over voltage, mine suffered a 14.76v going through it, frying my chips and a new one required.
Electricity flows in pulses, when my ECU warning light came on, it was when I started the engine, the light wasn't on when the ignition was on and I was setting the sat nav up but the moment I turned the key and started the engine the light came on. At that point, it was a sunny day, solar panel on and my EHU was still plugged in, my theory being, when I started my engine, at the exact same time I caught an electrical pulse coming from my solar panel controller, my EHU and also my alternator, hence frying my ECU.
Since this happened to me, I have added a electrical switch to turn off the solar panel as my Bailey Autograph didn't have any way of isolating the solar panel.
Now before I start my motorhome, I isolate the solar panel and disconnect my EHU, so the only voltage going into the ECU is from the van itself which it is designed to cope with. I've not had any problems since, it kind of makes sence as Peugeot, Fiat and Iveco delivery vans don't have solar panels and EHU fitted, hence they don't suffer the same fault that often.
Like I said before, it may not be the answer but it all made sense to me and I've had no problems since.
Hope this helps.
 
I have done this mod:
FB_IMG_1684409315457.jpg
 
Update

I have written an email to the CEO at Stellantis UK, re our AirbagECU failure. Don’t expect a favourable reply, but here’s hoping.

In May/June 2023 the Chelmsford Stellantis team, (while diagnosing a TPMS fault on our Peugeot motorhome) identified that the vehicle battery had a major fault and required replacing which they duly undertook, under warranty.

On our recent journey to Spain on 24th September, on route to our ferry at Portsmouth, we stopped to fill up with diesel. On restarting the vehicle, the airbag fault light came on the dashboard.

We have investigated this fault further and have identified the following;

The ECU unit supplied in our Peugeot motorhome is the same model that is used by FIAT and other vehicles. It is well documented that this model ECU is prone to failure. Numerous instances can be found on various motorhome forums as well as Peugeot forums! We are surprised that this has not been the subject of a “General Safety Recall” by Peugeot/FIAT - as an airbag that does not operate is a major safety issue!

We have identified (using an ODB reader) that as a Peugeot Boxer, the vehicle has NO FAULTS. However, recognising that this ECU is also used in a FIAT vehicle we have used the same reader with the vehicle designated as a FIAT motorhome, and fault code B0100-49 is registered for the airbag ECU.

This code indicates the following error

“ The B0100-49 Fiat Ducato fault code will cause constant illumination of the airbag warning light, commonly an issue that is suffered by 2011 to 2019 models. If this B0100-49 Fiat Ducato fault code is present, it is a sure indication that the TRW D219 airbag ECU is faulty. A failing airbag ECU may result in the airbags failing to deploy in emergency situations, which will severely impact the safety of the vehicle.
In addition to a persistent airbag warning light, and the presence of B0100, or B0100-49 Fiat Ducato fault codes being found with diagnostics, it is possible to encounter an error with diagnostics being unable to establish communications with the airbag ECU, generating no fault code. This is, in fact, another symptom of failure, and should be considered when diagnosing an airbag ECU fault.”

Our motorhome is a 2022 registered vehicle, so we are confused why a 2011 - 2019 ECU model has been fitted?

Secondly, the indication's are that the failure of the ECU units occur when there have been spikes to the voltage on the vehicle battery. As we have explained, our main vehicle battery was replaced by Stellantis UK under warranty in May/June 2023.

We strongly believe that the failure of the ECU unit should be addressed under the warranty on our motorhome.
 
Damage to the wiring under the seats has been suggested as a possible cause. Mine went two months ago: no obvious cable damage, Crash Data couldn't fix it so £550 for a new one.

4000 miles later, I've noticed that the vehicle battery seems to be be being over-charged, which I picked up from the solar controller. On testing with an admittedly cheap and cheerful meter, it showed 15.9 volts, so it's currently at the garage being investigated. Airbag light not on, so hopefully caught it before anything's been fried.

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RayD said:
I’ve been reading of many people having these faults and whereby Crashdata appear to be able to correct some of the faults, certainly it was a temporary fix in our previous Bailey 765 the fux only lasted a few months!!

I was just wondering, with our motorhomes having ability to turn round the drivers and passengers seats, could this be a major cause of these faults occurring?

We don’t seem to get Peugeot Boxer van owners complaining about aurbag failures as much as motorhome owners!

Any comments welcome.
Click to expand...
BEFORE anyone does anything else to fix AIRBAG fault.
Please make certain you have a GOOD, and even better, a SECOND earth strap to the engine!
I know little of electrics BUT a neighbour asked me to investigate all sorts of lights on dash and scan faults showing on his Peugeot PVC and he claimed he had no money!

The sun was shining and as I had my boiler suit on, doing a service on my own, he made made me a cup of tea and a bacon sandwich and in return, I did what I do to mine, check the EARTH strap.

It was dirty and frayed. I had some spare cable and connectors, so I made up 2.

Replace the original and added a second from the chassis bolt to a bolt on the gearbox.

Deleted the scan faults and everything was fine (so far?)

That is nearly the extent of my electrical knowledge but it's surprising how often it works.

I'll get my reward in heaven, he said! 😄
 
Trevor Wbm said:
Damage to the wiring under the seats has been suggested as a possible cause. Mine went two months ago: no obvious cable damage, Crash Data couldn't fix it so £550 for a new one.

4000 miles later, I've noticed that the vehicle battery seems to be be being over-charged, which I picked up from the solar controller. On testing with an admittedly cheap and cheerful meter, it showed 15.9 volts, so it's currently at the garage being investigated. Airbag light not on, so hopefully caught it before anything's been fried.
Click to expand...
Got the van back. Alternator's voltage regulator was found to be undercharging and overcharging when tested, so proper knackered. 99% sure the overcharging is what blew the airbag ECU about 8 weeks ago, and since then its got the new battery I fitted in to a state where the mechanic recommended replacing it.

The control panel on the Bailey has actually been telling me the starter battery voltage was low, but I've ignored it, 'cause it was a new battery and the water level gauges are never accurate. Only when solar controller reported over-charging did I pay attention.

With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, if the moho kit tells you the starter battery is low, even thought the van starts without issue, it might be indicative of a faulty regulator on the alternator, risking the ECU being fried.
If the solar stops charging the starter battery because its over voltage ... get the alternator checked. My solar controller is hidden under a seat - I'll be making a point of checking it more often.
 
Eddiejj said:
Hi Ray D
A few years ago, I had the same fault, after quite a bit of research, I found what I believe could potentially be the answer, I'm not saying it is the answer but it's the best I found.
It seems a lot of the passenger airbag ECU problems stem from over voltage basically frying a chip or two within the ECU. Companies like Crashdata can reprogram the chip if the chip has been corrupted from a small over voltage, basically like a reset of the chip and that will be as good as new. However, if the chip or chips have suffered a major over voltage, mine suffered a 14.76v going through it, frying my chips and a new one required.
Electricity flows in pulses, when my ECU warning light came on, it was when I started the engine, the light wasn't on when the ignition was on and I was setting the sat nav up but the moment I turned the key and started the engine the light came on. At that point, it was a sunny day, solar panel on and my EHU was still plugged in, my theory being, when I started my engine, at the exact same time I caught an electrical pulse coming from my solar panel controller, my EHU and also my alternator, hence frying my ECU.
Since this happened to me, I have added a electrical switch to turn off the solar panel as my Bailey Autograph didn't have any way of isolating the solar panel.
Now before I start my motorhome, I isolate the solar panel and disconnect my EHU, so the only voltage going into the ECU is from the van itself which it is designed to cope with. I've not had any problems since, it kind of makes sence as Peugeot, Fiat and Iveco delivery vans don't have solar panels and EHU fitted, hence they don't suffer the same fault that often.
Like I said before, it may not be the answer but it all made sense to me and I've had no problems since.
Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
The manual for our Autograph 68-2 warns you should never start the engine with the EHU connected as it can cause unspecified electrical problems.
The one time I did this by mistake I seemed to get away with it, but I always play safe otherwise.
Thought I’d mention it just in case it was a factor.
 

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