[Splittingatoms]

Rebuilding a totaled Volt and all that it entails. So far have been very fortunate and I feel like I"m on the final stretch but need some help diagnosing 3 SRS DTC's. Quick rundown of the details:

2012 Volt, 18K miles, mild passenger door impact, but both curtain air bags as well as the passenger seat air bag went off. Both curtain air bags were replaced as well as the entire passenger seat with airbag, as well as both doors. Seatbelts were professionally rebuilt, and I sent the SRS module away to be "reset".

Once the car was back together, it was towed to Chevy to be "re-initialized". They were very good to me and it only cost $150 to get the car running again.

Now, the only notification I'm dealing with is the "service airbag" notification. Using an Autel Autolink (AL619) to read the codes, I get:

B001 A-04 Driver Seat Belt Anchor Pretensioner Deployment Loop
1. DTC Status: Current
2. This Ignition Cycle: Not Run
3. Last Test: Failed Current DTC
4. Since DTC Clear: Passed
5. DTC History Status: History
6. MIL Status: requested

B0088-71
Right Rear Side Impact Sensor
1. DTC Status: Current
2. This Ignition Cycle: Not Run
3. Last Test: Failed Current DTC
4. Since DTC Clear: Passed
5. DTC History Status: History
6. MIL Status: Requested


B0081-00
Passenger Presence Module
1. DTC Status: Current
2. This Ignition Cycle: Passed
3. Last Test: Failed Current DTC
4. Since DTC Clear: Passed
5. DTC History Status: History
6. MIL Status: Requested

I'm trying to understand my best next steps from here. I was hoping that the Autel would clear these codes and I would be good to go. It's never that easy. Reading the information for each of the three errors, I want to say that all three of these are "History" codes and since the last DTC "Clear", that this sensor has actually "passed". The "Last test failed current DTC" throws me off though.

More than likely I am just understanding these codes incorrectly. I feel like my next steps might be to go back to teh company that supposedly cleared the SRS module codes, and see if that process may not have worked, or just pay to have it done again to see if that fixes it.

Might be that I actually have 3 errors still nagging me and I should just take it to a collision shop and have them look at it for me, but always try to do the work myself if I can.

Any advice I can get on understanding what the code reader is telling me or advice on what my next step should be (ABS reset again, or collision specialist, or ?) please let me know!

Getting excited though, hopefully she'll be on the road by early October!

 

[mpmoore1979]

The B0081 is a code set in the air bag module that shows there is a code in the passengers present module(PPM). This code does not have any meaning other then to tell you that there is a code in the PPM so you have to get in to that module to check for codes. The B0088-71 is due to a bad side impact sensor on the right side. This sensor is located in the door and if you have not replaced it yet, then it needs to be replaced. The B001A is for the drivers seatbelt anchor, this is not the retractor but the buckle located between the seat and the center console. Make sure this part is good. The air bag light will stay on until all issues are fixed and only if there is a problem. If the codes are history only, the light should go off.

 

[Splittingatoms]

Thank you very much for the response!

For the side impact sensor, I was hoping that by replacing the doors entirely, that I would be replacing the impact sensor at the same time. I suppose the donor car for the doors could have taken a front or rear impact on that side that could trip the sensor. I know they're single use sensors, but I also see they're pretty affordable and easy to replace, so that shouldn't be a big deal. Am I correct in seeing that only the front door has a sensor?

For the buckle, what would need to be replaced to fix that? The entire buckle assembly?

Finally, the B0081. I think what you're telling me is that to potentially clear that PPM code, I need to have the GM specific reader (ie dealer) to read and understand what's wrong with the PPM and to correct that error. All it's telling me is that the PPM has an error, but it won't go away until that is communicated to, problem identified and resolved.

Thank you again for your assistance.

 

[Splittingatoms]

Oh, I see that the code is even telling me that it's the rear door sensor that's giving the error, so please disregard that question.

I also see that I can buy the entire buckle assembly, genuine GM parts, for about $100. I'm assuming that's going to be my jam as far as fixing that error.

Looks like I'll be asking my body work guy if he can check into that PPM error for me. Thank you again!

 

[Splittingatoms]

Okay, I have an update and a question for you mpmoore1979:

Update is that I got motivated to clear the B0081 code by taking the seat that originally came out of the car, removing the seat cover and exploded airbag, then removed my "new" seat that was causing the error, and removed it's cover and working air bag and swapped them. BEHOLD! No more B0081 code. HOWEVER....

In my haste and constant effort to screw myself up I thought Hey! I'll pull one of the seat buckles and try it in the drivers seat to see if I can correct error B001 A-04 (Driver Seat Belt Anchor Pretensioner Deployment Loop) I pulled the buckle off of the original seat before thinking about the fact that it didn't have to. when I got the replacement seat (now donor seat for the airbag and cover) buckle off, I had both sitting there, and may have confused which buckle came off of which seat.

Now, just to revisit, I had no passenger seat Anchor errors, only drivers seat. When putting the now fixed passenger seat in, the car is now throwing a B001-B-04 code (Passenger Seat Belt Anchor Pretensioner Deployment Loop)

So I think to myself, ok, must be that the buckle from the original seat must have had an error (even though it was not in use when the crash happened) so I pull the seat out, swap the buckle, double triple check that everything is connected properly, connect the battery (Just throwing this in here to reassure everyone that EVERY SINGLE TIME I worked on the car I disconnected the battery.) and guess what? Still throwing a passenger seat anchor code.

Now, I didn't have this problem with the "replacement" seat but now I have the problem with both buckles.

So, after all that description, my question is, are those anchor pretensioners something that is "addressed" and will need to be GM programmed once they're replaced? I have a new buckle on it's way but something tells me there's some programming I'm missing and that I might be able to use that other buckle I have in the driver seat once I figure out what's causing this error.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Splittingatoms]

Update. So, first things first. I figured out what my problem was with the driver and passenger seat deployment loop. Unfortunately, the advice I got from mpmoore1979 was a little incorrect and threw me off the case. He had noted that the error was "The B001A is for the drivers seatbelt anchor, this is not the retractor but the buckle located between the seat and the center console." this was actually not correct. The error is for the "anchor pretensioner" which is the buckle on the outside of the seat between the door and the seat. By swapping these out I was able to eliminate the errors for the seats. No big deal on that as I can see how it would be easy to confuse which side the pretensioners are on.

Now, the impact sensor error was irritating, but I figured it out too. So I had pulled the sensor out of the door and ordered the new part based on what had been removed. Unfortunately the replacement doors were from a 2014, and the 2012 uses a different sensor, so even though I replaced it (with a sensor that looks the same and fits perfectly) it didn't work. Once I figured out my error, I ordered the correct sensor, it should be here on Monday/Tuesday. I have my appointment to get the car licensed again on the 5th of October. Getting excited! This project has been fun and challenging, but I'm glad to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel!

 

[Sly Bob]

What a great project, great that you are getting close. Any before pics? I'm assuming it wasn't bad but the insurance company didn't want to deal with it.

 

[Splittingatoms]

Here's some photos from the project.

 

[Splittingatoms]

I'll get some photos of the passenger side now that I'm done with the repair. It's still not perfect, but it's much better than it is in that last photo.

Photo 1 is the auction yard photo, the second photo is a more detailed photo of the crash damage. It was very much isolated to just the doors and B-pillar. The third photo is after the doors had been removed, and the last photo is with the junk yard doors I found just bolted back into place, without any pulling on the B pillar. The front door opened and closed like a dream but the back door hardly closed and was rubbing in places along the bottom of the frame. (you can see in the 3rd pic the rippling in the door frame of the back door.)

I'll post more photos tomorrow.