Safe to swap airbag ECU’s? (Different part numbers)

[DannyGranny]

Hi all,
Got a persistent airbag light on my ‘06 Campus Sport despite fiddling/bypassing connectors, replacing passenger sensor etc.
Now bought a replacement clock spring and also this airbag ecu off a 2003 5dr automatic Clío (maybe Privilege model) in the scrappy.
Does anyone know if this new ecu will fit my car? Or will it pop the airbags… I’m scared honestly!
I’m thinking the difference might lie in the new ecu being made for seat airbags (that ‘03 model seemed quite posh but I forgot to check).
The first pic will be my original ecu and the second, the new one.
Thanks all,
Danny

 

[DannyGranny]

*the first pic is ‘new’ ecu off the ‘03 Privilege from the scrappy and second is my original (‘06 Campus Sport)

 

[hopgop1]

I'm sure all mk2 airbag ECUs are functionally the same, but just programmed for the airbags present in each car. I highly doubt it'll set any airbags off, but in the event of a crash, if your car has an airbag the scrappy car didn't it probably won't go off. If the opposite, you'll probably get an airbag light on the dash.

 

[DannyGranny]

I'm sure all mk2 airbag ECUs are functionally the same, but just programmed for the airbags present in each car. I highly doubt it'll set any airbags off, but in the event of a crash, if your car has an airbag the scrappy car didn't it probably won't go off. If the opposite, you'll probably get an airbag light on the dash.

Nice one! Thanks mate. I’ll plug it in tonight and post the results.

 

[DannyGranny]

Swapped the airbag ecu and nothing exciting happened, the airbag light still came on but I found my fault— the driver’s side sensor (under seat, by door) had oxidised pins so presume some liquid spilled onto that… I cleaned the plug with contact cleaner and swapped it out for the old passenger’s side one (as that was spare after getting another sensor off a different scrapped car).
The joys of fault finding!
Refitting my old airbag ecu with the clean driver’s side sensor made the airbag and service light go away…
So I probably wouldn’t recommend playing parts darts with an ecu from the scrappy (unless you get it wiped for about £30!).
But no idea if the faulty part was down to stored crash data or a different part number!
Onto the dash fog light flickering when applying the brake now— already got new bulb holders with fresh pins and cleaned the earth contacts but no good )
Thanks! Hope this helps somebody.
Danny

 

[hopgop1]

Swapped the airbag ecu and nothing exciting happened, the airbag light still came on but I found my fault— the driver’s side sensor (under seat, by door) had oxidised pins so presume some liquid spilled onto that… I cleaned the plug with contact cleaner and swapped it out for the old passenger’s side one (as that was spare after getting another sensor off a different scrapped car).
The joys of fault finding!
Refitting my old airbag ecu with the clean driver’s side sensor made the airbag and service light go away…
So I probably wouldn’t recommend playing parts darts with an ecu from the scrappy (unless you get it wiped for about £30!).
But no idea if the faulty part was down to stored crash data or a different part number!
Onto the dash fog light flickering when applying the brake now— already got new bulb holders with fresh pins and cleaned the earth contacts but no good )
Thanks! Hope this helps somebody.
Danny

Checked the main connectors to the rear light clusters for corrosion? I've had similar on two mk2 Clios, both times it was a little corrosion on the pins there.

 

[DannyGranny]

Checked the main connectors to the rear light clusters for corrosion? I've had similar on two mk2 Clios, both times it was a little corrosion on the pins there.

Do you mean the plugs to the bulb holders? I’ve cleaned them a few times and there’s no rust/corrosion but the pins associated with the brake/fog lights (same bulb?) have plastic slightly melted around them and the top contact seems more tucked away than the other pins.
I’ve put 2 pics there, apologies for the quality it’s dark out.
Seems too much current is flowing out that pathway to earth?

 

[hopgop1]

Do you mean the plugs to the bulb holders? I’ve cleaned them a few times and there’s no rust/corrosion but the pins associated with the brake/fog lights (same bulb?) have plastic slightly melted around them and the top contact seems more tucked away than the other pins.
I’ve put 2 pics there, apologies for the quality it’s dark out.
Seems too much current is flowing out that pathway to earth?

For me both times it was just a bit of light corrosion on one of the pins on that connector. That slightly melted one seems very suspicious, plus like you say it does seem bent weirdly. Most likely culprit IMO.

 

[DannyGranny]

Thanks mate, yeah does look quite sus. Would you think there’s a way to bypass that connection without soldering the old wires to a new plug?

 

[DannyGranny]

Seen someone comment about a drop of solder on the pins of the bulb holder to make a better connection with the plug.
Seems a bit risky for the sake of future repairs (especially if you’ve got shaky hands like me lol), but will weigh it all up tomorrow.

 

[Daniel]

Seen someone comment about a drop of solder on the pins of the bulb holder to make a better connection with the plug.
Seems a bit risky for the sake of future repairs (especially if you’ve got shaky hands like me lol), but will weigh it all up tomorrow.

Your other option is to slide a very thin pick/flat blade screwdriver in between the pin and the plastic housing of the plug. This then pushes the pins closer together. Doing that as well as giving them a good clean up has worked for me on several clios.

 

[DannyGranny]

Your other option is to slide a very thin pick/flat blade screwdriver in between the pin and the plastic housing of the plug. This then pushes the pins closer together. Doing that as well as giving them a good clean up has worked for me on several clios.

Thanks! I’ll try that. Also came across this guide to taking the actual connectors out the plug casing (perhaps for pinching together)~ https://cliosport.net/content/guides/fubar/cluster_guide.pdf
Got a few avenues to try now.
Will let you know!

 

[DannyGranny]

All sorted!!
Bodged the connector out the plug using the guide above (small flat head) then just scraped out burnt stuff with a flat head, sanded with 240 grit, cleaned with some WD40 and wiped with rolled up kitchen roll lol.
Thanks both of you for your help, last day for MOT retest is tomorrow so over the moon!
Just flushing the brakes out now before putting the wheels back on and she’s good.
Ecstatic. Thanks again!
Danny

(Hard to see the burnt contacts before cleaning in the photos but it was definitely there… pinching myself it actually worked)

 

[DannyGranny]

All sorted!!
Bodged the connector out the plug using the guide above (small flat head) then just scraped out burnt stuff with a flat head, sanded with 240 grit, cleaned with some WD40 and wiped with rolled up kitchen roll lol.
Thanks both of you for your help, last day for MOT retest is tomorrow so over the moon!
Just flushing the brakes out now before putting the wheels back on and she’s good.
Ecstatic. Thanks again!
Danny

(Hard to see the burnt contacts before cleaning in the photos but it was definitely there… pinching myself it actually worked)

Forgot to say, I squashed the connector jaws together a little with a pair of combi pliers— they twisted a bit but bodged back into the plug just fine with a bit of force