Intermittent 8-5 "Internal failure of the SRS unit" error

Discussion in 'General Motoring' started by Al Reynolds, May 9, 2009.

  1. Al Reynolds

    Al Reynolds Guest

    Hello all,

    I've had my (UK) 97 Accord Wagon for quite a while now, and early on I used
    to get the SRS light staying on occasionally, but a single clear of the
    memory using the MES connector usually sorted it out for a few months.
    About a year ago my SRS light came on and I didn't bother clearing it, so it
    was probably on for about 9 months before I bothered to do anything about
    it. At that point the SRS light would still clear, but would often come
    back on after a week, so I quite often left it on for a while to avoid the
    hassle of clearing it. It seemed to be more prone to staying lit on cold
    wet mornings.

    Just recently I found that sometimes the SRS light would not clear at the
    first attempt, sometimes taking up to 3 or 4 attempts. It always clears in
    the end, and I have found it clears more often if I actually start the
    engine instead of turning the ignition to II while initiating the clearing
    process.

    Throughout the time since I bought the car the only error code reported by
    the SRS unit is 8-5 which I believe is "Internal failure of the SRS unit",
    but it is obviously not a complete failure as this code is only reported
    intermittently (although more frequently in recent weeks) and the light will
    always clear eventually. Previously someone suggested to me that the power
    supply from the battery to the SRS unit may be the cause of the problem,
    although I haven't had any other battery-related problems recently. If I
    wanted to check this, what voltage should I look for across the battery
    terminals with the engine off? Is there somewhere near the SRS unit end I
    can check the voltage? (I'm a little wary of messing with the SRS unit end
    in case anything goes off)

    Does anyone have any other thoughts on this? The car is too old to replace
    the SRS unit, but if there's anything I can do to stop the light staying on
    quite as often (short of removing the bulb) then I'd like to give it a go.

    Thanks in advance,
    Al Reynolds
     
    Al Reynolds, May 9, 2009
    #1
  2. Al Reynolds

    Woody Guest

    How old is the battery? The battery can be bad not showing signs in starting
    etc allowing excessive noise in the electrical system. They have been known
    to cause those types of problems. Also make sure all the electrical grounds
    and connections are good and battery posts and connections are clean.
     
    Woody, May 10, 2009
    #2
  3. Al Reynolds

    Woody Guest

    How old is the battery? The battery can be bad not showing signs in starting
    etc allowing excessive noise in the electrical system. They have been known
    to cause those types of problems. Also make sure all the electrical grounds
    and connections are good and battery posts and connections are clean.
     
    Woody, May 10, 2009
    #3
  4. Al Reynolds

    Woody Guest

    How old is the battery? The battery can be bad not showing signs in starting
    etc allowing excessive noise in the electrical system. They have been known
    to cause those types of problems. Also make sure all the electrical grounds
    and connections are good and battery posts and connections are clean.
     
    Woody, May 10, 2009
    #4
  5. Al Reynolds

    Al Reynolds Guest

    This could be the issue - I have been getting intermittent interference on
    my radio recently, and wondered if there was a general problem with the
    ground connection somewhere. If I want to check the ground connections are
    secure, how many am I looking at? Are they all over the place.

    Could someone tell me what battery voltages I should expect at the battery
    posts when the engine is (a) off (b) idle?

    Thanks,
    Al
     
    Al Reynolds, May 11, 2009
    #5
  6. Al Reynolds

    Al Reynolds Guest

    This could be the issue - I have been getting intermittent interference on
    my radio recently, and wondered if there was a general problem with the
    ground connection somewhere. If I want to check the ground connections are
    secure, how many am I looking at? Are they all over the place.

    Could someone tell me what battery voltages I should expect at the battery
    posts when the engine is (a) off (b) idle?

    Thanks,
    Al
     
    Al Reynolds, May 11, 2009
    #6
  7. Al Reynolds

    Al Reynolds Guest

    This could be the issue - I have been getting intermittent interference on
    my radio recently, and wondered if there was a general problem with the
    ground connection somewhere. If I want to check the ground connections are
    secure, how many am I looking at? Are they all over the place.

    Could someone tell me what battery voltages I should expect at the battery
    posts when the engine is (a) off (b) idle?

    Thanks,
    Al
     
    Al Reynolds, May 11, 2009
    #7
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