Airbag cel- dead alternator?
 

Hi all, I recently had my airbag cel come up an had a AIRBAG FAILURE message on the computer. My first thought was alternator or battery, as I have not done any work recently that could have set off the cel, and I always read how the battery and alternator can cause it. What do you think of these numbers I got off my multi meter?

Idle-no load: 13.6v
Idle- load: 12.35v
3k rpm-no load: 13.6v
3k rpm-load: 13.3v

They seem a little low to me. I'm just confused as to how it came up for zero conceivable reason. I'm going to order a durametric tomorrow to pull the codes, just thought I would try to figure it out in the meantime. Cheers

You don't specify model year so
 

hard to tell.

986s had several TSBs pointing to grounding and seat belt anchors which curiously trigger airbag lights. Been there 4 times, finally fixed. One of the TSBs is posted on my web site at https://sites.google.com/site/mikefocke2/airbagwarninglighttsb

Looking at your alternator ouput voltages, I think they are a little on the low side of being acceptable, but not enough to replace the alternator....

If you are concerned about the grounding, run a temporary cable from the negative side of the battery and bolt the other end of it securely to (say) an engine or transission bolt and then check your alternator output again. Any improvement in voltages will give you an indication of whether you have a high resistance grounding problem.

I would still look for another reason for the CEL though.......

I know its been a while, but I finally got my durametric cable and pulled the code. Dead seat belt buckle triggered the light. They should market the durametric as a necessity, because this thing has already made my life so much easier. Thanks for the assistance!