For several weeks I have had a driver's seat airbag warning light activated within a few minutes of startup on my XK8. Digging under my seat the other day I found a small module labeled, "Seat Module" with a loose cover that had been cracked and contained a 3"x 4" circuit board, all wired into wiring that disappeared under the driver's seat. I gave it a few tugs, attempted to confirm all connections were 'snug', and tried to return the cover to the box(not very successfully). I tried to replace the module in a secure location under the seat, but could find no mount, or latch that would hold it in place.
When I again drove the car the Air Bag light did not come on for the 5-7 miles that I drove the car. Usually it came on within 30-45 sec. of starting the car.
My mechanic and I replaced the steering wheel, and of course had to disconnect the battery. After reconnecting the battery, the airbag light is now immediately coming back on within 30-45 sec. of startup. Do I need to replace the seat module? Can it be replaced?? So far all other systems seem to operate as before.

 

My course of action would be as follows if I was doing the repair;
Unbolt the driver and passenger seat mountings and tilt them back. Hoping the passenger module is undisturbed.
This would show how the modules are mounted.
Remove the passenger seat module and use it to replace the drivers side module. They are the same.
This will give you a good unit on the seat with the most use.
Now that you know how it mounts is sorted. I would try fitting the drivers module case back to an assembly and mount it on the passenger seat. If it is cracked or broken you can replace it.
In the boot on the wall where the spare tire recess is there should be a label with the heading VCATS. There would will find the module number. The letters after the / are the most important that is the version number. You will need one with the same numbers,

Remount everything and you should be all set.the letters after the slash can be higher ( c can be replaced with a d or an e) but can not be replace with a lower letter.

 

I had a broken module in my 06 passenger side, replaced it with a 98 XJ8 and it works fine. Maybe the seat heater doesn't work, but I don't care.

 

Great suggestions. In S.W. Fla. don't need seat heat. I may have location for spare seat module. Will try replacement. Many thx.

 

FWIW, these seat control module lids were available separately as new parts from Jaguar. Cheap, too.

From memory (I have not worked the problem myself), there seem to be a common airbag problem in relation to wiring under the passenger seat. Something to do with putting the seat at the lowest setting. Of course, the better answer is to get the codes from a proper reader to help with your search...

 

Uhm the srs does not go through the modujle but its own and all connectors in srs system are yellow. I would be looking more at him removing steering wheel and disconnecting air bag. Maybe damaged wires or left unconnected. Or more likely that maybe the steering wheel cassette just decided to fail at a coincidental time as they often fail and the most common srs failure across all models. That would not be his fault. Just a coincidence. Why not try getting flash codes or reading faults in the srs module instead

 

I had this problem on my 2004 XK8, and played with all of the connectors under the seat, sometimes it seemed to work for a while. The wires for the airbag are the blue and yellow, has nothing to do with the seat module. I finally resolved it by taking the seat out, peeling the back seat cover up so that I could get at the connection into the airbag. I put terminal cleaner on the connector at the airbag, plugged and unplugged it a few times and crossed my fingers. 3 years and the problem has not reocurred.

 

Sounds like I am going to have to pull the seat in any event. I have checked the box marked, "Seat Module". It is cracked, the cover is falling off, and is moving freely under the driver's seat. The one on the passenger's seat seems to be attached to the seat. I presume this has something to do with the seat memory position.
There are other wires loose under the seat that I cannot fully see due to location. Some are yellow, and possibly blue.
I see these boxes for sale on eBay and most list as "Requiring Programing". What kind of Programming is needed? Just the memory for the seats??

 

that is a common failure on those that like the seat at its lowest position. you don't need a new module. the attachment bolt break out of the plastic housing. you can use plastic epoxy at glue the bolt back into the housing then reattach. that been my repair for 10 years or better

 

Thx for inf. I only have about 12 different types of glue in my shop. I think I have used at least 10 of them on the Jag so far.