Travelling down to Canberra on Monday I managed to wallop a magpie outside of Collector. I stopped and pulled the dead bird out of the grille - car seemed OK but when I arrived in the Bush Capital - the SRS Airbag Fault message appeared with the red SRS warning light. A bit of research reckoned that there is a sensor of some sort behind the bumper.

Anyway I was called back to Sydney at short notice - bit worried about travelling with a suspect SRS - so I rang Geissler's in Goulburn hoping to get a quick check with the Tech2. No chance was the answer so strike one Dealer off my possible list. I would have though a quick check on a safety related issue wouldn't be too much to ask.

I then rang Gerald Slaven in Belconnen (ACT) and spoke to Aaron in the service Dept. He reckoned that if I got over there in the morning then they should be able to look at it. That's exactly what happened. I was in standing in the service dept for about 2 minutes and he introduced himself to me. We wandered out the back with his Tech2 in hand and he got a "High resistance - RHS Airbag" message. He then reset it (message has disappeared) and when I offered to pay - the charge was nothing! 10 minutes work on the outside. Very impressed! - know where I will go in Canberra if I need work done and I will tell all my Holden driving mates in Canberra all about it (including Geissler's attitude!).

280km back to Sydney and still no message. The magpie thing was just a co-incidence

Although the message has now cleared - we agreed that if it returns a new clock spring would probably be required. He also told me that they replace a lot more clock springs than airbags! He also commented that my car had NO other diagnostic messages and "Did I get my car serviced at a dealer?" (the answer was no).

One question is "How many outstanding Tech 2 diagnostics does an average car normally display?"

As stated I'm impressed with this dealer but I'm now starting to worry about Holden electricals.

Firstly - I have the fan amplifier out at the moment. Futurelec reckon they have dispatched the Darlington transistors I asked for so I will report back on how long they take to arrive. I also bought a couple of spares - at $4 each it would be silly not to.

Secondly - My stereoo now won't switch off when the door is opened. I have reset the trip computer options back to factory and then set the "Accessory Control" to door but this has only happened since the Tech2 has been attached. I can't see any reason why they should be related but it is a stupid coincidence. I'm going to check the switch but the interior light is switching on an off normally so I'm at a loss to explain this one.

Third - the above Air bag fault. All in the same month.

My VY Berlina now has 225K on it - should I expect more electrical issues?