Air Bag Light suddenly came on?!?!?

[jcevans2]

Nothing happened. Warning light still comes on.

[BrooklynBay]

Is it the same code?

[jcevans2]

It still flashes code 19.

[jcevans2]

I went to a salvage yard and found Restraints Control Module XL2A-14B321-EB in a 2000 Explorer with no apparent front or side crash damage. It cost about $42.00 with a $7.00 core charge. I kept the old one because I wasn't sure if the replacement would be better or worse. So I guess the old one is worth something but what happens to it? Is it reprogrammed and reused or is it turned into scrap metal?

I plugged in the replacement RCM. Code 19 went away. Code 21 started. I did not have the replacement mounted. It was only plugged in to see what would happen. I took out the old RCM and properly mounted the replacement. Code 21 went away. It now flashes code 36. I will check the connectors and wiring under the seats when I get a chance.

UPDATE: I returned my old RCM and got back $7.47.

[jcevans2]

My Explorer did not originally have any side airbags. I had to replace the driver seat a few years ago and the only one I could find had a side airbag in it. Since the warning light did not change (code 19), I did not think about whether or not the side airbag was working. When I replaced the RCM and the warning light flashed code 36, I checked the wiring of the SRS system. Since there were originally no side airbags, there are also no side crash sensors. The side crash sensor wiring just plugs into a plastic cap.

I unplugged the wiring from my driver seat and plugged it into a dead end yellow connector taken from a seat that does not have a side airbag. After four years, my airbag warning light has finally stopped flashing. The side airbag is not and never was functional but I'll try to solve that problem another day.

UPDATE: The warning light started flashing code 36 again. I unplugged the yellow connector and I noticed the holes that the pins go into are way too big. I bent the pins maybe one or two millimeters so they would make contact with the metal inside the holes. The connector snapped together noticeably tight from the pressure of the bent pins. The warning light has not come back on since.

[jcevans2]

I gave up on trying to find a side crash sensor to get the side airbag working. The upright part of the seat didn't have any fabric on it anyway and the fabric on the seat bottom was in poor condition. I switched the upright part of the seat back to the original one with no side airbag and I covered the seat bottom with a replacement from a salvage yard. I had to soak it in boiling hot water and scrub it first. It looks and feels almost new.

[SSG_Morrison]

Originally Posted by rwenzing

Turn on the ignition and watch the airbag light immediately afterward. It will flash out a pattern that will give you a 2-digit code like 1-9-1-9- or 2-7-2-7- or something like that. The flash pattern repeats maybe 5 times before going solid. Count the flashes to get the code, then post it here.

I was driving down the road today and my airbag light started blinking as I was driving. I noticed that it was blinking in a pattern but couldn't get it memorized or written down before it stopped blinking and just remained on.

Once I got to my office I looked up this forum to see if anyone knew what it was. When turned my truck on it didn't come back on. (yet).

02 Ford Ranger 4x4

[giggabow]

2003 ranger 2.3L
my airbag light comes on flashes 3x then 2x. what does this mean? thanks