Airbag light

[BonesDT]

Here's Two 33 Ohm'ers & One 10 Ohm'er in parallel, for a theoretical 6.23 Ohms, registering at 6.6 Ohms, a little too high:

 

[BonesDT]

This is the combo I'm currently trying in the truck. It's Three 47 Ohm'ers & One 10 Ohm'er, theoretically 6.1 Ohms, registering at 6.5 Ohms, just 0.1 Ohm over the theoretical resistance the truck is looking for.

EDIT: I was wrongfully under the impression the OEM resistor was 6.4, when it is in fact supposed to be 6.8 Ohms. In hindsight, the 6.6 Ohms registered in the above post's combo was probably a better combo than this 6.5 Ohm combo. So far, drove all night & no light. I guess we'll see what happens over the next couple of months.

 

[BrooklynBay]

It would be less work to use a screwdriver adjustable potentiometer. Don't use the one with a shaft. It's too easy to throw off the adjustment.

 

[jay1028]

It may be a good idea to clean the contacts on any connector your are servicing, especially with the environment a vehicle has to go through. I have used this contact cleaner for years and it cleans and leaves a protective film. I use this on switches and even battery contacts in remote controls to keep them from oxidizing and creating a bad contact. The D5 contact cleaner is easy to use and does not affect plastic parts. Sometimes this may cure the resistor plug situation and it just may be a contact problem that this will solve.

http://www.amazon.com/DeOxit-Cleaning-Solution-Spray-spray/dp/B0002BBV4G

 

[BonesDT]

It would be less work to use a screwdriver adjustable potentiometer. Don't use the one with a shaft. It's too easy to throw off the adjustment.

Ha, yea it would! The shaft potentio came to mind, but I thought the same thing about it getting disturbed too easily (it is right behind the passenger "kick" panel). I didn't think of the screwdriver kind though. Not sure if RS readily sells them in this low ohm range though. 1/2 Watt resistors were soo cheap tho, just wanted to get 'er done.

It may be a good idea to clean the contacts on any connector your are servicing, especially with the environment a vehicle has to go through. I have used this contact cleaner for years and it cleans and leaves a protective film. I use this on switches and even battery contacts in remote controls to keep them from oxidizing and creating a bad contact. The D5 contact cleaner is easy to use and does not affect plastic parts. Sometimes this may cure the resistor plug situation and it just may be a contact problem that this will solve.

http://www.amazon.com/DeOxit-Cleaning-Solution-Spray-spray/dp/B0002BBV4G

Another excellent idea. This resistor is safe from the elements inside the cab though. Anyway, I can think of a ton of things I could have used this spray for. Thanks.

 

[produce]

Air bag lights will not flash a code they need to be retrieved.
here is my hunch though.
Go under your seat and you'll find a pig tail for the side air bag.
Pull the cap off and blow in there a few times. Put the cap back on and go enjoy your day.
Yes I am serious. I have had to do it on mine once.
Nine times out of ten that is the ticket on an intermintent SRS light.
Otherwise the code needs to be pulled.
Any decent body shop should have a aig bag code puller.
I would let ya borrow mine but Florida is a bit of a drive

This did the trick on my 99 Explorer...Thank You ten thousand times!

 

[MONMIX]

This did the trick on my 99 Explorer...Thank You ten thousand times!

you are quite welcome.

A nine year old post still working

 

[produce]

you are quite welcome.

A nine year old post still working

And I'm eternally grateful for it. Such a simple thing for me to fix but lord knows how much a mechanic would charge to do the same thing eh!

Cheers!

 

[yeahumirin]

Just bought a 00 4.0L with a few minor problems, this being one of them. Cleaning the connectors fixed the airbag light right up. Thanks again

 

[xshift28x]

Do I need to disconnect the battery cable before I attempt pulling the plugs and cleaning them?

 

[CDW6212R]

Do I need to disconnect the battery cable before I attempt pulling the plugs and cleaning them?

Yes, for anything regarding the airbags themselves, the wiring from them to the module. They are charged in two ways all of the time, the electrical charge is what needs to be removed before unplugging that wiring.

 

[xshift28x]

Replaced both plugs and went from flashing code 3-7 to flashing code 3-2. Any ideas? I need to clear the light for inspection.

 

[bustedknucles]

my 1999 sport was doing this same issue, it does have airbag seats and it turned out to be a broken wire at this connector. Whenever the pass seat gets pushed forward it would trip light. guess all those years of people getting in and out of the back wears on the old girl.

 

[mjp3262]

I can't find any Yellow connector under my seat? Where TF is it ? lol

 

[BonesDT]

I can't find any Yellow connector under my seat? Where TF is it ? lol

It should be on the back bottom of the passenger seat. If you move the seat forward and sit in the back seat and look right under the passenger seat, you should see it. Are you sure you don't actually have side air-bags in your seats? They yellow connector end cap is for those who DON'T have side air-bags.

 

[MONMIX]

I can't find any Yellow connector under my seat? Where TF is it ? lol

02 might not be in the same place. Might not even be the same system...

 

[Jon94]

This is an old thread I know, but I think it's useful for people searching for info like me. So, I wanted to add something I found out: If your Explorer has side airbags, you CANNOT bypass them by simply plugging in the Ford resistors. The computer apparently knows the difference and will set a code for an open circuit. I guess the resistance of the airbags is lower than the bypass resistors. I know this because the previous owner of my 99 Explorer swapped in a driver's seat that has no airbag for some reason. The seat does have the resistor, which was plugged in, but it still had a code for driver's airbag open circuit. To make sure it wasn't a wiring issue, I unplugged the passenger side airbag, and plugged the resistor in the passenger side. I scanned for codes again, and this time I had an open circuit code for the driver's side AND the passenger side. I plug the passenger side airbag back in, and the code for the passenger side goes away. So apparently the computer does not like the resistor. And I checked the resistor and it indeed has 6.9 ohms like it should.

This explains why Ford had two different airbag computers: one for side airbags and one for without side airbags. Although I can't understand why they would use the resistors if they already have a different computer for trucks not equipped with side airbags. You'd think they could just program that part out of the computer or bypass that circuit inside the computer. Seems like it would be easier and cheaper than making and installing resistors that aren't needed. But what do I know...

So now I'm searching for a driver's seat with a side airbag to fix this.

 

[angstrom08]

... So apparently the computer does not like the resistor. And I checked the resistor and it indeed has 6.9 ohms like it should.

What's the resistance across the terminals on the passenger side airbag?

 

[angstrom08]

Your post reminded me of this guy. I'll admit, I was naïvely over-confident and doubted him, but with your post, I wonder if the older side airbags presented a 0.3 ohm load instead of the 6.8 expected in my 2001. Also, my '01 has a single airbag computer as far as I can see, despite having dash bags and expecting side bags.


http://www.explorerforum.com/forums...-swap-with-airbag-delete.445662/#post-3551440

 

[Jon94]

I've heard that applying even a small voltage to the airbag can set it off, even the small voltage a multimeter produces. So I didn't dare check it.