1997 Airbag Error Code 44

[allmyEXes]

After driving the Explorer 100 plus miles and 2 rain events I had an airbag warning light come back on. I did some I-net research and found out how to count out the code via the warning light. Code 44 presented itself. I found this Airbag error code 44 is "sensor not mounted properly or high resistance to ground".
Well the right front corner of this white '97 at some point, has been lightly hit. it could have been a collision with a small deer. I looked down in behind the grill and found the sensor and I found where someone has used red crimp-on connectors to repair the 3 wires going to it. Soon I will remove the grill and or headlamp capsule assembly and repair the wiring with solder and heat shrink tubing. I think that will work a little better.

 

[allmyEXes]

By the way... How hard of a hit does it take for an airbag to deploy? I assume that the passenger bag is intact. I don't see a cracked dash or any indications of deploy.

 

[jlrohio]

...words of caution, since you did not mention it and someone else may try your fix in the future.

Disconnect BOTH the negative AND positive battery cables prior to doing any work on the sensor...and let it sit for a few minutes before doing any work. (I've read between 1-10 mins - apparently, there is some sort of small power source in the Restraints Control Module (RCM) that will continue to provide power to the Airbag system for up to a minute. Here's a quote from another website:

"The RCM includes a backup power supply. This feature provides sufficient backup power to deploy the air bags in the event that the ignition circuit is damaged in a collision before the safing and air bag sensors determine that deployment is required. The backup power supply will deplete its stored energy approximately one minute after the battery ground cable is disconnected."

Good Luck...I'm dealing with my own Airbag system troubleshooting problems!

 

[allmyEXes]

That's a good point and in haste it would be easy to overlook totally disconnecting the battery.