Airbag Code 1 2 and 10Amp Fuse Keeps Blowing After Jumping from Dead Battery

[Metalface]

So what is shorted... Can I repair this myself? I'd think yes, right? I see a lot of threads about the issue most were resolved with "just replace the 10A fuse" "success!" Or, "I tried that and keep blowing fuses," "I took it to the dealership and Idk what they did but it works now! success!"
No other CEL codes and it drives like normal thus far.

Battery was dead from key staying on over night #wasn'tmethough. Jumped it with a '12 Honda Civic, started up, nothing seemed wrong or amiss while jumping. Let it idle for a while, took it for a drive, didn't notice the Airbag Light because we were in a rush. I am very sure something must have been shorted if the 10A fuse keeps blowing every time I replace it and the Airbag Light flashes 1, off, 2, off, solid. ("12 code.")

Threads I found:

airbag code 12

i have an 03 ford explorer sport xls and my truck has a code 12 airbag light flashing, im aware that its a low voltage but im not sure where to look for pin 13, ive checked my fuses aswell. anything helps thanks

www.explorerforum.com

No answers

airbag code 12 and a missing fuse?

I've been getting an airbag code 12 on my '95 explorer for 4-5 months now. I searched this forum and google, and finally realized that I'm missing a fuse. #19 in the power distribution box. (Mini fuse #5) according to this thread mini fuse 5 is "10A Air Bag diagnostic monitor" I figured it...

www.explorerforum.com

No answers

96 airbag code 12

I got this last night. I checked all the fuses and they are good. The alt was replaced about a month ago. I'd really like to fix this without taking it to the dealer. As far as my diagnostic skills can take me, it looks like I need a new airbag diagnostic monitor. Has anyone had the same problem...

www.explorerforum.com

"need a new airbag diagnostic monitor" -> replaced part -> still has code / no resolution posted

1996 XLT airbag code 12

I have a 96 Explorer XLT. The truck had been sitting a while and most recently I tried to start the truck and the battery needed a charge. So after charging the battery and starting the truck a airbag code 12 appeared. Not only was there a code but the airbag fuse in the power block under the...

www.explorerforum.com

No answers

Airbag Code 12

the dash light flashes like this 1 11 1 11 1 11 1 11 shopkey at my work says its code 12 and cause by low battery voltage. my batteries are fine. checked the fuses. code reader at work couldn't pull anything.. any ideas? anyone had this problem

www.explorerforum.com

"The module has a built in battery. Measure the voltage going to the SRS module. I don't know if this diagram will help since it's for a 95 Mustang, but it will give you an idea on how it works: (Diagram Picture)" but no result posted and I do not know if I have the same part or not in a 97 Explorer XLT

1995 Aerostar. Airbag question.

I have a code 12 flashing, also an intermittent buzzing under the dash, fuse is good, previous owner has tried to reset (unsuccessful), don't know where to look for solution. Is there a wiring diagram available on line? Is there a way to disable the airbag system? Bill

www.explorerforum.com

Somewhat useful however not sure what carries over as this is for the Aerostar. Do not know what is and what is not the same even though I know a lot of the chassis and parts otherwise, are the same.

Welcome to this forum! Code 12 is a lost battery feed on the SRS module. Check these links for more information:
Mustang 1995 Air Bag Diagnostic Codes
Mustang 1995 Air Bag Diagnostic Codes
http://www.veryuseful.com/mustang/tech/airBag/images/airBagCode12Schem.jpg

 

[Metalface]

Main post won't let me edit with a Spoiler to shrink size of post or include this, but this is the next step I am currently taking:

97 Airbag Module Location

My airbag light is blinking a 2-3 (Memory Clear Circuit Improperly Grounded). Where is the module located so I can check its' ground?

www.explorerforum.com

Going to take a surely amateur look at this part and see what I see. I may even open it up if it looks like I could close it just how I found it.

 

[Metalface]

Update pulled Air Bag Module.
Top is a little brown looking and it smells like burnt PCBs. My friend who also does IT agrees it stinks like melted circuit board

Maybe they just smell like that.. Let me know

So.. Okay then. I'm assuming this thing is cooked.
A few things come to mind and I have a few questions.
1. If this is cooked.. Is it likely in practice that anything else went along with it even though I am not seeing anything obvious (yet.)
2. I know some Air Bag Modules / Restraint System Modules are programmed to match vehicle VIN but my understanding is at least for my 97 they don't actually communicate the way a modern one would, so it might not be the case. Do I need to have this reprogrammed (dealer visit,) or do I just need to *Reset* it as I have found instructions to do so.
3. If I put this back in, and continue to have the 1-2 code, will I experience surprise airbag attack tomorrow on my necessary 2 hour trip to visit my family to meet with a social worker that was planned two weeks in advance...... )))))))
4. If I put this back in, can it *hurt* anything besides just the airbag system....??? can it start a fire or something stupid like that even though the fuse blows?
5. Can I simply NOT reinstall it and not have airbags.. I'm guessing NO and it is because something will refuse to work as it did before making it dangerous to drive/won't even start.
6. Is this actually serviceable to any degree despite it claiming it "should not" be opened.

Worst timing possibly ever for this to happen to me but it is what it is

 

[Metalface]

Once again cannot edit previous post.. I am guessing it is a security thing to prevent suspicious links or code. I wanted to add in:
"6... ...Ideally I want to try to open this thing tonight to figure out where it died, or if it died, or if it just smells like that all the time (DOUBT.)
7. Every time I put the fuse back in (2x) I hurt it a little more, huh? Right? Just a little. As a treat."

And now that I'm thinking about it:
8. Could I just pull one of these from a junkyard versus buying one online, that is what I would prefer to do..
9. Thought: Was this caused by the Ignition being left ON all night until batt complete drain, or, was this caused from the jump? Not sure. Any speculation is appreciated thank you

 

[Metalface]

Ok. One last post in a row because it is separate:

1996 XLT airbag code 12

I have a 96 Explorer XLT. The truck had been sitting a while and most recently I tried to start the truck and the battery needed a charge. So after charging the battery and starting the truck a airbag code 12 appeared. Not only was there a code but the airbag fuse in the power block under the...

www.explorerforum.com

This is basically my exact issue so if this worked for them this is my plan then. The one difference is they did not explicitly state they *jumped* the battery, but that they "charged it" despite not saying how...
There is a junkyard where I am headed tomorrow if all works out that has a few slightly crunchy Explorers, set out just for me and GF. I will pull the module and ideally it will be the one with the same part no. and code.

That is a relief; fingers crossed.....

I would like to know, if anyone could offer insight, why this happens? Or how at all. Thanks
Speculating maybe Alternator overcompensated or the jump was the fault.. And too much power made it to that circuit? Why that one? Is it because it is the only 10A on the block in the engine bay? SHOULD anything else have taken a dump if this thing definitely/likely got taken out at the same time? I don't *really* need to know why because a little knowledge is dangerous, but I am very curious now lol

Now I am wondering, can I drive without this module... But more importantly can I drive with the bad one for 2 hours if it stinks like melted lead and burnt electrical components, in the event I *can't* drive without this module as in it needs to be present despite not functioning for things to operate normally (minus airbag functionality, of course.) I do not give a damn about some airbags not going off.. Especially right now. Airbags are nice but I don't care right now if I have no airbags, I gotta take a 2 hour drive tomorrow or I'm letting my family down.
It smells kind of like an elec starter I had in a Coolster quad that burnt out, and new electronics straight out of the box, just 1/10 the toxicity. Basically it reeks of hot melted burnt electronics. Edit: The longer I have it near me and since moving it around it smells significantly worse, and smells basically identical to a burnt out small engine starter. ****ing reeks.
I am scared it might royally **** me if I go far with it..? Hoping that isn't the case and it will simply "do nothing" and "nothing will happen because the circuit is not complete because the fuse is blown." Let me know... Thank you all for reading.

Spoiler: TMI Urgency

To top it all off I have to be on the other side of the state tomorrow at 12 noon to meet up with my family for a social worker situation that was scheduled 2 weeks in advance. Foreclosure thing, not really my situation but I'm trying to help and if I don't help it will probably just get worse, as my mom is looking at winding up homeless (she is crippled and elderly and refused to move out. I have an apartment can't add her to the lease. social work is trying to help her get into a nursing home and I haven't lived there in months since the sale of the property, naturally. Me and GF are only people in the family who are consented to be involved so it HAS to be us there to keep things going forward.) So this is kind of a minor major emergency, because of course that's how things always go.
Sorry for TMI - I don't like sharing this stuff in detail but this situation is very serious unfortunately and as soon as tomorrow comes and goes I'm going to edit this much out of the post so it just remains as a troubleshooting resource.

Edit: And because I always like to remain healthily skeptical. What pins should I check or how could I diagnose this thing without opening it up? Or should I just open 'er up. Thanks guys

 

[Turdle]

I wouldn't waste precious time on it. Try getting another from junk yard if possible.

 

[Metalface]

I wouldn't waste precious time on it. Try getting another from junk yard if possible.

Agreed. I'm betting it is entirely done... lol
If I put this thing back in as it is, I was able to drive before -- I can drive again? You think? Or..

Concerned it will make stuff worse. And also concerned it needs to be present for certain BS to function/not prevent truck from working or airbags from deploying.
Unless it has become inert LOL

 

[Metalface]

Update, after quite literally having bad dreams about this situation all night long lol.

Some answers: <Your Mileage May Vary>
Yes, you can re-connect the battery without the module in and the airbags don't deploy.
Yes, you can have the truck running for at least 10 minutes while stationary and no module and the airbags don't deploy.
Airbag light is *solid* and no longer blinks with module out and truck on and running -> implies function is simply disabled with no module.
Air Bag Module is about $30 - $35 + shipping online and same price in-person minus shipping.
The longer the module sits, the worse it smells.. I don't know how that is even possible, but it's happening.
No noticeable funky smell in the cabin now so it seems it was only the module that died, fingers crossed.. Any more damage remains to be seen.

Some questions:
Can I use a module from a different year? Not sure, going to look into it.
I wonder if the 10A fuse won't blow with the module out. I'm assuming a definite yes. Will risk the insane cost of a 10A fuse to verify later before I put the new-to-me module in.

Edit:
Is this the same part/is my part designed in the same way?

How to: - Repair an SRS (airbag) module.

As our vehicles age, so does its systems. Parts are hard to find, and whatever is still available is either used or expensive. The manufacturer always recommends replacing parts as a whole instead of replacing an individual failed component. Here's a relatively simple & cheap repair for an...

www.explorerforum.com

I would imagine a heat fuse would *****ing reek* if it blew. I would be capable of replacing a heat fuse. Wondering if I could just do that, actually. Local junkyards are flaky with returning calls and I don't want to trek out to one with no airbags just to find out they don't have the part/someone already scavenged it.

 

[DintDobbs]

Whoa, missed this entire thread. I'd have told you right off, removing the module breaks the circuit, disabling the air bags.

For posterity, if disabling the air bags is desired:

Unplugging the yellow plug under the driver's seat disables the driver's air bag, and unplugging the yellow plug under the passenger seat disables the passenger's air bag (on applicable models).

If you pry out the little 3/4 circle covers on the sides of the steering column just behind the steering wheel and unscrew the bolts, you can remove the air bag from the steering wheel and unplug it to disable it. DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS WITHOUT DISCONNECTING THE BATTERY.

If you open the glove compartment and unclip the plastic, you can reach up around the metal bar and there is a brown harness which you can unplug to disable the passenger's air bag. If necessary you can unscrew the bolts holding the air bag in place to make more room to work. DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS WITHOUT DISCONNECTING THE BATTERY.

Last but not least, you can also unplug the fuses to disable the air bags. Be aware that if any thing else shares those circuits, those devices will also be disabled.

DISCONNECT THE BATTERY BEFORE PLUGGING ANY OF THE AIR BAG CONNECTORS OR HARNESSES BACK IN.

Now then; @metalxface, there is much to cover here. Don't waste your time opening it up if it looks and smells fried. Stuff that burns or melts, you'd have to buy a new module to swap components from any way, so it would be wasted effort. Now for science, totally tear into it (at your own risk) to see what's in there, but there's a warning on it for a reason...

I would suspect that the fuse blows because of a short in the module, since that module evidently has a short in it, and it's fried. If the fuse still blows with the new module, AND the module fries, then the issue is elsewhere and is causing the module to fry. If the fuse blows and the module DOES NOT fry, then it's possible that the short is somewhere else and was caused by the first module frying, OR, less likely (there are flukes), the short is elsewhere and the initial short caused the original module to fry, but the short existing elsewhere is no longer affecting the part of the circuit with the module in it.

If the module reeks every time it's plugged in, then there is clearly an "active" short in the module and it should not be reinstalled. If the fuse did not blow, it could cause a fire.

There is no risk of fire on that circuit if the fuse is blown. Every thing connected to the battery goes through the fuse box first as a safety mechanism to cut power to a circuit in the event of failure, to prevent fire.

Multimeters are nice for troubleshooting this kind of stuff.

Lastly, it is definitely possible that the jump start is what did it. Not sure what in particular would have caused damage to that specific circuit, but unsafe jump starting or charging practices can indeed damage electronics. It's a good practice to turn on the blower motor (full speed, any vent position works) to discharge a potential electrical surge during jump starting.

 

[Metalface]

Whoa, missed this entire thread. I'd have told you right off, removing the module breaks the circuit, disabling the air bags.

For posterity, if disabling the air bags is desired:

Unplugging the yellow plug under the driver's seat disables the driver's air bag, and unplugging the yellow plug under the passenger seat disables the passenger's air bag (on applicable models).

If you pry out the little 3/4 circle covers on the sides of the steering column just behind the steering wheel and unscrew the bolts, you can remove the air bag from the steering wheel and unplug it to disable it. DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS WITHOUT DISCONNECTING THE BATTERY.

If you open the glove compartment and unclip the plastic, you can reach up around the metal bar and there is a brown harness which you can unplug to disable the passenger's air bag. If necessary you can unscrew the bolts holding the air bag in place to make more room to work. DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS WITHOUT DISCONNECTING THE BATTERY.

Last but not least, you can also unplug the fuses to disable the air bags. Be aware that if any thing else shares those circuits, those devices will also be disabled.

DISCONNECT THE BATTERY BEFORE PLUGGING ANY OF THE AIR BAG CONNECTORS OR HARNESSES BACK IN.

Now then; @metalxface, there is much to cover here. Don't waste your time opening it up if it looks and smells fried. Stuff that burns or melts, you'd have to buy a new module to swap components from any way, so it would be wasted effort. Now for science, totally tear into it (at your own risk) to see what's in there, but there's a warning on it for a reason...

I would suspect that the fuse blows because of a short in the module, since that module evidently has a short in it, and it's fried. If the fuse still blows with the new module, AND the module fries, then the issue is elsewhere and is causing the module to fry. If the fuse blows and the module DOES NOT fry, then it's possible that the short is somewhere else and was caused by the first module frying, OR, less likely (there are flukes), the short is elsewhere and the initial short caused the original module to fry, but the short existing elsewhere is no longer affecting the part of the circuit with the module in it.

If the module reeks every time it's plugged in, then there is clearly an "active" short in the module and it should not be reinstalled. If the fuse did not blow, it could cause a fire.

There is no risk of fire on that circuit if the fuse is blown. Every thing connected to the battery goes through the fuse box first as a safety mechanism to cut power to a circuit in the event of failure, to prevent fire.

Multimeters are nice for troubleshooting this kind of stuff.

Lastly, it is definitely possible that the jump start is what did it. Not sure what in particular would have caused damage to that specific circuit, but unsafe jump starting or charging practices can indeed damage electronics. It's a good practice to turn on the blower motor (full speed, any vent position works) to discharge a potential electrical surge during jump starting.

Thank you thank you. And TYSM for the PM. If I knew for sure disconnecting the module breaks the circuit and *only causes the light to come on and bags not to work,* I'd have done that and gone to the yard... Oops. But hey, all good! All is well. This input is still super valuable as a resource for people who may have the same problems.
I have some new info!
With pictures!

This is the component that died. Unless that large ?capacitor? in the white plastic housing is also dead but I doubt it. I may be making a bold claim here saying that but... See pics

Going to re-solder this if I can buy a replacement and see what I get. Ideally won't be using this module anyway, but having an emergency extra is not a bad thought if it actually work, since if it happened once, it is more probable to happen again.

Rest of the board appears ok, no burned traces, no melted solder, no burnt components, nothing visually obvious. Visual =/= tested, though, but I want to start here if I do go through with the resoldering of this component. I have little hope, but this is for science.

Drove the truck today, didn't shut off randomly. Made sure to make lots of left turns to try and replicate what GF experienced when she was driving. I wonder if maybe this component got damaged and then upon ?power surge from alternator working harder?? (I know that's a thing but it's supposed to be regulated.) that the left turn finished it off because it was no longer operating correctly.
I don't know a single thing about this board because all I've done thus far is open it, take pics, smell it a lot. I'm sure this is probably part of a regulation circuit; resistor; etc or something designed to limit power flow and then fail as a fuse sort of component.. Visually I'm seeing this is a capacitor but not all things are always as they appear. I only think so because that is usually the order in which things fail in a burning fashion, that part of a board should be first and then that part of the board should theoretically fail first of the issue is too much power, such as from a jump gone wrong. And ideally, it didn't let power get past it, if my uneducated assumption is correct. I hope it did its job and I can see the module work again, just to know it is possible, for anyone out there who may need that info as a resource. To be continued!

Edit: Including picture of entire board: Noticing a chip on the board says 1995 Ford; I wonder what is different board-to-board with these modules, if any? I wonder if a 95-97 board is fine for my application, not just 97. Chip says "1995 Ford M ... IABDM4.5" and that is also what the board has at the top, "IABDM4.5" (Internal Air Bag Diagnostics Module 4.5?) but I bet there is a differentiator in the "(PWB4172)" if they are different year to year. Very curious. If my friend at the junk yard will let me grab one from a 95-96 as well as a 97, I will bring it home and open it up. Or maybe just open it on the spot take pics and close it, for science.

 

[Metalface]

Thought some may get a chuckle out of this and the previous post is quite long.
Although a lot of Miata owners have the balls to resolder and trust their air bag module capacitors,
Miata.net Forum Post - 1990-1997 Miatas - For those who have replaced leaky capacitors on airbag module...
I don't think I would.

Until further notice, assume I do not trust the board even in a repaired state. Nobody wants an airbag at the wrong time. Overcurrent can really anger microchips and microprocessors. I am only going to attempt to repair it to see what is and is not feasible for a DIY repair if someone is in a pinch (like I was) and for the sake of documenting it as a resource.

 

[DintDobbs]

What you can do if you want to test it in-vehicle WITHOUT potentially risking blowing the air bags is unplug the yellow harnesses under the two front seats, watch to see what air bag codes flash on the dash when you start the engine, and then repeat the process with the module inserted and see if the codes changed.

 

[Metalface]

What you can do if you want to test it in-vehicle WITHOUT potentially risking blowing the air bags is unplug the yellow harnesses under the two front seats, watch to see what air bag codes flash on the dash when you start the engine, and then repeat the process with the module inserted and see if the codes changed.

You absolute legend. Thank you [: will do. I was just going to risk it, because my desire to know is more than my desire to not break my nose.

Aka, my desire to **** around is less than my fear of finding out.

 

[sehaare]

Sorry just saw this thread while looking for my old one to fix the same issue.. Did you ever fix this issue?

Read the end of my thread here where I found out and discussed why that fuse is blowing after a dead battery. And why even with a fully working system, that fuse will continue to blow unless you replace it only with the battery disconnected. I had my battery die again and I'm going through the process for a second time. I'm to the point were I have to learn again how to use forscan after having successfully replaced the fuse.

What device to read/clear airbag codes?