You would think that fixing air bag problems was some sort of trade secret...VERY FEW people will give you information on them. I checked my local parts stores for advice (NAPA, AutoZone, Advance, O'Rielly) The common answer is "take it to a dealer" because people are afraid of setting off the airbag. Unless you short the system out just right, or hit a sensor hard. You should be safe. Just take the common precautions of disconnecting the battery...which can lead to a code 52!
If you have ever ran your trucks battery down, or unhooked the battery to work on something, you might have gotten a code 52 on your airbag light. I couldn't tell you what years this works for, but I know it worked great for my 95 Ranger XLT 4x4 4.0L with Auto trans. I couldn't find this info anywhere! So now I am sharing it with you!
By the way...OBDII scanners cannot clear ABS or Air Bag issues. Totally seperate systems!
I started with a code 12 (loss of power to the air bag system) which turned out to be a blown 10amp fuse in the fuse box under the hood. After replacing the fuse, I had worked on several other things inside with the doors open for hours and ran the battery down with the dome lamp. I then got a code 52 (loss of power to the secondary power source for the airbag which is a capacitor) I have read in several places that this is a very common problem with Ford after a loss of battery power. The solution was to "go to the dealer to have them reset it" Who wants to pay for an expensive dealer fix when you can do it yourself easily.
HERE IS HOW YOU DO IT:
Quoted from Mitchell (my observations after each step)
CLEARING CODES
1. Only intermittent codes and codes that diagnostic monitor recognizes as being repaired may be cleared from memory. To clear codes, cycle ignition OFF to ON. Observe AIR BAG warning light. AIR BAG warning light will illuminate for 4-8 seconds, and flash fault code.
(Comment) Loosely translated - If you dont have the problem fixed, this wont work. Code 52 should clear with this!
2. Locate air bag diagnostic 2-pin connector.
(Comment) This was a fun one. According to the air bag wiring diagram that I also got from Mitchell, the Airbag Diagnostic Connector is located "Right side of Instrument Panel". The only thing I found immediately to the right of the I/P (between the stereo and Instrument panel) was a black computer with 4 connectors which is NOT what I was looking for. I finally found a blog that mentioned the computer for the air bag computer was behind the right side kick panel. Sure enough....there it was. Attached to the side of the diagnostic computer was a two prong diagnostic connector.
3. Connect a jumper wire between diagnostic connector terminals. Leave jumper wire connected until diagnostic monitor tone sounds (about 5 seconds). Disconnect jumper wire. Fault code is cleared.
(Comment) After doing this, I heard the loud tone and it immediately gave a different code, but I turned the key to the OFF position and then back ON after disconnecting the jumper.....NO MORE LIGHT!!!