rivencap
New Member
- Joined
- October 2, 2018
- Messages
- 1
- Reaction score
- 1
- City, State
- North Central, WI
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2003 XLT 4.6L V8 4x4
Greetings and Hello,
After many Ford vehicles (growing up with & owning), I have decided to purchase a 2003 Ford Explorer XLT 4.6L V8 4x4 for the time being until I can save up enough money to buy a newer Ford Explorer. I am looking at the newer body style like 2012-2014. It will not be for a year or so as I want to buy it outright. No more car payments! So, if there is any particular year or trim I should stay away from, please let me know. I recently got rid of my 2014 Ford Transit Connect Titanium LWB un-minivan as they call it (lol). After her being rear ended in late January 2018, she just was not the same. When I was not top heavy on my loan anymore it was time to part ways even though she drove beautifully from the ****pit as I call it. Anyhow, getting back to my 2003 Ford Explorer - I choose this one because it had the V8 and for the year and our Wisconsin winters...it was in great shape.
Her name is Helen and yes I name all of my cars (lol). We are still getting antiquated and she will need/be getting a huge tune up. I cannot believe this, but with over 170,000 miles she has the original spark plugs, coil packs, fuel oil filter, etc. Anyhow, Helen has made me aware this needs to be done and will be done in the next week. The only other thing she has is the common airbag light problem which is why I got her cheap. It flashes the unfortunate 1-9 code. I have not taken Helen in to get scanned yet at a Ford Dealership as I am trying to avoid that. I wanted to search the forum as I know this is a common problem. Good news is I did a carfax report (I know, not always reliable) and she has not been in any front end collisions of any sort that was reported. Only a rear end fender bender that result in no damage supposedly. Nor, does it look like any body work been done to the vehicle. Besides that she had three previous owners and a clean bill of health per the report.
I have read many articles on the web and watched many videos about this airbag light fiasco in the last week. I stumbled upon this forum during my research and wanted to join because I hope to have explorers for the long haul. Getting back to the 19 airbag light code...it was explained that this means the vehicle has been in a front end wreck that deployed the airbag, wire corrosion problem or wire voltage problem on the drivers side. We can eliminate that my vehicle, to the best of my ability knowledge wise, has not been in a wreck. My seat belt resisters look good, work and I am not getting a code for that and therefore eliminating this as well. No recalls on the Ford site that is due. So, things I have done/will do or looked into so far: (1) the wires under the driver seat looked to be intact and not sliced/broken. So, I will try some dielectric in the yellow connector to see if it will help with the corrosion possibility. (2) I am looking to see if I can find the front end crash module (I know its called something different) to see if it is corroded or damage from weather related issues. (3) The steering wheel clock spring troublesome mess that could be interfering and I am hoping is not the problem.
If there is anything else I could be looking at or for, please let me know or point me in the right direction. I will be poking around here and searching within the forum too. I am considering bypassing this whole airbag light issues. So, I am open to ideas of bypassing if there is even any. I have been in vehicle crashes before and airbags in my opinion are only good so you are not ejected out of the vehicle. They hurt and burn and are no fun on your face. It's only my opinion so please do not bash me too much for it.
Thank you for letting me introduce myself and my new friend, Helen.
After many Ford vehicles (growing up with & owning), I have decided to purchase a 2003 Ford Explorer XLT 4.6L V8 4x4 for the time being until I can save up enough money to buy a newer Ford Explorer. I am looking at the newer body style like 2012-2014. It will not be for a year or so as I want to buy it outright. No more car payments! So, if there is any particular year or trim I should stay away from, please let me know. I recently got rid of my 2014 Ford Transit Connect Titanium LWB un-minivan as they call it (lol). After her being rear ended in late January 2018, she just was not the same. When I was not top heavy on my loan anymore it was time to part ways even though she drove beautifully from the ****pit as I call it. Anyhow, getting back to my 2003 Ford Explorer - I choose this one because it had the V8 and for the year and our Wisconsin winters...it was in great shape.
Her name is Helen and yes I name all of my cars (lol). We are still getting antiquated and she will need/be getting a huge tune up. I cannot believe this, but with over 170,000 miles she has the original spark plugs, coil packs, fuel oil filter, etc. Anyhow, Helen has made me aware this needs to be done and will be done in the next week. The only other thing she has is the common airbag light problem which is why I got her cheap. It flashes the unfortunate 1-9 code. I have not taken Helen in to get scanned yet at a Ford Dealership as I am trying to avoid that. I wanted to search the forum as I know this is a common problem. Good news is I did a carfax report (I know, not always reliable) and she has not been in any front end collisions of any sort that was reported. Only a rear end fender bender that result in no damage supposedly. Nor, does it look like any body work been done to the vehicle. Besides that she had three previous owners and a clean bill of health per the report.
I have read many articles on the web and watched many videos about this airbag light fiasco in the last week. I stumbled upon this forum during my research and wanted to join because I hope to have explorers for the long haul. Getting back to the 19 airbag light code...it was explained that this means the vehicle has been in a front end wreck that deployed the airbag, wire corrosion problem or wire voltage problem on the drivers side. We can eliminate that my vehicle, to the best of my ability knowledge wise, has not been in a wreck. My seat belt resisters look good, work and I am not getting a code for that and therefore eliminating this as well. No recalls on the Ford site that is due. So, things I have done/will do or looked into so far: (1) the wires under the driver seat looked to be intact and not sliced/broken. So, I will try some dielectric in the yellow connector to see if it will help with the corrosion possibility. (2) I am looking to see if I can find the front end crash module (I know its called something different) to see if it is corroded or damage from weather related issues. (3) The steering wheel clock spring troublesome mess that could be interfering and I am hoping is not the problem.
If there is anything else I could be looking at or for, please let me know or point me in the right direction. I will be poking around here and searching within the forum too. I am considering bypassing this whole airbag light issues. So, I am open to ideas of bypassing if there is even any. I have been in vehicle crashes before and airbags in my opinion are only good so you are not ejected out of the vehicle. They hurt and burn and are no fun on your face. It's only my opinion so please do not bash me too much for it.
Thank you for letting me introduce myself and my new friend, Helen.
