Side air bag delete resistor trick (maybe)

[koda2000]

The airbag warning light is always coming on in our '00 Mountaineer flashing 3-6 or 3-7. Wiggling the yellow resistor under the back of the front seats will make it go off, but it always returns. Recently @donalds told me that he sprayed WD40 into the resistor and the plug and put them back together wet. He said that his airbag light has been off for years since.

I don't see why this would work, but I'm willing to give it a try as it's easy enough to do. I'll report back over the next weeks/months to see if the warning light stays off. It's one of those things that drives me crazy.

 

[donalds]

Good luck

 

[CDW6212R]

That's a good tip that sounds promising.

My 99 always had the light on, and new resistors didn't work after trying aftermarket pieces. Mine I thought was the right airbag since I also used an aftermarket resistor for it too. Then I cheated and swapped a 98 module into it, then the light went out. I must have had a damaged airbag wire in one of my two front seats.

 

[boominXplorer]

Alot of the issue is in the connector. 01-04 Ford escapes are super common for this (bet I've done 20+). I've cut the connector out for regular blade connectors and have had great success. Just be sure to use the covered connectors and not the bare metal ones.

 

[BrooklynBay]

I remember reading how one member soldered the resistor in place, and it never showed a code after that. Maybe crimp connectors or the newer design push fit connectors might work?

 

[410Fortune]

WD40 is not the best stuff to use for this IMO
PB blaster is a better cleaner and lube
WD40 was made for displacing water, although it does clean and lube it leaves a sticky residue which attracts more dust and grime.
I would consider soldering the resistor in place, or crimp the connections tighter.....

 

[koda2000]

WD40 is not the best stuff to use for this IMO
PB blaster is a better cleaner and lube
WD40 was made for displacing water, although it does clean and lube it leaves a sticky residue which attracts more dust and grime.
I would consider soldering the resistor in place, or crimp the connections tighter.....

I'm not sure what the WD40 is supposed to accomplish and I'm not sure how you would solder the resistor to the wires. The resistor is housed inside a plastic cap and has no wires on it. I suppose you could wire in a separate resistor if you could determine what size it needs to be, but that's not worth the effort IMO. I just figured I'd try a simple hack to see if it works. It'a in my daughter's vehicle, which I rarely drive, it just bugs me that the air-bag light is often on, but it doesn't bother her in the least. As far as dust and dirt getting into the resistor connector, I don't see have that could really happen or be an issue/consideration.

 

[BrooklynBay]

What about spraying contact cleaner on the contacts then using heat shrink tubing over the plug to keep the dust & dirt out?

 

[donalds]

Wd is a common electronic cleaner the connector is sealed as the seat is bouncing around or being adjusted the contacts develop carbon tracks Wd will clean and lube it I tried dialectic grease
pb blaster
Bending the contacts
Wd will not hurt anything worth a shot many mechanics use it to clean electronic connections all the time if it don't work y'all may be out 1¢
I knew when I posted my comment about the Wd trick it would start a big debate I have used it to clean power supplies for amps and other electronic stuff

 

[CDW6212R]

Dust and vibration is probably a big issue with these, after a bunch of years, not when new.

If there is a heat shrink tubing that is big enough to go over the connectors, and will shrink down to seal both ends, that would be helpful.

 

[J_C]

It is probably coincidence that spraying WD-40 worked, unless the vehicle had a foul environment where all kinds of terrible things happened, getting water and gunk in then the connector was swapped... I don't know, it's not normal, lol.

What is more likely is merely unplugging and replugging seated the connector better if the contacts were loose or if there was some corrosion the abrasion of replugging wiped a bit of that off.

Many ford connectors have a plastic insert piece in the back of them, sometimes a different color plastic, that you can remove to pull the contacts out and examine them, clean them off if corroded, and use a fine tool to put a little more spring tension on them if it looks like that's the problem.

Then there's the old school fsck it get it done angle, just get rid of the connector and either solder the wires together or use bullet connectors (or whatever, electronics supply houses like Digikey have a mind blowing assortment of connectors to choose from, or cheaper ones are available on ebay from China... with a month wait to get them).

Anything crimped (w/o an "environmental" seal) can go bad over two decades. In that case, put some high acid tinning flux on it (typical plumber's flux at the hardware store would work) and flow that together with a beefy soldering iron.

20 years is just a long time. I recently noticed that the seat metal legs on my '98 are rusting! It has never had the windows open during rain, and there's not a trace of rust anywhere else on the interior (that i've noticed) but the legs... didn't expect that, going to have to pull the seat out and slap some paint on.

 

[donalds]

We should do a pole ...haw many times have you unplug and plugged back in that resister or wiggled it .... because it don't do ____..... and I stress it may work for a day lol ever seen a old man spay Wd in a distributor cap to keep the moisture and keeps the corrosion at bay
Well I'm happy mine has been fixed
Maybe it was the unplugging and plugging a million times and that one time I sprayed it it magically fixed itself by the way it's a weather pack type connector dust can't get in unless it has a transporter lol

 

[toypaseo]

Dust and vibration is probably a big issue with these, after a bunch of years, not when new.

If there is a heat shrink tubing that is big enough to go over the connectors, and will shrink down to seal both ends, that would be helpful.

Maybe use a self-fusing stretch tape Nashua is one brand.

 

[410Fortune]

sorry not trying to debate....just share information
WD40 is good PB blaster is a little better because less residue is present after use.... its personal preference, just like brands of oil.

LOTS of good tips in here
Not sure I would call it a "debate" leave that to the presidential hopefuls

 

[donalds]

I had to

Here is a crude test I found because I'm interested now

 

[sgjii]

WD40 and PB Blaster can be used for contact cleaning. I would not suggest dielectric grease as it is actually a non-conductive insulator and can exacerbate delicate electrical connection issues.

The issue appears to be oxidation of the metal contacts over time. Very common in all sorts of electrical and electronics. Moisture enters the vehicle constantly in the form of humid air, damp shoes/clothes on a rainy day, melting snow on floor mats, going through the car wash plus a million more.

As one poster postulated, a contact cleaner and then sealing the connection with heat shrink, tape or other mechanical means.

Caig Laboratories Deoxit D5 is an excellent choice. Cleans and preserves the contacts. Spray in the connectors, work them together a few times and done. Similar to WD40 or PB Blaster's shorter term effects but is actually meant for the purpose and leaves a protective contact coating behind. Readily available on Amazon. Not cheap but work every penny. Use it sparingly as you don't need to make the contacts "swim" in liquid. I have had my same small can for years and solved many a sketchy connection or switch.

The extra step of mechanically sealing the connection with heat shrink or other, could be overkill.

One thing I don't see anybody mention is that we are dealing with the airbag. I would recommend taking all airbag precautions, following the manufacturer's steps for servicing the airbag system, to avoid an accidental discharge of the system.

 

[koda2000]

What about spraying contact cleaner on the contacts then using heat shrink tubing over the plug to keep the dust & dirt out?

I don't believe just soldering the wires together w/out a resistor would work. The monitor is looking for a specific resistance to be fooled into thinking there's a side air bag present. As far as dust getting into the connector, as @donalds says, it has a weather tight seal. If a weather tight sealed connector can work on the exterior of a vehicle being exposed to moister, rain and salt (no salt in my environment) I think it can survive a mostly dry interior. I think it's just that the contacts get loose from the seat being adjusted and from perhaps from getting kicked by peoples feet, or items like toys left on the floor. I'm skeptical that having sprayed something on the contacts will help, but it seems to have worked for @donals so it's worth a try. If the light stays off for a month I'll be on my way to becoming a believer. If it doesn't work I'll measure the resistance of the cap and look for a resistor to wire in, shrink wrap it and stuff it under the carpet.

 

[donalds]

.thought I would post a pic or three of the connector in question

 

[BrooklynBay]

When I was talking about soldering the connections, I was referring to soldering the connections of the resistor directly onto the wiring, and not eliminating the resistor.

 

[koda2000]

Update:
It's been 8 days since I WD40'd the side airbag delete resistors and their connectors. So far the airbag light has not come back on. Here's hoping it continues to stay off. If it makes it for 30 days I'll start believing in this hack.