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Need help! Airbag light.

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Old 11-13-2017, 01:29 AM
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Need help! Airbag light.

96 Ford E-150 351w

When I bought my van, the airbad light was blinking. I had ignored it and i think the bulb went out. Now it has been beeping non stop.

So I pulled the dash and replaced the bulb.

Well that didn't do anything. The new bulb isn't working and the beeping continues. I've checked all fuses and they are ok.

Is there something I need to reset after changing the bulb or do I have a more serious problem?

TIA


-----



UPDATE:
So I've finally had enough and decided to just remove the airbag module

If anyone reads this, make sure you disconnect your battery and wait a few minutes while all the power is drained from the unit. Also I assume that your airbags will not work anymore.

Here are some pictures. The module is the blue box. In my van it was located under the steering wheel. I should've known better because the previous owner had some crazy CD changer, stereo setup and there are a massive amount of wires under the steering wheel. Probably the source of the problem but I am not knowledgeable enough to troubleshoot it.




This is the actual unit. I circled where the beeper actually is. As jeffreyclay stated, that is what you want to solder off.




As my van's final FU to me, the airbag light came back on and is now solid. LOL




Last question,

Now since I removed my Airbag module, can the airbag accidentally ever go off?

That has always worried be a little bit since I bought the van. The blinking airbag light always made me just a tad worried, not I would like to think that since the module is gone, the airbags will never accidentally deploy. I am ok with having no airbags. Drove cars without them before.
 
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Old 11-13-2017, 03:23 AM
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Air bag doesn't beep, and thank god for that, mines been on 10+ years, I think the seat belt is to blame, the beeping is when you open the door with the key in, mine did that while driving one day, thank god it corrected itself, I wanted to rip out that chime.
I changed my bulbs, are you sure you got it in right, sometimes the tab will go under the contact instead of on it, so it'll not work.
 
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Old 11-13-2017, 11:40 AM
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Originally Posted by maples01
Air bag doesn't beep, and thank god for that, mines been on 10+ years, I think the seat belt is to blame, the beeping is when you open the door with the key in, mine did that while driving one day, thank god it corrected itself, I wanted to rip out that chime.
I changed my bulbs, are you sure you got it in right, sometimes the tab will go under the contact instead of on it, so it'll not work.
Thanks for the response.

The thing is, the beeping sound started after the airbag light went out.

I replaced both of the 2 bulbs next to the right turn signal, they both are not turning on.

[X] [airbag] [rightturnsignal]

I'm not sure what the X light is. I'm guessing seat belt?

I took out the bulb and reseated them multiple times to be sure.

Maybe it is the seat belt. I'm get 5 beeps, 5 beeps then a long pause.

Sometimes it just continuously beeps until I stop the car.
 
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Old 11-13-2017, 12:34 PM
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Old 11-13-2017, 01:53 PM
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Originally Posted by WarrensE350
I've read that thread and it is what led me to replace the airbad bulb, which I have done, but the light doesn't come on and the beeping continues.

Do you know if I need to do something extra after replacing the bulb, like a reset?
 
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Old 11-13-2017, 01:54 PM
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Shortly after buying mine, I had to take it in to the dealer, the gauges would quit working, I can't recall what was done to fix it, but the warning lights in the cluster were out. You could have a short.
 
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Old 11-13-2017, 01:55 PM
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I don't know. Further in the thread it does mention a passenger seat connector that was loose, may be worth looking into something like that for a root cause.

Thought I saw somewhere about disconnecting the battery to reset things?
 
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Old 11-13-2017, 04:41 PM
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With the bulbs out I wonder that the bell could be due to the short causing the lights not to function.
 
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Old 11-13-2017, 05:03 PM
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I ran into the same thing on my '94. Light was randomly coming and going then it burned out. Beeps started and I read that it was a warning the the airbag system was disabled and it recognized a bad bulb. I too replaced the bulb only to find it not lighting and the darn beeping continued. Was about to go crazy from the "morse code like" beeping. I pulled the air bag control module (under dash, close to steering column) and unsoldered the beeper module and threw it away. Reconnected the control unit and continued to drive. Too big a headache to troubleshoot and I've already spent $350 on a clockspring (only the 94 model cost this much)
 
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Old 11-13-2017, 05:12 PM
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The light is on in my 99, I ignore it, I had to replace the belt buckle on the drivers seat because the stupid steel cable Ford used broke, never in all my years scouring junkyards have I ever seen a belt fail, guess thats why they went to steel cable, since it's to a piston unit Ford gave me a $300 quote, I told them I'm not buying a failed safety device, they're liable, I ended up going to the junkyard, they don't care. I figured my light is due to that but the extension cord connecting it, for my 6 way power seat could have a short, I just pray it's not the clock spring. I did have a bong driving years ago, I thought it was the door indicator, it quit, you guys have me worrying that it was the airbag sensor, how do you find out? Where are the codes for a blinking airbag light?
 
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Old 11-13-2017, 06:08 PM
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Originally Posted by jeffreyclay
I ran into the same thing on my '94. Light was randomly coming and going then it burned out. Beeps started and I read that it was a warning the the airbag system was disabled and it recognized a bad bulb. I too replaced the bulb only to find it not lighting and the darn beeping continued. Was about to go crazy from the "morse code like" beeping. I pulled the air bag control module (under dash, close to steering column) and unsoldered the beeper module and threw it away. Reconnected the control unit and continued to drive. Too big a headache to troubleshoot and I've already spent $350 on a clockspring (only the 94 model cost this much)
now that you mention clockspring.

Sometimes when turning a left my door lock switch engages. Is that a symptom of a bad clockspring?

Also, how simple is it to remove the beeper from the module? Is it pretty self explanatory or do you really need to know what to look for.

Also, if I don't mind driving without airbags (there already seems to be a problem), can I just pull a fuse?
 
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Old 11-13-2017, 06:12 PM
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Originally Posted by maples01
The light is on in my 99, I ignore it, I had to replace the belt buckle on the drivers seat because the stupid steel cable Ford used broke, never in all my years scouring junkyards have I ever seen a belt fail, guess thats why they went to steel cable, since it's to a piston unit Ford gave me a $300 quote, I told them I'm not buying a failed safety device, they're liable, I ended up going to the junkyard, they don't care. I figured my light is due to that but the extension cord connecting it, for my 6 way power seat could have a short, I just pray it's not the clock spring. I did have a bong driving years ago, I thought it was the door indicator, it quit, you guys have me worrying that it was the airbag sensor, how do you find out? Where are the codes for a blinking airbag light?
The airbag light in my 96 used to blink a code. I wish I would've remembered it. That was last on my list of things, but the bulb burned out.

It used to blink repeatedly while driving.
 
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Old 11-13-2017, 08:04 PM
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I fixed my blinking air bag light with a piece of Electrical tape.
 
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Old 11-13-2017, 08:37 PM
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Originally Posted by NICKSAN
I fixed my blinking air bag light with a piece of Electrical tape.
Once the bulb burns out you'll get the beeping like me.
 
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Old 11-13-2017, 09:38 PM
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Originally Posted by kennyfzj80
Once the bulb burns out you'll get the beeping like me.
Yes, but I`ll just turn up the volume on the radio, That fixes all types of odd sounds coming from any vehicle, I think its on page 19-4 of the haynes manual.
 


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