So, i just bought this 2011 F150 XLT extended cab 5.0L , 70,0000 mile. After driving it 2 or 3 days the airbag light came on. I watched half a dozen utube videos showing all the little tricks to get it to go off. I checked and cleaned the connections under the seats and the ones in the door at the seat belt retractor. (each several times) Also checked the fuse in the panel under the dash. Nothing has worked.
Today I borrowed my brothers Launch Millennium 90 scanner. I ran the scan and the data showed " no DTC's.
However in the continuous memory it showed 2 codes. B1211 ( Driver seatbelt retractor pretensioner deployment control ) , and B1214. ( passenger seatbelt retractor pretensioner deployment control )

No active codes but the light is still on???? I pulled the battery cables to reset the light twice. No change.

I have the repair history of this truck and 2 years ago there was a code for B1214. ( passenger seatbelt retractor pretensioner deployment control ). They replaced the seat belt assembly and it appears to have fixed the problem then.

Should I guess that the current problem is the B1211 code and do the same? Thanks - Jeff

 

Looking at datastream on the scanner , the Driver Stage 1 deployment control resistance is 2.80 ohms, Stage 2 is 2.95 ohms
The passenger Stage 1 deployment control resistance is 2.25, the stage 2.25 ohms

Both sides are withing acceptable limits right?

I'm stuck here and dont want to start buying parts and throwing them at the problem.

 

nevermind, I was looking at the wrong data point.

Driverside pretensioner deployment control resistance is - 0 ohms ( passing right?)
Passenger pretensioner deployment control resistance is 65.53 ohms

gonna take the passenger door apart and check the connections there. That was the side replaced by the repair shop 2 years ago.

 

soooo, took the door apart, checked and cleaned the yellow connector on the seat belt tensioner - no change.
Read the resistance of the 2 pin yellow connect on the seat belt tensioner , it measured 2 ohms ( correct, right?)
cleaned the connection again and put some dielectric grease on it and buttoned it back up - read the live data again and it is still is reading 65.53 ohms

looked at the wires going across and out the door, no issues. removed the step plate to look at the wires going back to the dash ..... started pouring out so I am done.

 

nothing but crickets huh?

 

These dwgs are for 2013 but it looks like there should be resistance when tested. You might try back probing passenger side for voltage back to module then drivers side voltage back to module and see what you get. Also see how each assy looks by taking the cover off the seatbelt retractors and look for broken or burned parts. That's kind of an unusual code to be getting.

I found this in a Chilton manual about the 2011...

"Safety Belt Retractor PretensionersThe pretensioner is a pyrotechnic device that deploys when activated by the Restraints Control Module (RCM) to remove excess safety belt webbing from the shoulder and lap safety belt in the event of an impact. If a deployment of the safety belt retractor pretensioners occurs, a new assembly must be installed."

This infers the RCM isn't happy with the signal it is getting back from the pretensioner "pyrotechnic" device. Use caution when testing or something might go boom.

 

Thanks for the response Quirk. I now think both pretensionser measurements are out of spec. From what I saw on line the resistance should be between 1.7 and 3.3 ohms. On the current data on the scanner mine are reading 0 shorted, and 65.53 ohms to high. Although when I read the resistance of the pretensioner itself on the passenger side it looks about right at 1.9 - 2.0 ohms. Not sure how the reading from the RCM is 65.53?? Maybe a pinched/broken wire? For the other side reading 0, possibly one of the shorting bars in the connector is still touching when plugged in?
I ordered some 2.3 ohm resistors. I am going to bypass the pretensioners on both sides just to see what I get for a measurement. If the data doesnt change I am thinking it may be the RCM. Although replacing that means I would need to get the new one reprogrammed.

 

so, day 3 in the books. plugged the 2 resistors in the place of the right and left front seatbelt pretensioners. Left side read 2.5, right side read 3.4 ohms.
By the way, I was reading the wrong data points, My truck does not have seatbelt pretensioners, but has Seatbelt Retractor pretensioners. My scanner does not differentiate between models, Just Ford- USA.
So, I tore the whole truck apart following the harness to make sure there were no issues. Got to the RCM, the resistance between the two ends was less than .5 ohms. Plugged everything back in, both sides read 2.5 ohms. Took the resistors out and plugged the cables back into the pretensioner loads and both still read 2.5 ohms. Problem solved, how? I have no idea but I still have a airbag light on.
Went down to the local mechanic and he read it with his scanner. He saw all of the codes that were fixed, and 1 new one, B0028:13 Passenger side airbag deployment control resistance - open circuit. Which could mean any part of the passenger restraint system. Looked at all of the connectors and pins on the passenger side again. No change.
Read the right rear seatbelt pretensioner - it was .30 ohms. Removed the cable, put a resistor in place and it read 2.5 ohms. Removed the resistor and plugged it back into the pretensioner and it still read 2.5 ohms. Another Miracle fix. Didnt fix the right side problem though. Airbag light still on. Just for laughs the " Passenger airbag Off " light came on. Looked in the system and it shows " Passenger airbag disabled "
Wow, I'm done. At leaST for today

 

The light is off !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Woo Hoo. I got some help from a ford guy on " Just Answer " He looked at the Ford trouble shooting guide and the schematic and narrowed it down to the middle right side airbag. I pinned everything out in that circuit and found it was the 2 pins on the large connector under the seat making intermittent contact.

Hope this helps somebody. I definitely learned a bit about the SRS system.

 

Wow that's great! I'll have to keep "Just Answer" in mind. Thanks for letting us know the cure!