1996 Ford Taurus Airbag Light

Well my car has failed state inspection due to the air bag light being on. It blinks 4 times, pauses, then blinks again. I just bought this car used, but it has been in a car accident before [courtesy of carfax].

There is a "Lemon Law" in the State of MA saying that the original owners are responsible for the repairs if the car fails inspection. I've already gone back to them once [it needed struts], split the cost of the struts [it also failed due to that] and they were like, "We're not giving you any more money."

Anyway...
I was wondering if anybody knew what this flashing meant? Am I better off going to a Dealership for this problem or to a mechanic? The more I know about this issue, the less likely I will be ripped off.


Thanks.

Welcome to the forum.

The SRS light is flashing out a diagnostic code. You need to count the codes between pauses and post the exact codes here. The codes may repeat, you don't need to list the ones that repeat.

-Rod

i'm not sure what you mean. it goes 4 flashes - pause - 4 flashes pause... five times, and then it stays on.
does that help?

That is a lamp fault code 44. The description follows;

RH primary crash sensor not mounted to vehicle properly or ground circuit open.

These are known to lose ground at the mounting bracket. Remove the sensor and clean the bracket and mounting area on the vehicle to see if that helps.

woohoo!
sounds like fun!

how do i do that?

It is mounted on the passenger side of the radiator mount in the grill area. After you locate it, remove the wiring, then remove the mounting bolt. After it is removed, clean both mounting surfaces with sandpaper and re-install. If that does not cure it, let us know and we can get you a wiring diagram. Hope the cleaning cures it for you. The wire chasing is time consuming and very frustrating.

What does a 3 blink mean with the SRS light? I just bought a '99 Wagon and it repeats 3 blinks for a while and then stays solid. Thanks!

Welcome to the forum!

What are the blinks with respect to pauses? There should be long and short pauses. Short pauses designate the 10's position from the 1's position, and long pauses designate a switch between codes. For example, blink, blink, blink, short pause, blink, long pause, blink, blink, short pause, blink, blink, blink would designate codes 31 and 23.

-Rod

Welcome to the forum!

What are the blinks with respect to pauses? There should be long and short pauses. Short pauses designate the 10's position from the 1's position, and long pauses designate a switch between codes. For example, blink, blink, blink, short pause, blink, long pause, blink, blink, short pause, blink, blink, blink would designate codes 31 and 23.

-Rod

Thanks for the welcome....


I'll have to check when it does it again. This last time I started and drove it it did not light up at all for me.

Here's a site that will explain everything you need to know about airbag lights and resetting the system.
http://www.airbagsolutions.com/

This website gives you the procedure for diagnosing and resetting airbag lights. See if your car is listed here. Although it’s a pay site ($14.95/day), it’s a lot cheaper than going to the dealer
http://www.airbagsolutions.com/vehicles_list.aspx

On most vehicles, the airbag light should come on for @6 seconds, and then go off if the system is working properly. If there is a fault or a problem in the system, the light will remain illuminated, or flash continuously. If the airbag light does not work properly, some vehicles have an audible tone that sounds indicating a problem with the airbag light system. When the light is on (or the tone is sounding), the airbag will NOT deploy, even in an accident.
The flashing light on your car is telling the answer you need. On some vehicles, the light is flashing a two digit code. Once you know the code, you can most likely repair it yourself. There are fairly easy procedures that most people are capable of repairing.
Airbagsolutions.com has the fault code charts to tell you what is wrong and how to fix it!

Some vehicle manufacturers accommodate systems without a scanner (like Toyota, Lexus, Nissan, Infinity, Honda, Acura, Ford, Lincoln, Mazda & Mercury) and some require a scan tool.

Check out these websites also for more info on airbag systems and the light.
http://blog.airbagsolutions.com/archive/2007/11/18/why-is-my-airbag-light-on.what-should-i-do.aspx

Lastly, check your vehicle for recalls through this link also:
http://www.airbagsolutions.com/nhtsa.aspx

On a 1996 Taurus, what is air bag code 37?

There is no airbag flash code 37 for a 1996 Ford Taurus.
(ShoRod or Way2Old, please double check that if you have time)

Well, that's what's flashing. I replaced both air bags and control module with used units (hitting a deer is what started this). The sensors appeared to be ok. Related question, do I also need to replace the clock spring after air bag deployment? Noticed the cruise control is also not working, perhaps that's the only problem with the clock spring, if any.

I checked a variety of Ford models of that vintage and don't find a definition for an LFC of 37. Any chance you have access to a professional scan tool so you can get the full Body code rather than just the LFC? A code 32 would often indicate a bad clockspring....

I did a Google search for "Ford code 37" and got a few hits. This one (http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/107342-1999-explorer-airbag-code-37-a.html) seemed interesting.

-Rod

Thanks very much, I'll check the wiring under the pass seat. I'll also get it scanned as well, will report back once I know more...I'm planning to buy a scan tool, I own 6 cars (Taurus, 99 Mountaineer, 04 Jeep, 04 Ram truck, 05 Town and Country van, 07 Magnum), seems like something is always messed up...any recommendation on a device for this "fleet"?

That will depend a lot on what you want to spend and what you want to know from a scan tool. While I maybe haven't gotten my money's worth out of my OTC Genisys, it will scan all the systems on all the vehicles you list with the appropriate software. However, it won't be cheap.

The standard, commercial grade, scan tools are limited to only the powertrain system and won't access the ABS, airbag, radio, climate control, body computers, anti-theft systems, etc. If access to those is important to you, you'll need to go the professional route like the OTC, Snap-On, etc. You might be able to find a deal on one with the Domestic software updated through 2007 on eBay for a decent price.

-Rod

Thanks. I do want to be able to look at ABS, air bags, etc. I see there are some vendors (Auterra, etc) who offer software packages/upgrades that will run on a laptop and appear to be capable of doing all the diagnostics I would want to do. Would like to keep the tab under about $350 if possible.