Air Bag Light

[bigcoconut]

My 99 has had an intermittent problem for some time now. The Air Bag light comes on most of the time but not always. Last time it took it to the dealer they told me they had to replace the drivers seat belt because if a switch. Of course, now it is back. Any ideas out there?

[16th hippy]

postin the code in the system would actually help. some seatbelts have a "pre-tensioner" built into them that fire in case of an accident. some have it built into the buckle on the seat. don't know what yours has cause i never replaced a seat belt on a venture, but the C6 corvette has it on the buckle. the inertia locks prevent you from going forward anymore, and the pre-tensioner retracts the belt to tighten it more to help prevent injury. this is a serious safety item and would get it fixed ASAP. would take it to another shop for second opinion if you feel it's needed.

[Efix]

I had the same problem on my 2000 Venture and I found that the wire for the side airbag on the driver seat was pinched under the seat (where it goes from under the seat to the side) causing the problem.

[dugan50]

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. Most systems can only be diagnosed using a scanner designed for the airbag system, however some use flash codes to indicate the problem. The scanners at Auto Zone or the ones that sell for @ $50 will not access the airbag system, only the engine systems (check engine light).
This website gives you the procedure for diagnosing and resetting some systems without a scanner. Some vehicle manufacturers accommodate that (like Toyota, Lexus, Nissan, Infinity, Honda, Acura, Ford, Lincoln, Mazda & Mercury) and some require a scan tool. http://www.airbagsolutions.com/
Check out these websites also for more info on airbag systems and the light.
http://blog.airbagsolutions.com/arch...ould-i-do.aspx
http://www.airbagsolutions.com/resources.aspx
http://blog.airbagsolutions.com/
Check out this scanner for AIRBAG>>>It’s the cheapest one I’ve found!
http://www.airbagsolutions.com/scanner.aspx

[bigcoconut]

Sorry for the delay, this is my wifes car and for me to get to drive it for a day requires a lag in the kids schedules which doesn't happen very often. Anyways, tried a couple of auto parts stores and none of them could read the Air Bag codes. I'm hoping this weekend to get some one on one time with the van to check the seat wiring like Efix mentioned. It is still an intermittent problem, the light is not always on. I drove it to work yesterday with no light, but when I went to lunch the light was on the whole time. I'll get back with what I find later.

Thanks for all the info, you folks are great...

[jhong1226]

on my 2000 it does this but i found out that its a wire underneath the passenger seat, when the light comes on i always try moving a bit the wires there, then the abs light turns off. I would check to see if that will work.

[bigcoconut]

Well, it took a little longer but I believe I have found a relationship between the air bag light and the drivers shoulder harness belt retracting. For the last week I have been making sure that the seat belt retracts all of the way, for awhile now it seems to get stuck since the retract mechanism doesn't appear to be a strong as it used to be. Since I've been doing this the air bag light has not turned on at all, except for when you first start the car.

Is there a sensor in the seat belt that tells the air bag mechanism to reset?

[16th hippy]

there is a sensor/switch in there that lets the SDM(sensing/diagnostic module)(air bag module) know that the seat belt is fastened and/or stretched out a bit. in all honesty, i personally would replace the seat belt for safety reasons. as far as i know, the sensor.switch is not replaceable by itself, but also like i said, if the retractor is not "good", then it should all be replaced.