DIY Airbag replacement

Yendred

Folks,
Amongst the other niggling issues with my car (99 Mondeo 2.0 Si if you must know) is the airbag light flashing. There's only one in the car - in the steering wheel.
According to the Haynes manual replacing it seems like a simple procedure, assuming that's the cause.
Am I kidding myself that I could do this without grief? How would I go about finding a replacement seeing as I suppose yer average postal service employee etc wouldn't like to handle something with explosives inside?
-Yendred the slightly intrepid

maidhc

It is probably an airbag sensor rather than the airbag itself.

If it was my car I would probably just take the bulb out of the dash and try and keep between the ditches.

mondeoman

Yendred wrote:

Folks,
Amongst the other niggling issues with my car (99 Mondeo 2.0 Si if you must know) is the airbag light flashing. There's only one in the car - in the steering wheel.
According to the Haynes manual replacing it seems like a simple procedure, assuming that's the cause.
Am I kidding myself that I could do this without grief? How would I go about finding a replacement seeing as I suppose yer average postal service employee etc wouldn't like to handle something with explosives inside?
-Yendred the slightly intrepid

under the drivers seat you will find a yellow connector,disconnect the connector then reconnect it,this normally stops the A/B light from flashing,it happens to mine with water gets in form when i forget to close the sunroof.:rolleyes:

bazz26

Mondeo had front driver and passenger air bags since 1996/97 afaik.

mondeoman

bazz26 wrote:

Mondeo had front driver and passenger air bags since 1996/97 afaik.

You could be right Bazz26,
if thats the case then the connector for the passenger Airbag will be under the Pass' Side Seat;)

ZiabR

Aye i am thinking it is the sensor rather than the airbag itself but for something as important as the airbag, i would rather professionals dealt with it than trying it myself.

I have a 99 Mondeo and it has driver and passenger airbags.

mondeoman

logik wrote:

Aye i am thinking it is the sensor rather than the airbag itself but for something as important as the airbag, i would rather professionals dealt with it than trying it myself.

I have a 99 Mondeo and it has driver and passenger airbags.

It a common problem on 96-00 mondeos,when mine started flashing i brought it to a main Ford dealer & that was the first thing the mechanic checked(yellow connectors under both seats) & it never flashed again.

Captain Slow IRL

I served my time in a ford garage - seen countless mondeos come in with srs light on, disconnect yellow connector under driver and passenger seats, spray with wd40 and reconnect - bobs your uncle, fanny's your aunt:D

colm_mcm

Does it need to be hooked up to computer to reset?

Captain Slow IRL

no, it'll extinguish when you turn the ignition on (make sure ignition off when cleaning connectors)
if it doesn't go out, it could be a broken wire at the connectors or another fault with the system.

Mr.Diagnostic

land9 wrote:

no, it'll extinguish when you turn the ignition on (make sure ignition off when cleaning connectors)
if it doesn't go out, it could be a broken wire at the connectors or another fault with the system.

Did you really serve your time in a ford dealership?

Ignition off will not stop the airbag firing. Turning the ignition off will not drain the caps in the SRS ECU. It will also not protect the circuit from stray voltages. Do you know how small a voltage can set an airbag off?

The SRS module has a non volatile memory so it will not reset with an ignition cycle.

@OP. The car needs to be looked at by someone who can diagnose the problem safely.

mondeoman

op-Have a look here.a bit more info-http://www.mirez.co.uk/Airbag.htm

colm_mcm

I wouldn't go messing with airbags anyway. bring it to a dealer.

Mr.Diagnostic

colm_mcm wrote:

I wouldn't go messing with airbags anyway. bring it to a dealer.

or even better, bring it to someone who actually knows what they are doing

maidhc

Mr.Diagnostic wrote:

or even better, bring it to someone who actually knows what they are doing

Or better again, just ignore the problem.

Mr.Diagnostic

maidhc wrote:

Or better again, just ignore the problem.

Ahh.......you must be a time served dealer tech too

colm_mcm

A very small pliers is useful for crushing small bulbs and LED's

Captain Slow IRL

Mr.Diagnostic wrote:

Did you really serve your time in a ford dealership?

Ignition off will not stop the airbag firing. Turning the ignition off will not drain the caps in the SRS ECU. It will also not protect the circuit from stray voltages. Do you know how small a voltage can set an airbag off?

The SRS module has a non volatile memory so it will not reset with an ignition cycle.

@OP. The car needs to be looked at by someone who can diagnose the problem safely.

Yes I did. I've done countless mondeo's with this problem - customer is charged €40 + vat for a 2 minute job, while they're left waiting for over a half hour in the showroom.

If it is the connectors under the seat, the light WILL extinguish when the ignition is switched back on.

You're right - the battery should be disconnected 10 minutes prior to any work done on srs system. Millivolts - but he's not going bridging the terminals and wd40 won't short anything.

Darragh29

Is the Airbag light flashing or staying on solid? If you have a flashing Airbag warning light, count the number of times it flashes as this can point to the problem. For example a problem I saw recently on a Ford Puma, the Airbag light was flashing 4 times and stopping and then flashing 4 times again, which means there is a problem with SRS tensioner in the drivers seat. If you can see a sequence to the flashing, post it up here...

Yendred

Darragh29 wrote:

Is the Airbag light flashing or staying on solid? If you have a flashing Airbag warning light, count the number of times it flashes as this can point to the problem. For example a problem I saw recently on a Ford Puma, the Airbag light was flashing 4 times and stopping and then flashing 4 times again, which means there is a problem with SRS tensioner in the drivers seat. If you can see a sequence to the flashing, post it up here...

Actually it is blinking four times, pausing, blinking four times, pausing, blinking four times, pausing, blinking four times, pausing, blinking four times, pausing, blinking four times, pausing, blinking four times, pausing then blinking four times. I ran out of paper before the end of the sequence.

I was going to replace the driver's seat because it's a bucket seat with a shaky back. If the tensioner (which I didn't think I had!) is part of the seat then I have another problem... :mad:

Can anyone reccommend a good mechanic who could deal with this near Stillorgan? The main sdealer is just a little too dear for me.

-Yendred.

Yendred

mondeoman wrote:

op-Have a look here.a bit more info-http://www.mirez.co.uk/Airbag.htm

I will do.
Thanks.