Airbag warning light

Slower than usual stop and go commuting on the freeway this morning and my airbag indicator lamp flashes a number of times before settling into a steady on. I braced myself for the impending explosion but nothing happened. The car is a 1996 Explorer Limited V8 with 139,000 relatively trouble free miles. Service manual advises taking the car to a Ford dealer immediately. Probably not a bad idea, but I'm hoping someone here can to tell me what might be going wrong. Thanks all, DE

Reply to
DE
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Airbag deplyment could happen. You should get it to your dealer. It could be as easy as corroded sensor but airbags are tricky and should not be fooled with unless you know EXACTLEY what you are doing. It is far more expensive to repack/replace your airbags than it is to have your dealer check it out.

Reply to
Silverbirdflyer

"Silverbirdflyer" wrote

Warning light didn't come on during evening commute. I'm gonna chalk it up to the weather. 26 degrees F on Saturday warmed to 66 degrees F on Tuesday. That's the ticket, the temperature changed.

We'll see, thanks.

Reply to
DE

Your airbag light came on... this is a device that can and will save your sorry soul. These systems are supposed to default to a "safe" mode.... but, your computer at home shouldn't crash either, right?

It's your forehead and your windshield and you can do whatever you want with either.... personally, I can't stand driving a vehicle with problems... especially anything safety related. That's my wife and my son out there in that truck.... they will be as safe as I can make them....

Reply to
Jim Warman

my airbag light has 'blinked' twice since I purchased it new, 5/2000.

the first time that it happened I called dealer and he said it was most likely cold weather related, probably not a good connection when temperature drops. Dealer said not to worry about it.

Each time that it happened, I stopped engine and restarted; it did not blink again. Both times the temp was in 20s.

So, should I worry about this?? Car does have side air bags also.

I have extended warranty, not thru Ford.

2000 Limited 2WD 5.0 V8 59000 miles, purchased new

It's your forehead and your windshield and you can do whatever you want with either.... personally, I can't stand driving a vehicle with problems... especially anything safety related. That's my wife and my son out there in that truck.... they will be as safe as I can make them....

Reply to
stevef

I really would not worry about it if it has only happened twice in 4 years and both times being quite cold out.

I think it would be safe to say the cold air was just affecting it.

If it starts happening frequently, bring it in.

Reply to
Teleplus Gatineau

This is all gong to be point of view... especially since I can just cart the scan tool outside at coffee break and read codes for free. All the same, I am extremely anal about safety related concerns.There is the assumption that your problem is related to the cold weather..... that it recurred (again in cold weather) APPEARS to bear out the assumption. My mind thinks pretty much in a straight line most of the time.

The problem occured in cold weather.... it is assumed that the cold weather caused the problem. The problem recurred in cold weather meaning our assumption is PROBABLY right. But we are still operating on assumptions.... do we have a pretensioner that could fail when we need it most? Is there a loose connection that could separate during a sudden decelleration? The only thing we KNOW is that the light has come on when it shouldn't......

Like I said... it's up to you. Your SA is not a tech... it's your forehead... and it's your family. It could very well be nothing critical but, as yet, that remains to be seen.

Funny, I just had a "flashback"..."Ya gotta help me out... my car's making a funny noise and I leave today for my holiday..." "How long has it been making this noise??"..... "Oh, 'bout 8 months or so...."...

Reply to
Jim Warman

Point taken Jim.

I think I will get a second opinion (from another dealer).

The problem occured in cold weather.... it is assumed that the cold weather caused the problem. The problem recurred in cold weather meaning our assumption is PROBABLY right. But we are still operating on assumptions.... do we have a pretensioner that could fail when we need it most? Is there a loose connection that could separate during a sudden decelleration? The only thing we KNOW is that the light has come on when it shouldn't......

Like I said... it's up to you. Your SA is not a tech... it's your forehead... and it's your family. It could very well be nothing critical but, as yet, that remains to be seen.

Funny, I just had a "flashback"..."Ya gotta help me out... my car's making a funny noise and I leave today for my holiday..." "How long has it been making this noise??"..... "Oh, 'bout 8 months or so...."...

Reply to
stevef

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