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I have an intermittent airbag light. I've replaced the clockspring before and I show no other symptoms beyond the light that would suggest it's bad again.
My question: is there another drbiii equivalent scanner that can read this or do I have to take this to Chrysler for a specific drbiii diagnostic?
A DRBIII would be nice? But definitely not necessary. Most Snap-On products will do the job of scanning codes and data perfectly. Launch will do the same. Autel, for whatever reason, doesn't play nice with DCJR products that old. :silly:
would there be a launch scanner thats affordable a homeowner can use for SRS?
i was going to purchase a Lemur BlueDriver, but after talking to them it did not host that ability for my vehicle, though it can for others.
If i can purchase a scanner that will cost what a shop diagnostic does, and itll read what the SRS issue is, airbag squib, clockspring......then I will likely do this myself, preferably.
Do you think there is something compatible in this price range, likely 150$ for the costliest diagnostic( stealership)?
I ask as in likeness of the blue driver, I wouldnt know which scanners will work for my vehicle as I thought when they say they can scan srs on obdii, i thought that meant any vehicle. In the case of BD, I thought wrong.
Thanks for the help, this is great progress from what I was fearing (stealership only) boooo lol
There are a small hand full of good youtube mechanics that videos on the details of different scan tools as well as their cost. That might help you out.
You might be surprised how many times I've gotten brand new defective parts right off the shelf. I know that you said that you replaced the clock spring, but I'd check it anyway.
Disconnected it on both ends and do a continuity check on each individual strand while turning the steering wheel lock to lock 4 or 5 times in a row.
[WARNING]: Make sure you fully unplug both end of the clock spring before testing it! Otherwise you could set off the airbag in the steering wheel.
You could also try disconnecting the airbag harness under the steering colum and substituting in the using 2 ohm ressistor -- the airbag controller should be fooled by this.
I should add quite offten under seat connectors for side impact air bags and seat betlt pre-tensioners are a source of intermittent air bag warning lights -- especially if the seat is moved or there are object loose in the rear footwell.
" We're trying to plug a hole in the universe, what are you doing ?. "
(Walter Bishop Fringe TV show)
I also once fixed an air bag warning light problem in a large sedan ( don't remember the type ).
as Andy.MacFadyen said, the passenger seat wadded up the carpet under the seat and disconnected one of the airbag connectors that was located under the passenger seat.
Well guys Ive been sitting on this issue for a long while, currently Im digging into other door wiring harness issues for the locks so this issue is kind of back on the list.
I havent gotten any good youtube videos that said any affordable diy'er scanner will scan srs airbag codes for my 1999 Jeep XJ, the light is STILL intermittent, and ive written a few companies to ask. The blue driver wont, the launch might (150$+)
I went back to the posts above, I do have a seatbelt switch wire, but no tone or indication of the seat belt being buckled or not, you say this can effect airbag lights?
I wouldn't worry too much about buying a scanner to fix this. You can most likely find out what you need to know just by doing manual checks in the right places with a multi-meter.
Just DON'T accidentally set the air bag off!
Unplug it and replace it with a 2ohm resistor ( as mentioned above ). That way you won't accidentally set it off by measuring resistance ( or continuity ) with the multi-meter
What if the issue is the airbag squib itself?
I can check the wiring for continuity, however can the airbag itself be what is causing the intermittent airbag light? If so how and what am I looking for here?
Thank you for getting back to me on this old thread.
If it happens fairly often, you can check for a bad airbag detonator by simply replacing them all with 2 ohm resistors.
If the problem goes away, plug the air bags back in one at a time until the problem comes back. Make sure you test them all ( you could have more than one bad air bag ).
I would not even consider actually testing the air bag detonator itself. It's too dangerous to be worth it.
Do you have a method to reset the air bag controller and get trouble codes out of it ( via the air bag light )?
On my 90's Civic's / Accord's there is yellow 2 pin connector clipped into the main fuse box for that purpose.
You can short the pins to get a trouble code ( blink code from the air bag light ).
You can also short the pins in a pattern ( following the air bag light ) to reset it.
Also, I don't know if this applies to your make / model / year
But... apparently there was a problem with Jeep airbag controllers that could sometimes randomly detonate the airbag in your face. The problem does not seem to be the module itself, but rather the location of the module ( under the driver seat ). It gets exposed to too many nasty elements ( liquids ) and corrodes.
I'd look under the driver seat as priority #1
Last edit: 2 years 3 months ago by hakachukai. Reason: Mistaken. Correcting mis-information
Did some more research. Apparently the problem was not actually with the airbag module... but rather the location. It applied to the 97 XJ. Your's is a 99 so I would definitely check this!
Check to see if the air bag module is located under the driver seat. If it is, remove the seat and carefully inspect the airbag controller. You might find that it looks like this:
Relevant time codes ( in the video ):
13:57 ( shows the location and the problem )
30:37 ( Detailed autopsy of the airbag module )
i know for a fact that's its under my center console! I suppose ill need to order some 2ohm resistors to do this test mentioned above.
As per the question of can I clear airbag codes, no I can not, not scan tool or the sort.
DVM, a cheap O scope and a test light are all I have available.
ok, so while you are waiting for your 2 ohm resistors to ship in, the next step will be to identify all of your Saftey Restraint components ( aka your air bag system ).
How many air bags, where are they?
Do you have seat belt pretensioners, how many, where are they?
Identify your basic air bag wiring harness and trace it out.
Also a question. If you are not able to clear/reset your air bag light... how is it turning off at times?
Also a question. If you are not able to clear/reset your air bag light... how is it turning off at times?
These (older) systems only switch on the warning light when a fault is detected. They will stay on within the drive cycle, even when the fault condition disappears. On the next key cycle the light will stay off if no fault is present.
ABS warnings used to work the same, back then. No scanner needed to reset the system.
An expert is someone who knows each time more on each time less, until he finally knows absolutely everything about absolutely nothing.
The airbag light is very intermittent, but it's on every time I drive. It can turn on/off say 30 seconds apart or stay on for 5 minutes then off a few and back on again, there is no pattern to this. It is a little mote forgiving when the vehicleis very cold. It makes no sense, but I really need to make sure this safety feature is working properly. 2ohm resistors in the mail.
I believe I only have two front airbags and the these may connect to the clock spring and junction box to pcm. I'll have to look up the wiring diagram for the airbag system.
If you "really need to make sure this safety feature is working", you should take the vehicle to a automotive repair facility, get it over with for the peace of mind, I'm just saying
The vehicle is a 99, diagnostic alone is 150$ then labor + parts, and if a scanner cannot detect where the issue is the sdded time to hunt for the issue/ wires would be big money labor out here is 100+ an hour. I'm just not going to pay that much. I'm pretty handy and have literally replaced Everything on the vehicle other than what's In the dash and a power steering pump, so ide partly like to accomplish this myself.
I appreciate the thought though.
Another thing to think about: Make sure that your air bag safety system is actually safe. I.E. Make sure that if it goes off you're not going to get murdered by a defective air bag inflator that grenades in your face and buries a piece of sheet steel in your neck.
The two ohm resistors are a good place to start. The good news is that the problem happens very often. Since it happens so often, it will not take long to verify if it's fixed or not.
Well that's a bit of good news, I look forward to fixing this!
If I've read right the airbag system is only active when the light is off, so I guess I'm more worried about it not going off.
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