I have a 2005 Ram Dakota and the air bag off light on the passenger side and the air bag warning light in the dash came on and stay on.I know this isn't motorcycle related but I don't trust my dealer(big surprise)and I can't find any answers on the Ram Truck forums,so,I'm hoping someone here has had experience with these trucks and can give me an idea what to do.
most likely you have either a seatbelt pre-tentioner bad, a connector the needs cleaned up (unplugged & plugged back in over and over usually works),or you leave stuff on your passenger seat alot & now it reads 'negative weight' when it's removed. your dealer is prob yer best bet...
99savage;The passenger light only comes on if there is something too lite to trigger the air bag normally,but now its on all the time,it doesn't matter if no one is in the seat or if there is a full size adult in it.Aesquire;I think you may be correct when you say the switch under the seat could be bad,thats what I was thinking also.Can the air bag lights on be checked/diagnosed with an OBD reader? Panhead-dan;I service my own vehicles always,I don't remember stealing the air bags,but you never know!!! Thanks for all the help,this is more than I got from the Dakota Forum!!By the way I don't trust my dealer at all,I may have to drive the 30 miles to the next nearest dealer.
Well I had a poke about in Dodgetalk & it seems to be an uncommon but not unheard of fault.
One thing that maybe worth trying though, disconnect the battery, leave for a while (15 mins-overnight) then jump the battery cables together WHILE DISCONNECTED FROM THE BATTERY to make sure it's totally powered down, then reconnect & let the system reboot.
Airbag module should be under the dash on top of the trans hump if you need to check connections.
I'm pretty handy with most things automotive. That said, if I thought I had a problem with my car's air bags, I would take it to a dealer. Those things are too expensive to fiddle with in the driveway. YMMV.
Hootowl;I agree they are expensive if it all goes wrong,I was hoping to avoid the dealer,they are worse than my Buell dealer was.I may just have to bite the bullet and take it to them any way.Thanks for all of the help,maybe this weekend I'll try disconnecting the battery like Mr-grumpy suggested,if that doesn't work,its off to the dealership.
I have a 2005 Dakota which I bought new. During the first year I owned it, the airbag waring lights came on for no apparent reason. I tried to figure out what was wrong by looking under the seat for disconnected wires. In the process of checking the wires, I removed some cleaning rags and other junk from under the seat. Everything seemed to be in order, so I turned on the engine and lo and behold the air bag warning lights did not come on. Ever since then I've been superstitious about putting stuff under the seat. And ever since then I haven't had problems with the air bag lights. The logic side of my brain says it's probable there is something goofy with the seat sensor switch in your truck.
Bolthead you're probably right,there is something goofy with the sensors,but, I don't know what.I tried disconnecting the battery,while it was disconnected,I pulled the connectors off the switches to see if they were corroded,everything looked okay,so I hooked it all back up,turned on the key,and,no difference.Guess its off to the dealer.BTW,I hate air bags,my wife was in a minor accident a few years ago,the air bag deployed hitting her in the face like a Mike Tyson punch,put her head through the driver side window.She has had problems with her neck since then.That was 12 years ago,BTW,the people in the other car(older no air bags)had no injuries.
I was first one at, and watched it happen from 2 cars back in line, a pretty kinetic car crash this year, and was very impressed by the performance of the many airbags in a Toyota Corolla. A young lady ( toyota ) Pavloved forward at a green light and an old dude ran his red, ripping the front clip into a jillion plastic bits scattered over half a football field of pavement, shortened the car to the door frame, and she was alive, shaken, and not even begun to be hurting. ( banged up leg injuries, as typical, but head still attached, breathing, and conscious. )
Pretty Impressive, they sure have improved those dang things.
I'm waiting for the crash foam system from "Demolition Man". ( that Wesley Snipes film )
I'm not trying to start an argument about air bags. They are an evolving technology, and people can, have and will be hurt by them.
Think of it as having a cannon in your car designed to hit you before you hit it, and do as much less more damage from impact as possible, while trying be be "softer" than the steering wheel and windshield.................. while still hitting you faster than the crash itself.
There have been, and will be, people who are hurt by safety gear, helmets, seatbelts, etc. but, all in all, they usually help.
Airbags sure can be psychologically different, since they are an active system, not passive restraints or armor.
So............ I bet Audi will be first with the Foam. Your guess?
I'd take it to the dealer if you've rebooted the car and that didn't help.
The airbag light is on because you have an active fault in the system, and code(s) are stored. These codes are very specific and tell you exactly why the computer has turned on the lights and disabled the system. Here are the codes for a 2005 Dakota airbag system, each code has a flowchart. Until you retrieve the airbag codes, you are guessing. My guess is a woodchuck ate the 77 connector.
DIAGNOSTIC CODE INDEX
B1203 SRS WARNING INDICATOR CIRCUIT/PERFORMANCE
B1204 PASSENGER AIRBAG INDICATOR CIRCUIT LOW
B1205 PASSENGER AIRBAG INDICATOR CIRCUIT HIGH
B1206 PASSENGER AIRBAG INDICATOR CIRCUIT OPEN
B1207 PASSENGER AIRBAG INDICATOR CIRCUIT SHORTED TOGETHER
B1B00 DRIVER AIRBAG SQUIB 1 CIRCUIT LOW
B1B01 DRIVER AIRBAG SQUIB 1 CIRCUIT HIGH
B1B02 DRIVER AIRBAG SQUIB 1 CIRCUIT OPEN
B1B03 DRIVER AIRBAG SQUIB 1 CIRCUIT SHORTED TOGETHER
B1B04 DRIVER AIRBAG SQUIB 2 CIRCUIT LOW
B1B05 DRIVER AIRBAG SQUIB 2 CIRCUIT HIGH
B1B06 DRIVER AIRBAG SQUIB 2 CIRCUIT OPEN
B1B07 DRIVER AIRBAG SQUIB 2 CIRCUIT SHORTED TOGETHER
B1B08 PASSENGER AIRBAG SQUIB 1 CIRCUIT LOW
B1B09 PASSENGER AIRBAG SQUIB 1 CIRCUIT HIGH
B1B0A PASSENGER AIRBAG SQUIB 1 CIRCUIT OPEN
B1B0B PASSENGER AIRBAG SQUIB 1 CIRCUIT SHORTED TOGETHER
B1B0C PASSENGER AIRBAG SQUIB 2 CIRCUIT LOW
B1B0D PASSENGER AIRBAG SQUIB 2 CIRCUIT HIGH
B1B0E PASSENGER AIRBAG SQUIB 2 CIRCUIT OPEN
B1B0F PASSENGER AIRBAG SQUIB 2 CIRCUIT SHORTED TOGETHER
B1B18 LEFT SIDE CURTAIN SQUIB 1 CIRCUIT LOW
B1B19 LEFT SIDE CURTAIN SQUIB 1 CIRCUIT HIGH
B1B1A LEFT SIDE CURTAIN SQUIB 1 CIRCUIT OPEN
B1B1B LEFT SIDE CURTAIN SQUIB 1 CIRCUIT SHORTED TOGETHER
B1B20 RIGHT SIDE CURTAIN SQUIB 1 CIRCUIT LOW
B1B21 RIGHT SIDE CURTAIN SQUIB 1 CIRCUIT HIGH
B1B22 RIGHT SIDE CURTAIN SQUIB 1 CIRCUIT OPEN
B1B23 RIGHT SIDE CURTAIN SQUIB 1 CIRCUIT SHORTED TOGETHER
B1B28 1st ROW DRIVER SEAT BELT PRETENSIONER CIRCUIT LOW
B1B29 1ST ROW DRIVER SEAT BELT PRETENSIONER CIRCUIT HIGH
B1B2A 1st ROW DRIVER SEAT BELT PRETENSIONER CIRCUIT OPEN
B1B2B 1st ROW DRIVER SEAT BELT PRETENSIONER CIRCUIT SHORTED TOGETHER
B1B2C 1st ROW PASSENGER SEAT BELT PRETENSIONER CIRCUIT LOW
B1B2D 1st ROW PASSENGER SEAT BELT PRETENSIONER CIRCUIT HIGH
B1B2E 1st ROW PASSENGER SEAT BELT PRETENSIONER CIRCUIT OPEN
B1B2F 1st ROW PASSENGER SEAT BELT PRETENSIONER CIRCUIT SHORTED TOGETHER
B1B70 UP-FRONT LEFT SATELLITE ACCELERATION SENSOR INTERNAL
B1B71 UP-FRONT RIGHT SATELLITE ACCELERATION SENSOR INTERNAL
B1B72 LEFT SIDE SATELLITE ACCELERATION SENSOR 1 INTERNAL
B1B75 RIGHT SIDE SATELLITE ACCELERATION SENSOR 1 INTERNAL
B1B78 PASSENGER SEAT WEIGHT SENSOR 3 - LEFT FRONT PERFORMANCE
B1B79 PASSENGER SEAT WEIGHT SENSOR 3 - LEFT FRONT INPUT CIRCUIT LOW
B1B7A PASSENGER SEAT WEIGHT SENSOR 3 - LEFT FRONT INPUT CIRCUIT HIGH
B1B7D PASSENGER SEAT WEIGHT SENSOR 2 - RIGHT FRONT PERFORMANCE
B1B7E PASSENGER SEAT WEIGHT SENSOR 2 - RIGHT FRONT INPUT CIRCUIT LOW
B1B7F PASSENGER SEAT WEIGHT SENSOR 2 - RIGHT FRONT INPUT CIRCUIT HIGH
B1B82 PASSENGER SEAT WEIGHT SENSOR 4 - LEFT REAR PERFORMANCE
SSSOOOO,looks like I take it to the dealer,wish I knew a dealer I could trust.Anybody know a trustworthy dealer in northern Utah?.....BTW,I saw an interview with the former head engineer for Chrysler(Ithink)who was involved in the design of the air bag system.He said that instead of making cars with so many safety devices,that give drivers the sense they are invincible,we should be doing a better job of TEACHING PEOPLE TO DRIVE.I couldn't agree more!!!
A local shop that is keeps up with modern electronics should be able to read the codes for you.
But, shops that keep up with the time are far and few between.
FYI: if you have a OBD-II Ford and are getting brake lines or other major brake compotes replaced, verify that the shop has the software to cycle the abs system.
I have been active on Taurus board for a decade now and you will not believe how many people complain about braking problems due to improper brake flushing done by shops that don't keep up with the times.