Airbag light stays on

Tiny
ROCKENROGER
  • MEMBER
  • 2004 CHRYSLER SEBRING
  • 6 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 115,369 MILES
The air bag light stays on all the time. What might be the problem?
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Sunday, April 5th, 2009 AT 5:46 PM

2 Replies

Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,699 POSTS
Are there any other clues or symptoms? The airbag computer detected an electrical problem with the system, disabled it, and turned on the light to let you know about it. The mechanic will connect a hand-held computer called a scanner to retrieve the stored diagnostic fault code(s) that will lead him to the circuit with the problem.

The most common problem is the "clock-spring" under the steering wheel. It is a wound-up ribbon cable that eventually breaks on the ends. The horn and cruise control also have circuits in the ribbon cable, so they will also be affected eventually. If you try to replace the clock-spring yourself, be aware the tires and steering wheel must be straight ahead before you install the new one. If the steering wheel is off-center by one turn when the unit is installed, it will either become wound tight and tugged to where it breaks, or it will unwind so far it folds over on itself and will break soon from the hard flexing and bending.

Look for other things that do not work. There are always two fuses for the airbag computer. One provides power to turn on the warning light if the other one blows. It is common to run safety items off an airbag fuse to get your attention. For example, if the horn fuse blows, you would never know it until you needed it.

The airbag computer constantly monitors the integrity of the wiring to the impact sensors and the airbag itself. Problems with these circuits will set the appropriate fault code into the computer's memory.

Caradiodoc
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Wednesday, April 8th, 2009 AT 2:45 PM
Tiny
JCANORRO5
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
You probably will not believe this, but I had the same (airbag light on) problem on my 2002 Chrysler Sebring. I read an answer from a guy about it and tried it and lo and behold, it worked. The airbag light went out immediately. I simply went under both front seats and unplugged the connectors I found there. I squirted some WD40 into each one and plugged them back in. You probably do not believe me, as, I am having a hard time believing it too. I recently had a check engine light problem on a 2000 VW Beetle that read "oxygen sensor malfunction". Again, I crawled under the car and disconnected the plug and squirted WD40 into it. I started it and again, the check engine light went out on that too. It seems to be that when a vehicle gets so old, the connectors fail. Both were quick and easy fixes. We sometimes go for the more expensive, complicated fixes first when we should do the easy stuff first. John, Buffalo, NY.
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Thursday, July 12th, 2018 AT 12:25 PM

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