Need Electrical Help! (1 Viewer)

[SoCal80series]

I started another thread about his, but still need help. I cannot get the airbag light to turn off. I have replaced the airbag module, the clock spring, and the airbag. When I did an ohms test, only the airbag in the steering wheel needed replacement. I took it to an automotive electrician and he says all the components in the system pass the ohms test and all the wires from end-to-end are good. Each time when he resets the airbag light it blinks it turns off. When he restarts the car the airbag light blinks and stays on. This is the issue I've had when I reset it.

Does anyone know what could possibly be causing this to happen?

 

[Malleus]

Have you tried resetting the indicator lamp using the method in the service manual?

 

[SoCal80series]

No, what do you mean by that? Sorry for my ignorance. I did a search using "reset indicator lamp" in my digital FSM and it came back with nothing. I also searched the electrical FSM and it came up with the same result.

 

[tmxmotorsports]

There is a procedure i can't recall the exact process but it's at the diagnostic plug under the hood on passenger side using a paper clip and a ground wire do a search on Google should bring you back to mud with the answer.

 

[SoCal80series]

There is a procedure i can't recall the exact process but it's at the diagnostic plug under the hood on passenger side using a paper clip and a ground wire do a search on Google should bring you back to mud with the answer.

It has to be something else. I have reset the airbag light many times using the obd I port.

 

[tmxmotorsports]

It has to be something else. I have reset the airbag light many times using the obd I port.

Well that's all the information I have good luck hopefully someone has had the same issue and will chime in

 

[SoCal80series]

Well that's all the information I have good luck hopefully someone has had the same issue and will chime in

That's what I am for!

 

[Malleus]

@SoCal80series
The airbag indicator lamp reset procedure is truly ridiculous and very finickey. You can turn off the light, using the instructions in the service manual, but the instructions leave much to be desired.

What you're looking for, in the text is "DIAGNOSTICS – Supplemental Restraint System", or, more specifically, DTC Clearance, in the diagnostics section for the SRS. The procedure is on page DI–242 (this is the page for the 1996 sericve manual; the page numbers may be different for other year models – I haven't chekced that). If you explicitly follow the procedure, the light with go off, if there are no other electrical circuit problems. Exactly HOW you follow the instructions is important; IME you cannot ground the Tc and AB terminals independently, within the 0.2–seonds required. What I've done successfully is to connect the Tc and AB terminals to (2) separate wire leads, and leave the opposite ends of the leads exposed. Using a SEPARATE ground lead, from the BATTERY NEG TERMINAL, ground the terminals this way:
» Separate the (2) DLC1 leads by about 1/2–inch, in one hand, and, holding the NEG ground lead from the battery in the ther hand BETWEEN the two DLC1 leads, move the ground lead first to one and then the other terminal leads. Again, IME this is the only way you'll ever ground both of those terminals quickly enough to turn off the light.
» Have someone watch the combination meter display so you'll know when the light goes out. Stop then. Have a beer.
» It's important to use a ground from the battery, because if your ground is at all flaky, the command will not be sent to the ECM, and the light won't go off. I've tried this using every body ground in the engine compartment and none of them worked. FWIW, I haven't tried using the SRS ground from the FL, but it's much harder to get to than the battery ground, so it's of little use, IMO.

Before you do that, though, since you're having trouble with the system, you should review pages DI–274 and DI–276.

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You're (inadvertently) confusing the MIL (the engine malfunction indicator) with the SRS indicator, in your search.
FWIW, when you're using the Adobe CTRL+F function, you need to search for "indicator lamp", not "reset indicator lamp". Adobe's find command is literal; if you do not specify EXACTLY what's in the text, it won't find what you're looking for.

 

[SoCal80series]

@SoCal80series
The airbag indicator lamp reset procedure is truly ridiculous and very finickey. You can turn off the light, using the instructions in the service manual, but the instructions leave much to be desired.

What you're looking for, in the text is "DIAGNOSTICS – Supplemental Restraint System", or, more specifically, DTC Clearance, in the diagnostics section for the SRS. The procedure is on page DI–242 (this is the page for the 1996 sericve manual; the page numbers may be different for other year models – I haven't chekced that). If you explicitly follow the procedure, the light with go off, if there are no other electrical circuit problems. Exactly HOW you follow the instructions is important; IME you cannot ground the Tc and AB terminals independently, within the 0.2–seonds required. What I've done successfully is to connect the Tc and AB terminals to (2) separate wire leads, and leave the opposite ends of the leads exposed. Using a SEPARATE ground lead, from the BATTERY NEG TERMINAL, ground the terminals this way:
» Separate the (2) DLC1 leads by about 1/2–inch, in one hand, and, holding the NEG ground lead from the battery in the ther hand BETWEEN the two DLC1 leads, move the ground lead first to one and then the other terminal leads. Again, IME this is the only way you'll ever ground both of those terminals quickly enough to turn off the light.
» Have someone watch the combination meter display so you'll know when the light goes out. Stop then. Have a beer.
» It's important to use a ground from the battery, because if your ground is at all flaky, the command will not be sent to the ECM, and the light won't go off. I've tried this using every body ground in the engine compartment and none of them worked. FWIW, I haven't tried using the SRS ground from the FL, but it's much harder to get to than the battery ground, so it's of little use, IMO.

Before you do that, though, since you're having trouble with the system, you should review pages DI–274 and DI–276.

---

You're (inadvertently) confusing the MIL (the engine malfunction indicator) with the SRS indicator, in your search.
FWIW, when you're using the Adobe CTRL+F function, you need to search for "indicator lamp", not "reset indicator lamp". Adobe's find command is literal; if you do not specify EXACTLY what's in the text, it won't find what you're looking for.

I can get DTC clearance and the airbag light to turns off. The issue I'm having is that once I turn the engine off and turn it back on the airbag light flickers and then stays on. Everything in the system is fine. I had an automotive electrician go through it. A friend of mine suggested that maybe one of the airbag sensors may be bad.

 

[Malleus]

I can get DTC clearance and the airbag light to turns off. The issue I'm having is that once I turn the engine off and turn it back on the airbag light flickers and then stays on. Everything in the system is fine. I had an automotive electrician go through it. A friend of mine suggested that maybe one of the airbag sensors may be bad.

Well, if that's the case, "everything in your system" isn't fine. I'd find a new automotive electrican; he obviously didn't do a very thorough job.

The service manual has all the information you need to check the entire SRS system. A $30 digital multimeter (DMM) and 5 minutes of your time to learn how to use it is all you really need to do the job yourself.

There's a Toyota manual on how to use a DMM in the Resources section, if you need further help.