Any ideas why my airbag light is on?

white04kj · **Posted:** Thu Jan 12, 2006 3:17 am

Hey guys, earlier today I went for a quick trip to the ORV park north of here, and while I was there I did something dumb... got some of the front submerged when I got in over my head. I don't have a picture online of my jeep, but this is basically what happened (this is from WV(0)IIIIIII(0)'s webshots site) - http://community.webshots.com/photo/529961936/529965885LmwfaJ My driver's side was a bit deeper, the water was about to the top of the inside of the fenderwell. After I got it out, everything seemed to be running fine, the intake stayed high and dry etc. However after starting it up a few times, the airbag light started to stay on after all the rest of the lights went out. I am wondering if maybe I got a fuse wet or something. What do you guys think happened? Any ideas for a fix? Thanks in advance.

Cacher123 · **Posted:** Thu Jan 12, 2006 3:27 am

I read someplace way back when that high humidity will sometimes cause a faulty air bag reading. Maybe when ures dries out it will fix itself.

Taz · **Posted:** Thu Jan 12, 2006 7:27 am

Most likley somthing with the sensors, I do not know how many there are especially if you have side air bags. Could be just water or dirt in one of the sensors, A scan tool might tell you which sensor.

ShoreRenegade · **Posted:** Thu Jan 12, 2006 10:31 am

I would stongly suggest getting it looked at right away. If the air bag light is continuously on, the air bag most likely will NOT deploy when you need them. Don't screw around with the air bags. They can save your life. Get em fixed!

WV(0)IIIIIII(0) · **Posted:** Thu Jan 12, 2006 11:04 am

ShoreRenegade wrote:

I would stongly suggest getting it looked at right away. If the air bag light is continuously on, the air bag most likely will NOT deploy when you need them. Don't screw around with the air bags. They can save your life. Get em fixed!

Very true, if the light is on then it will not deploy. Which light is it, dash or OSB.

ManicMechanicJoe · **Posted:** Thu Jan 12, 2006 11:46 am

there are three sensors on all vehicles equipped with air bags. Two of them are up front and one is under the driver's seat. Here's how it works: There is a big metal BB in each sensor that is held in place by a magnet-in order to fire the air bag you need a good sized bump to move this BB to complete the circuit. Say a BB moves-does the air bag deploy? No! You need to set off two of these three sensors at the same time to deploy an airbag. This prevents air bags from going off for no reason. If a sensor is full of water it is possible that the circuit could be completed thus rendering the switch useless. If a BB has moved to complete the circuit and it's the only one that moved-the light will turn on. These sensors cannot be repaired and must be replaced. This is a safety issue and failure to have the system inspected by a mechanic could result in an airbag not deploying when you need it most.

WV(0)IIIIIII(0) · **Posted:** Thu Jan 12, 2006 11:51 am

It will also prevent having your vechile passed at inspection time.

white04kj · **Posted:** Thu Jan 12, 2006 12:11 pm

So should I take it in to a Jeep dealership or would any mechanic be able to tell me what's wrong/replace the sensor? Thanks for the help guys

ManicMechanicJoe · **Posted:** Thu Jan 12, 2006 12:55 pm

A dealership is probably best for this case.

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Thu Jan 12, 2006 12:59 pm

I had problems with my air bags from the factory and it eneded up being a sensor in the pass. seat belt. I didnt even know there was one there, but there is. Its on the side of the seat and alittle cover is over it. I would take it to the dealer, and id say its not the same sensor im talking about.

ShoreRenegade · **Posted:** Fri Jan 13, 2006 8:58 am

ManicMechanicJoe wrote:

there are three sensors on all vehicles equipped with air bags. Two of them are up front and one is under the driver's seat. Here's how it works: There is a big metal BB in each sensor that is held in place by a magnet-in order to fire the air bag you need a good sized bump to move this BB to complete the circuit. Say a BB moves-does the air bag deploy? No! You need to set off two of these three sensors at the same time to deploy an airbag. This prevents air bags from going off for no reason. If a sensor is full of water it is possible that the circuit could be completed thus rendering the switch useless. If a BB has moved to complete the circuit and it's the only one that moved-the light will turn on. These sensors cannot be repaired and must be replaced. This is a safety issue and failure to have the system inspected by a mechanic could result in an airbag not deploying when you need it most.

That is partially true, partially not true. The deployment of the air bags is controled by the air bag control module which in most vehicle is either under one of the seats (usually the passenger seat), or under the center console. Within this module is an electronic accelerometer which measures deceleration through tiny microchip sensors. This is purely an electronic system. It does not use the bb approach or the old coiled metal band.

Now many vehicles, Liberty included, ALSO use remote sensors usually located behind the bumper. These sensors are typically mechanical sensors that still do use the method such as the one described above. The purpose of these sensors is to sort of give the control module a "heads-up" on what is going on in the crash. Due to their location, they would register the crash pulse quicker and help the air bag control module to make a quicker "fire" decision.

To the best of my knowledge, there is no set rule that two of three sensors need to send the fire command for the bags to fire. The air bag control module could deploy the bags with no input at all from the remote sensors. The sensors simply give the module another (and quicker) layer of information.

Now, as far as the air bag light is concerned. The vehicle is picking up an error in the air bag system. It could be that one of the sensors is out, it could be other issues. But most importantly, if that light stays illuminated, the air bags will most likely NOT deploy in a crash. Get the vehicle into a Jeep dealer and have them look at it. This isn't something you want to mess around with.

dog_party · **Posted:** Fri Jan 13, 2006 9:21 am

Sorry if this sounds stupid, and I might be waaaaAAAAaaay off here, but I had to comment... Does your 04 have the Occupant Classification System? Or was that new to the 05s? If your dash light (port side of OS handle) is the one that's lit all the time...is there something on your passenger seat? My 38lb dog's little fuzzy rear sets off that light when he's cruising with me. My backpack sets it off too. There are three stages; light off & bag disarmed (seat empty), light off & bag armed ("adult" in seat), and light on & bag disarmed ("child" in seat).

If that's not the case then I'd get it to the shop. And, once again, I'm sorry if that sounds stupid...but I do some tech support in my job and it's best to eliminate the easy things first.

white04kj · **Posted:** Fri Jan 13, 2006 11:58 am

Nah, it's not the passenger light on the handle, it's my dash light. I'm taking it to the local dealership this afternoon if I've got time, so we'll see what they say.

chili4x4 · **Joined:** Mon Oct 03, 2005 8:54 am **Posts:** 4

Sorry to be late on this discussion, but... I have a 2002 lib limited. For no reason the airbag light came on sometimes..sometimes not..but more on than off.. I just disconnected battery, pulled the bag from the steering wheel and reconnected all the leads..Voila.. problem solved. Probably just got lucky this time...but its worth the 10 minutes it takes to try it. Just make sure you disconnect the battery before you play with the bag.. :roll:

ShoreRenegade · **Posted:** Fri Jan 20, 2006 9:10 am

chili4x4 wrote:

Sorry to be late on this discussion, but... I have a 2002 lib limited. For no reason the airbag light came on sometimes..sometimes not..but more on than off.. I just disconnected battery, pulled the bag from the steering wheel and reconnected all the leads..Voila.. problem solved. Probably just got lucky this time...but its worth the 10 minutes it takes to try it. Just make sure you disconnect the battery before you play with the bag.. :roll:

You're a brave individual to mess with the air bag. I think I'd leave that to the mechanics/techs.

white04kj · **Posted:** Fri Jan 20, 2006 10:21 am

*UPDATE* I just took it in yesterday, and the service manager tells me I need a new airbag sensor. It should be in within a day or two.

ShoreRenegade · **Posted:** Fri Jan 20, 2006 10:39 am

white04kj wrote:

*UPDATE* I just took it in yesterday, and the service manager tells me I need a new airbag sensor. It should be in within a day or two.

How much $$$

white04kj · **Posted:** Fri Jan 20, 2006 8:12 pm

ShoreRenegade wrote:

white04kj wrote:

*UPDATE* I just took it in yesterday, and the service manager tells me I need a new airbag sensor. It should be in within a day or two.

How much $$$

It's covered by the warranty, but just because he doesn't know I was offroading when it messed up.

moose · **Posted:** Mon Apr 03, 2006 1:12 pm

Anyone ever put in a switch to kill the SRS while off-road?

white04kj · **Posted:** Mon Apr 03, 2006 1:46 pm

moose wrote:

Anyone ever put in a switch to kill the SRS while off-road?

I think I've heard of people removing the fuse for the airbags from the fuse box, but I don't think I know of anyone who's actually put in a killswitch.

Any ideas why my airbag light is on?

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