Air Bag fuse urgent help! PLEASE!

[Joester]

Okay, so i have a 2004 ford ranger automatic V6 3.0 XLT w/ premium sound if it matters at all. I sold it to a lady in perfect working order, no electrical issues, no engine issues... nothing. it was immaculate. about a week later she calls us back and tells us it wont start, the battery is dead. so she takes it to a local shop and they said that the air bag light fuse (5 amp fuse down by where a passengers foot would be) was constantly drawing about .5 amps.... all the time, causing the battery to go dead over night. when they take out the fuse, everything is fine, but now im ~$8000 in debt and im 17 years old working for minimum wage with interest accumulating on my loan, and i really want to get this fixed and back to selling it. ive had an ABS swith w/ in line fuse, a voltage guage and an aftermarket head unit professionally installed with a harness, but those three things are the only electrical modifications ive made to my truck.

does anyone have ANY clue at all as to whats happening? all of your opinions and knowledge is appriciated. im not the best and electrical stuff.

=(

 

[BlackBII]

.......didn't you already sell it?

Something in the airbag circut is obviously drawing power...why didn't the shop find it and fix it?

 

[Joester]

yeah i sold it, but the leady was threatening to take it to court and id rather fix it and sell it again then hire a lawyer. the shop still doesnt know what it is, they still have it, but they have only had it for a day or so.

 

[BlackBII]

Did you sell it 'As is'? Or did you offer a warranty? lol.

Tell her you'll buy it back for $2,000 off what you sold it to her for, to account for the problem that happened AFTER you sold it.

If the shop can't find out what it is, tell her to take it somewhere that knows what the fawk they're doing.

 

[Joester]

my mom already bought it back. i dont know why she gave in so easily, but lets not focus on that. I have a broken truck and im wondering if anyone knows how to fix it or if anyone has any suggestions.

 

[martin]

take the fuse out and sell it as is.

 

[tony314]

Most states and courts wouldn't rule on the ladies part UNLESS you sold it with the problem already present and hid it or with some sort of warranty. If none of that applies then she would of been SOL.

 

[Joester]

The money is already returned to her and i already have the truck back. that part is over. i was at school and my mom "took care" of everthing. i ddont want to just take the fuse out cause i dont want to get taken to court because i hid a problem either. I want a real fix. =/

 

[snoman6115]

shit who needs airbags anyways

 

[Ranger Sport Honduras]

if airbags are giving trouble, maybe there must be an airbag light On, or blinking, either on dash or in the passenger airbag switch.

 

[tony314]

Hit your front bumper really really hard with an extremely large and heavy sledge hammer sever times. That should solve your airbag problem pretty quick!

 

[Earl43P]

You need to do a parasitic drain test.

http://flashoffroad.com/electrical/Batteries/BatteryDrain.html

It helps to latch the door latch with the door open so the dome light stays off. You'll need to get inside the cab to pull those fuses.

I've literally troubleshot one of these by watching how bright the spark would jump when connecting the negative battery terminal (didn't feel like walking back to my garage for the meter and I could SEE that it was pulling quite a bit of amperage). His turned out to be the horn contact in the steering wheel (86 Toyota). Once I pulled the horn fuse, that spark that occurred when connecting the battery died down to nearly invisible.

Does your 04 have the switch for disabling the Pass Airbag? Do the test with the switch in each position, if so. Otherwise, I'd hit up the Junkyards and try to find a new PAD panel.

One last thought, since I'm looking at some 2000 schematics on power distribution....in 2000, that particular fuse also powers the blower motor relay and the Restraints Control Module. Yours may have more circuits on that fuse too. I'd disconnect the PAD panel, then the blower motor relay in the battery junction box under the hood, see which one is causing the draw.

Somone with a 2004 EVTM might be more helpful.

 

[Joester]

both you and that website are really useful, im getting the truck out of the shop tonight. by "switch for disabling airbag" do you mean the switch under the passenger side of the dash, or the one on the console that i can put my key into and turn off? i have both.

and could you please explain some acronyms? PAD panel = fuse panel? EVMT = ?

 

[BlackBII]

EVMT = Elictrical and Vaccum Troublseshooting Manual. It'll help you locate the wires in which you need to use to find the drain, as it sounds like there are more components that use that fuse other than just the airbag.