Airbag light flashing

[glstrich6]

Hi all, I am new to the forum. Hope to get some help with my airbag issue. Thanks in advance for your help.
I am based in Portugal and own a 2003 Ford Ranger 2.5D 4x4 109hp. Bought the truck used with flashing airbag light and have been trying to fix it since. With an inspection upcoming I need a fix to pass.
One complication is that the truck does not have ab OBD port (I know all EU vehicles we supposed to have one in 2003, but this one does not). Instead it has a 17 PIN Mazda style socket. So far nobody managed to connect a scanner to it.
According to the repair manual of the truck, it should be indicating the airbag fault codes through the blinking pattern of the airbag light in the dashboard. Here is what is says:

The SAS unit has an on-board diagnostic function that flashes or illuminates the air bag system warning light to indicate trouble in the air bag system. The trouble can be determined by the warning light illumination or flashing pattern. Caution: When the output pattern continuously flashes (standby code), perform the deployment authorization procedure. (Refer to AIR BAG SYSTEM, AIR BAG MODULE DEPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION PROCEDURE.)

In my case it flashes continuously, so I followed the AIR BAG MODULE DEPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION PROCEDURE several times but the light is still flashing:

3. If the air bag system warning light flashes continuously, turn the ignition switch to LOCK position then back to ON position after more than approximately 1 second.
4. Verify that the air bag system warning light illuminates for approximately 6 seconds and then goes off.
5. If the light stays on, perform the deployment authorization procedure again.

Am I missing something? Any other ideas on how to proceed?
Thanks for your help!
Gleb

 

[Curious Hound]

You could try disconnecting the battery for 10 or 15 minutes to see if that will reset the system. But I dont Think that’s going to work. Are you sure it’s a steady flash and not a code like 2 blinks, pause, 4 blinks, pause, 3 blinks, pause, pause, repeat?

 

[glstrich6]

thanks for the quick response. already tried resetting by disconnecting the battery and holding the break pedal. The flashing is continuous with equal intervals, no code.

 

[rubydist]

Please take a short video of the flashing and post it here.

 

[glstrich6]

Please take a short video of the flashing and post it here.

apparently mp4 is not allowed for upload in this forum, so not able to upload the video. But I did check again, the flashing is constant approximately every 5 seconds

 

[Curious Hound]

Only still photos can be uploaded here. Videos have to be hosted somewhere else, like YouTube and then you put the link in your post here.

 

[pjtoledo]

for additional resources you may want to try the Ford Truck Enthusiast forums. they have an international forum.
I'm not trying to scare you away.
actually we here in the U.S. would like to learn more about your non-U.S. vehicle.
and we love pictures.

International Region - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums (ford-trucks.com)

 

[glstrich6]

Thank you for your patience. Here is the requested video

 

[glstrich6]

... or does the continuous flashing actually represent DTC1?

 

[Curious Hound]

... or does the continuous flashing actually represent DTC1?
View attachment 105320

I was wondering about that. But I didn’t come across that list of codes. So it didn’t make sense to me. The slowness of the repetition suggests this pattern. I believe the deployment authorization code would be a faster flashing sequence.

 

[4.0blue98]

I'd discharge the system again and disconnect and reconnect any connectors you can find. Maybe one isn't seated or is corroded/damaged.

 

[4.0blue98]

Amazon (among others) sells the 17pin to obd2 adapter.

 

[4.0blue98]

I am based in Portugal and own a 2003 Ford Ranger 2.5D 4x4 109hp. Bought the truck used with flashing airbag light...

Am I missing something? Any other ideas on how to proceed?

Another thing, do you know the history of this truck? Could it have been a deployment? If so many vehicles set a hard code in the control module. The module must be replaced or reset to get rid of the code and light. I don’t know if that applies here but just went through this on an 08 Toyota after a deer encounter. Had to send the module away for a reset and replace an airbag and seat belt tensioner. If someone just replaced the component the hard code would persist and in my case the light would stay on.

 

[rubydist]

I bought a BlueDriver obd2 reader from Amazon that reads all codes including airbag and abs codes. I suggest you get one of those or similar, and see what the code reader is telling you. I've never seen that particular code. The reader should be roughly $100 - you need one that reads all codes, not just the engine control computer.

 

[glstrich6]

Amazon (among others) sells the 17pin to obd2 adapter.

already had on of those but the pin mapping was wrong, the OBD reader would not even get power.