Air bag

[jacoblane216]

Reaching out for a saving grace again after multiple fails to solve my airbag indicator light issue. 2004 Ram 1500 SLT REGULAR CAB. My air bag light refuses to go away and even has a strange anomaly happening on the passenger side switch. Recalls have been done for over a year but it was intermittent before, then after the recall it stopped and just stays lit all the time.

I replaced the passenger side ON/OFF switch TWICE but for some reason the OFF indicator light also stays lit no matter what position it’s switched to both on and off and it stays lit.
I’ve already replaced the CLOCKSPRING as well but that didn’t fix it.
We do have a high dollar snap-on scanner so I was able to get into the system to read the code but am not able to clear it. It’s throwing an ACTIVE code saying “Driver Squib #1 Circuit Shorted”. From what I’ve read apparently it’s a type of detonator?
So the driver airbag that’s already been replaced? Since the truck is an 04’ single cab it doesn’t have any impact sensors it just uses the module, there’s also only the 2 airbags, in the wheel and in the passenger side dash. So does the driver squib combined with the odd passenger switch anomaly point me towards the module behind the cup holders?? Im at a complete loss so unless someone can think of something else I’m gonna be buying a new module from Mopar for $175 just hoping it fixes it. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

 

[EricKBattleGround]

Airbags...I have a love/hate relationship with them. Love them when they work, not so much when they are giving you issues. And when they are giving us issues...those issues can be a real pain to chase down.

Most airbag controllers check the "firing" circuit only when the ignition is keyed on, even though the airbag controller is capable of firing the airbag any time it has power and ground connections. The exact check varies by the design of the squib, however, what is in common is that all are looking for a "complete" electrical circuit from the airbag controller, through the squib, and back to the controller. On the driver's side, this circuit includes the clockspring in the steering column.

For those that have never worked on an airbag system, SAFETY FIRST - disconnect the battery negative and wait at least 10 minutes, because there are large capacitors inside the airbag controller that can still fire the airbag for several minutes after battery is disconnected! (I feel like I've gone back 20 years with that statement - I used to write workshop manual sections early in my career ;=S)

The electrical test of the squib is an impedance test, not a resistance test. "Short to ground" doesn't mean, in this case, that the firing circuit has a connection to ground - it could be a change in the capacitance of the circuit due to pinched wires, corrosion on terminals, or poor contact between pins at connectors. Most airbags need a short, high-voltage pulse to the squib to ignite the propellant, and some airbag designs have a capacitor that blocks DC voltage from reaching the squib. One type of impedance test is a short, low-voltage string of pulses that will confirm there's not too much/too little capacitance and inductance in the circuit.

I will suggest the following checks on the driver's side - with the comment that I haven't reviewed the Ram's harnessing so I may be off a little or a lot on the last 2 steps:
1. Ground to the airbag module itself - silly as it sounds, a poor ground can cause problems for the microprocessor in the airbag controller. Grounds on Ram trucks "fan out" from multiple locations. I'm not sure if the airbag system is getting its ground from an under-hood location or from in the dash. (I don't have a service manual for 2004 trucks, only for 2006 trucks, and am cautious about assuming that the grounds are identical, though I can dig into the manual on request.)
2. Activation circuit from the airbag controller to the inline connection to the clockspring. This circuit will likely end at an inline connector that is attached to the clockspring. Ensure no corrosion or spreading on the terminals. Ensure the wire has not been pinched, kinked, or otherwise physically damaged.
3. Ground return circuit from the airbag controller to the inline connection to the clockspring - same checks as for the activation circuit.
4. Clockspring - from the inline connector to the dash harness to the connections to the airbag itself. Sometimes one of these electrical connections isn't completed correctly.
5. If nothing jumps out from the first 4 tests: with the clockspring disconnected from both the airbag controller and the airbag, use a multimeter set to resistance to check that the clockspring resistance does not change significantly while turning the steering wheel from full left to full right. You will need a helper, as it can be difficult to keep the multimeter attached to the ends of the clockspring, and will want the front end on jack stands. (At the company I retired from, we saw issues with a batch of clocksprings that would change their DC resistance in a particular range of motion, so it is not an out-of-the-question test - but definitely not one of the first to do.)

If you do find a specific problem, please post back to the forum with your findings.