Service air bag warning repeatedly while driving

[CJK440]

2014 Ram Express. 60k miles. From time to time I get service airbag warnings that constantly appear and chime while driving, then it may just go away for a while.

It doesn't seem to be tied to bumps like potholes or anything like that but I seem to remember it starting after I pulled the tilt lever without holding the wheel and it sprung up and banged on the stop.

Any idea where to start? Clockspring maybe?

 

[Wild one]

2014 Ram Express. 60k miles. From time to time I get service airbag warnings that constantly appear and chime while driving, then it may just go away for a while.

It doesn't seem to be tied to bumps like potholes or anything like that but I seem to remember it starting after I pulled the tilt lever without holding the wheel and it sprung up and banged on the stop.

Any idea where to start? Clockspring maybe?

Check the yellow plugs under both seats to make sure they're locked together solidly before you start digging into the steering column,you might get lucky and it might be just a seat connection not making good contact

 

[kad]

I'll second @Wild one's suggestion. The seat connectors are one of the most common causes for the errors.

-K

 

[RamCares]

2014 Ram Express. 60k miles. From time to time I get service airbag warnings that constantly appear and chime while driving, then it may just go away for a while.

It doesn't seem to be tied to bumps like potholes or anything like that but I seem to remember it starting after I pulled the tilt lever without holding the wheel and it sprung up and banged on the stop.

Any idea where to start? Clockspring maybe?

We certainly understand why this would be concerning. If you are not able to determine a solution based on suggestions from fellow forum members and you decide to address this with your Ram dealer, please be sure to follow up with us via private message. We would be more than willing to escalate your situation to a specialist who can work alongside you and your dealer while your truck is in service.

Mark
RamCares

 

[Ricks Ram]

As stated, the seat connectors are your first place to check and go from there. There is also a chance that something got dislodged or damaged in the clockspring or wiring when the steering wheel slammed up. There was a recall on the steering wheel harness on the early models due to the wires chafing in the steering wheel. The dealers simply re routed them with a wire tie. There is a possibility yours was not done and you have wires that may be damaged. The best and most accurate way to diagnose it is to check the truck for DTC codes. You can do this with the Alfa tool or something similar or a good shop you can trust. Once you know the DTC code it should point you in the right direction.

Sent from my SM-G981U1 using Tapatalk

 

[Flip-er]

Had this problem when my truck was new in 2013 and only had 650 miles on it.
turned out to be clock spring, fixed under warranty.
sorry that isnt much help

 

[KPMH]

I'll second @Wild one's suggestion. The seat connectors are one of the most common causes for the errors.

-K

Sorry to resurrect this post but I've been having the same problem (again) for a couple of weeks. 2015 Ram 1500 Trademan Hemi 2WD. About 4 years ago, the message kept coming up and in the end the dealer replaced the air bag control module under the center console and it's been fine until a couple of weeks ago. I have fiddled with all the connectors under the seats and it stops for a bit but then comes back on. Sometimes it is off for an hour or so, other times it comes on when I start it. It's very random. I was just wondering if anyone can confirm which connector is the air bag connector. On my truck there are two yellow connectors under each seat. One near the front and one near the rear. Hopefully the pictures show the situation. Under the driver seat there are two yellow connectors, two large grey ones near front and two smaller grey ones. On the passenger side there are two large yellow ones and one small grey one. I plan on taking the connectors apart/checking it closely and putting some dielectric grease on it. I assume there is a connector(s) for the air bag under each seat?

I have been thinking about trading it in on a new truck but if the message keeps coming on, I figure they'll ding me who knows how much on the trade. It was about $450 to fix it 4 years ago so god knows what it will be these days, if they even have the parts. Maybe I should just trade it and eat the "ding".

Thanks for looking and much appreciate any help.

Pete

 

[Trucker2]

Had something similar happen to mine a few weeks ago. While the truck was parked and running we were looking for my phone and my wife pulled the passenger seat slide lever from outside the truck (so she could look behind and under the seat) and the seat flew forward, ever since then my airbag light and service air bag system message would display sometimes the chime would go off too. Long story short , i got out my odb scanner and hooked it up and got 3 codes B0052-9A Pass seatbelt sensor, B2734-12 Pass occupant detection sensor-circuit short to bat and B0052-13 Pass seat belt sensor - circuit open. This gave me a starting point to look at, checked all the plugs and even took the seat belt buckle pn#P1WW991X9AC out and inspected it, of course this involved unbolting the pass seat and moving it backwards to access the bolt and since i was messing with airbag connectors i did undo my battery for a time before working on it. Didn't find any noticeable problems so i put it all back together and ran the scanner which is able to clear the SRS Codes on my dash but still shows them in the truck system but the are Stored now not Active and the lights message and chime don't show anymore and the seatbelt light and airbag light do their normal stuff at startup and when i have a passenger. My theory is it was probably a loose or bad connection and when the seat slammed forward with nobody sitting in it it triggered some codes to be set by the computer and since i took the seat loose and unplugged everything and undid the battery too it cleared it up. So yea check all the plugs, the seatbelt buckle is a small gray plug and if you have access to a ODB Scanner it can help. Good Luck!

 

[KPMH]

Had something similar happen to mine a few weeks ago. While the truck was parked and running we were looking for my phone and my wife pulled the passenger seat slide lever from outside the truck (so she could look behind and under the seat) and the seat flew forward, ever since then my airbag light and service air bag system message would display sometimes the chime would go off too. Long story short , i got out my odb scanner and hooked it up and got 3 codes B0052-9A Pass seatbelt sensor, B2734-12 Pass occupant detection sensor-circuit short to bat and B0052-13 Pass seat belt sensor - circuit open. This gave me a starting point to look at, checked all the plugs and even took the seat belt buckle pn#P1WW991X9AC out and inspected it, of course this involved unbolting the pass seat and moving it backwards to access the bolt and since i was messing with airbag connectors i did undo my battery for a time before working on it. Didn't find any noticeable problems so i put it all back together and ran the scanner which is able to clear the SRS Codes on my dash but still shows them in the truck system but the are Stored now not Active and the lights message and chime don't show anymore and the seatbelt light and airbag light do their normal stuff at startup and when i have a passenger. My theory is it was probably a loose or bad connection and when the seat slammed forward with nobody sitting in it it triggered some codes to be set by the computer and since i took the seat loose and unplugged everything and undid the battery too it cleared it up. So yea check all the plugs, the seatbelt buckle is a small gray plug and if you have access to a ODB Scanner it can help. Good Luck!

Thanks much for the tips. I don't have access to an OBD but will definitely do the plug check as you suggest. I didn't think about disconnecting the battery so will do that for sure too while I'm fiddling with the plugs. Hopefully it will work.

Thanks again.

Pete

 

[Robert Mc]

I have a 2018 Ram 2500 SLT w/ 147K miles on the clock. About 2 months ago I started getting intermittent messages regarding the Service Airbag System. The light would come on and the chime would sound about 5 times per day. Then it got gradually worse as the light and chime would activate about 100 times per day. It was getting very annoying. I would unplug and plug the connectors without any success in stopping the airbag service message. Finally, I unbolted the seats and accessed the airbag module so I could get the part number for it. I disconnected the batteries first and unplugged the two cables from the module and let it remain without power for about 30 minutes. I blew out both the male and female ends of the connectors with compressed air to make sure everything was clean. I reconnected the module, bolted the seats back in, reconnected the plugs under the seats, and reconnected the batteries in the truck. It’s been a full day and about 15 start/stop cycles and so far the Airbag Service light/chime has not been back on. We’ll see how long this lasts.

 

[KPMH]

I have a 2018 Ram 2500 SLT w/ 147K miles on the clock. About 2 months ago I started getting intermittent messages regarding the Service Airbag System. The light would come on and the chime would sound about 5 times per day. Then it got gradually worse as the light and chime would activate about 100 times per day. It was getting very annoying. I would unplug and plug the connectors without any success in stopping the airbag service message. Finally, I unbolted the seats and accessed the airbag module so I could get the part number for it. I disconnected the batteries first and unplugged the two cables from the module and let it remain without power for about 30 minutes. I blew out both the male and female ends of the connectors with compressed air to make sure everything was clean. I reconnected the module, bolted the seats back in, reconnected the plugs under the seats, and reconnected the batteries in the truck. It’s been a full day and about 15 start/stop cycles and so far the Airbag Service light/chime has not been back on. We’ll see how long this lasts.

Thanks for the info. Am I right in thinking that the module is under the center seat so the passenger seat and center seat have to be removed to access it? Is it the square piece with the wiring going to it shown in the center of the photos in this post?

https://www.ramforum.com/threads/what-did-you-do-with-your-4th-gen-this-week.34480/post-2804363

Thanks

Pete

 

[Robert Mc]

Thanks for the info. Am I right in thinking that the module is under the center seat so the passenger seat and center seat have to be removed to access it? Is it the square piece with the wiring going to it shown in the center of the photos in this post?

https://www.ramforum.com/threads/what-did-you-do-with-your-4th-gen-this-week.34480/post-2804363

Thanks

Pete

Yes, that module with the two harnesses is the module. There is a tab that locks like two angled pieces of plastic under the gray bar that you push down and the bar will flip forward to release the bar so you can get the harness out. Repeat for the second harness. Just make sure the batteries are disconnected first. The passenger seat and the center seat are connected to each other but I also removed the driver seat because I just found it easier overall to access everything. There is a bolt on the driver side to the rear of the center seat that had to be removed to tilt the whole assembly out of the way. I didn't actually take the passenger/center seat assembly out of the vehicle I just tilted it back out of the way so I could access the under seat plugs, the airbag module, and vacuum the dog hair. I'm sure you could get to it with the driver seat in place but I took my driver seat out to access it. All of my troubles started the very first time I ever vacuumed under the seats but I was nowhere near the module. It really is unfortunate that such an important safety feature of this vehicle is so crappy and susceptible to failure.

 

[KPMH]

Yes, that module with the two harnesses is the module. There is a tab that looks like two angled pieces of plastic under the gray bar that you push down and the bar will flip forward to release the bar so you can get the harness out. Repeat for the second harness. Just make sure the batteries are disconnected first. The passenger seat and the center seat are connected to each other but I also removed the driver seat because I just found it easier overall to access everything. There is a bolt on the driver side to the rear of the center seat that had to be removed to tilt the whole assembly out of the way. I didn't actually take the passenger/center seat assembly out of the vehicle I just tilted it back out of the way so I could access the under seat plugs, the airbag module, and vacuum the dog hair. I'm sure you could get to it with the driver seat in place but I took my driver seat out to access it. All of my troubles started the very first time I ever vacuumed under the seats but I was nowhere near the module. It really is unfortunate that such an important safety feature of this vehicle is so crappy and susceptible to failure.

Great info. Thanks for spelling that out. I haven't managed to get to it yet but will soon. Today the message didn't come on at all...who knows why. I agree also with your comments in the last sentence. I doubt things have improved in the models since our trucks were built..

Thanks much again. Appreciate the excellent info.

Pete

 

[indept]

Thanks much for the tips. I don't have access to an OBD but will definitely do the plug check as you suggest. I didn't think about disconnecting the battery so will do that for sure too while I'm fiddling with the plugs. Hopefully it will work.

Thanks again.

Pete

Most if not all part stores will read your codes free of charge.

 

[62Blazer]

Step #1 is to see what specific codes are being set off. There are a lot of reasons the airbag warning light can come on and the specific code will at least get you started in the right vicinity. Otherwise you are just randomly guessing and hoping you get lucky!

 

[KPMH]

Most if not all part stores will read your codes free of charge.

Step #1 is to see what specific codes are being set off. There are a lot of reasons the airbag warning light can come on and the specific code will at least get you started in the right vicinity. Otherwise you are just randomly guessing and hoping you get lucky!

Good points guys. Thanks,
Pete

 

[Robert Mc]

Step #1 is to see what specific codes are being set off. There are a lot of reasons the airbag warning light can come on and the specific code will at least get you started in the right vicinity. Otherwise you are just randomly guessing and hoping you get lucky!

Will the code be stored since the light just keeps going on and off repeatedly/randomly?

I have been trouble free since I unhooked and cleaned all of the plugs but the issue had resurfaced. And guess what triggered it? That's right, my vacuum cleaner. I haven't had any issues since June until I vacuumed under the seats again. And just like that the service airbag light started coming on again. And I made sure I didn't get anywhere near the wiring. I'm really don't think the two events are related but it sure makes me wonder WTF is going on.