fordkiller94

I have a couple of questions here:
#1- Is there a way to diag the air bag system on a 94 Z28 without going to the dealer for a scan? Can you count the flashes to find out the problem or something like that and repair as needed? My air bag light was playing games and would not come on if I wiggled the key cylinder on start up, but know it flashes and stays on no matter what and is really bugging me, any help here?

#2- Driving to work today and for no reason the Security light came on and stays on(no flashing) just solid light. Car starts fine and runs the same, but the light just stays on. Does anyone have a cure or a diag for this problem. I dissconected the battery to reset everything but it still stays on, Any help with this one?

Thanks for any help on either of these problems...

slopokrodrigez

The most common cause of security lights on is the "chip" that is the resistor in the ignition key wears over time so it is narrow. The chip then has a hard time touching both contacts in the switch. The easiest and cheapest way to see if both your problems are related to this circuit is to use a resistor. First find the 2 pin plug at the base of the steering column that is connected to the contacts in the key switch. Don't touch the yellow 2 pin connector to the air bag. Disconnect it when you find it and use an ohm meter in the connector to see the switch side contacts. Insert the key and wiggle it around to see if the contact is intermittent.

Use an ohm meter to check the resistance of the chip in the key. Get a resistor (Radio Shack has them) and place one side of the resitor in one side of the connector going to the PCM and the other side of the resistor in the other side of the same connector. Cover it with tape and try it to see if your lights are out.

This shouldn't have an effect on the air bag system but this is a known problem that we can address and then let's see what effect it has on the other problem.

As far as the air bag goes there very few things you can do without a scanner. When you first turn the key it should flash 7 times and go out. If it does 7 times and stays on then you will need a scanner for the trouble code. If you don't have a scanner try Autozone. They may be able to scan it.

One thing to check if the light stays on is the crank fuse (it's 3 amps). After that the rest of the checks are either voltage, resistance measurements or scanning. Also somewhat time consuming. Hope this helps