Expert: Douglas Gan - 4/24/2010

Question
Hi my air bag light came on the other day when I started my 99 Safari van. What may have caused this? What should i look for to give me an idea what is wrong? Is there a computer for the airbag system, maybe it is faulty? .Is this common on this type of van? Thanks for your time

Answer
Hi Kirk:
On most vehicles, the airbag light should come on for @6 seconds, and then go off if the system is working properly.  If there is a fault or a problem in the system, the light will remain illuminated, or flash continuously.  If the airbag light does not work properly, some vehicles have an audible tone that sounds indicating a problem with the airbag light system.  When the light is on (or the tone is sounding), the airbag will NOT deploy, even in an accident.   Our company website gives you the procedure for diagnosing and resetting airbag lights on the ...scanlist.aspx page listed below.    

The flashing light on your car is telling there is a problem.  Your vehicle will require a scan tool for the proper diagnosis (and not the one at Auto Zone---it needs to be airbag system specific, like a good body shop or the dealer).  Here's a site that will explain everything you need to know about airbag lights and resetting the system.   Once you know the code, you can most likely repair it yourself.  There are fairly easy procedures that most people are capable of repairing.  
Airbagsolutions.com has the fault code charts to tell you what is wrong!  Although it’s a pay site ($14.95/day), it’s a lot cheaper than going to the dealer.  You don;t need to buy anything to get lots of information from this site, but if you want the code charts, then you need to subscribe.

Lastly, check your vehicle for recalls through the last link.

http://www.airbagsolutions.com/
http://www.airbagsolutions.com/scanlist.aspx
http://www.airbagsolutions.com/light.aspx
http://blog.airbagsolutions.com/archive/2007/11/18/why-is-my-airbag-light-on.wha...
http://www.airbagsolutions.com/nhtsa.aspx