My airbag light keeps coming on and off

So as I’m driving the airbag light will come on stay on then fade away when it first started happening it was kinda fast but it has not turned off and on like that in a while. I’m not sure what exactly is going on with it.

 

I had this on my 1996, never figured it out before selling it.

I do remember troubleshooting extensively, and all roads lead to replacing the airbag module (kind of below the radio). The fading on/off points to failing caps or other internal component, not a connection problem.

good luck

 

Have you had any issue with the horn at the same time? If so it may be your clock spring.

 

Most of the time, this symptom means something is failing in the airbag computer, most probably a capacitor or something like that. While it is not that hard to replace a capacitor, you will still need to pull the computer out, open it up and troubleshoot it to confirm it is indeed a bad capacitor. Though sometimes you can tell it right away as bad capacitors are usually bulging or leaking

 

My 99 just started doing this thing where the airbag light stays faintly lit up when the truck is off. Nothing when key is on any other position. The whole vehicle has been submerged so I’m not terribly surprised.

 

That's sketchy. Call me a wuss, but I would fix that asap. Would hate to get an airbag to the face for no reason. Or it not go off correctly in the event of an accident.

 

One of the 95's I own has gone through periods where it did the exact same thing. Never figured it out. Been about a year since last time. Maybe A/B is no longer functional. To anyone who is going to bash me: no, I am not afraid to drive it, and yes I will let future owners know.

Horn still works so I know it is not the spiral wire.

I tried disconnecting the horn pad and it changed nothing. Disconnecting battery for several hours does nothing. Primarily comes on when the truck is sitting, ignition off. Sometimes immediately after I turned the ignition off. Fade in and out, then stay lit.

At first I thought it was heat related because it got really hot inside the truck 1st time I came out and it was on. But then the second spell was in the Winter.

It is possible that first time it got really hot something (capacitor?) could have been damaged in the A/B ECU. The later time could have been the result of that damage.

 

Had this similar issue but with my Jeep Cherokee. Ended up being the clockspring wiring was bad.