Air Bag Sensor Light Code 15., Solved! Options

[rapid36]

Hi i have a 94 celica ST and i have a code 15 coming from the air bag computer. I went here to see how to go about fixing this.
http://bgbonline.celicatech.com/94_6gmanua...nt%20system.pdf

I made it to step 8 where it tells me to measure resistence. it said this "measure resistance between terminals +S and +A (less than one ohm)" Now when i did this i got 2.2 ohms on both front air bag sensors, Then it said to do this "+S and -S (infinite ohms)" I tried measuring it but my volt meter i dont think displays infinite (if someone knows how to measure this then please let me know). And so i skipped that one and then i went on to this one "-S and -A (755-885 ohms)" I got 816 on the driver side air bag sensor and 822 on the passenger side air bag sensor. So Do you think these air bag sensors are bad?? cause it said that it should be less than one ohm and i got 2.2 ohm on the first test. Please share your thoughts.

This post has been edited by rapid36: Jan 17, 2015 - 8:15 PM

[Box]

Infinite usually the display will flicker, just depends on the meter. The negative resistance is within range, but the positive is off. A buildup of corrosion will increase resistance, so make sure any terminals and contacts are clean.

[rapid36]

Infinite usually the display will flicker, just depends on the meter. The negative resistance is within range, but the positive is off. A buildup of corrosion will increase resistance, so make sure any terminals and contacts are clean.

Thank you!! You helped me so much with my no heat out of the heater issue too! your a very kind person and a very knowledgeable one!

Hmm interesting on the infinite one. Since mine is cheap i wouldnt be surprise if it just blew up when i check for infinite lol. hmm do you think the positive being out of spec can set off that air bag light? I looked at the terminals and they look fine and no corrosion as far as i can see. maybe i should take these sensors off the car and do these tests and check for things. Any other suggestions? tips? hints? tricks? miracles? lol

[Box]

Thanks, I try. I thought about it, but forgot to mention it last night. The battery is disconnected right? Whenever you're working with SRS especially you want to make sure there's no power. That and flip the lights on after disconnecting to discharge any residual power.

I'd give the airbag itself a look. It's possible at one point someone had an aftermarket steering wheel on it and botched the wiring. Sadly Toyota is vague with their airbag code and you have to figure it out for yourself. Could be the sensors, the airbag computer, or one of the airbags. Just have to check everything.

[rapid36]

Thanks! Unfortunately the guy lied to me and he doesn't know what he is doing when modding a car so there is just a ton of chopped wires behind the dash. Its very frustrating. So i will be posting a lot on here on the forums to try and figure everything out and where they go to. I had the battery connected but the connector going to the air bag computer was disconnected when doing all of the checks. I will disconnect the power and then flip on the lights to drain it (good tip). However this wont effect my tests because the connector on the front air bag sensor has to be disconnected completely to check the resistance. I wouldn't be surprised if the previous owner cut wires from the air bag system. I replaced the air bag computer but still have code 15. So the computer seems to be working right. I looked at the yellow wiring loom and it looks to be fine. However he may of done something weird with the wiring or maybe something legitemently went out in the system.

[Box]

Ugh, I hate that for you... This is why it takes me forever to buy a car, trying to find a nice enough example that isn't owned by a retard takes awhile. Odds are then it's the wiring from the computer to the airbags. Most of the wiring should be colour coded, so I guess try and splice everything back. Perhaps there're some diagrams on the web to help you out.

[rapid36]

Ugh, I hate that for you... This is why it takes me forever to buy a car, trying to find a nice enough example that isn't owned by a retard takes awhile. Odds are then it's the wiring from the computer to the airbags. Most of the wiring should be colour coded, so I guess try and splice everything back. Perhaps there're some diagrams on the web to help you out.

Yup its hard to find cars that havent been messed with or was owned by someone who actually knows what they are doing.

[Box]

It's what kept me from selling my Celica for the longest time, until one day someone stopped by and offered me 30% more than what I had in it.

[rapid36]

It's what kept me from selling my Celica for the longest time, until one day someone stopped by and offered me 30% more than what I had in it.

oh wow hey thats nice! Lucky lol

I was watching some youtube videos and they said to spray wd40 into the front air bag sensor to get rid of corrosion and that might help the resistance problem. Do you think thats a good idea? or a bad idea? I dont want to spray that in there and then plug it back in and my air bags go off lol then i will be screwed.

This post has been edited by rapid36: Jan 13, 2015 - 11:27 PM

[Box]

All WD-40 will do is dissipate any water, as it's an oil. They make specific electronic cleaner for cleaning contacts and the like, can get it from Wal-Mart in the automotive section.

[VavAlephVav]

If you are reading a resistance of Infinity most modern meters will read O.L. for Open Load, means basically no connection.
From what I understand the airbag sensors are One-shot mechanisms, so for example, if the car had a minor, low-speed, punch in the nose it may have tripped the sensors and yet not been hard enough to set off the air-bags.
In that case you would need to replace the sensors. Also when trying to read a low resistance like 1 ohm check the range setting of the meter so that it is on it's lowest range and will give you a more accurate reading. like there may be one for 0-5 ohms, and another up to 10k ohms, and another up to 1M ohm. It's different with each meter.

[Box]

I guess it depends, the impact in my Miata would've triggered the airbag had it been installed at the time. After putting everything back to stock there're still no codes, and it gives specific codes through the airbag light unlike Toyota and their vague code through the CEL. They're also fuel pump shutoff switches that work in the same way as the SRS impact sensors, and they'll reset. Wouldn't see why it'd be any different. Being the previous owner was a moron that hacked up the wiring under the dash I'd be willing to bet some of those go to the airbags.

If the sensors were a one time thing you wouldn't be able to get a read on them at all I'd think. Of course with all of the shrapnel spitting Takata airbags I'm not sure if you're really improving the safety or not by making them work again.

[mkernz22]

You could just pull the ECU under the center console and not have an issue anymore....just sayin'

[rapid36]

If you are reading a resistance of Infinity most modern meters will read O.L. for Open Load, means basically no connection.
From what I understand the airbag sensors are One-shot mechanisms, so for example, if the car had a minor, low-speed, punch in the nose it may have tripped the sensors and yet not been hard enough to set off the air-bags.
In that case you would need to replace the sensors. Also when trying to read a low resistance like 1 ohm check the range setting of the meter so that it is on it's lowest range and will give you a more accurate reading. like there may be one for 0-5 ohms, and another up to 10k ohms, and another up to 1M ohm. It's different with each meter.

Thank you those are some helpful tips. i did have the ohms set right. It was set to 200 which was the lowest and was able to read 2.2 ohms which means i should of been able to read 0.9ohms only if the sensor would of provided that (which it didnt). And idk if the car was in a accident the car when i got it had a clean title on it, but the idiot who owned it before just had the fuse pulled out so it wouldnt even come on.

You could just pull the ECU under the center console and not have an issue anymore....just sayin'

LOL!!!! I second that.

I guess it depends, the impact in my Miata would've triggered the airbag had it been installed at the time. After putting everything back to stock there're still no codes, and it gives specific codes through the airbag light unlike Toyota and their vague code through the CEL. They're also fuel pump shutoff switches that work in the same way as the SRS impact sensors, and they'll reset. Wouldn't see why it'd be any different. Being the previous owner was a moron that hacked up the wiring under the dash I'd be willing to bet some of those go to the airbags.

If the sensors were a one time thing you wouldn't be able to get a read on them at all I'd think. Of course with all of the shrapnel spitting Takata airbags I'm not sure if you're really improving the safety or not by making them work again.

Ya i agree he hacked up a lot of stuff but i dont see anything tampered with the yellow conduit. I'll post some pictures.











I'll take some more pictures of the harness at the front air bag sensors but they look the same they look untouched.

This post has been edited by rapid36: Jan 16, 2015 - 12:12 AM

[Box]

Hmm, still looks good as far as the SRS system goes. Also as far as titles go, depending on when it had an accident and how severe it was it'd still keep a clean title. So long as the damage doesn't exceed 70% or thereabouts of the vehicle's value it won't be totaled. Could pull the driver's airbag and give the clock-spring and everything a look. Should be a test for it, but obviously be careful and make sure the system is discharged.

[rapid36]

Hmm, still looks good as far as the SRS system goes. Also as far as titles go, depending on when it had an accident and how severe it was it'd still keep a clean title. So long as the damage doesn't exceed 70% or thereabouts of the vehicle's value it won't be totaled. Could pull the driver's airbag and give the clock-spring and everything a look. Should be a test for it, but obviously be careful and make sure the system is discharged.

Fixed! All i had to do was reset the codes. :-) That should of been my first course of action. But the light now comes on when started and a few seconds later it goes off :-)

[Box]

Seems like the computer would've been the cause then. The light coming on and then going off is normal, it's very important to pay attention to when looking at a car. Some unscrupulous individuals would remove the bulb and hope it goes by unnoticed...

Anyhow, glad you finally got it sorted.

[rapid36]

Seems like the computer would've been the cause then. The light coming on and then going off is normal, it's very important to pay attention to when looking at a car. Some unscrupulous individuals would remove the bulb and hope it goes by unnoticed...

Anyhow, glad you finally got it sorted.

i should of mentioned i did replace the air bag computer but didnt think that was the cause after i reset the codes the air bag codes did not come back. the previous owner made the code appear somehow but now it is fixed :-)

p.s. sorry for not doing more basic tests before posting on here.

This post has been edited by rapid36: Jan 17, 2015 - 9:44 PM

[Box]

Well, if you still have the old computer throw it in for a second and then you'll know for sure. Being the old computer was there with the code, and then new computer and then resetting the codes fixed it that was probably it.

Don't feel bad, you did a lot more searching/testing than a majority of people. Plus it gives me something to do while wallowing in indecision.

[rapid36]

Well, if you still have the old computer throw it in for a second and then you'll know for sure. Being the old computer was there with the code, and then new computer and then resetting the codes fixed it that was probably it.

Don't feel bad, you did a lot more searching/testing than a majority of people. Plus it gives me something to do while wallowing in indecision.

LOL!! nice. Sounds like i need to make more "Guess where the wire goes" games on here then lol. What about you box? do you have any issues with your celica?