Air bag light still on after clock spring replacement 04 Tacoma

hopefully the title of this post says it all. I have a 04 Tacoma and the airbag light has been blinking since I got the truck. Finally got around to replacing the clock spring and after I put it all back together the light is still blinking. Anyone know what's next? Any advice would be great!

 

Gonna have to get it scanned to find out where the problem is.

 

It should be throwing a code.
Though you need a really nice reader to see srs code

 

Anytime you mess with the airbag system battery needs to be disconnected for at least 20 minutes.

 

No, this is incorrect. Just disconnect the battery and turn on the lights or step on the brake. Any surface voltage is disapated.

 

I took a class on air bags when I was working at a body shop. The instructors said wait 20 minutes and wear latex gloves for static. He said even static electricity has set off the deployed the bags, wouldn't want to catch one of those in the face

 

No problem. A little extra precaution can never be a bad thing.

 

I work on airbag systems all the time and very rarely do I disable the system...

With that said, need codes to figure out where the fault is in the system.

 

there is a way to get the SRS code without a high end scan tool.

put the keys in the ACC or ON position, wait for 30 seconds, then short together the Tc and E1 pins of the "DIAGNOSTICS" terminal in the engine bay (diagram is on the inside of the cover when you flip it open). The light will blink in a pattern, telling you the code
(example: blink - short pause - blink - blink - blink - blink - long pause - blink - short pause - blink - blink - blink - blink - long pause - and so on and on... This would indicate code 14)

Make sure you short the right pins because if you don't, it can damage the truck's computer

post what code you get and I'll tell you what it means

 

I need to try this. Had front knuckle failure & afterwards airbag light was on. If I turn off passenger airbag with key, cluster light goes off. Does that mean it’s an issue with passenger airbag?

 

I do not think the knuckle failure has something to do wih the light.

also, how is your battery? a bad or dying battery can cause the airbag light to come on (due to abnormal or too low voltage). Also, disconnecting the battery while the keys are in the ACC or ON position will generate a random SRS malfunction code

Since the light goes off when you turn off passenger airbag, it probably is related to it. But to be sure of what it is exactly, you will need to get the code

 

It was a catastrophic knuckle failure that resulted in a accident. It ripped the tire/knuckle/spindle completely off. I will try to retrieve the code this afternoon.

 

oh, well, if this bad, yeah, it could have triggered something in the SRS system.
You said it resulted in accident. What kind of accident? Did you crash into something?

 

My 19 yr old son was driving. Moving into center turn lane when it detached. Caused him to veer into a Mercedes which then clipped a Buick. Everyone is fine but his near mint 98 taco took a beating.

 

From what I've seen a bad clockspring will also make the horn and cruise control not work. An airbag/srs code will usually come from the start module or one of the sensors.

The sensors are bolted to the inner fenders on either side of the engine bay towards the front. Easy to spot with yellow wires, just make sure that they're both there and no damage to the wires or anything, they are pretty exposed.

If they're good, just have it scanned to see what's going on, or you'll end up throwing parts at it and wasting time.

 

Good info.

 

I looked but can’t find the sensors. Are they on a 98?

 

yes, there is on 98 trucks. Just follow the yellow wires. There is one hidden below the battery tray and the other one is in the same area but passenger side.

the fact you say the light goes away when you turn off passenger airbag makes me doubt it is the crash sensors, as the light would always be on if you had a bad sensor

It would be simpler to get the code than going trial and error, though

 

Ok, I just got around to this. I have a code 54

 

so, code 54 means: Open in P squib circuit (P squib is passenger side of the airbag system).
It can either be caused by the passenger airbag itself, bad on/off passenger switch or a problem with the SRS computer.

My guess is that the knuckle failure may have triggered the airbag system but not enough to deploy the airbags(unless they did? you didn't specify it) and if it is the case, you will need to have the computer reset to clear the crash data

But still, here's the test procedure for code 54