2006 Ford Focus: Air Bag light on, cannot display trouble code

Maintenance/Repairs
1

I have a 2006 Ford Focus with side air bags in addition to the front air bags and heated driver and passenger seats. The air bag light has been on and off for the last 6 months or so, but now it is on continuously. Through internet search, I found I should be able to make the car display trouble code by turning the car key to the ON position but not crank it. The air bag light should go off for a couple of seconds, then, it should flash, off for a short period, then, flash again. The first set of flashes are supposed to be the 10’s digit code and the second set of flashes are supposed to be the 1’s digit code. So, for example, if it flashes twice, rests, then flashes five times, it means trouble code 25.

However, my car’s air bag light doesn’t do that. When I turn the key to the ON position, the air bag light goes off, then, after a couple of seconds, it comes back on and stays on. So, I don’t get a trouble code. What could this mean?

Background information that may or may not be relevant. I have a son who weighs about 60 pounds, which is just about the threshold of the front air bag activation weight. So, when he sits in the front seat, the AIR BAG OFF light would go on SOMETIMES (This light is not part of the dashboard dummy lights.) I was thinking the weight sensor under the front passenger seat was getting confused, so I banned him from the front passenger seat. The On and Off of the air bag light did not seem to be related, meaning that the air bag light could be on even if no one was sitting in the passenger seat. Anyway, I banned my son from the front seat, but the length of time the air bag light stayed on increased, and now, it’s on constantly.

Does anyone have an idea what this might be or how much the dealer might charge to read the code for me?

Thank you.

2

@Roger124

A dealer will probably charge one hour of labor to read a code

Some of the better code readers also retrieve airbag codes on domestic cars

3

A dealer or competent independent shop will probably charge you about $100 to effectively diagnose your car, at least around here. Now remember a fault code doesn’t tell you what’s wrong, it just tells you what portion of the system is not functioning as designed. For example a code indicating trouble with a passenger pretensioner circuit may be caused by a faulty pretensioner, a loose or corroded wiring connection, a wire that has rubbed through under the seat, a faulty control module, etc.

Certain precautions need to be taken when testing an airbag system. Don’t just start poking around with a test light or voltmeter.