Hi everyone, last night I installed a passenger seat from a truck that was wrecked and now the air bag indicator in the instrument cluster flashes then stays on. Has anyone else replaced their entire seat and had this happen? Thanks in advance.

 

The pretensioner in that seat probably deployed.

 

Thanks, can the pretensioner be re-set, or does it need to be replaced?

 

Your truck set a code due to the seat harness being unplugged. Mine did the same thing when I had my front seat taken out when I was putting my leather on. Just went to the dealer to have the light cleared. Later they told me I should have disconnected the battery and stepped on the brake light for a few minutes to drain all current out of the system.

 

They have to be replaced. The pretensioner is built into the seat belt buckle. Finding out what codes (DTC and LFC codes) are in it would help to know for sure. How many times is the airbag light flashing?

 

Here is the flashing sequence:

Turns on when the truck starts then:
3 flashes
3
3
3
3
4
3
4
3
4
On

 

Your sequencing is a little confusing. It should flash X number of times, pause, then flash X number of times. 33 and 34 are both pretensioner LFCs, 33 being the driver's side and 34 the passenger's side.

 

Maybe it did flash 3 times then 4 all the way through. I looked away to write down how many flashes. But it definitely did flash 3 times, pause, then flash 4 times at the end.

What you're saying makes sense. Do you think the dealer will fix this under warranty since the seats are from another truck? I appreciate your help.

 

I wouldn't think so.

It would be like asking them to warranty repair body damage to a replacement fender from a wrecked donor.

I don't think damage (or replacement of a part designed to fail) from an accident is ever covered under warranty, even if it is an original part.

 

Probably not. If the seat came from a wrecked truck, then more than likely the pretensioner deployed upon impact. It'd be kinda like trying to get your airbags covered when they deploy in a collision.

 

Thanks guys, do you know what Ford charges for new pretensioners?

 

How about the pretensioners off your old seats? They should swap out.

 

Yeah, I'm sure they would work, but I'm planning on selling my old cloth seats, so I don't wanna rob anything off of them.

If I order a new seat belt buckle, will the pretensioner come with it? I can't find the pretentioner by itself anywhere... Ford-parts.com only wants $26 for the buckle, seems cheap compared to all the other parts Ford overcharges on.