I have a 1999 f-150 and now when I start the truck the air bag warning light in the guage panel blinks 2 times ,pauses, then blinks 7 times. It will do this several times before going to a steady burn. Anyone got any ideas ? Thanks, Jim

 

Code 27 relates to a problem with the passenger side airbag deactivation warning lamp. Best left to trained technicians.

 

I have the same problem with my 1999 Ford F150 Supercab airbag (looks like a code 27). Can you be more specific on what the problem is? Is the passenger deactivation light just burned out? I leave mine deactivated almost all the time since I'm usually by myself or with my young kids. I had to pay big bucks to have a light bulb replaced (or something easy like that). Isn't their any diagnosis I can do to narrow it down?

 

I guess you meant 'hate to pay...'.

Maybe our trucks are different but, my Passenger Side Airbag light is closer to the right side of the dash. It has a place for the ignition key to activate/deactivate. Turn the key one way and the light comes on, turn the other and the light goes out.

Determining a burned bulb would just mean turning the key?

Something tells me I'm not understanding this.

 

I thought only the regular cabs had passenger side deactivation, supercab and crew did not?

 

My 98 extended cab as the option to turn the airbag off.

 

Yes, mine has the same switch etc. on the right side of the center of the dash (just above the cup holder).

I believe that when you turn on the ignition, it runs a diagnostic test on the resistence of the circuit. If the light is burned out (open) the resistance will be high and the system spits out a code 27.

If you think about it, it's Fords way of making sure they have their bases covered. If you disable the airbag, the light will come on. If the light burned out, a person might think the bag is enabled when it isn't. This could leave Ford open for liability (if there was an accident etc.). By testing it and flashing the light on the dash, they have covered themselves with a warning that something is wrong with the system and you need to get it serviced

I will pop out of the dash and use an Ohm meter to test my theory and let you know what I find. If my suspicion is correct, it is only a burned out bulb. Anyways, in a day or two, I will have had time to do the tests and I'll let you know what I find.

 

OK. If you read my previous post, I suspected that it was a burned out bulb. I was correct. If you remove the dash around the radio/HVAC area (it just pulls straight off with no tools), you will find the assembly mounted to the back. You can remove the three screws and the cable from the assembly. The part number for the assembly is XL34-14B268-AC. Now, are you sitting down, mine cost $68.87 from my local Ford dealer. I plugged it in and my error is gone.

I tore the original one apart to find it is only a cheap switch that moves a magnet near a magnetic relay. There is also a circuit board with two resistors and one light. The light, which looks like an LED, is soldered to the board and has a small yellow/amber rubber cover on it. The resistors are wired in series with the relay contacts. I imagine that it will also detect a problem if the relay isn't made one way or the other since the two resistors are different. See next post for more.

 

You can test the assembly before you go and buy one. If you look at the assembly, with it disconnected, the wiring connector has 6 pins. Hold it so the top has two pins and the other four are on the bottom. Looking at it like that, I'll number the pins as follows:

1 2
3456

The Light is across pins 3 & 4. You should read about 3.4 ohms. If it is burned out, it will read an open. To test the switch, with the key in the OFF position, pins 5 & 6, you should read about 467 ohms. In the ON position, you should read 995 ohms across pins 5 & 6 (same pins for both switch positions). Pins 1 & 2 are not used. Your readings may vary slightly.

Hope this helps someone! I still can't believe 68 BUCKS + tax!!!

I wish I could find a light like this at Radio Shack and solder it on the board. If it happens again, since I have the resistance values of the light, I will try. In the meantime, I'll keep the new one in the ON position to keep the light off to extend its life.