What does air bag code 46 mean on a 2002 Ford Ranger?

Answer 1

Airbag code 46 on a 2002 Ford Ranger means the electrical resistance of the seatbelt pretensioner in the driver's seat is out-of-range. This is a common problem when the wires in the driver's seat wiring harness get jostled, dirtied or damaged, and there may not actually be anything wrong with the pretensioner itself.

With the engine off and key out of the ignition, try disconnecting the wiring connector under the rear of the driver's seat, inspect/repair the wires if damaged, clean the contacts and apply some dielectric grease, then reconnect it and restart the vehicle to check for the flashing airbag light again. This solves the problem about 90% of the time. If the airbag warning light persists, then your pretensioner is probably faulty and should actually be replaced.