Why would the airbag flash on a 1996 Mercury Villager?

Answer 1

TAke it to the dealer and they have a chart to check out the function of the air bag. As long as the light is flashing, it will not work. A flashing airbag light can indicate that the airbag is in diagnostic mode. It can be put into this mode by manually pressing the switch in the driver's door, that controls the interior lights (I believe the technician must press it 5 times in 7 seconds or something to that effect). I suspect however that if your door is poorly fitted, it might cause this switch to be activated in a similar way, therefore inadvertently causing the airbag to go into a diagnostic mode. I found this re-set sequence on another site and it worked for me. I think it said something about some type of power surge kicking the airbag into diagnostic mode. This sequence puts it back into normal mode and the flashing stops: 1) Open the driver's side door. 2) Put the key in the ignition and turn to ON (but don't start the vehicle) 3) Within 7 seconds of turning the key to ON, push the driver's side door switch button at least 5 times. 4) The Air Bag light should go solid...give it at least 7 seconds, and it should begin to blink a 3 second, 2 second on/off pattern. 5) Turn ignition to OFF and remove key. 6) Start vehicle, and wait for the Air Bag light to turn off to verify that it worked.