Your Vehicle: 2001 Ford Escort ZX2 L4-2.0L DOHC VIN 3
 
Vehicle » Restraints and Safety Systems » Air Bag Systems » Testing and Inspection » Pinpoint Tests » Test Q: DTC B1869 - Air Bag indicator Inoperative  
 
 
  Test Q: DTC B1869 - Air Bag indicator Inoperative  
 

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Normal Operation
The air bag indicator is designed to illuminate for 6 (+/-2) seconds when the ignition switch is turned to the RUN position. This initial 6 seconds of illumination is considered normal operation and is called proveout of the air bag indicator. The air bag indicator is then used to warn the driver that there is a fault in the air bag Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) .

The air bag Electronic Crash Sensor (ECS) module monitors the air bag indicator for open and short to ground conditions. If the ECS detects an open or short to ground condition on the air bag indicator circuit, it will store a Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC) B1869 in memory.

If the ECS detects an air bag indicator failure in addition to another SRS failure, the ECS will send a signal to the Total Warning System (TWS) module to produce five sets of five tone bursts.

Possible Causes
An air bag indicator inoperative condition could be caused by:

  • damaged wiring on circuit 952 (PK/GN).
  • a damaged or burned out air bag indicator.
  • an instrument cluster malfunction.