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Jim Grant's Tech Tips
'93 Mercury Sable, Blinking Air Bag Light
Q:
We really need your advice. We are a semi-retired couple who chose to
fix up our 93 Mercury Sable wagon rather than buy a 2000 wagon and
pay $18,000 back (inc. interest). We may have made a mistake. We have
160k miles on the car and have made a lot of repairs to bring it up to
snuff. Now we have an air bag warning light that started coming on during
longer trips (50 miles or more). It is blinking quite a bit now, and our
mechanic couldn't diagnose the exact cause. He said it could be lengthy
and expensive repairs. I noticed on your web page the 97 Mercury
Sables had a problem with air bag deactivation shunts (whatever they are
?) and switches. Have you got any ideas or suggestions? We don't want
to keep pouring money into an old car if it isn't going to hold up. My
husband is 70, and can't do repairs.......Ruth
A:
Im
not sure that your mechanic is comfortable with air bag systems. If he/she
were, they would have suggested having you stop in after a long drive
when the air bag light is blinking, for diagnosis. The diagnostics on
Ford air bag systems is well published and easily available, of course
for a price. On the next return trip with the air bag light flashing be
sure to stop in and do not turn the engine off. With the air bag light
blinking, Im confident that with the right information, diagnosis
will not be a problem.
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