Jim Grant's Tech Tips

'90 Toyota Celica, Air Bag Warning Light

Q: I have a ‘90 Toyota Celica and had a new battery put in at Sears and now the air bag light is on all of the time. What can this be? Is there a reset button? Thanks,

A: There are no reset buttons. The Air Bag warning light can be on for two reasons that I know of in your vehicle. 1. There is a system problem. 2. If the ignition switch is left in the ACC or On position while servicing the battery. This can cause the diagnostic system not to function correctly, causing a code #41 to be set. In both cases the Air Bag warning light will be on. The first step would be to check and record any codes that the Air Bag computer has in memory. The factory procedure for clearing the Air Bag computer of codes is simply disconnecting the battery ground cable for 10 seconds. Be sure the ignition is in the off/locked position! When the battery is reconnected and the ignition switch is turned on the Air Bag computer will run a system test. If all tests pass, the warning light will go out. If not the warning light will stay on. If there is a code #41 stored in the Air Bag computer it cannot be cleared by disconnecting the battery. To remove this code requires a special procedure. The warning light is telling you of a system problem, do not ignore this warning! A safe vehicle has a correctly operating Air Bag system. Have your vehicle checked and serviced by a technician that is trained in servicing your vehicle’s Air Bag system.