Chrysler Repair: 1991 LeBaron air bag light and warning ding, airbag system, fuse box

Question
I recently bought my daughter a 1991 LeBaron Convertible.  We had our mechanic fix the 'non-working' speedometer and horn, and when he replaced the steering wheel (for the horn) he noticed that the airbag was unplugged.  He re-attached the airbag, but the light continues to be on.
Also, I'm not sure if this is related or not, but we get a warning 'ding' everytime the car starts, when you hit the gas to pull out from a stop, and when you hit a bump or make a sharp fast turn.  We cannot figure out how to stop this 'dinging' or what is causing it.
Any ideas/suggestions?  I'd appreciate anything you can think of.  Thanks


Answer
Hi Sheri,
The airbag system is a high tech design that operates via a digital network of sensors located at the front corners of the car to trigger the air bag quickly in the event of a crash. In fact that system was the first part of a more complex system called the Chrysler Collision Detection (CCD) bus that carries alot of other data about body electrical systems. The system has a memory which can be queried about faults, or it can be prompted to analyze itself but to do so you need to use a diagnostic readout box made by Chrysler (for the '91 it is called a DRB II).
The plug in for the box is under the dash near the fuse box and has 6 contacts. To diagnose why the bag light is on you need to take it to a dealer and have them do the readout and then tell you what needs to be done. If you have a do it yourselfer around it might be worth trying to troubleshoot the "clockspring" in the steering wheel which is a set of very thin wires that are connected to the air bag. These wires are subject to breakage which would be detected by the system and then turn on the warning light.
That clockspring is probably the weakest part of the system. Let me know if someone wants to do it and I'll tell then how.
On the dinger, I suspect that may be a door ajar warning sound. While the door may not be ajar, the sensor switch for that warning may be out of adjustment due to the wear on the door hinges or the door latch mechanism needing to be loosened and repositioned so as to latch the door more tightly. So try pushing on each door from the inside when you have the ignition in the "on" position to see which door might, when pushed on, set off the dinger. The ajar switch is one of the two plungers at the bottom rear of the door frame. If tightening the latch doesn't eliminate the warning dinger, then you could "shim" the switch function by epoxying or superglue a penny to the place on the door that strikes the plunger.
Feel free to write back if you have further questions.
Roland