Nissan Repair: Air Bags, mississippi 2, diagnostic mode

Question
I have a 98 nissan fronter.I unhooked the air bags while looking for a short in the dash.After hooking them back up the light stays on all the time.The dealer said said to unhook the batt. for 10 seconds,this has not worked.Can you offer a solution? Thank You

Answer
Marlin,

The dealer is a bonehead and should know better.  The airbag system works off a control area network (CAN).  The CAN is on all the time and that means the airbag circuit is too.  If any components in the system are disconnected, with the battery connected, will throw an airbag code.  This cannot be reset by disconnecting the battery.  One way is to use a Consult scantool.  This is the computer that Nissan uses to read and diagnose codes as well as resetting them.  I cannot understand how some dealerships are still in business telling people the wrong thing on a car that they sell...

There is another way without the scantool.  Follow these steps from nissan forums...

If you have the airbag light, it will show steady for a few seconds (the manual says 7 secs) after you turn the key from off to on (but not start) and then start to flash. Here is how to reset it:

1. Turn the key from off to on.

2. Watch the airbag light closely. It will stay on for a few secs. and then as soon as it blinks off (the start of the flashing), turn the key off instantly.

3. Count to 5 (1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi . . . .)

4. Repeat steps 1-3 two more times until you have done the cycle three times.

5. Now turn the key on and watch the light. It will start blinking in a different, slower manner. This is diagnostic mode. You can watch this for a little while, no hurry.

6. Now turn the key off again, Count to 5 like in step 3 again, and turn back on. If the procedure worked, the airbag light will not be flashing.

If it does not work the first time, just repeat the steps again.