bluetaurus

Hi all, I just bought a 2001 Taurus with 122xxx miles on it. When I bought it, the stitching covering the passenger side airbag was open and the car was giving me a code "37." I don't think the car has ever been in an accident and the dealer checked and said that said airbag has not been blown. They said I should replace the RCM under the center of the dash, which I did from a junked car. Now it is giving me a code "44," saying that the passenger side crash sensor is mounted improperly. I took the seat out and checked the sensor and all connections and found nothing wrong. When I put it back together, I was still getting the same "44" code. For kicks, I unplugged the pass. side airbag under the seat and tried again; receiving the same "44" code. Has anyone seen anything like this before? Thanks in advance

rtg143

Code 44 is for the drivers side crash sensor.

bluetaurus

It is? That's weird; the only code lists I could find on this site said passenger side, but i suppose that would explain why it is still being persnickety. Thank you for your help! I'll check it out later today and post back the resultshttp://www.fordforums.com/images/smilies/thumbsup.gif

rtg143

This is from the factory manual:

42 Driver Side Crash Sensor Mounting Mounting Fault

43 Passenger Side Crash Sensor Mounting Fault

44 Driver Side Crash Sensor Communications Fault

45 Passenger Side Crash Sensor Communications Fault

bluetaurus

Well here is my debrief after tackling the Driver side theory. I took the drivers seat out, cut a small slit in the carpet and took out the drivers side crash sensor. Like the passenger side there was nothing out of the ordinary albeit I did clean all the connections just to be safe. After putting everything back together I was still graced with the "44" code. Any ideas as to what could be throwing this code? I almost wonder if it could be a damaged wire somewhere en route to the RCM? I know the fellow who had the car before me had a speaker set up in the trunk with the wires running down from under the dash about six inches to the right of the brake pedal. Perchance he cut something installing it????? http://www.fordforums.com/images/smilies/cussing.gif Any help is appreciated. Additionally I"m going to swap out my heater core tomorrow using the posted "quick method." I'll post my experience later on!

rtg143

The test procedure is not without many cautions. It might be a good idea to take it to someone that has the equipment to do the testing.

The restraints control module (RCM) monitors the communications link to the driver side crash sensor at RCM C310b pins 13 and 14, circuits 1261 (WH/LG) and 1262 (BN/LG). If the RCM loses communication with the driver side crash sensor, it will store diagnostic trouble code (DTC) U2017 in memory and flash lamp fault code (LFC) 44 (or higher priority code if one exists) on the air bag indicator.

Possible Causes
A driver side crash sensor communications fault can be caused by:

l damaged wiring on circuit 1261 (WH/LG) or 1262 (BN/LG).

l a driver side crash sensor internal fault.

l an RCM internal fault.

Marc@Blitzsafe

I wonder if the RSM is faulty. The fact you were getting a different code before you changed it makes me think that way. You claimed you got the module out of a junked vehicle right? It is possible that the donor vehicle could have been in an accident or that they removed the airbags without disconnecting the battery first..I would suggest getting another RSM unit and see if you still get the same code.