# Airbag light blinking after run-in with highway debris (2011 Versa)



## Calvin_and_Hobbes (5 mo ago)

(Long post, but I put it in sections for an easier read.)

The airbag light on my 2011 Nissan Versa is flashing, but I'm suspicious that there's actually something wrong with the airbag. (But what do I know about cars? My opinion isn't necessarily trustworthy here; that why I've come to you all!) I'm going to outline everything below.

*ISSUE*
The airbag light has been flashing. The error codes are: *B1049* and *B1054*.

*PRIOR EVENTS*
I ran over some debris (maybe a tire, it was nighttime) on the highway. I continued to drive for maybe about 30 minutes that night. After around 15 minutes, I heard a loud noise that sounded like something metal falling off the back right side of my car. I don't know what that was.
The next day, I drove my car for around 6+ hours. Everything felt normal and sounded normal. Then, when I was about 1 mile from home, the airbag light started blinking.

*SOLUTIONS ATTEMPTED*
I tried the whole "turn the car on, then off, then on, then off, then on, then off" thing that can be found described here. My light had the "desired" result of irregular flashing, two seconds off, three seconds on. When I turned the car off and back on again, the light came on for the normal seven (or five?) seconds, then turned off. At this point, I thought my troubles were over.

I did that at night; the next afternoon I took my car out again. After driving for about half an hour the light started blinking again. I pulled into a gas station and did the "on, off, on, off, on, off" thing again, and it worked just like before. I started driving again, and within just a few minutes it started blinking again.
From here I drove to the nearest Nissan dealership, but they were booked solid for a whole week. So, I did the "on, off, on, off, on, off" thing again and started driving to see how long it would take for it to start blinking again. I drove for another 10-15 minutes, parked for about 10 minutes, then drove (home) for another 10 minutes. The light never came back on.

*WHAT I DON'T UNDERSTAND*
What exactly does the on-and-off-again process do? The explanation I found said that if the light did what my light did, then that means that there was a previous error that hasn't been cleared. This, and the other phrasing in that explanation, leads me to believe that my problem isn't a "real" problem. But.... the service lady at the dealership said that if the light is blinking, the airbags _will not_ deploy.

*WHAT I WANT TO UNDERSTAND*
I've read that there are many things that can cause the light to come on. What are they? Is there a list somewhere of the reasons that the light can come on? The Versa Owner's Manual didn't have one (at least on the page that talked about this indicator light). Something about seat belts, I heard? Something about the seat not being plugged in? I would love to go through and check the things that I can check, just to be sure it's not any of those, before I spend money at a dealership.

*OTHER POTENTIALLY RELEVANT INFORMATION*
I'm here because I don't know all that much about cars, so maybe I left out something that matters. Here is a list of other stuff that's gone on with my car lately: (1) new battery about three months ago; (2) I disconnected this new battery a few times while (3) removing the gauge cluster. I did not disconnect the gauge cluster. I put it back in.

*WHAT I THINK THE PROBLEM IS*
Whatever that metal thing is that sounded like it fell off of my car about 15 minutes of driving after hitting the debris (about 30 minutes total, because I stopped my car and checked the damage about a mile after hitting the debris) was important in some way that relates to the airbag, and it just took a while for the sensors in the car to pick up that it was missing. It'll cost more than the car's worth to repair. I'll spend all my money on this car and I'll have none left over for rent and I'll become homeless.

*THANK YOU*
Thank you for reading my post. If you have any ideas or clarification questions, that'd be awesome.


----------



## rogoman (Dec 16, 2004)

One of the first things to do is perform an SRS code readout at a Nissan dealer or at an auto parts store. The fault codes are in the form of Bxxxx, where B indicates the SRS and xxxx is a numeric code. Post the actual codes here on the forum so that we may be able to help you further. If there is one or more fault codes set, they can help point to the malfunction.

The following info was taken from the FSM for your vehicle:

Precautions for Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) “AIR BAG”.
WARNING:
● Improper maintenance, including incorrect removal and installation of the SRS, can lead to personal injury caused by unintentional activation of the system.


----------



## Calvin_and_Hobbes (5 mo ago)

rogoman said:


> One of the first things to do is perform an SRS code readout at a Nissan dealer or at an auto parts store. The fault codes are in the form of Bxxxx, where B indicates the SRS and xxxx is a numeric code. Post the actual codes here on the forum so that we may be able to help you further. If there is one or more fault codes set, they can help point to the malfunction.
> 
> The following info was taken from the FSM for your vehicle:
> 
> ...


That is very helpful, thank you! I'll do that tomorrow.


----------



## VStar650CL (Nov 12, 2020)

Calvin_and_Hobbes said:


> What exactly does the on-and-off-again process do? The explanation I found said that if the light did what my light did, then that means that there was a previous error that hasn't been cleared. This, and the other phrasing in that explanation, leads me to believe that my problem isn't a "real" problem. But.... the service lady at the dealership said that if the light is blinking, the airbags _will not_ deploy.


That lady is misinformed, the ACU ("bag brain" colloquially) will do the best it can with whatever parts of the system work. Consider the lawyerly field-day that would occur if, say, a disconnected passenger airbag caused a driver to be killed in a crash, even though the driver and side airbags were in perfect order. So the system simply doesn't work that way.

Since your problem seems to have occurred from road debris, the first thing to check is the Crash Zone sensor behind the grille on the vertical radiator support. It may have been destroyed or ripped loose. That's a common occurrence in debris incidents, and often the Ambient Temperature Sensor gets destroyed or torn away as well (they're right beside one another on most models).


----------



## Calvin_and_Hobbes (5 mo ago)

rogoman said:


> One of the first things to do is perform an SRS code readout at a Nissan dealer or at an auto parts store. The fault codes are in the form of Bxxxx, where B indicates the SRS and xxxx is a numeric code. Post the actual codes here on the forum so that we may be able to help you further. If there is one or more fault codes set, they can help point to the malfunction.
> 
> The following info was taken from the FSM for your vehicle:
> 
> ...


So, medical issues kept me from responding sooner, but I've got those codes now.

The codes are: B1049 and B1054.

I downloaded the service manual for my car and it said, for both of these codes: "Driver air bag module circuit is open (including the spiral cable)." The repair order is:

1. Visually check the wiring harness connection.
2. Replace the harness if it has visible damage.
3. Replace driver air bag module.
4. Replace the spiral cable.
5. Replace the air bag diagnosis sensor unit.
6. Replace the related harness.

Now, I'm having trouble figuring out what / where the "wiring harness connection" is, so I don't know about the first two steps. I've learned that the "spiral cable" is the same thing as the clock spring, AND that a broken clock spring can cause a nonfunctioning horn. My car's horn doesn't work. However, my horn stopped working weeks before the airbag light came on, although after I had messed with the gauge cluster.

Does this mean that the clock spring is most likely what's wrong? How could that have been damaged by the car running over debris?

I didn't mean to ignore my own thread, but now that I'm back, I'd still love it if you had any further ideas.


----------



## Calvin_and_Hobbes (5 mo ago)

VStar650CL said:


> That lady is misinformed, the ACU ("bag brain" colloquially) will do the best it can with whatever parts of the system work. Consider the lawyerly field-day that would occur if, say, a disconnected passenger airbag caused a driver to be killed in a crash, even though the driver and side airbags were in perfect order. So the system simply doesn't work that way.
> 
> Since your problem seems to have occurred from road debris, the first thing to check is the Crash Zone sensor behind the grille on the vertical radiator support. It may have been destroyed or ripped loose. That's a common occurrence in debris incidents, and often the Ambient Temperature Sensor gets destroyed or torn away as well (they're right beside one another on most models).


So I got the codes read, and they are B1049 and B1054. The crash zone sensor codes are different.


----------



## VStar650CL (Nov 12, 2020)

That's a bad clockspring. Clocksprings don't usually fail all at once, the connections let go over a period of time, pop-pop-pop. Sometimes the horn will go first, sometimes the Cruise or radio volume, sometimes the airbag, etc. What you have here is a bad coincidence, the bag connections just happened to let go after your debris encounter (maybe from the bump, if they were ready to let go anyway).


----------



## Calvin_and_Hobbes (5 mo ago)

VStar650CL said:


> That's a bad clockspring. Clocksprings don't usually fail all at once, the connections let go over a period of time, pop-pop-pop. Sometimes the horn will go first, sometimes the Cruise or radio volume, sometimes the airbag, etc. What you have here is a bad coincidence, the bag connections just happened to let go after your debris encounter (maybe from the bump, if they were ready to let go anyway).


Thanks.


----------

