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My airbag light blinks 5 times, pauses and 5 more times, repeatedly when the car is running. I found a few posts on another Mazda forum that say that 5 blinks is the code for a faulty airbag sensor up front under the bumper. How many airbag sensors are there and where are they? Is there a known way to test the sensor?
Background: Middle of 2016 I swapped in a MSMiata steering wheel and airbag. No issues with any warning lights or anything. Drove the car for several months before winter. Over the winter, had the front bumper off to fit another oil cooler and to test fit a 99 spec Mazda bumper. Other than the coolers, fog lights and horns, I didn't mess with anything else on the front of the car. A few month later in the spring, dropped the battery back in, fired on the first try, but my airbag light now blinks as described.
The 5 pulses with pause then 5 pulses means the ABS module is throwing a "5" fault code. According to the above link, that means your car's front impact sensor is faulty. That may have happened when you removed and reinstalled the front bumper. I would bet dimes to donuts that either a connection to the sensor is off or the direction of the impact sensor is incorrect. Check out this link for proper direction of the impact sensor: https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generati.../#post12233510.
In the mean time, I hope these links provide the help you need! Please keep us posted on your progress.
I did not mention this previously however, follow the troubleshooting chart for the SRS system in Section S of the Wiring Diagram Manual. Specifically, Flowchart #3 on Pg S-12 (approx). In full-disclosure, I haven't played with the airbag (SRS) system before. I surmised a fix based upon your background information, which was very helpful. Do be careful when handling this system otherwise you may hear a loud *POP* and deploy the airbags. Please follow all warnings, cautions, and notes when handling the airbag system!
If you only want to test the impact sensor, aka "D-Sensor", then follow Step 4. The resistance measurement between terminals C and D should be around 1.2k Ohms, otherwise replace the D-Sensor. I suspect that something wasn't seated/aligned properly when the bumper was reinstalled. Again, please follow all warnings, cautions, and notes when handling the airbag system.
....I figured I would start out simple and check the center sensor first, since the connector is out in the open near the ABS pump.
I pulled back the boot to figure out which wires were which. This is the sensor side of the connector for the center D-Sensor, S-03. G/Y loops back to the other pin in the plug. So it could never have any continuity with either of the other wires, red'ish and white'ish. The colors don't really correspond to the diagram, other than the G/Y. I do have continuity between the other two wires that actually travel down to the sensor. If I am interpreting the FSM correctly, that should be an open circuit. Is it possible I need to plug the other half (single pin) of the connector back in, so the G/Y travels back into the harness for some reason?
I guess I will dig out the diagnostic module this weekend and check continuity from there as well.
Wow! That is a very unusual set of wires for Connector S-03! Why don't they correspond to the wiring diagram? Do the wires on the harness side match the wiring diagram?
When measuring this circuit, do not check for continuity. You must set the DMM to Resistance (Ohms) because you are checking a parallel path from the switch inside the D-Sensor that has a resistor. That is why Step 4 of Flowchart #3 requires the technician to check for a specific resistance value. If you read a dead short (0 Ohms) then the switch is closed and would send a signal to the Diagnostic Module. If it reads open/infinite ohms (OL) then no signal is sensed at the Diagnostic Module. An open or short in one sensor would theoretically cause a fault to register in the Diagnostic Module. For this reason, it is necessary to look for approx 1.2k ohms between these 2 terminals (from Step 4) of each D-Sensor. If all 3 modules read a short along with the S-Sensor signal then that would send a signal to the air bag modules to deploy.
If all D-Sensors check good then remove and inspect the Diagnostic Module for the air bag. The link you kindly provided discusses capacitors within the Diag Module may have leaked and potentially cause this condition. If that is the case, please take lots of photos and post your findings. If components need to be replaced then I may be able to help further.
Please let us know what you find!
Unrelated to the topic, may you and family have a Happy Thanksgiving!
