Airbag warning light (on a Fiesta!)

[Gimme Shelter]

The airbag warning light on my son's Fiesta Zetec-S comes on occasionally. Sometimes it flickers, then sometimes it stays on. Turning the car off normally resets it and then it might not come on again for several days. Does anyone know what causes this and what the remedy is, by any chance?

 

[Richard_Hamilton]

My daughter had a couple of Fiesta Zetecs, and it seems like the connector under the passenger seat (which include the seat balt buckle) can be problematic. With the ignition switched off, unplug the connector and give the pins a spray with contact cleaner.

Other than that, I would check out these forums:

http://www.fordfiestaforum.com/

http://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/forum/1-ford-fiesta-club/

http://www.fordfiestast.co.uk/ubbthreads.php

 

[Gimme Shelter]

Thanks, Richard. It was those wires, alright, but it took a bit more finding ... Ford had bolted the passenger seat down onto the wires that run from the loom to that yellow connector, and after ten years the seat had just started to eat its way through the insulation and into the mauve wire. All sorted now.
Incidentally, the airbag light flashes a code at you. I called it "flickering" but in fact it was trying to tell me: four flashes between pauses means "seat belt pre-tensioner." So now I know!