46-1X: Second Right Sensor No Signal

Circuit fault

What 46-1X means

On cars with two sensors per side, each one has to check in. When the second right side sensor goes silent, the module has lost part of the picture it uses to decide whether the passenger side is being struck, so it stores 46-1X and disables deployment. The code says the signal is missing without saying why it is missing.

That leaves the whole path to investigate. Power and ground reach the sensor through the body harness, the signal returns the same way, and both pass through connectors that sit low in the vehicle. Sensors in the second position often mount further back, closer to rear door sills and wheel wells, where water and road debris reach them easily.

Common causes

• Water in the sensor connector from a door seal, sill drain, or wheel well leak
• A harness conductor broken under the carpet or behind a trim panel
• A connector left unlatched after interior trim, seat, or belt work
• Loss of power or ground to the sensor at the harness connector
• Corrosion at the SRS unit connector affecting that sensor's circuit

Crash data or hardware fault?

46-1X is a live circuit fault. The module is describing communication it is missing at this moment, and the code stops being current once the sensor answers again. Crash data has no relationship to current conditions, since it is written at the instant of deployment and stays in the module until it is reset off the car.

Does our reset clear it?

Clearing 46-1X while the sensor is still silent gives you a few seconds of a dark warning light and nothing more. Repair the circuit or replace the sensor, then clear. The mail-in reset we perform is for control modules holding a deployment record, which is a separate condition that a scan tool cannot address at all.

Which makes throw it

Both Honda and Acura carry 46-1X for the second right side sensor. The definition matches across the two brands, so the same test sequence works on either.

What to do next

Confirm power and ground at the sensor connector before anything else, since a sensor with no supply will read as missing even when it is perfectly good. Inspect that connector for water and corrosion at the same time. If the supply is present and the harness tests clean back to the module, the sensor is the part to replace, and we stock genuine OEM Honda and Acura side impact sensors. Related codes: 45-2X, 46-2X, B1511.