B1474: Driver Curtain Resistance Low

Circuit fault

What B1474 means

Inflatable curtains run along the roof rail behind the headliner and drop down over the side windows. Their firing circuit travels from the SRSCM up through a pillar to reach the curtain module. A low resistance reading means the loop is passing current too easily, which normally means a short between conductors or a squib that has partly failed.

Pillar routing is what makes curtain circuits distinctive. The wiring shares space with trim clips, seat belt anchors, grab handle bolts, and headliner hardware. Anything that has been apart up there is a candidate, and water coming down from a sunroof drain or windshield seal collects in the same area.

Common causes

• Conductors shorted together where the curtain harness passes a pillar bracket
• A trim clip or fastener crushing the wiring during headliner reassembly
• Water from a sunroof drain or windshield leak in the pillar connector
• A squib that has shorted inside the curtain module
• Corrosion bridging terminals at the curtain connector

Crash data or hardware fault?

B1474 is a circuit code because it describes a measurement the module takes over and over. Fix the short and the code stops being active. Crash data is stored once when the curtain actually deploys and stays in the module until it is reset, which no scan tool can do.

Does our reset clear it?

Do not count on a reset for this code. The module measures the curtain loop again immediately and stores B1474 right back if the short is still there. Repair the harness or replace the curtain first. For a Kia that deployed and has a locked module, mail the unit to us and we clear the crash data.

Which makes throw it

Kia lists B1474 for the driver inflatable curtain. Because Kia separates resistance faults by direction, a low reading and a high reading on the same curtain are different codes pointing at different failures.

What to do next

Take the driver side pillar trim off and follow the curtain harness, looking for a crush point or water staining, since both are common up there. Unplug the curtain and measure from the module side to decide whether the short is in the harness or the curtain module. We stock genuine OEM Kia curtain airbags. Related codes: B1415, B1477, B1347.