B1933 is the passenger side version of an open airbag circuit. The restraints control module measured the passenger inflator and read high resistance, or an open, so it shut the passenger bag out of the system and turned the light on.
The passenger inflator is wired to the restraints control module through the dash harness, and the module checks it on every start the same way it checks the driver side. Resistance above the expected window sets B1933 and flashes lamp fault code 33 on vehicles that report faults by blinking the airbag indicator.
There is no clock spring on this side, which changes the odds considerably. The passenger circuit is a straight harness run across the back of the dash to a connector near the airbag itself, usually reachable from behind the glove box. That makes disturbed connectors the leading cause rather than a wear part. Radio installs, heater core work, blend door repairs and dash removals all put hands on that harness.
A passenger airbag that has already deployed also reads open, which is why this code is common on vehicles bought at auction with a fresh dash pad and no bag behind it.
Circuit fault. The module is telling you about a resistance reading on the passenger squib circuit, and that reading has to be brought back in range by repair, not by erasing anything. After a collision the code can be a side effect of the deployment rather than a separate wiring problem, in which case replacing the bag and restoring the connection is what clears it.
No. A reset erases stored data inside the module, and B1933 is live circuit information the module regenerates every time it powers up. The passenger airbag, the connector or the harness has to be made right first. If the vehicle also has locked crash data from the same accident, that part is what our airbag module reset handles once the restraint parts are in. Genuine OEM passenger bags for most Ford applications are in the parts store.
Ford, Lincoln and Mercury use B1933 for the passenger airbag circuit, and it also shows up on Mazda models that share Ford restraint hardware. Other manufacturers assign their own meanings in the B19xx range, so match the code to the make before you order anything.
Pull the glove box and look at the connector before you condemn the airbag. Backed-out pins and a connector that was never clicked home account for a lot of these, especially on a vehicle that has had dash work in the last year. If the connection is solid and the code stays, the inflator or the harness is next, and Ford's pinpoint test for this circuit substitutes a load tool rather than probing the bag directly.
Related codes: B1935 (passenger circuit low resistance), B1925 (passenger airbag circuit short to battery), and B1932 (driver circuit open).
Related codes: B1935, B1925, B1932
Keep reading:
Code scope: Ford, Lincoln, Mercury. The same number can mean something different on another manufacturer, so match the code to your make before you act on it.
A reset clears stored crash data. A replacement part fixes a hardware fault. We have read these codes since the nineties and will tell you which one you are looking at.
Genuine OEM, tested, and shipped ground from Jacksonville, Arkansas.
Ford parts and codes · Do not see it listed? Request a part or call 501-988-0611.