Lower Dash and PAD light replacement

NickM

Member
So the lady friend bought an 06 Mazda3 last month with about 113k miles and in great shape for a steal. The guy selling the car dropped the price by 2 grand literally overnight. When I asked him why he said that the airbag light came on and he didn't want to pay the quoted price to have it checked out. Carfax, my extensive experience with cars, and a thorough visual inspection told me that the car had never been in an accident. I told her to buy the car and that I could figure it out and fix the problem. I did some research and found that there are several things that could cause the airbag light to come on besides actual airbag deployment. While tinkering with her car I also noticed that the ash tray light, cigarette lighter ring light, and the 3 rings around the A/C controls were not lit like the stereo was when the headlights were on. The next day the Airbag light went away but came back on after tapping around the PAD (Passenger Airbag Disable) light area on the lower dash. So I began tearing into the lower dash/ center console area to see if I could figure it out.

I found that the 1.7 Watt bulb for the PAD indicator was blown. I have read that this will throw the Airbag error light on the dash if not working properly. I then replaced it with something I found at the local auto parts store but it was a 5 watt bulb. I did a few tests to see if I could get the PAD light to come on with no luck. The dash light was still on as well. I went a head and ordered the bulb from the Mazda stealership for like $7 which I think is a total rip but hopefully it will work. I am curious to know if anyone knows of a way to reset the airbag dash light after I replace the lamp or if it will just reset itself once the issue is resolved. Can I just pull the battery for 10 minutes, or jump some pins on the OBD connector?

Upon further inspection of the bulbs in the ash tray area, cig lighter area, and inside the A/C controller assembly I noticed that they were all out as well. I was able to replace the bulb in the ash tray area with one I found at the auto parts store but the cigarette lighter ring requires a different wattage bulb than the one I found to consistently light the entire ring (or at least I think). It took a lot of effort to get into the internals of the A/C control area but I figured it out and found that the bulbs used in the assembly are set into proprietary plastic sockets and need to be replaced as a unit. I only ordered one because the second one looked fine and it cost me roughly $12!

Either way, what I am getting at is that I have all the replacement bulbs for these areas and plan on cracking into the lower dash/console area again this weekend to replace all of these lamps and would like to know if anyone would be interested in seeing a how-to or knows if there already is one so I don't waste my time. I did some research and found nothing but I may have over looked it.

Does anyone have similar issues? Airbag light coming on and off on the dash but vehicle has never been in an accident? A/C control rings not lighting up when headlights are on, cigarette lighter ring not working, ash tray light out?

If so or if anyone is actually interested in seeing a walk through I will snap some photos and write up a quick how-to, otherwise I'm just going to fix it and save the time.

The parts I ordered from the stealership:
PAD indicator light - B456-60-223 - $6.84
A/C control ring light - BP4K-61-C95 - $11.51
Cigarette lighter ring light - 3625-75-139 - $3.69
 
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