Boy do I feel like a moron. When initially checking this I was using some spare wire to test that was pretty flimsy. This caused me to need to fiddle with the cables under the dash a bit to get the error code to display. I must have missed the initial first blink as I took a video today so I could watch it back and realized I was counting the repeat at the wrong point. It turns out I'm receiving an 18 (B1181), not an 81 lol. Makes sense why I was having trouble looking for a code that doesn't exist! Anyways, it appears this points to something being screwey with the steering wheel airbag system. Found some documentation on testing procedures in the service manual and will give that a go this weekend a report back.
Hey All,
Just recently inherited a 2004 Pontiac Vibe. Before fixing a bunch of other miscellaneous issues, I've decided to take care of the airbag light first. I don't have a scan tool capable of pulling the codes, so I used the procedure of jumping the OBDII pins. I'm getting an 81. This is 8 short blinks followed by a pause, then 1 short blink followed by another pause before it starts repeating. If anyone could help me with tracking down the error code meaning it'd be greatly appreciated. I did a bit of searching online, but having some trouble finding info since I'm not getting the full code (Eg.B1XXX). Thanks!