AIRBAG light... will it halt an inspection? - Page 2

Crazy_pilot · #16 05-04-2009, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by svxfiles

The airbag deploys at 200 MPH and with your face about an inch away as you reach for some pretty yellow wires it takes your head cleanly off,

or snaps your neck and then dents the roof with your head..

And we don't want no dented roofs.

Right, the roof. Gotcha. Fixing those can be a pain.

Szalkerous · #17 05-05-2009, 11:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by svxfiles

The airbag deploys at 200 MPH and with your face about an inch away as you reach for some pretty yellow wires it takes your head cleanly off,

or snaps your neck and then dents the roof with your head..

And we don't want no dented roofs.

Does anyone else find the irony in this conversation? Killed by a safety device..... rich. I'll probably choke on the seatbelt too, for good measure.

In other news, I'm usually pretty good about keeping my face away from airbags when working around them.

Wish I could disable the entire system and call it a day. Just entirely too lazy for that. I'll have to figure out where my disconnect is.

-sz

Szalkerous · #18 05-05-2009, 11:33 AM

Slightly askew from topic, but isn't it possible to remove the airbags and reassemble the wheel and dash so it appears to have one?

Blenderhead · #19 05-05-2009, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Szalkerous

Slightly askew from topic, but isn't it possible to remove the airbags and reassemble the wheel and dash so it appears to have one?

The dash would be easy. Re-assembling the steering wheel to appear to have one would be a little more difficult. However the catch is turning off the light. Airbags have a certain amount of resistance to them, and the computer needs to see that amount of resistance, which is different for different types of cars and different for passenger airbags vs drivers airbags etc. In theory you could just put the appropriate resistor inline with the wiring, but the catch is figuring out what the resistance is supposed to be, because just hooking up the ohm meter to the airbag will be enough to blow it off.

svxfiles · #20 05-05-2009, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blenderhead

The dash would be easy. Re-assembling the steering wheel to appear to have one would be a little more difficult. However the catch is turning off the light. Airbags have a certain amount of resistance to them, and the computer needs to see that amount of resistance, which is different for different types of cars and different for passenger airbags vs drivers airbags etc. In theory you could just put the appropriate resistor inline with the wiring, but the catch is figuring out what the resistance is supposed to be, because just hooking up the ohm meter to the airbag will be enough to blow it off.

"If you hide your light under a basket, no one will see it."
St Luke.

Blacky · #21 05-05-2009, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Szalkerous

Does anyone else find the irony in this conversation? Killed by a safety device..... rich. I'll probably choke on the seatbelt too, for good measure.

In other news, I'm usually pretty good about keeping my face away from airbags when working around them.

Wish I could disable the entire system and call it a day. Just entirely too lazy for that. I'll have to figure out where my disconnect is.

-sz

If you want to choke just try backing up on a dark night and open your door and poke your head out. The seatbelt will do it's best to get you.

BoxerFanatic · #22 05-05-2009, 09:02 PM

Wow.

This thread is looking like a good excuse for a 92-to-early-94 non-airbag dash, a nice three-spoke racing, or aftermarket bag-less steering wheel, fixed seat-belts, and removing the airbag bulb and fuses from the system.

Just Manual seatbelts... like the old days.

svxfiles · #23 05-05-2009, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoxerFanatic

Wow.

This thread is looking like a good excuse for a 92-to-early-94 non-airbag dash, a nice three-spoke racing, or aftermarket bag-less steering wheel, fixed seat-belts, and removing the airbag bulb and fuses from the system. Just Manual seatbelts... like the old days.

I believe that removing that bulb will cause the car not to start.

BoxerFanatic · #24 05-05-2009, 09:57 PM

They just don't make it easy, do they?

Blenderhead · #25 05-05-2009, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by svxfiles

I believe that removing that bulb will cause the car not to start.

Really? Is that a subaru only kind of thing or something? Cause I've never heard that before. I kind of doubt that is true, just cause it seems like something that would be quite a bit of work for them to set it up that way, especially on a car that originally came without airbags. I'll look up the wiring diagrams on it tomorrow at work though to double check.

And Boxerfanatic, I'm right there with you. I personally hate airbags, and I feel much more comfortable in a car without them. I have actually disabled them in some of my cars that I have had. If I'm going to hit something doing 40-50mph, why would I want a wall of canvas flying at my face at 400mph? I've seen those things detonated outside, and I have even seen them used to launch engine blocks in the air and flip small cars on their sides, so its definitely not something I want pointed at my face. Plus I was in one serious accident in a car with no airbags but wearing my seatbelt (got hit head on by a full size chevy pickup going 40-45 while stopped in a tbird) and while I had a huge bruise across my chest from the belt, I walked away without a scratch otherwise, so I really have no use for those things.

Blacky · #26 05-06-2009, 05:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by svxfiles

I believe that removing that bulb will cause the car not to start.

I removed the airbag light to pass the Quebec safety check and the car ran fine. There is actually a small circuit board with about 5 wires attached to it that must be removed.

Blenderhead · #27 05-06-2009, 10:44 AM

I just checked the wiring diagram, and there is no feedback to the airbag control module from the light. The only thing is one wire going from the module to the light which supplies power when it wants to turn the light on. If the bulb were missing, nothing in the car would know the difference, so it wouldn't prevent it from starting.

Szalkerous · #28 05-07-2009, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blenderhead

I just checked the wiring diagram, and there is no feedback to the airbag control module from the light. The only thing is one wire going from the module to the light which supplies power when it wants to turn the light on. If the bulb were missing, nothing in the car would know the difference, so it wouldn't prevent it from starting.

Thank god. I need to pass this inspection, one way or another. If the bulb has to go temporarily, so be it. Afterwards I can hook it back up and properly troubleshoot.