2000StreetRod
Moderator Emeritus
- Joined
- May 26, 2009
- Messages
- 10,597
- Reaction score
- 334
- City, State
- Greenville, SC
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 00 Sport FI, 03 Ltd V8
I take my parrot to the veterinarian twice a year to have his beak, nails and wings trimmed. It's convenient to place his traveling cage on my 2000 Explorer Sport passenger side front seat. If the air bag ever deployed it would probably crush the cage and parrot. I'd like to install a switch like the one in my wife's 2006 Highlander that turns off and on the passenger front air bag.
Has anyone ever disconnected the passenger side front air bag and started the vehicle? If so, was an airbag light fault displayed on the instrument cluster?
The documentation on my 1996 Volvo 850 turbo wagon states that if the ignition is turned on with an air bag disconnected a permanent fault is set that can only be reset by the dealer. I definitely don't want that to happen.
According to my Explorer wiring diagrams there is a resistance associated with each air bag and that must be how the restraints control module identifies a fault. My 2000 Sport is not equipped with side air bags and there is a resistor in the wiring harness to simulate a connected side air bag. There's also a shorting bar in the connector that mates with the air bag harness. It shorts the contacts when the air bag harness is absent. I think I may be able to add a switch that shorts the air bag feed and return together when I want to disable the air bag.
Related topic: Ever since I purchased my Sport in May 2009 I have put up with the 5 series of 5 chimes letting me know that the air bag light was not functional. This month I finally removed the instrument cluster to replace the burned out light and was surprised to find no lamp or even lamp holding socket in the air bag lamp position. I've ordered new lamps and sockets but I suspect when I get them installed I'll find there is a fault associated with the air bag. Hopefully, it will just be due to a bad connection with the side air bag simulation resistor.
Has anyone ever disconnected the passenger side front air bag and started the vehicle? If so, was an airbag light fault displayed on the instrument cluster?
The documentation on my 1996 Volvo 850 turbo wagon states that if the ignition is turned on with an air bag disconnected a permanent fault is set that can only be reset by the dealer. I definitely don't want that to happen.
According to my Explorer wiring diagrams there is a resistance associated with each air bag and that must be how the restraints control module identifies a fault. My 2000 Sport is not equipped with side air bags and there is a resistor in the wiring harness to simulate a connected side air bag. There's also a shorting bar in the connector that mates with the air bag harness. It shorts the contacts when the air bag harness is absent. I think I may be able to add a switch that shorts the air bag feed and return together when I want to disable the air bag.
Related topic: Ever since I purchased my Sport in May 2009 I have put up with the 5 series of 5 chimes letting me know that the air bag light was not functional. This month I finally removed the instrument cluster to replace the burned out light and was surprised to find no lamp or even lamp holding socket in the air bag lamp position. I've ordered new lamps and sockets but I suspect when I get them installed I'll find there is a fault associated with the air bag. Hopefully, it will just be due to a bad connection with the side air bag simulation resistor.