Disabling parrot's air bag?

[2000StreetRod]

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.

 

[1992fordgreen]

If you got in a wreck, the bird and cage would go flying anyways, and what are the chances? The airbag deploys, smashes the cage and bird inside, thats true, but thats very uncommon... IDK if it's worth all of the trouble to tell you the truth...

 

[pjtoledo]

my 2000 Ranger has a switch to disable the passenger airbag. need a key to use it.

 

[rb142]

Rangers have the switch because it isn't possible to put a child seat in the back (since there is no back). In an Explorer, the idea is to put the child seats (and pets) in the back. So disabling it (I assume you want to be able to switch it on and off instead of permanently off) will require some figuring on your part. The air bag simulator resistor (2 ohm I think for this vehicle) would keep it from setting codes when off. You would have to be careful with your switching so that you don't accidentally set off the bag when switching. You might think about trying to harvest some parts (switch, key that goes with it, and maybe some wiring) from a Ranger to retrofit into the Explorer.

 

[coppe]

The five chimes are a signal of a damaged clockspring connector most of the times. Do a search for clockspring. I had to replace mine, and it is part you want to get new, a junk yard one might have issues to quickly and theres a lot involved in the process of removing and reinstalling a used one. Most of the times if the clockspring is damaged, also the horn will have problems, or not work at all.

And like they said. I wouldn't mess with the airbag circuit, a bit of a malfunction in your DIY switch, and it might go off, generating risks and another big expense to replace it, or worse, hurt somebody. And a good crash might end up hurting your pet anyway.

Oh, and also steering wheel buttons might have problems if clockspring is the culprit.

 

[Texas97x]

Well for sure on my 95 Explorer the air bag light will be on if you have the passenger air bag disconnected. I bought it wrecked and be fore I replaced the passenger air bag the light was on every time but as soon as i replaced it and hooked it up the light went out.

 

[2000StreetRod]

Staying current

Thanks for the replies! I agree that there is an element of risk when modifying the air bag system and that for many the benefits may not justify the risk and effort. However, I enjoy tinkering with my Sport and don't mind spending time and money to obtain capabilities provided on later year vehicles. There may be a time when I want to place a car seat with infant in the passenger front seat instead of my parrot with cage.

Texas97x, your post provides the information I was seeking. I assume the shorting bar (which is applied when the air bag connector is removed) notifies the restraint control module that the air bag is absent and activates the airbag warning indicator. That is the result I want - a reminder that the air bag is defeated when my added switch is activated.

My VIN indicates that my Sport did not come with side airbags (4th digit is Y) and I have confirmed there is no harness going into the seat. I removed the driver seat to reduce discomfort while working under and behind the dash. The yellow resistor/plug is still mounted to the bottom of the seat and the mating connector and harness is laying on the floor.

I'm hoping my clockspring is still good. I know there are multiple sections. My horn and cruise control work which according to the wiring diagrams involves two sections. I don't remember if the steering wheel back lighting works since I rarely drive my Sport at night. Hopefully, the air bag section of the clockspring is also still functional.

According to Aldive's thread side air bag simulation problems are fairly common: Airbag light

 

[corkey]

question ??

think it's possible to wire in the a/b off switch from a Ranger into the harness to work in this situation ??
than you can do it at will,
the a/b off switch must have a resistor built into it, or they would show a/b codes when it is shut off ,,

 

[my98nnj]

How big is the carry cage? The bag itself isn't more then 10-12 inches thick. It doesn't explode into the seating area, it explodes upwards towards the window like a big square pillow. It's not going to crush anything on the seat. It's purpose is to cushion a person when flying forward into the windshield or dashboard.

It the cage is there and god forbid you do have a frontal collision, the cage will simply bounce off the pillow, which may in turn be a much better surface for the impact then the hard dash or windshield.

Make sure the cage is belted in tight.

 

[2000StreetRod]

using Ranger air bag switch

When the Ranger air bag defeat switch is active does the airbag fault indicator illuminate? If so, then the switch just shorts the feed to the return which is what I plan to do. If not, then the Ranger restraints control module could be "smarter" than the Explorer module and have an input for the defeat switch. The air bag on the Ranger remains plugged in, I doubt an added resistor in the switch would work since it would be in parallel with the air bag resistance and decrease the total resistance but the air bag would probably still deploy.

 

[2000StreetRod]

cage size

The traveling cage is 18" h x 16" w x 14" deep. The Owner's Guide states "Always transport children 12 years old and under in the back seat and always properly use appropriate child restraints." It also states "National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommends a minimum distance of at least 25 cm (10 inches) between an occupant's chest and the driver air bag module." I have 26" - 14" = 12" so I guess I'm OK with the cage but may not be with a child's car seat.

 

[my98nnj]

Math looks correct, I think you have your answer!

 

[rb142]

The Ranger switch does not trigger any warning lights in the instrument cluster. It has its own notification light right next to the switch to remind you that the bag is disabled. I have not looked at the wiring diagram, but I would guess that the switch is an input to the RCM, and the disablement of the passenger bag happens within the module instead of in any physical switching. (If it uses the same module part as the Ranger, there might even be an unused input on the RCM to add a switch -- definitely the way to go if it had that.) I'm not sure how you could implement a physical (key on) switch without risking accidential discharge.

A dead short will trigger the fault light. The air bag simulators use a small resistor (about 2-3 ohms, but they aren't all the same) which makes it look to the system like there is an air bag plugged in, and therefore no warning lights will result.

 

[rb142]

OK, I just checked the Ranger wiring diagram. The passenger disable switch is an input to pin 8 of the RCM. In the off position, it is a 500 ohm connection from pin 8 to ground. In the on position, it is a 1000 ohm connection from pin 8 to ground. If you have the same pin on your module (possibly hard wired through 500 ohms to ground), that would seem like the best way by far to implement a switch.

Pin 9 of the RCM controls the passenger-bag deactivated reminder light. From power (or pin 2), through an LED into pin 9 should give you an indication of when the bag is disarmed, and this wouldn't give any failure indications in the rest of the system.

 

[2000StreetRod]

Ranger wiring diagram

Thanks for checking the Ranger wiring diagram and posting the information. The Ranger RCM must be different from my Explorer RCM since pin 8 on my RCM is the feed for the driver side crash sensor. My twin granddaughters are 10 years old and their sister is 5 years old and my daughter has no intention of having more children. None of them have ridden in my Sport yet and they probably won't in the near future. In two years I could put one of the twins in the front seat and the rest in back. Since my parrot's cage meets the NHTSA guidelines I think I'll avoid the risk of unknowingly disabling both airbags in an attempt to disable the passenger side. I'll probably have enough "fun" just trying to get the system working as designed.

 

[429CJ-3X2]

The cage may be strapped in tight, but the bird isn't, so airbag or no airbag, the bird is still going to get tossed around inside the cage in an accident.

FWIW, my wife raises birds - parrots, sun conures, parakeets and ****atiels. The key here is my WIFE has the birds.

 

[4pointslow]

Parrot

You should edit the first post to include a picture of your parrot.

 

[SoNic67]

Yeah!
:ttiwwp:

PS: When I read the title I thought that either your parrot has an airbag, or some part of the car is called "parrot" in SC slang.