Seat swap with airbag delete

[bigandbadranger]

So before any one freaks out. I'm not looking to disable the front airbags. We got the wife a 2000 mounty a couple of months ago. She lives the truck but hated the sport back seats. She liked the limited seats that were in our 97. So I went and got seats out of a 2000 limited. Trouble is the limited don't have the side airbags and the sport backs did. Is there a way to disable the seat bags. I gutted the bags out of the mounty seats and now have them safely tucked under the cubby behind the back seat so the wife can drive it safely now.

Basically is there a way to disable the side bags or can I cut and extended the wiring so I can safely mount these elsewhere with no worries of snagged wiring as I have the wiring just laying on the floor for now.

 

[CDW6212R]

The side airbag systems require a resistance from the bag which is very narrow, or a perfect match resistor, which is super hard to match. I tried to do that with my 99 Limited, using my 93 Limited seats which I like way better. I hate the flat 99-01 Limited seats, poor body fit and control.

To stop the airbag system from disabling itself(the light is on), it may be possible to install an airbag module from the earlier models. I'm going to try a 98 module when I remember to get one at the junkyard next time. My airbag light has always been on, and the OEM resistors I bought did not fix it. The wiring itself produces a resistance, so if the total amount the module sees is wrong, it disables the system and turns the light on.

You may be fine to use the OEM resistors like I have, they came on those same models as yours, models that didn't have the side airbag option. All of those trucks use the same ABS module, they simply installed the tiny plug in resistor into the wiring under the seat, in seats that do not have the airbags in them. Those things cost almost $15 each when I got mine. I'd give them to you if I knew exactly where they were, I went back to trying different resistors from an electrical shop source here. Good luck,

 

[bigandbadranger]

My limited seats that came out of a 2000 came with the Lil delete plugs but it did not work. I wonder if I went to the junkyard and cut the wiring out of another seat and made an adapter the same length with the oe wire into a delete if that would work. Same amount of wire with the delete resisters mounted at the end of the long wire so maybe it would think there still there. My wife loves the newer limited seats alot better then the sport backs it had.

 

[CDW6212R]

It sounds like you have the resistance issue, which years ago there were a few threads talking about it. I hadn't looked into it since my truck had the trans go out four years ago(and stopped driving it). I thought of using the 98 module back then. My truck is for delivering mail though, I've got a bunch of custom wiring in it, so my issue could be a damaged airbag wire etc. My answer is simpler for me since I have no need for the truck to ever have side airbags, and never sell the truck.

I'll figure out how to make the 98 module work, it may or may not have the same connector or number of wires. The systems and parts are otherwise virtually identical, it comes down to liability for a future resale.

 

[bigandbadranger]

Yea maybe. It sucks. She loves the newer limited seats but idk what to do about the airbags laying on the floor basic to get the airbag light to go out.

 

[CDW6212R]

I think they should have located the dummy resistors next to the module itself, so it's less likely to change resistance over time/corrosion.

 

[bigandbadranger]

Yea it's such cap and I need to figure this out soon.

 

[CDW6212R]

For mine I'll find the pin out diagrams for the 99-01 airbag modules, and compare it to the 98 version. If the connectors are the same, then it's a matter of comparing circuits. If nothing is unusually different, it would be plug and play. But there may be circuits that are moved to different pin locations, so moving wires might be required. If the connector is different, than a change of that will work for my 99 truck.

For your 2000 truck you would need to be able to restore any changes made for future sale of the vehicle. I will make mine permanently not able to have side airbags. I just haven't thought of the issue when I've been at a JY before, and it's low on my to do list. I should right it down though, I have been making notes/lists. Thanks for bringing the idea back to mind.

 

[bigandbadranger]

I suppose the wiring can't be cut and extended can it.

 

[CDW6212R]

The resistance is what is being sensed, and I think it's how that changes over time that makes the light come on more than a bad resistor etc. If you knew what the module was seeing at its pins, at that connector, then you could create the right resistance there given the right resistor placed anywhere you'd like it. For your truck that you would likely sell later, you might want to do that, even if meant removing those side airbag wires from the module connector, and replacing them with extra wires you acquire with the proper terminal end, and plug them in there, with a resistor across the other ends. I'm guessing that it amounts to four wires at the airbag module.

Search the forum for some other threads about side airbags, and see if the proper resistance is mentioned in them. I recall a figure like 7ohms, or a range of say 6.8-7.2, that rings a bell. I have resistors as I mentioned, and they didn't make the light go out. So mine could have been something else, and I quit hunting an answer.

 

[bigandbadranger]

Any 1 have any ideas. I read about a harness from ford to fix a common issue with the srs.

 

[bigandbadranger]

Guess I'm the first to do a seat swap in a second gen.

 

[angstrom08]

I'd been enjoying the strange airbag warning lights. After the local independent repair shop pulled the codes from the PCM and Airbag controller, I got offered the opportunity to pay someone $300 to have them "trace all the wiring." Needless to say, I declined.

I discovered the yellow capped connectors and explorerforum clued me into their purpose. Although I had the yellow caps still, years of humidity, thermal expansion/contraction, dirt, beer, etc. had contaminated the contacts sufficiently to skew the measurement to evoke an airbag controller tantrum.

In my '01, the resistance required to fake the presence of the side airbags is 6.8Ω. I didn't have any of those resistors handy, so instead I ganged together ten 68Ω resistors, twisted the ends together and then soldered them. Since it was a Michigan winter, I wasn't about to try and solder while kneeling in a snowbank feeling my nose develop snot-icicles. Instead, I just dyked off the yellow plug, stripped back the insulation and used one of those plastic strips of metal screw terminals to wire it up. If anyone cares to see my work, I can take a photo.

Having checked it with an OBD adapter querying the Airbag controller PIDs for Driver and Passenger side airbags, they're reliably 6.8Ω ± 0.2Ω and that's all I need. It's been a year and a half now, still no issues.

 

[angstrom08]

So, here's what I did. Please excuse the dirty carpet. Top is Passenger side, middle is Driver side, and bottom is my tablet querying the Airbag controller.

'
Note the Driver Side Airbag and Passenger Side Airbag readings of 7.1 and 7.0. I guess I lied above when I said the readings stayed ±0.2Ω. Nevertheless, also notice where it says 0 DTC, so 7.1Ω hasn't caused an issue, either.

 

[bigandbadranger]

Probing my air bags they only produce .2 to
.4 ohm load. The 7.0 is gotta be y I can't use the factory plug in resisters

 

[angstrom08]

Probing my air bags they only produce .2 to
.4 ohm load. The 7.0 is gotta be y I can't use the factory plug in resisters

Where and what are you probing, specifically?

 

[bigandbadranger]

Probing the airbags to find there load. And at the plug to check overall ohm load from the bag and wiring

 

[angstrom08]

So, as I understood your initial question, your new replacement seats do not have the side airbags. The airbag controller, however, expects there to be side airbags (in addition to the front ones) and will indicate an error if they're not connected. Ford's airbag controller for all the different trim packages is configured for side airbags. Trim packages without a side airbag have a yellow plastic cap on the side airbag cable underneath each seat. This cap "fakes" the presence of the side airbags. I believe this is part XL1Z-14B022-AA, but a quick google search only lists 2002+ models, but in this thread, http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/index.php?threads/i-need-a-yellow-airbag-connector.145742/ aldive indicates it is the correct terminator plug. Can anyone else confirm the part number?

I would have used that same yellow cap, but in my case, the wires to that connector had been torn or broken by a previous owner. That's why I hacked together the ugly mess I posted above. Basically, all you need is two of those caps. You can probably find them on ebay.

Does this help?

 

[bigandbadranger]

Nope. I have the dumy caps. The turn on the check air bag system.

 

[angstrom08]

Nope. I have the dumy caps. The turn on the check air bag system.

Oh! Now I understand your first reply and I should have read the entire thread before posting, as everything I mentioned had already been covered.

Honestly, I'd suggest getting a $13.00 bluetooth OBD2 module from amazon like I use and checking the codes on the airbag controller. I use the android app Car Gauge Pro because it's the only one I've found that understands how to communicate with the airbag, abs, gem and other modules as well as the PCM/ECU. That way you can find out more specifically what the airbag controller is expecting or objecting to.

The original bags measure 0.2 to 0.4 ohms?! That seems a bit outrageous. I wonder if you can fake it with a dead short?