# Airbags!!?



## Mastiff (Jan 11, 2008)

I'm not exactly sure how the airbags are triggered, they're probably set off by a g-force gauge that measures any sudden g's on the car.

I do know though, that all it takes to make an airbag work is a 12volt power source, if you remove an airbag and take both wire leads and place them on a 12volt battery it will blow the air bag.

You might be able to talk to a good car mechanic and ask him how the airbags are triggered.
If the airbag system is independent of the rest of the car's computer then you'll probably only have to supply it with a 12 volt power source to keep it running.


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## Ioku (Sep 27, 2007)

I think on most car they have a separate air bag controller it measures things like speed and g force to know when to set off the airbag. On my car a 95, I know it has one but I'm not sure when they started using these things.


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## simy (Jan 26, 2008)

Thats a very good question, if anybody knows of a resource other then a mechanic, like an online page that will tell the year they had an independant system, ild love to know 


Congrats on the good question BenNelson!


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## Coley (Jul 26, 2007)

A factory shop manual, would have the wiring diagram and you should have one to use to identify all wiring that won't be needed, as well as mechanical adjustments.


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## simy (Jan 26, 2008)

Coley said:


> A factory shop manual, would have the wiring diagram and you should have one to use to identify all wiring that won't be needed, as well as mechanical adjustments.


I take it your not talking about a shade trees typically manual like a chiltons guide(sp?)?


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## Coley (Jul 26, 2007)

simy said:


> I take it your not talking about a shade trees typically manual like a chiltons guide(sp?)?


No, a FACTORY shop manual. Everytime we get a different car/truck I get a manual for it. I do most all of my own repairs and the manual is a great help.


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## simy (Jan 26, 2008)

Where would I or anybody else go to get one of those? Sounds like its better then the chiltens wen your gutting half the car  Chiltens dosnt quite cover that aspect of maintenence...


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## simy (Jan 26, 2008)

Where would I or anybody else go to get one of those? Sounds like its better then the chiltens wen your gutting half the car  Chiltens dosnt quite cover that aspect of maintenence...


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## Twilly (Jan 22, 2008)

There are usually 2 sensors in todays cars... one behind the grill and one under the rear seat or under the rear deck/trunk... Both sensors have to detect the same G-force at the same time for the air bags to deploy ( in case one sensor goes bad ). All the wiring for the airbag system is usually in a yellow or orange flex duct or wrapped in yellow tape. Even the plugs are brightly colored. Probing around the car with the key on and with a traditional bulb type test light can set off the bags. Most techs now use a LED test light which is much safer. I have been in a garage bay ( auto alarm co ) when the bags went off, not something you will forget easily. The air comes from a chemical reaction ( dont know the chems ) between 2 tubes of chemicals located in the steering column. the tubes can also be located in the seats and above the headliner for side impact bags. There are also small airbags in the seatbelt latches that tighten the seatbelts during a accident. Also many of todays cars have a weight sensor in the passenger side front seat, If someone sits in the seat that weighs less than 100 lbs, the system turns off the pass side front bag.

Twilly


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## chapcalledjules (Aug 12, 2008)

Thinking latterly, this is one of the queries that came to me whilst debating what car to convert and of course age. Have people encountered airbags with difficulty? With ease? Or down right avoided them?


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## e_canuck (May 8, 2008)

hi guy.

I was re-reading my Haynes manual about the airbag.

Twilly's description is very similar to the description my manual give.
I would add that you should follow your manual when dismantling a car. As the book will tell you how to disarm the airbag and of any things that are dangerous for that matter.

Blowing the airbag when pulling the engine can cause injuries to yourself or helpers. Plus finding a used airbag, for that older car, might be impossible or expensive.

The inertia switch ( fuel cutoff switch ) , if installed, is meant to cut power to the fuel pump in a collision. It is a separate animal all together.

I do not think that the airbag system need an engine of any type or presence, to work.

Be safe, all of you,

DP


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## TX_Dj (Jul 25, 2008)

Can't speak for all vehicles, but many vehicles I've encountered have their own airbag control system separate from other items.

I.E. in my S10, I have the ECU that controls the engine stuff, the ABS computer for the rear-wheel ABS, and the airbag computer. My Tacoma is the same way.

So long as the battery is disconnected, you shouldn't have any problems with the airbags. So long as the sensors and computer and airbags remain connected, you should not lose any functionality.

Your airbag computer is in direct control of the idiot light in the dash cluster, as far as I am aware. So long as once you finish your conversion the "test lighting" happens when they key is turned to the ON position, and the light goes out after a few seconds, all is well with your airbags.


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## Coley (Jul 26, 2007)

You can buy the shop manuals from the dealer that sold your car originally or the printer that sells them to the dealers...

I took apart an air bag "sensor" one time a few years ago. All it was was a magnet holding a steel ball. When the car hit something, the ball was dislodged from the magnet and fell across 2 electrical contacts, Walaaa the air bag went off!!
Not exactly rocket science, but very simple and effective.

I used to work for Ford back in the early '60s. Up until the '60s, Ford and most other car companies had a simple mechanical switch that hardly ever failed,

The the engineers got the bright idea that it was too simple. They went ahead and designed a nightmare of a switch that was a headache for some months.

Everything is way over engineered in our cars of today. Convert older cars, they are much easier to work on.


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## aktill (Jun 18, 2008)

http://www.factoryautomanuals.com/ is also quite handy. I got both the service and electrical manuals for my 96 Ford Aspire for $75 shipped to Canada. Shipped the same day I ordered...I was pleasantly shocked


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## tj4fa (May 25, 2008)

aktill said:


> http://www.factoryautomanuals.com/ is also quite handy. I got both the service and electrical manuals for my 96 Ford Aspire for $75 shipped to Canada. Shipped the same day I ordered...I was pleasantly shocked


 
I got the shop manual (volume 2 for electrical and body) for my '91 Ranger on eBay from this seller:

http://stores.ebay.com/Lorie-and-Jeff


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