airbag convertion

[typerinside]

ive been reading a few article about replacing steering wheel with airbags to a sports steering wheel with no airbag, they say its complicated coz the airbags might blow out, when i think bout it, it wont blow up once the proper airbag wirings has been disconnected and once disconnected it will be jus a matter of fitting in a boss kit and a non airbag steering wheel, this issue has been covered a few times but no reasonable solution or answer,

[typerinside]

everyone has illegal mods to their car,

[Drew]

Removing any factory fitted safety features is illegal in pretty much all four corners of the globe...

Some places (like NZ) there are exemptions; but you have to remove anything and everything that has to do with the airbags, and anything that might suggest you ever had them... So you will need to have your dash cluster changed to remove the SRS light. Then the car needs to be LVT Certified to make sure the job was done to a high standard etc etc

But in Australia I doubt that there are such exemptions

Regardless there are some nice steering wheels with airbags around anyway

[kid_dynamite]

ive been reading a few article about replacing steering wheel with airbags to a sports steering wheel with no airbag, they say its complicated coz the airbags might blow out, when i think bout it, it wont blow up once the proper airbag wirings has been disconnected and once disconnected it will be jus a matter of fitting in a boss kit and a non airbag steering wheel, this issue has been covered a few times but no reasonable solution or answer,

Legal issues aside, it's not complicated so long as you:
- disconnect your battery negative and then discharge all residual power before starting to work on your car (eg turn your headlights on /stamp on brake pedal)
- don't tamper with any of your SRS (airbag) circuits / wires.

You can usually get boss kits for airbag wheels so that everything installs nicely, and the airbag light will not come on.

[Riviera]

cant u just by pass it??? i dunno anything about air bags and how theyre wirred up but i do some electrical issues. is it not just a matter of red wire to red wire, black wire to black wire to continue the circuit?

i just wanted to post :(

[kid_dynamite]

cant u just by pass it??? i dunno anything about air bags and how theyre wirred up but i do some electrical issues. is it not just a matter of red wire to red wire, black wire to black wire to continue the circuit?

i just wanted to post :(

Your comment I highlighted in bold is why you do not mess with any airbag circuits if you're not qualified. If it deploys at the wrong time, you can seriously injure / kill yourself.

Airbag boss kits contain the necessary things so that there are no loose wires that may trigger. and also keep the airbag light off.

[bennjamin]

Yes its illegal IF your car comes stock with SRS equipped steering wheel.
either replace it with a type R version ( with SRS) or leave it alone.
It will void your insurance / warranty / lifespan without one....

Only track racing / drag strip is it accepted to use no SRS
/

[Rasputin]

Also, ONLY disconnecting the battery and draining residual power as kid dynamite suggested is wrong.
Most SRS systems utilise a backup battery, for obvious reasons. What if the crash results in a wiring failure from the battery? they need a way to still deploy, and act as an independant system. You must allow a certain amount of time for the backup battery to discharge. Maybe 15 minutes, maybe more, I don't know.

As Benjamin suggested, replace the wheel with a safe but cool looking alternative, such as in an evo, the momo evo wheel with airbag. But also do your research and make sure that the airbag is made for a cabin of the same type as the one you'll be installing it into.
For example, evo srs steering wheel into a mirage may look cool, but will still be unsafe as it will be expecting to deploy into an airspace different from the mirage's cabin, and will either be ineffective, destroy itself, or break your neck/face.

Airbags are designed for certain space/seating position setups. Be aware of that.

[Drew]

I removed my airbag steering wheel two weeks ago for fix the indicator and windscreen wiper controls...

With the key in the off position disconnected the yellow plug and disconnected the black blade plug...

Removed the wheel and airbag unit; did the work
Reassembled in the reverse order

Airbags don't just go off on their own while the car isn't moving... They only deploy when the car is above a certain speed (unless it's a Holden then it deploys when you turn on the cabin light)

You don't have to be a genius to figure out what to do...

BUT I strongly recommend that if you have never removed a steering wheel in the past or have never seen how one is removed; pay someone that knows what to do to do it for you

However if you don't care about your insurance being void and a fairly large pack of high explosive blasting off the side of your face; be my guest

[Drew]

Also to add to that

Remove everything VERY VERY slowly
You need to know exactly how things go back together; and a few pieces if you just pull them will fall apart into 3-4 pieces and its hard to put them back together as they will fit back together in 3-4 way but only one way is right...

Really fiddly job

[Edgeauto]

You can disconnect the airbag with the ign on and it probably wont go off but there is always the possibiliy so who would take the chance. Recommended time to leave the battery disconnected before touching srs is 10-15 min as stated above. To stop the light coming on there needs to be a resistance put back in the same as the airbag, i sure you can work it out yourselfwith a multimeter.(cough disclaimer by me).But remember airbays save lives.

[kid_dynamite]

Also, ONLY disconnecting the battery and draining residual power as kid dynamite suggested is wrong.

How about we say half right? :p

Airbag systems can be dangerous to tamper with which we've all agreed on though. If anyone wants to do this and has any hesitations, leave it to a professional.

[Rasputin]

Yeah, definately half right. Sorry man, wasn't trying to call you out or anything, i just freak out when i imagine people tugging those yellow wires while they still have power to them.

[ECU-MAN]

Also, ONLY disconnecting the battery and draining residual power as kid dynamite suggested is wrong.
Most SRS systems utilise a backup battery, for obvious reasons. What if the crash results in a wiring failure from the battery? they need a way to still deploy, and act as an independant system. You must allow a certain amount of time for the backup battery to discharge. Maybe 15 minutes, maybe more, I don't know.

As Benjamin suggested, replace the wheel with a safe but cool looking alternative, such as in an evo, the momo evo wheel with airbag. But also do your research and make sure that the airbag is made for a cabin of the same type as the one you'll be installing it into.
For example, evo srs steering wheel into a mirage may look cool, but will still be unsafe as it will be expecting to deploy into an airspace different from the mirage's cabin, and will either be ineffective, destroy itself, or break your neck/face.

Airbags are designed for certain space/seating position setups. Be aware of that.

your sort of right but wrong

you have to disconect both terminals and wait 3 miniuits. then that car is safe to be worked on. the ecu uses no back up battery. the crash result is stored in non volitile memory ( EEPROM ).

[Drew]

airbays save lives

I disagree, air bays are useless:wave:

[roar]

yer as ecu-man sez 3min is fine

really, its not as hard and fiddly as ppl say it is

neg term off...pos term off
wait three minutes
remove wheel trims, unplug yellow connector for SRS
undo two torx screws
pull airbag module out carefully
set aside trim face up

there ya go

i've had to do this at least 3 times now...just take your time and be careful

AND most importantly, if you aren't completely confident, don't attempt it

[Rasputin]

Thanks for the info, ECU-MAN.
When I mentioned the event of a crash, I was talking about the battery becoming disconnected in an accident, and so a backup battery would be needed to allow the airbags to still deploy.
That's what I thought the requirement of waiting a few minutes after main battery disconnection was.

Edit: What Roar says is important. especially the trim face up section. If the airbag was to go off when facing towards the ground, the wheel would be a dangerous projectile. Make sure the horn faces up, and the airbag isn't going to explode into anything and cause the wheel to take off.

[roar]

If the airbag was to go off when facing towards the ground, the wheel would be a dangerous projectile.

just to be pedantic, the module, not the wheel =)

but yer, just be very very gentle and if possible, place the module in a vacated area/ie not in car/garage...keep it on your driveway or grass or something

[Rasputin]

Well, we should probably be pedantic about explosives. My bad. Section of wheel, then. haha

[typerinside]

since its possbile to change ur standard steering wheel w/airbag instead of using a sport steering wheel (no airbag) will a dc5r steering wheel that has airbag fit into a dc2r

[typerinside]

ACTUALLY FORGET BOUT MY PREVIOUS REPLY, doesnt make sense coz illbe paying a lot of cash to get a dc5r stock steering wheel, only choice is to leave it on stock or go thru all this complication jus to fit in a $100 steering wheel, the labour would cost more than the steering wheel itself

[ECU-MAN]

Thanks for the info, ECU-MAN.
When I mentioned the event of a crash, I was talking about the battery becoming disconnected in an accident, and so a backup battery would be needed to allow the airbags to still deploy.
That's what I thought the requirement of waiting a few minutes after main battery disconnection was.


still no back up battery for that either.

air bags will deploy so quickly in an acident that they will be activated before a battery sitting behind the radiator will get damaged.

[Rasputin]

:thumbsup: coolies. Thanks for the tip.

http://www.filecabi.net/video/car222234.html

^(If you want to see someone sitting on a bucket with an airbag in it while it goes off, just to give you an idea of the force)^


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDGieNhkkP8

^(And this one for a demo by a fire department, which'll show you what happens when an airbag lying around goes off)^

[ECU-MAN]

pretty cool links

they are dangerous to play with.

I had to deploy one once and had to follow the shop manual for deployment procedure. basicly have to wrap the airbag in a bunch of tyres and rims.

when I set it off it got about 5 feet of air :)

[iket]

Don't do it!!:thumbdwn:
Highly illegal!:thumbdwn:
Btw, you will regret it if you're involved in an acco and you split your head open on the steering... an airbag could prevent this!

You don't want to leave behind some broken-hearted loved ones to find out you died in a car accident, due to a stupid reversal of safety modification?

[Civique]

is it possible to put the airbag wheel back in with no problems if you take it out???

[Lex_EG93]

You don't want to leave behind some broken-hearted loved ones to find out you died in a car accident, due to a stupid reversal of safety modification?

i agree. . .