Airbag question

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Airbag question

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Airbag question - 5/28/2008 12:47:43 PM

sheps47

Posts: 4
Joined: 5/28/2008
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My mom has a 1996 Grand Sport. I am wondering if there is a way to disable the passenger airbag in it or if it automatically disables when there is not enough weight on the seat. I cannot find anywhere in the owner's manual that shows you how too, but the manual does state that you can put a child's carseat in the vehicle, if it is front facing.
I have a 1979 Corvette that I have my daughter's car seat in, but I don't have airbags and we only drive 2 miles down the road when we go anywhere.
Thanks for any help!

Post #: 1

RE: Airbag question - 5/29/2008 9:34:37 AM

TJL

Posts: 9
Joined: 5/8/2008
Status: offline

I'm in the same boat with my 95. They do not have an airbag cutoff. The manual shows it's safe but that's old data and we now know it's unsafe for children. I too want to bring my little ones for rides in the Corvette.

My question is if the airbag fuse is removed does that disable the airbags? I think so but I'd like to make sure. If that does in fact disable the airbags then I'm going to create a switch with an inline fuse to disable/enable the airbags so the fuse is remote and on the switch instead of inside the fuse block.

Does anyone know for sure if removing the fuse disables the airbag?

Thanks!

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Post #: 2

RE: Airbag question - 5/29/2008 7:08:17 PM

TJL

Posts: 9
Joined: 5/8/2008
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Ok after doing some research it appears that the removal of the fuse disables both airbags after about 30 minutes as each airbag has a capacitor which holds a small charge enough to detonate the airbag in the event of an accident that kills power. I'm also going to hunt down some GM service manuals to see how else it can be disabled and then create a small switch to disable the airbags. I may even insert a resistor to trick the computer into thinking the fuse is there so the airbag light doesn't stay on. I'm not sure about this yet as it might be a nice reminder to know the airbags are disabled.

I'll post back what I'm able to cobble together in the next few weeks.

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RE: Airbag question - 5/31/2008 5:08:15 PM

sheps47

Posts: 4
Joined: 5/28/2008
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ok please do. That would be great!

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Post #: 4

RE: Airbag question - 6/27/2008 10:59:54 PM

TJL

Posts: 9
Joined: 5/8/2008
Status: offline

Ok I finally got some service manuals and will try to tackle this either this weekend or at the latest next weekend. A quick look shows that the airbags are connected/disconnected by plugs near the steering column underneath the lower trim there. Anyways like I said I''ll get to it soon and post back with pictures on how I did it.

I tried googling and haven''t seen anyone post how to do it yet which I kind of find hard to believe after 13 years.

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RE: Airbag question - 7/27/2008 6:42:26 AM

TJL

Posts: 9
Joined: 5/8/2008
Status: offline

Ok I finally took the lower dash trim off of the driver side. There''s a yellow plug there for the airbag and it''s clearly marked with a sticker that its part of the SRS. According to the service manual the one I can see is for the driver''s side airbag and the one for the passenger side is further back towards the engine along the steering column but I couldn''t see any other plug there and there''s no friggin room to do anything. In the end I put everything back together and pulled the fuse to disable both airbags. However if you''re going to pull the fuse, keep in mind that there are capacitors used to store enough of a charge to activate the airbags in case of loss of power during an accident. It shouldn''t take more than 30 minutes for the capacitors to discharge but I leave mine out permanently so I know the capacitors never have a charge. Once my kids are old enough I''ll put the fuse back in. Sorry it took so long for me to reply to this thread. I hope this helps a little.

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Post #: 6