Solutions?

Is there a fuse to pull? I've called a couple of dealerships, but they either won't give me a straight answer (liability reasons) or I don't get the impression that they really know what they're talking about.

I assume that there's a fuse that I can just pull, although one of the dealers claims that the airbags have to be reset every time before they'll work again (after I replace the fuse). That isn't that big of a deal...I don't really mind driving without airbags, although I'd prefer to have them work if there's an easy way I can reset them.

The other dealer said that if I'm going to pull the fuse, he'd disconnect the battery and wait a minute before pulling the fuse. I don't really see the point in that, but maybe he knows something I don't.

Also, I'm not going to pay some ridiculous sum of money for an aftermarket disabling switch, if one even exists for the car.

4/7/2009 8:29:32 AM

yes disconnect the battery first and wait. there is still power a little after disconnect. pull the fuse and you will be good, when you want air bags again. repeat in reverse order,

well thats how it works in a mustang atleast

4/7/2009 9:24:55 AM

Why are you doing this?

4/7/2009 10:14:12 AM

I'd guess toddler in the front seat and no kill switch, or he's so big he sits really close to the steering wheel.

4/7/2009 10:28:04 AM

Run it into a telephone pole and don't replace the airbags.

4/7/2009 10:39:45 AM

^^ the former. toddler with no backseat.

4/7/2009 4:45:49 PM

guess nissan figured nobody with a small child would buy a 350 let alone have them ride in it with them.

4/7/2009 5:53:51 PM

yeah man there is a bit of juice left after you disconnect the battery that there is a possibility that you could set off the airbags.

let it sit for a while after you disconnect the battery. turn the key to make sure it's off.

unplug that junk.

4/7/2009 11:04:22 PM

drive it into a wall, it won't go off twice

4/8/2009 12:22:00 PM

are you sure it doesn't disable itself? i was under the impression that most, if not all, late model vehicles produced within the past few years are equipped with weight sensors in the seat for exactly this reason. these new interactive systems are a lot "smarter" than older ones and have effectively replaced the keyed on/off switches 2 seater vehicles used to be equipped with. if a certain amount of weight isn't detected in the seat (80-90lbs. in most cases iirc), then the bag is disabled. they are also disabled if a seatbelt isn't engaged, but i believe the weight sensor takes precedent. i don't really know much of anything about kids, but i would assume most of them are riding normally by the time they get to the point that body weight + car seat exceeds that limit.

as for pulling the fuse requiring a reset, that could definitely be the case. a lot of systems detect that as a wiring problem or some other component failure within the system. to prevent any further damage, a false deployment, etc. the entire system disables itself and a dtc code is set. unlike other obd systems in the vehicle that may be capable of reseting/relearning on their own after a problem is corrected (via sensor input or ignition cycles), the airbag system doesn't posses that ability. it sets what is referred to as a "hard" code, and requires a reset of specific user input. for most makes/models that means the use of a professional grade or vehicle specific scan tool/software. others are much easier and only require a full computer reset (batt. disconnect) or allow the code to be accessed and cleared through some dtc/obd interface on the factory guage cluster, radio screen, etc.

the reason for disconnecting the battery first is probably to avoid the code setting problems above. while the system will still be disable itself when it's powered back up with no fuse, it's possible that as long as the main power is killed when removing/installing the fuse that it wouldn't cause an error code. there's several reasons why it would be designed this way that i don't feel like typing out, but i can if this doesn't make any sense. simply put, the system is only supposed to set codes for faults that occur while the main power is still functional. if it sees some issue AFTER the main power is reconnected that wasn't present before, it just assumes that it was something intentionally done and there is some normal repair or troubleshooting going on.


[Edited on April 8, 2009 at 3:00 PM. Reason : clear as mud? ]

4/8/2009 2:56:49 PM

on neons it takes a 2 ohm resistor in the plug to make the system think an airbag is there after you disable it. I imagine a 350z has a similar way to bypass it. Just unplug the airbag, insert resistor, tape it up, and everything else should work fine without any codes.

You may be able to wire up your own bypass switch with the right resistor in place. That'd make it a lot easier than pulling the dash panel off to get to the connector whenever you need to turn it on or off.

[Edited on April 8, 2009 at 4:50 PM. Reason : ]

4/8/2009 4:49:18 PM

i'll look up the wiring diagrams when i get home, but read your manual, it shouldn't go off without enough weight in the seat

4/8/2009 4:55:23 PM

you will have to get a bypass switch, and it will need to be approved by the DOT

http://www.airbagonoff.com/
here is a switch

4/8/2009 5:06:50 PM

[NO]

4/8/2009 6:22:54 PM

^^

[NO]

I swear he has to try to be this stupid

4/8/2009 6:47:58 PM

yeah, with the stakes being my little girl's safety, I just don't trust the weight switch...especially with weight transfer during hard braking or a collision. I would only feel comfortable with a hard disconnect.

Of course, I think there's a good chance I'll be bringing home an E46 330i this weekend, so it might be a moot point.

4/8/2009 7:59:56 PM

what happened to the king jew millionaire by 30 plan?

4/8/2009 8:51:33 PM

I'm not gonna be a millionaire by 30 or anywhere close to it...but I'd like to do it by 40. I'm still putting away between 15-20% of my gross. I'm not into being a miser, though...I mean, I put away all the money I need to in order to meet my financial goals, and then I can spend the rest on whatever I want without feeling bad about it.

That, and 6 months of tax free pay, combat pay, and minimal expenses other than child support and insurance policies will do wonders for you, financially (along with the $8000 housing tax credit, some good stock trades, and a $4000 bonus for signing on for another year with Uncle Sam).

4/8/2009 9:01:56 PM

^^^well, you could always just go with plan "C" and eliminate the passenger bag all together. that will render the driver side bag useless also though, unless you can figure out a way to trick it like stowaway mentioned.

unlike what dipshit posted above, as a private owner there is NO federal law keeping you from doing whatever the fuck you want with your airbags. disable them, put a switch on, or remove them entirely. any applicable federal regulations on documenting/registering for exemption approval is ONLY for companies, dealerships, or other third parties that perform such modifications. it's also the NHTSA that created and enforces those allowable exemptions, not the fucking DOT. linking that site as a reference is a laugh too. that's been around practically since the beginning of the internet. seriously, i did a research paper on airbags my senior year of high school and pulled a lot of my data/references from that exact same site.

i wouldn't really worry about the weight sensor being prone to causing it to go off. they're just as carefully engineered as the rest of the system's sensors, it definitely wouldn't fly for the manufacturer if airbags were going off unexpectedly with children in the seats, even very isolated incidents. if there is any problem with the sensor, the system ALWAYS defaults to completely shutting down and setting a code 100% of the time, it doesn't just warn you with a light, let it ride, and hope you get it fixed in time before something causes it to go off at the wrong time.

i'd also be fairly confident that any momentary additional downforce is compensated for in some manner. either deflected somehow by the design/location of the sensor, or is negligible due to simple physics of the force alone. i'm sure you (or 69 or zxappeal) can do the rough math a lot better than i can being an engineer, but just how much extra downforce would really be present? lets assume a 50lb. child with full braking from 60-0 in whatever distance a 350z takes to do it (150ft. or so probably?). i guess the seating surface would be roughly flat once you considered seat angle being offset by front suspension compression.

[Edited on April 8, 2009 at 10:01 PM. Reason : .]

4/8/2009 9:58:36 PM

YES

4/8/2009 11:43:12 PM

unless you were to disconect the battery every time you switched it, or have the right kind of switch rigged up to switch to a resistive load without accidentally setting it off under power, then there really isnt an easy way to do it other than permanantly diasbling it with unplugging it and putting in the correct resistor to prevent a code being set, then restoring it when you sell the car

4/10/2009 8:07:27 AM