DriveItHard!

I want an LT-1, so I am looking at 92-96 cars. However, I want my 4 year old boy to ride shotgun with me, so I need a way to disable the airbag if I am going to even consider a 94-96 car. Am I correct in thinking that there is no key or switch to turn off the airbag?
Is there a dedicated fuse that I could pull? (I am fine with disabling the driver's airbag at the same time if that happened.)
As a last resort, I guess I could get state DOT sign off to have the dealer disable the bag, but I would like to have it operational if I had the occasional adult passenger.

What are my options?

kwd1

Do you need to disable the air bag for a forward facing child? I thought it was only for rear facing car seats.
Ken

Wheelman

you can do anything you want, it just takes money ;)

PoloGrnC4

I _believe_ the GM dealer will do this for no charge.

DriveItHard!

Rear-facing car seat - definately needs to be disabled:

1) there is no need to limit forward motion of the infant's head as it rests against the rear-facing car seat as the head presses into the baby seat with the forward-directed force of impact

2) The airbag provides a significant rearward force to the car seat, and the infant's head motion would be uncontrolled with a rearward force)

Front-facing car seat - it is a matter of balance:

Momentum (mass x velocity) of an adult's head and thorax is appropriately countered / controlled by the aribag, but the (lesser) momentum of a child's head and thorax is overpowered by the contolling force of the airbag, providing significant rear-directed force to the child when the airbag strikes the child

ShawnZR-1

You shouldn't need to disable the airbag if:
1. The child is PROPERLY restrained in a booster seat.
2. The shoulder belt crosses the SHOULDER (not under the arm or around the neck).
3. The seat is as far back and up as possible.

The airbag does not come out of the dash all that far (about a foot to 18 inches). It is actually less likely that the child would even come in contact with the airbag as long as the above conditions are met because of the smaller statute of a child.

All of that being said, YES, the dealer is required by federal law to be able to disable the passenger side airbag of any car or truck of which the owner requests. I don't know if there is a charge for that service though.

DriveItHard!

Ok, thanks for your help so far.

I guess I could just take it to the dealer to disable it.

However, is there a way I can (easily) enable / disable it acording to whether I am hauling an adult or a child?

ShawnZR-1

I wouldn't try it, here's why:
1: It may trip a code and disable the entire airbag system.
2: If you find the wires that go directly to the passenger airbag and simply put a switch inline, there is a possibility that when the switch is toggeled, a surge current MAY be enough to set the airbag off (if not a little static electricity).

There are a lot of safeguards when it comes to airbags and if they are defeated (on purpse or by accident), the results could be worse than if it was left alone. Give a dealer a call and see what they have to say. Phone calls are free! :D

YLO Z06

YES!! GM sells airbag on/off swicthes for most of its cars. Go to http://www.nhtsa.gov and click on Airbags. There it will list the steps necessary to obtain and install an on/off switch. I think the kit is around $300 and then installation would be additional cost. The site lists all on/off kits by make/model. The site also lists certified installers by state.

kwd1

DriveItHard,
where did you get this info on balancing of forces in airbags? I thought the
airbag was supposed to be fully inflated by the time the body comes in contact
with it, its purpose being to evenly distribute the stopping force to the whole
body.

rear facing child seats of course come in contact with the bag as it inflates and
are propelled backwards...

But I thought forward facing seats were ok.
regards
Ken

ConeKLR

What's wrong with just pulling the airbag fuse on the passenger side fuse panel? The airbag light will come on. But it goes back out once the fuse is put in. In such a case where the fuse has blown, it's hard to believe that the computer would need to be reset. So taking the fuse out should be no different. I have taken the fuse out and back in after a cruise with no issues. I think maybe static may set it off. But if the fuse were blown why would that be different.

DriveItHard!

Ken-

I dunno, I was just kind of using logical thought. I guess a better way to put it was that the airbag DAMPENS the momentum achieved by an adult body in the crash, and that the airbag goes beyond just dampening to an actual counterforce when hit hits a child with less momentum.
But what the he11 do I know?
I also figured that the knock of the "old style" airbags was inappropriately aggrressive inflation (deceleration) curves, so that a body would "bounce off of" or effectively "get punched by" an old style airbag, and that the new airbags deployed more gently, and would be inflating (acting as decelrators) progressively as your body sank into them.

Who knows, I just want a Vette!



[Modified by DriveItHard!, 7:44 PM 7/17/2002]

rxalot

If you do a google search for airbag switches, you will find a lot of info to peruse.

I personally have faxed off to the ntsa the form to get a waiver to get a switch installed. Awaiting a return response. You have to have this to even legally attempt to disable the airbag.

Once with this, there are several companies that sell switches. These can either be done by you or they have installers they recommend. Price is about $300 installed. I understand that self install is not too difficult if you are electrically inclined.

In the meantime, I have a five year old that weighs 40 lbs, I purchased a booster seat (the style that does not have a back) for my son to ride in. I just make certain that the seat is all the way back, he does not lean forward and use the belt cinch once he is in.

The Evenflo seat (sold by Kmart) works the best as it has a angled bottom that fits well in the narrow confines of the 94 sport seats.

It is really a personal decision, but after reading all the info, I feel comfortable without the switch, even though I will ultimatly install the switch.

Took my son with me on the Stars and Stripes GA portion. Had a blast. There are a few pictures in the SE events section. Happy Vetting.

khornet

THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL that ANY child under the age of ten should be in a front seat of any vehicle with an active airbag. The force of the bag inflating can easily cause severe head injuries and even death. Comb over the newspapers and you will find that this is not uncommon. A good friend lost a young relative this way.

IT IS NOT WORTH THE RISK!!! Take it to GM, pay the $300+ and get the switch installed if you insist that the kid needs to ride in the car with you.

DriveItHard!

Between the cooler contour of the dash into the console, and now THIS, I should just limit my search to a 92-93!

kwd1

Does somebody have a link to something offical about children in the front seat and airbags.

It seems to me as long as the child is not close to the dash, the airbag will fully inflate before they come in contact with it. You should have the kid buckled in before starting up, so this should not happen.

I was under the assumption that it was ok for a forward facing car seat to be on the passenger side seat, and would greatly appreciate it anyone could
point me at info to the contrary.
thanks
Ken

rxalot

Most everything refers to the NHTSA information, but here are a few sites.

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/airbags/

http://www.iihs.org/safety_facts/qanda/airbags.htm

http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/duip/spotlite/chldseat.htm

http://www.actsinc.org/airbags-1.html

http://www.aaamidatlantic.com/safety...asp?dest=about

http://google.yahoo.com/bin/query?p=...fety&hc=0&hs=0




[Modified by rxalot, 1:54 PM 7/18/2002]

kwd1

thanks rxalot,

from: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/airbags/brochure/

under the "What were the specific circumstances of the children's deaths?"
section, it seems like no fatalities were caused by airbags to properly
restrained children.

Ken