My Airbag was warm today.... ????? Something Wrong?
10-07-2001, 09:41 PM
#1
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
Member Since: Mar 1999
Location: Fort Worth Texas
Posts: 9,566
Received 1,620 Likes
on
739 Posts
2024 Corvette of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2023 C8 of the Year Winner - Unmodified
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (stock)
2019 C7 of Year Winner (stock)
Former Moderator
Cruise-In I-II-III Veteran
My Airbag was warm today.... ????? Something Wrong?
My car sits in the garage all day and night. I went to start the car today, and pulling out of the garage, I notice the steering wheel feels warm. Kinda like it's been sitting in the sun all day. But it's been in the garage and the temp is 72 degrees out. The area that was warm was the airbag and the wheel just around the horn buttons. I have a 1990, the first year of the airbag..... It went away after a few minutes of driving, but I was kinda freaked out. I thought it could deploy at any time if something was shorting out. Anybody ever have this happen?
10-08-2001, 04:47 AM
#2
Race Director
Re: My Airbag was warm today.... ????? Something Wrong? (Marcho Polo)
Hey Buddy,
I dont have a clue...but was wondering if you tried to ask David F. this Q's?
Havent seen him online since they had a Baby..must be really busy.
Hope its nothing serious..if you cant get an answer soon,call your local GM dealer and maybe a tech there on the phone can answer that.
As good as those airbags are,Id imagine it would be scary at the thought of it going off on its own.
I dont have a clue...but was wondering if you tried to ask David F. this Q's?
Havent seen him online since they had a Baby..must be really busy.
Hope its nothing serious..if you cant get an answer soon,call your local GM dealer and maybe a tech there on the phone can answer that.
As good as those airbags are,Id imagine it would be scary at the thought of it going off on its own.
10-08-2001, 10:56 AM
#3
Burning Brakes
Re: My Airbag was warm today.... ????? Something Wrong? (Marcho Polo)Horn or ignition switch
Hello there,
If you note abnormal heat in the column, I would be concerned.
Two common sources for column malfunctions are the horn and ignition switch, with the ignition switch being the most common. On most systems, there is current to these circuits all the time.
A friend runs a body shop and said something like 70% of interior fires (according to insurance company adjuster) are caused by these two systems. My daily driver, not a Corvette, once had smoke coming out of the steering column. Lots of adrenline. Ignition switch.
If I were you, I would disconnect my battery until this gets resolved. It also sounds like the metal portions of the column are getting heated. Plastic will melt relatively quick and not store much heat. On my daily driver, the plastic housing below the ignition switch melted like it was hit with a propane torch. Smelled bad too. Oddly enough, after the smoke cleared, ran fine. Drove it straight to the dealer.
Keep the greasy side down.
dlmeyers 90 Coupe ZF6 3 speed shocks
If you note abnormal heat in the column, I would be concerned.
Two common sources for column malfunctions are the horn and ignition switch, with the ignition switch being the most common. On most systems, there is current to these circuits all the time.
A friend runs a body shop and said something like 70% of interior fires (according to insurance company adjuster) are caused by these two systems. My daily driver, not a Corvette, once had smoke coming out of the steering column. Lots of adrenline. Ignition switch.
If I were you, I would disconnect my battery until this gets resolved. It also sounds like the metal portions of the column are getting heated. Plastic will melt relatively quick and not store much heat. On my daily driver, the plastic housing below the ignition switch melted like it was hit with a propane torch. Smelled bad too. Oddly enough, after the smoke cleared, ran fine. Drove it straight to the dealer.
Keep the greasy side down.
dlmeyers 90 Coupe ZF6 3 speed shocks
10-08-2001, 11:42 AM
#4
Team Owner
Re: My Airbag was warm today.... ????? Something Wrong? (
yes, be very careful with a hot steering column. Keep in mind that what deploys that air bag is SOLID ROCKET FUEL!!!! :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: Don't want to get that hot.
Solid rocket fuel burns VERY fast and gives off lots of Nitrogen when it burns, which is what inflates the air bag :D
Solid rocket fuel burns VERY fast and gives off lots of Nitrogen when it burns, which is what inflates the air bag :D
