Link to the Reddit Post Discussed: goo.gl/MrmPkk Contact Me: SamcracAuto@gmail.com Instagram: / samcracc I am NOT Endorsed nor Affiliated with Domino's in any fashion.
This is also super useful if you have a car that you want to have an aftermarket non-airbag steering wheel in but don't want the ugly light in the cluster.
There's this guy named Christian Rose who bought a 535i and rebuilt it for his own use. He felt there was no need for curtain airbag and decide to use a resistor to clear the light. I see no problem doing this even for sellers of rebuilt cars as long as it is disclosed to the buyer
Seong Hong He actually listed the call on Craigslist I called him and he told me he only replaced the Driver air bag and nothing deployed!!! He tried to pull a fast one!
Yeah, if the car is being built for racing or personal use, it shouldn't come as a surprise to potential buyers that it's missing airbags or other safety stuff.
Or like the pizza car, its a single seater so there is absolutely no reason for having any of the passenger airbags. Its the same with the BMW E49 3-series, the passenger seat that indicates if its occupied all break and you have to replace the entire seat. this also runs on the airbag system so your light is on. Stick a 10 dollar module in it and the computer thinks its always occupied, the only really small downside of it is that in an crash the passenger airbag also will deploy.
In a very limited scenario, a dummy load resistor could help diagnosing troubles. But I can imagine that this is a really illegal thing to do as a permanent fix. Sam thanks for this demonstration.
Great video. I did (way back) repair-build cars as a hobby. I remember not having seatbelts or safety glass. So its always interesting to see how the new safety features are built into vehicles. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. From a subscriber in England.
Today I learned about seatbelt technology did not know that thanks Sam I just learned something!! Never thought about it another part that has to be replaced wow
Some people just want their car to pass inspection in their Nazi state so they like go to work and sh!t without having to turn to armed robbery to pay a car dealer thousand of bucks to do it "right"...Safety first now! No amount of financial suffering compares with being less safe....we must be in maximum compliance at all times
Thanks Samcrac for sharing this info you should do a recap video of all the things to look out for. pretty sure you'll get a million of views. Thanks so much your awesome
I've seen an odd one. The ABS computer was fried really good and was not reacting to anything. But the light comes on for a few seconds and then it shuts off like normal. And found in the dash a tiny 555 timer chip assembly that does that auto light on for a few seconds than off. It's a twist of a capacitor that charges a bit at power on and as it discharges will fade the led away.. but this made timing gives away pretty fast as the time while it's on can vary a lot, but with an actual timer circuit set to factory time.. it's spotless.
Wouldn't twisting that resistor round like that cause the legs to short together bypassing the resistor and effectively just making it like you just put a piece of wire between the 2 pins.... :S
Cool, now I can go turn that pesky light off that's been on my dash since I wrecked it ..... Thanks for the info , never thought of it ... Was just going to unplug the light ....
In my prior post I explained how to defeat the test circuit, now comes why you still may have a problem. All those connections are weather-tight and also have a tamper tab that breaks if you replace the air bag. The problem arises when moisture gets into that circuit. Say you're in Florida and it's a hot, humid day when you pull it apart, then you put it back together that night. You now have moisture which will cause corrosion on those joints. The computer is looking for a 1/10th of a volt change and if it thinks there is a problem, it disables the system. The airbags may not go off if the system thinks there is a problem.... which, even on a reputable repair, may make the system inoperable. You SHOULD have a light in that situation, but I had that very trouble with a vehicle and it did not have a failure light.... repairing these cars is totally cool, I do it all the time, but you need to know what you are buying and why it's cheaper... after all, everyone should spend 50 cents on the dollar if they get the same car. It's not the same car as new.
A great tip if you are using a car with srs as the donor vehicle for a kit car in uk. Saves the headache of deleting srs from loom/control modules etc.
When i was tought how to diagnose airbag systems in my auto tech program this actually it tought to techs if there shop doesnt have the 1 or 2 grand to drop in a airbag tester most shop will use this trick to diagnose the system cheap
Great video Am replacing blown airbags side curtain steering wheel and drivers knee plus reprogramming Control module and seatbelts.. Do I need to replace sensors? and if I do how do I find out which ones? Chevrolet Bolt damage ft. left and small right rear fender Thanks so much Jim
It actually is not in all vehicles ...some have gotten quite clever at making certain safety features more and more difficult to bypass ...they can for instance require a chip instead of a more rudimentary sensors that only report a resistance value a chip might looks at a sensor umpteen times a second sending code to the computer ...sure no matter how they rig it someone can still engineer a bypass ....but it won't be a 5cent resistor! It will instead be a $49 "dongle" that no reputable store wants to carry "for liability" and even the places that do sell will have you okay a disclaimer "for closed course vehicles only" of some crap...the newer the vehicle the worse stuff like that will get....But hey at least you can Apple Carplay a back up camera, active headlights, active cruise control etc etc...they make it too damn nice to want to go back to any simplicity
Couple questions. Did you work on the resistors and Airbag with the battery unplugged? Also wouldn't you need to reset the srs module to get the light to come off? Weather you did it by replacing the Airbags or putting resistors in place?
Thanks for the info. Using it for a good cause though. Seen this in a few videos now. Using this to remove my front passenger seat. Turning my car into a solo camper.
Also, in many places it is illegal to drive a airbag equipped car without airbags and if you do decide to drive because who will know and you get into an accident even if not your fault, your or their insurer most likely wont pay out
Grayfox the insurance will pay out, so long as you were not the one who performed, or authorized, the modification, and you had no prior knowledge of it.
Sam what size resistor did you use? Gm vehicles are very sensitive too resistor size, I’m looking for this on my personal vehicle only.. it’s NOT being used on public roads.
Love this video! I have a question I have a 2019 Ford ecosport and both front knee airbags deployed. I sent the module and seatbelts to get replaced.I bought the airbags from a junkyard and installed everything back. The airbag light is still on and my innova 5410 can’t even connect to the car. The fordpass app gave an alert that the RCM has detected a fault with the driver knee airbag circuit. Is there anything that I could do to clear this? Thanks please let me know
Then just couple the bulb with another one that's supposed to light up initially, but go out after a few seconds under normal circumstances (like the battery light, the oil level/pressure light or the abs light)
Just wondering what kind of resistor can one use ?🤔 no mention of it in the video or in any comments 🤔 😕. I'm in the final stages of completing my track car conversion for weekends and I'm still thinking how can I get around the airbag light especially with all the original seats removed . Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks
I’m pretty sure the Crown Victoria I have has resistors in it but I’m not sure what the look for, I hit a stump pretty hard last year enough to turn the flashers on and my air bags never deployed, on top of that I can hit the passenger side airbag department and it feels as if nothing is in it, can press it all the way in.
Seems like they could add some additional security/protection with a few more cents in components by pumping back a heartbeat to the SRS system, but I guess when you need something to work fairly consistently every time than simple is better in this case. Wow though...
Being in the electronics repair trade myself, this could easily be accomplished; however, you are correct in the fact that the issues with digital systems most of the time surmount those of a simple analog system in terms of reliability.
Yeah, when you twisted the wire to tighten the first resistor you put in... you bypassed the resistor. Now you just have a short circuit between the two contacts.
Figuring out the resistor size isn't difficult. You put in a potentiometer (an adjustable resistor, like you find in old-school stereos for volume control, before we used rotary encoders) and adjust it until the light goes off (might have to cycle the ignition periodically, some systems only do diagnostics once at power-up). Then take it out and measure it. Or alternatively, measure one of the working lines: Measure the current passing through the line and the voltage drop across it, and plug it into ohms law. The reason for the resistor is to guard against open/short circuits, not to protect against this sort of scam. It essentially has a divider bridge of two resistors, and an open-circuit of short-circuit gives you a voltage that is out of bounds, while the right resistor gives you something in the middle.
When I was growin up , we walked backwards up hill against the wind in the snow and we didn't complain. I miss the good old days when we got to smash our faces into the dashboard and the steering wheel and did not have to worry about some damn sissy air bag codes xD
So on a regular seat belt if you pull on it really quick, it will temporarily lock up. If you got the seat belt that’s locks up spinning again, would that still happen ?
I’m in the process of repairing my 2013 Mustang, was in a wreck, set the driver seat airbag and steering wheel off... Of course since that happened, the airbag light is going to be on... I want to put an aftermarket steering wheel and seat in, (harness seatbelt will be installed.), If I use resisters in the seat airbag sensor, and steering wheel, will the light turn off? Even though the airbags were deployed?.... I’m confused :(
My car comes with 12 airbags. Front driver side and passenger side, both front pillars, both front seats, both rear pillars and side cushions (almost forgot the side pillars, like seriously, how many airbags does a car need???). I've been thinking about getting rid of some to reduce weight and make some extra cash because I know they are worth their weight in gold. I literally had planned to see if I could use resistors to fool the car. Happy to know that it actually works lmao
Ok but when, in the video, do you program the SRS module? I don't think that Airbag light turn off only erasing the faulty codes, you have to reprogram the SRS module.
I bought a salvaged vehicle to ship overseas. Only the driver knee airbag was deployed. If I connect an emulator or resistor to that airbag, will the other airbags work? The car is not being sold to anyone and airbags is not a safety requirement in that country.
Get this: I took the seat out of my 2002 frontier (which includes the seatbelt receiver) and when I turned the ignition on, I noticed that there was no seatbelt chime, seatbelt light or SRS light
very informative ... shocking that the airbag system is that simple to fool .... 2 followup questions imagine a case where a knee airbag is harvested/stolen from your car does the SRS computer detects that there is a disconnect of the airbag and reconnect (of the resistor) and trigger a code if the ignition is NOT turned on when the theft occurs ? also what happens if the resistor gets loose and falls off the connector while driving : does the airbag light goes on immediately (with a code ) or will it stay off and only appear the next time the car is turned on (in other words is the integrity /presence of the "airbag" checked continuously while the car is being driven or is it just happening during the startup when you turn the ignition on ?} again thank you this is very helpful ...
Hello , thanks posting that video, actually my car was in accident and I couldn’t fix everything because of too expensive and now I have to Tlc inspection so I have roof airbag and seats air bag missing, there is anything I can do ??
So the deployed airbags can be replaced by donor car's airbags? I thought only new airbags would work. And my question is will the replaced airbags work like new ones?
thanks for the info. I got into a Hyundai elantra which had been wrecked, and the airbags didn't blow, but the seat belt did, and I was told it would cost $1000 to fix that. I gave up and junked it losing about $1500 rather than spend another $1000. I should be allowed to drive without that 'special' part, just as I should be allowed to drive an older car in which such things are not required. A friend of mine wrecked when his airbag 'deployed' in normal driving, but the government didn't pay his bills.
There were a couple of more problems I had to fix, but the big one was the thousand dollars the 'state' said I needed for the passenger seat. I also knew that something about that 'safety' system was bad because the seat had 'fired' and the air bag had not deployed, and I knew nothing about that system, and did not know how to pursue that information I needed. Also I was so upset that the 'state' required me to have that system on the car that it was upsetting me, and I would rather take the beating (financially) than continue to be upset by the 'state', and I feared the airbag going off when it shouldn't, because it didn't go off when it should have.
Hi Sam, I know you had mentioned you don't have a dealer license . Also you stated that you paid a deposit to bid on the car so this means this is a no license required or you used of the broker? Please let us know thanks
My Lexus IS 200 have experienced an airbag deployment twice in one week without me getting involved in a crash or hard impact and the indicator on the dashboard wouldn't go off. What is the problem? Help with advice please
Just for clarity, the seat belt devices are pre-tensioners, which tighten the belt in an accident. They are one time use, and are triggered only in an accident bad enough to set off one or more airbags. If a shop did as described here, the seat belt would still "seem" to work (ie it would lock up if you tugged hard on the webbing), but it would be missing the pre-tensioner, which is important in more severe accidents...and you'd never know.
Thanks for giving the detailed video. I purchased a Salvaged 2019 Traverse.THe jerk had a fake receipt showing he paid a lot of money replacing the airbags. He had actually replaced a few...but low and behold a year or so in the air bag light came one. Come to find out he had done the resistor trick on the L & R air bag side curtains one of them had gone bad triggering the code error...jerk took zero responsibility ..he blamed it on the alleged "air bag" company that was conveniently out of business.
@@r.k862 You can take it to and airbag repair shop or technician. It cost @ $200 to have my guy inspect mine and tell me where there were issues ..depending on the vehicle it can cost more...
Samcrac, I have a 2007 Lexus RX 400 H. Needed to change out the bumper absorber and now, the air bag light is going off and on. Any suggestions, I really appreciate it.
well, what if you don't want a seat airbag? "like installing after market seats." I would rather install a resistor for that airbag then to have an airbag light and all of the good airbags don't go off in a collision. So it is safer to install a resistor in some cases.
I have a 2010 Nissan Sentra with no driver airbag all other airbags are in the car but there is no airbag light on the clock spring was cut but no resister on it
My toyota has 3 plugs. 1 yellow one white and one gray. Adding a resistor to a yellow one does not prevent airbag light from coming on. Can someone please help? I want to remove my passenger seat on my 06 4runner for overland built for space purposes but I dont want air bag light when seat is removed..
If the airbag controller is not communicating with the car on the passenger side, is there any way to hide that? Just need to pass the MOT in the UK as I only use the car as a local run around, don't have passengers with me.
I don't understand how it's possible this, if the airbag module has got a crash data file on it the airbag light on the cluster stay on anyway. Did you replace or reset the module before this test? @Samcrac
I did this once to my car to pass inspection. I spun off the road into a field and flipped the car on its side which deployed the side airbag and busted my mirror off but did literally nothing else. Airbag was a lot of money so I just stuck a resistor on it
or actually someone that is smart and doesn't think that using explosives in a safety system is a good idea. (trust me it isn't) this is also why racing series have used roll cages, harnesses and other static systems to protect their drivers to greater effect.
If they are so dangerous why does everyone use them? You would think at least one company like Mercedes would go out of their way and create a better system then advertise why the old way is dangerous compared to theirs aka they get more people buying their products.
uh they have, hell NASCAR, Recaro, Sparco and other manufacturers and racing series have, but due to practicality and stagnant outdated pile of shit regulatory reasons, they haven't been implemented. Have you seen a wreck in nascar? have you seen the worst wrecks in most autosports? These drivers walk away from stuff that would kill them in a normal car. normal cars are unsafe compared to the safety systems in a race car. if you were smart you would throw out those airbags and go to something a bit more intrusive and more effective.
