Steering wheel swap - airbag safety?
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Steering wheel swap - airbag safety?
Hi,
I purchased a wood/leather steering wheel from the bay for my W204 sedan and intend to do the work myself. So I pulled the instructions for the steering wheel swap from WIS net application. While the instructions instruct you to disconnect the ground wire at the battery it does not say anything about how long to wait for the airbag system (capacitor) to completely discharge. Anyone have definite infos???
Should I pull the airbag fuse (is there one?)?
Thanks.
Regards, LN
I purchased a wood/leather steering wheel from the bay for my W204 sedan and intend to do the work myself. So I pulled the instructions for the steering wheel swap from WIS net application. While the instructions instruct you to disconnect the ground wire at the battery it does not say anything about how long to wait for the airbag system (capacitor) to completely discharge. Anyone have definite infos???
Should I pull the airbag fuse (is there one?)?
Thanks.
Regards, LN
Last edited by lingnoi; 11-07-2009 at 02:17 PM.
#2
I would totally let the dealership do this install just to remove any liability issues in a life or death situation where the airbag would need to deploy. Any failure to deploy could shift that liability onto you if you do it yourself.
#3
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Please re-read the question. I didn't ask what you would do....
I purposefully came to an American forum to get a straight answer but no, a fellow German had to step up and lecture.
@Peabody: I obtained my driver's licence in US and never went to a (German) driving school. I have been driving for 10 years in Germany now, accident free. What do you suggest, should I go and sign up for "Fahrschule"? I would not want to jeopardize your safety on public roads....
Regards, LN
I purposefully came to an American forum to get a straight answer but no, a fellow German had to step up and lecture.
@Peabody: I obtained my driver's licence in US and never went to a (German) driving school. I have been driving for 10 years in Germany now, accident free. What do you suggest, should I go and sign up for "Fahrschule"? I would not want to jeopardize your safety on public roads....
Regards, LN
#4
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Please re-read the question. I didn't ask what you would do....
I purposefully came to an American forum to get a straight answer but no, a fellow German had to step up and lecture.
@Peabody: I obtained my driver's licence in US and never went to a (German) driving school. I have been driving for 10 years in Germany now, accident free. What do you suggest, should I go and sign up for "Fahrschule"? I would not want to jeopardize your safety on public roads....
Regards, LN
I purposefully came to an American forum to get a straight answer but no, a fellow German had to step up and lecture.
@Peabody: I obtained my driver's licence in US and never went to a (German) driving school. I have been driving for 10 years in Germany now, accident free. What do you suggest, should I go and sign up for "Fahrschule"? I would not want to jeopardize your safety on public roads....
Regards, LN
#5
If he wants to risk suicide to save a few bucks then obviously he's not going to listen to reason. So what if your insurance could deny any life / liability benefits by naming you negligent in the maintenance of your safety equipment that would have prevented death / injury by naming you uncertified to make the appropriate adjustments / repairs. Obviously, if you can turn a wrench and get advice from the Internet that's all you need to bet your life.
#6
Junior Member
Thread Starter
My "advice" comes from WIS net. Maybe you have heard of it.
Anyway, my thread was directed at people with first hand knowledge about this subject and not drivers who need to go to the gas station to get their oil level checked.
Regards, LN
Anyway, my thread was directed at people with first hand knowledge about this subject and not drivers who need to go to the gas station to get their oil level checked.
Regards, LN
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#8
MBWorld Fanatic!
I would actually be suspicious of not having any error codes. The act of losing the connection to the bag should have stored a fault, even if it did not pop on the i.p. cluster. Unless you've already plugged in the diagnostic tool umbilical to check a stored fault, I would be concerned about the remote possibility that the ecu (or whatever is the name of the central processor MB uses) is not recognizing that a bag is installed, even for someone who offers as impolite answers as yours to Peabody. OK, despite concern for your well-being, I am ready for your insult now.
#9
Junior Member
Thread Starter
@Sportstick: as far as I know you will only get an error code if you re-attach a different airbag and not the original one that came on the car.
I will report back after my next inspection.
Regards, LN
I will report back after my next inspection.
Regards, LN
#10
MBWorld Fanatic!
That makes sense, but it would also seem logical for the car to set a fault to alert that the continuity of the circuit has been lost the moment it happens. In my case, the same air bag was reinstalled and reconnected within approximately one minute of disconnection, and the error code immediately appeared in the cluster on re-start. Whether the bag would actually work or not, I do not know, but it was easy to reset. Perhaps your car's electronics, unlike mine, automatically recognizes the reconnected bag and eliminates the fault on its own, but this is one area about which I would not speculate.
#11
Junior Member
Thread Starter
@Sportstick: Thanks, this is the type of reply that I was looking for, somebody with first hand knowledge and ability to contribute constructively.
I waited some time after disconnecting the battery before I disconnected the airbag.
I checked over on the E90 baord and they have at least one thread with 30 pages of people swapping steering wheels and nobody had any problems as long as they re-used their old bag.
Regards, LN
I waited some time after disconnecting the battery before I disconnected the airbag.
I checked over on the E90 baord and they have at least one thread with 30 pages of people swapping steering wheels and nobody had any problems as long as they re-used their old bag.
Regards, LN
#12
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That makes sense, but it would also seem logical for the car to set a fault to alert that the continuity of the circuit has been lost the moment it happens. In my case, the same air bag was reinstalled and reconnected within approximately one minute of disconnection, and the error code immediately appeared in the cluster on re-start. Whether the bag would actually work or not, I do not know, but it was easy to reset. Perhaps your car's electronics, unlike mine, automatically recognizes the reconnected bag and eliminates the fault on its own, but this is one area about which I would not speculate.
#13
MBWorld Fanatic!
Perhaps the variable is disconnecting the battery so the airbag disconnection and reconnection occurs while the car is "under anesthesia". My swap was done with battery connected. That may indeed be the root cause of the different outcomes.
EDIT: dfordham: By the time I hit "submit", your post made the point!!
EDIT: dfordham: By the time I hit "submit", your post made the point!!
#14
Junior Member
Thread Starter
That clarifies it! I thought you had the battery disconnected too.
I followed the instructions from WISnet to 100% and even grounded myself immediately before handling the airbag.
Regards, LN
I followed the instructions from WISnet to 100% and even grounded myself immediately before handling the airbag.
Regards, LN
#16
MBWorld Fanatic!
As you know Air bag systems have a tendency to be a bit quirky when they are disturbed from the factory installation, and most techs I interface with really are very, very cautious when they work on them. You can follow the MBz procedures, however, sometimes steps are not quite clear - as I found out during my research for a couple of retrofits in my cars.
dfordham and Sportstick inputs seems pretty plausible. I do know that when I was talked into helping a buddy, retrofit his NAV, according the the MBz procedure doc, he took down the car's systems, unbolted the Steering wheel, during the retrofit, to get the Axial fan installed. When we finished, powered it up, it came up with a code. He drove with the seat way back all the way to the dealer - did not want a surprise hard jab from the airbag on the way
Once the dealer hooked their system up to the car, there were other codes that came up that the car did not reveal to us, and so they showed him the codes and what they meant and they gave him the tough love speech (synopsis - next time you do anything that involves removing components of the Passive restraint system - either get them to come out or bring it in to make sure it is not hiding a land mine). He kinda omitted the step that you employed (grounding himself - even though I told him I would have), and i think that led to the issues though
Ok, but anyhow - good luck, you seem to very cautious at what you are doing.
Last edited by Nuru; 11-08-2009 at 02:00 PM.
#17
Junior Member
Thread Starter
@Nuru: you mentioned that a code came up. Do you remember what code that was? What about the other codes that were revealed at the dealership? Where they in relation to airbag and restraint system or other reasons?
What repairs did the dealer have to do to your buddy's car?
Regards, LN
What repairs did the dealer have to do to your buddy's car?
Regards, LN
#18
MBWorld Fanatic!
@Nuru: you mentioned that a code came up. Do you remember what code that was? What about the other codes that were revealed at the dealership? Where they in relation to airbag and restraint system or other reasons?
What repairs did the dealer have to do to your buddy's car?
Regards, LN
What repairs did the dealer have to do to your buddy's car?
Regards, LN