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Hey folks,
My teenage daughter rear ended another vehicle in our ’92 240 with airbag deployment. I’ve collected most of the parts to repair this vehicle along with a used airbag. It appears the orange connector to the old deployed airbag was possible burned or slightly melted. It is difficult to unplug from the deployed airbag. When I got the replacement airbag I got the connector, as well, and snipped as much of the orange cable as I could get from the donor car. My question is; is feasible to solder/splice the orange cable from the donor airbag to the orange wiring harness at the steering wheel, reset the SRS system, and have a safe reliable SRS airbag system again? Thanks in advance for any suggestions or comments.
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This is sort of off topic, but a few months ago I was up at the local GM Dealership, talking with some friends who work there. Back in the service department they had just retrofitted two cars with recalled airbags (Silverado Trucks I believe). They decided they had nothing better to do with the armed bags but "disarm" them. So we set up a small experiment. We placed the two bags face down on the pavement, ran wires, and let 'em rip. I was amazed at the power behind these things. Both bags shot approximately 100 feet into the air, nearly instantaneously. I know we've all heard stories about the power of these things, but it kind of puts it into perspective. Good Luck with your daughter's car, but be extra careful with the SRS system. I've rebuilt the front end of a 240, its a pretty straightforward job, a lot better than any other front clip repairs I've done in the past.
Good Luck,
Rob Kaplan
Raleigh, NC
1987 245 DL
1988 244 DL (Parts for Sale, email me.)
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Do not splice or cut any of the airbag harnesses.The system checks the resistance and may not allow it to fire when you need it most. You can repair the car safely - if you use good un- burned, un-spliced harnesses. The system must be installed as designed and with matching parts. If you wish to be safe and get a working system, you might think about collecting all the parts and having a shop install and test.Its not hard to do, you just have to match the factory setup in every way.
The connectors on airbag systems have what is called a safeing clip that shorts the wires so you can't probe or add 12v. If you look you will see a small brass bridge that completes the circuit. The systems are also protected and tested for EMI so it wont go off next time a truck keys his CB next to your car.
Mike
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Mike in Tacoma
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Hello,
Virtually all of the airbag system is one time use. If the system is deployed, all components have to be replaced to become effective and safe again.
If it was me, I would cull as much of the components and just install a regular steering wheel. The benefit of an airbag equipped 240 vs. no airbag is marginal at best.
We all know the 240's safety rep....
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Happy Bricking!!! - Richard - '87 245 DL , '82 242 GLT - Volvo's are alive and well in Brampton!!!
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what year 740 did your grill come from? and what kind of mod was necessary i have my eye on an 89 740 turbo at the junkyard
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big rich in arkansas '62 544 132K, 85 244 210K, 95 855 105K
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re: "...along with a used airbag...."
Reminds me of a miniseries on PBS that ran about a decade ago, "Danger UXB" {UXB being an acronym for Unexploded Bombs), about the bomb disposal units in London during WWII when the nazis rained down bombs on England.
Anyway, that is one area of repair that I really encourage you to avoid. Any little static electricity, or an inadvertently energized wire, can potentially ignite that air bag right in your face doing considerable harm!
Bottom line -- do as much as you want to repair the rest of the car, but leave this air bag installation to a professional shop.
Also, if this is your daughter's car, why are you messing with a "used" air bag (presumably from a wrecking yard)?. Isn't her life worth a new air bag -- one that you KNOW will work -- that is why you have her driving a Volvo, isn't it?
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Ken - No offense intended, but your last paragraph is a bit harsh. The fact that Dillon is asking his questions in this forum is evidence that he cares about his daughter. Safety is relative. My son drives an '88 244 with no airbag. Does that make me a terrible father? You could purchase a new car with more safety features than whatever model "classic" Volvo you now drive. Why don't you spend $40K for that extra increment of safety? Probably because you have extreme confidence in the overall safety of the old Volvo, and don't feel that the cost of a new car justifies the small safety improvements. In other words, you, like the rest of us, compromise.
New airbags are horrendously expensive. I've heard figures of more than $1K bandied about in this forum. That is close to the market value of many of these cars. Furthermore, there is nothing more intrinsically dangerous about making a repair with a used airbag than, say, making one with a used steering rack. Volvo says those airbags are good for 15 years. If Dillon wants to keep the SRS system functional and finds a clean unweathered airbag from a salvage yard, more power to him. If a component in the sustem is faulty, the self-test light will remain lit. He only becomes negligent if he ignores that light.
For the record, I replaced an airbag in our '92 244 with one from a parts car (the original had a ripped cover). There were no complications, and I was able to reset the self-check code. Will the bag work? I hope we never find out. What will we do when the air bag in the car exceeds Volvo's 15 year service limit? I'm not quite sure, but I will certainly not purchase a $1000 replacement.
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Thanks Prater. Geez. After reading Ken’s reply I had my face in my hands feeling like a total schlep.
Our old folks and young folks have driven 240s for years. We had one 240 serve three generations until my oldest daughter walked away from it after an accident (Prater, no airbag!) and went on to college (see, economics is a factor with my current project)
This current vehicle was part of a five car pile up in front of the high school (all five drivers were under age). This 240 was the only vehicle able to be driven away from the accident scene. This vehicle has had the front end and rear end rear done before (my younger step sister learned to drive in this particular one). It is in great shape, aside from the body damage, and has about 200,000 on the od.
As I said earlier, economics is a factor but I also do not want to create an unsafe condition. I’d like to keep an airbag system but I’m not sure the vehicle is worth repairing considering the body damage along with $1,000+ professionally installed complete SRS.
I have the body parts (minus a headlight bucket and side light), in the right color, and an airbag with the connector and a length of the orange wire.
Would you guys fix it, and if so, how would you deal with replacing the airbag, on a budget? Keep in mind, I’ve had a number of these cars around over the years (and have gotten pretty good with them) but I’ve never had to deal with an airbag. Thanks again for any response.
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I have an entire headlight assembly I'll sell to you. It's a left side headlight assembly, i'm not sure if the buckets are interchangable. It came of an '88, so it should fit your car, (86-93). Let me know if you're interested.
Rob Kaplan
Raleigh, NC
'87 245DL
'88 244 DL
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Would you guys fix it, and if so, how would you deal with replacing the airbag, on a budget?
Without suggesting you do it, I could answer that question faithfully, yes, I would fix it with salvage parts, when the time comes.
Not being able to lend any technical advice from experience, I could not respond to your original post's question.
How would I deal with it? Same as you are, learn everything you can about the technology, obtain the green manual on SRS, post to the BB. Evaluate my skills, just as you would before using oxyacetylene, replacing brake pads, or renewing a ball joint.
I'm grateful to Ken C and Prater for taking an interest in the tricky line between information and advice.
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Art Benstein near Baltimore Crrrrazy Ray's!
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Yes, in rereading, I perhaps was a little too severe.
Not that I don't recommend amateurs doing anything with an armed airbag (I woudn't touch that with the proverbial ten-foot pole), and I hope he takes my advice for his own safety.
But I was also thinking about trying to make his car safe again for his daughter "on the cheap". And that's probably why I reacted, because right now I'm hearing on the news that there's a potential terrorist plot afoot to detonate a dirty bomb in Boston on the eve of the inaugeration (serious enough of a threat to cause the MA governor to leave Wash. and return to MA), and my own daughter lives in that area -- so I'm more than a little worried about her at this minute and this probably translated in my reaction to this thread's implications -- right now, $1,000 is peanuts compared to my own daughter's safety.
Sorry if I offended.
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Ken - I didn't mean to criticize you; your attitude toward safety is commendable. Perhaps I'm feeling defensive and a little guilty about not being financially able to provide safer vehicles for MY children.
Some of the fault lies with Volvo. The price of new airbags is just too high. The company sells R-134a conversion kits at a reasonable cost, so they at least imply they have a conscience. If there is a single component the company should sell at cost, it is replacement airbags. In 2008, the OE airbag in every 240 built from 91-93 will have reached the end of its safe life. There will be no safe used replacements. What happens then?
We all hope that the Feds catch the bad guys before they have a chance to do any damage. It sounds like a serious threat. Your governor should be commended for his attention to the problem and his decision to return to the state. I'm sure there are a few around the country who would be headed in the other direction...
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'88 244GL, '89 244GL, '90 244DL, '91 244, '92 244
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I appreciate your understanding, but I was out of place a bit.
On the subject of the air bag expirations, I don't think it's as serious as you make it out. While there is an expiration date, it doesn't mean that they will all suddenly stop working then. In fact, their loss of effectiveness will probably follow some normal distribution with a mean date much further in the future, and some remaining effective far beyond that, while others sooner. In fact, the expiration date probably (following industry practice) likely represents that end of the "tail" of the distribution for the soonest ones to fail -- a worst case scenario. So the chances are that most of these bags will be good for many more years to come.
re: "...Your governor should be commended for his attention to the problem and his decision to return to the state. I'm sure there are a few around the country who would be headed in the other direction...."
Well, actually, the governor of MA and also the mayor of Boston both returned right away (to their credit), yet fortunately, it seems to have been a false-alarm, for which I am so relieved!
Imagine, here I am in N.J., and my daughter (and only child) is 250 miles away, living on the outskirts of Boston (Cambridge) and frequently going into Boston for movies, dining, etc., and I here about this -- apparently serious enough for the governor and mayor to leave Washington right away and speed home! My blood pressure must have rocketed 50 mmHg just worrying.
But thank you for your good wishes.
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