I've had my 1995 LT1 6-speed Camaro for about a year and a half now. I got a good deal on the car, and it is for the most part in very good shape, but it does have a few bugs and a shady past. I am now convinced that the airbags have gone off in the car at one point in it's past. Looking at the paint fading, the car was probably in a small collision (I'm painting the whole car this year by the way). The steering wheel was replaced with this ugly chrome racing type wheel, with no air bag, and the airbag light is on in the dash. The passenger airbag is there, but I have not checked to see if it is hooked up. A friend gave me the steering wheel from a Trans Am he was parting out, and I am now looking for an airbag. I could just leave the drivers side airbag unhooked, and unplug the light in the dash, but I want to do it right if I can. I'm assuming if the airbags have been deployed, I will need to replace some electronics. I have no idea what to look for though and how to test what's in the car to see if it needs to be replaced before I can hook up the airbags. Any help is appreciated, thanks!

 

If unsure of the system's condition you may want to take it to an airbag specialist. They are all over and the yellow pages should lead you to a number or two.

If you dont want to go that route then I would suggest picking up a copy of the factory service manuals (there are 3 and can be had from E-bay cheap). Follow the instructions there to diagnose and repair the airbag system. Trust me you dont want to be holding the air bag if it goes off.

Massey

 

Sounds like a plan. I think I will put in the stock wheel and airbag, but leave the airbag unhooked until the snow melts and I can get it to a specialist.

 

Could just be the previous owner put in the steering wheel, and that caused the air bag light to come on. People put some stupid stuff in cars, and just as often they install these stupid things incorrectly. Not positive on all cars, but I have helped replace airbags in a friends Nissan before and it was all a self contained system, just had to be wired back in (previous owner removed all air bags when dash was dyed "to save weight"...yeah). From what I learned doing that, the sensors that deploy the air bags are based on deceleration, so they shouldn't need to be replaced unless they were placed in an area destroyed by the collision (unlikely). "Plug and Play" so to speak was my experience.

 

Could be. And the system will register there being no air bag present. The dash light on means the SRS restraint system is disarmed.

 

I did think of this possibility, and it is still possible, but the paint fading makes me skeptical. I really don't want the airbag to blow up in my face as I install it. Would scanning the engine codes tell me exactly why the airbag light is on? You could be right about the sensors not needing to be replaced. If it is simply that the airbag is unhooked, I'd feel pretty stupid leaving the airbag in-place and unhooked for what will probably be a few months.

 

I won an auction for an airbag today, and possibly a wheel too (A steal at $20.50, I might add). I got thinking, and I'm not wondering what the RIGHT way to install a racing wheel is. Do you use a resistor to trick the computer, like the VATS or Skip Shift bypass? I'm thinking I might try to bypass that airbag, and see if the light goes off. Of coarse I'll still get it scanned for codes before I install the airbag, but it will give me something to so. Right now the wait for the snow to melt is killing me, so I'm just looking for small things I can to do help restore the Camaro to the pristine condition that it deserves.

 

DONT try to read the coil resistance of your airbag!!! Trust me here when I say it will go BOOOOMM!!!!! My college autobody instructor was testing the resistance in the airbag coil and the current from the ohm meter was enough to set the bag off. it was upside down on the desk and it went boom and hit him in the face (metal side up) and then flew off his face and landed in the second row of desks about 20 feet away. Yea there was blood everywhere from his nose. It didnt break his nose but it gave him a bloody one, 2 black eyes, and a gash on his cheek. Oh and it scared the **** out of us and a couple students even ran for cover! I jumped but didnt run.

Massey

 

Thanks for the heads up! I'll research before I do anything at all with that airbag now. What do all these people putting aftermarket racing wheels in their Camaros do about the airbag light though? Is there a way to bypass the airbag, or is the solution to unplug the light from the dash? I guess it isn't all that important right now anyway, I am going to have to take it to have the codes read anyway.

 

I personally like the idea of having the air bag. I used to be an Autobody tech and after seeing some of the wrecked cars come in, you would be suprised what some people walked away from and what killed people.

A guy driving a 70 Ford 1/2 ton rear ended some one, he did have his seatbelt on and the truck was 100% original. The damage was a tweeked bumper (fixable) bent grill (fixable but easier to order a repro) and also tweeked the lower part of the fender behind the bumper. (again easy fix) The fender did rub the tire so the truck was towed to the shop. The tow truck driver started putting the truck in the Death Row (place we park totals until the insurance Co. pulls them out). I told the driver I know the truck is old but as nice as it is and as minor as the damage is we will prolly fix it so park it over with the rest. The tow truck driver told me the owner was not interested in fixing the truck. I though he was crazy, but the guy got killed when he hit the the car. he hit his nose on the steering wheel and shoved it into his brain.
My shop forman was a HUGE Ford fan so he was able to buy the truck from the insurance Co, with the help of the guys family and he spend maybe $500 to fix it and sold it for $8000 about a year later.
Another car that came in literally had the engine ripped out of it from a side/front impact, there was not much left of this car and the owner was sore but otherwise walked away. The airbag is was saved him in this hit. Some one fell asleep at the wheel and crossed the center line. He was traveling over 80 at the point of impact, the other car was doing 60. The guy who fell asleep survived as well but had a broken leg from the dash. Both cars had crumple zones and airbags, both drivers lived. if either car didnt have and air bag the driver of that car in that accident would not have survived.

I would try to restore the airbag system if the car is going to be used as a daily driver. Those things have saved alot of lives.

Massey