Side Airbag Help Please

[XR06T]

if the wires for the sensor werent at the point where the senor should be, it still may just be a case of getting the sensor with the wires attached to it.. at some point in the wiring there is an empty socket for these side airbags. it may be on the rcm which is a bit difficult to get to, but I would think that there is a socket for it in all cars, just a matter of finding where it is.

perhaps..

[Paradoxx]

Good point, maybe when you purchase sensors they come with loom attached...

worth asking the parts department.

[TurboDewd]

Then drop a big wheelie as you leave the workshop by his desk

←

then drop a big turdie on his desk as you leave the workshop!

[Ninka]

Yeah, I'm not sure how feasible that is without knowing a lot more about it eg. whether it's as easy as just 'connecting into' the existing wiring, whether the RDC will need replacing too (as per FORDTECH's earlier advice), etc, etc. 

For now, the short term fix is to put back the 'blanking' resistors. The good part about that is it is totally reversible if I do choose to try and have the side airbags wired in at a later date. 

←

I will go and pull the trim off mine and see exactly what this looks like.

Will post a photo shortly

[Ninka]

OK, the wire is definitely coming off the loom, and is not an additional plug-in wire which comes with the switch.

If the wire is there, you should find it behind the trim panel, just around the rear of the front doors.

Easiest way to check this is to remove the front seat track cover, by pulling it forward (can be a bit hard to get off, so wiggle it while pulling), and then remove the 2 screws holding the kick panel trim, and lift it away as well. You are now able to pry the trim covering the inside of the panel away py pushing it towards the middle of the car, which should make an opening big enough for you to see if the wire is there or not.

It's a 10 minute job.

See photos for location of sensor and wire.

If the wire is not there, well you are stuffed

[bugster70]

Thanks for that, Ninka, most helpful. I definitely didn't have the wiring going up the side of the B pillar like you have but will remove the seat track trim, etc, as you suggest to see if it's tucked away down there.

From the look of your photos though, it's a fair bit of wiring (with a protective cover) so I doubt that it'd all fit under there? If there was provision for it, I would have imagined that it'd run up the side as yours does and just not to be connected to any sensor? I hope that's not the case, of course, and will report back after I've checked.

[bugster70]

Update (would you believe it took until today to find myself with a spare 10 minutes to do this?! ).

The good news is that I retrieved my resistors, they were easy as hell to plug in and the airbag warning light on the dash behaves normally again ie. lights up when ignition is turned on but extinguishes shortly after the car is started.

The bad news is that I did as Ninka advised and I don't have the additional wiring required to connect to a side airbag sensor, so it looks like the side airbags will never be operational.

Oh well, it was worth a shot, thanks again for all the help everyone.