Airbag System? Protege Wheel...

[Dragon1212]

So I recently bought a protege steering wheel for my New project, Which is safetyless.... Explosive Safetyless. Well I've always been a fan of life saving explosions. SO i THought What if i grabbed the rest of the system... Could i Retrofit it? Or would the Explosives kill me?

So i have a Airbag Wheel. but no airbag system, Well I rarely have two people in car so I really only need the drivers. Could I install a system? Thoughts?

and.......


GO

[RobMinhas]

Anything is doable if you have the time and means but I think this is one of those things that if you can't guarantee the safety of it it's better to pass. What if you were driving on the highway one day and all of the sudden the airbag system malfunctioned and you got a face full of airbag at 100 plus KPH?

[Dragon1212]

Anything is doable if you have the time and means but I think this is one of those things that if you can't guarantee the safety of it it's better to pass. What if you were driving on the highway one day and all of the sudden the airbag system malfunctioned and you got a face full of airbag at 100 plus KPH?

And if I put it in The Blue one I would Completely agree.. except if i installed it it would be using its sensors, its control unit etc etc

And i do 100% Highway lol,

[MrMazda92]

You're more likely to have issues than not with this one, unfortunately...

[SuperK]

you would have to remove the airbag sensor from a 94/95. as well as the appropriate part of the harness.

I don't know how the sensor works because I haven't traced the airbag harness from the engine harness, if it's electronically connected to the ECU, or whatever.

The airbag sensor itself is easy to remove.

[bbunkerc397]

Ok, step 1:

The airbags will not prematurely deploy without providing voltage (approximately 12 volts) to the airbag squib. Unfortunately though if you do so, yes you may certainly be injured especially while holding it. Thus I would not recommend doing this.

In the MX-3 I have only seen a dual airbag system (drivers and passengers). In order for the conversion to be completed you would then obviously require the appropriate dashboard. The following would be required to complete this task:

1. Dashboard with passenger airbag and appropriate metal mounting structure
2. Drivers airbag with steering column for an airbag equipped MX-3 (due to different clockspring and wiring)
3. Complete dashboard wiring harness
4. Complete body wiring harness
5. Airbag control module (for an MX-3 - DO NOT INTERCHANGE)
6. Front airbag crash sensors (Left and right - possible center sensor) - May also require mounting brackets
7. Not 100% sure, but you may require a different instrument cluster including airbag light (light is required for proper operation of system)

Due to some possible differences in the construction of these vehicle, proper mounting points such as studs and holes may not be present in the originally non-equipped chassis. DO NOT attempt to disassemble the wiring harnesses with the airbag wiring as it will make a wiring nightmare and an obvious fire hazard and premature deployment risk.

This vehicle was not equipped with seat belt/buckle pre-tensioners, side airbags or a roll over or side impact sensors, so the retrofit is not as huge of a task as with a more modernly equipped vehicle. Installation of these required sensors would be a task left only to an engineer as this vehicle was never crash tested for proper effective mounting locations. As such a retrofit in this vehicle should only be done with originally available equipment as these features may actually cause more harm than protection if improperally deployed.

Keep in mind that seat belts are the primary form of protection in a collision, and airbags are only a supplemental restraint system (hence the term SRS) and are therefore not required. Though I do understand the will to add this feature to your vehicle, this is not a task to be taken lightly as done incorrectly can cause serious injury to the occupants and potentially voiding any personal injury claims as a result of a collision (as by the VIN they will know it was not factory equipment). Ultimately this should only be performed by a professional in the airbag industry providing a certificate of compliance, not the standard mechanic.

If you happen to be located in the Greater Toronto Area, my father has been in the airbag installation and diagnostic industry for over 25 years and would be more than capable of supplying and installing electrically adjustable pedals, shut-off switches and possibly an airbag retrofit. This could be a very costly endeavour and MAY actually require a court admission to do so. A lawyer should actually be contacted prior to doing this, as you are dealing with adding and modifying original safety features in a vehicle.

For more information go to http://www.srsairbags.ca and you can feel free to contact him directly.

[MrMazda92]

I wouldn't do it, and I'm all over custom/weird/wtf was he thinking? type things... If it's safety related, and you aren't 100% positive it's going to work, better not touch it.

[stepchyld]

Since you already stated you rarely have passengers in your car, you wouldn't HAVE to get the complete dash and all harnesses from a 94+. I've noticed a few early airbag-equipped cars only had drivers side bags.

I can't say for certain on an MX3, because I haven't completely torn down a 94+, but a 93 MX6's airbag wiring is separate from the chassis wiring. It uses special connectors that are quite different from regular connectors and are different colors.
There are 3 sensors, Left, Right, and Center, that's all I can recall right now.
After having front bumper cover and fenders off my 95, it looks like the MX3 is setup like the MX6.
The airbag system harness goes up the steering column, running along with horn and cruise control wiring, but isn't tied into them.
I don't recall how it ran to the instrument cluster, but I think it had it's own plug. If the light is necessary for the system to work, you'd need a cluster, or maybe just a light (?).
On a side note: if light bulb fails, would your airbags still work if needed? Seems an awfully weak link.

I suspected the airbag wiring was separate so if there was a major problem with it, the entire car's harnesses wouldn't have to be removed. Plus, the MX3's body harness didn't change throughout the years, so there was less work for Mazda by doing the airbags as a stand-alone system that could be used on different models.
The chassis didn't change either, so an engineer wouldn't need to be consulted for 'proper effective mounting locations'. Mount sensors where they are mounted on a 94+, you'd have the identical Mazda engineer approved setup.

To remove all the airbag system wiring from another car, you would have to remove the dash and fenders at least. To Install, you may need to do the same, though you may be able to install without removing dash, if you're flexible enough, lol

Regarding the law's involvement in such a project, I have no idea... Seems if you only did the drivers' side, and you're always driving it and always will, liability with the project would be on you alone. Passengers would effectively be in a car without airbags.