Bongo Fury

I have a 1997 SGL5 with a single drivers air bag which I would like to
replace with a nice NARDI wooden steering wheel.

Any advice which would prevent me from blowing my head off in the
process would be appreciated, I still have a few years left to go !!.

I'd assume that if the battery is disconnected, that there'd be no power to trigger it, therefore it'd be safe? (usual disclaimers apply) Pretty sure that's what the destructions for my new steering wheel said for mine but I didn't pay too much heed as mine hasn't got an airbag, I'll see if I can find them if you want Ben. I think you've got to then put a (1.2 ohm?) resistor across the airbag terminals, not sure if this because of the warning light, or control circuitry if you've got a passenger airbag?
This thread may help in the fitting even though it's not for the SRS http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... 44&t=34086

I was going to post something about not paying too much attention to posts made in the middle of the night but its really too late now to put anything coherent together.

Kirsty, thanks for the info and PM, I am going to tackle the job
over the weekend but will let you know if I need further help.

Mister Munkey, For further updates, please read the obituary
column in next weeks Financial Times.

Be careful as the airbag will still have a charge from a capacitor in it for a while after the battery has been disconnected. This is in order to allow the airbag to deploy in an accident if the battery has been destroyed by the impact.

I would imagine that this charge only lasts for a few minutes but I would be inclined to give it an hour between disconnecting the battery and removing the steering wheel to be on the safe side.

The resistor is indeed needed to stop the SRS warning light from coming on. Make sure you install this before you reconnect the battery and definitely before you turn the ignition on or the light will come on any way and need to be reset by a dealer.

I suppose a wooden steering wheel is just as safe as an air bag really

Depends how old the airbag is

missfixit70 wrote:Depends how old the airbag is

Are older ones better than new ones then

Airbags have a finite life (can't remember what) ie a "use by date", I personally wouldn't like the idea of out of date explosives sitting that close to my face, but that's just my opinion

missfixit70 wrote:Airbags have a finite life (can't remember what) ie a "use by date", I personally wouldn't like the idea of out of date explosives sitting that close to my face, but that's just my opinion

It's an interesting view.
If you are right about the finite life being less than the life of the car I am surprised that the issue isn't widely broadcast.
I thought airbags were designed to last beyond the life of the car and had an "airbag warning light " that came on if they were in some way defective.

But, I am not an airbag expert of course.

Neither am I Kelv as I said just expressing my opinion.

Maybe there is some mention in the owners manual or the Mazda official service manual relating to the date after manufacture at which the airbags should be checked?
I have neither of those documents myself.

Neither do I have an airbag, so not really bothered personally and will probably be accused soon about being off topic, or whatever

But, I can see that folks with an airbag might wish for clarity regarding it's safety and likely functionability in deployment if what you say about shelf life is a correct opinion.

This discussion - http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/ ... tm?t=58507 - may be of interest. Brings into play some interesting arguments about disposal & effectively rendering multi airbagged cars as scrap when their air bags are at the end of their lifespan, especially if it becomes part of the mot.
As you so rightly point out Kelv, this is an issue that really needs proper clarification, possibly from Mazda themselves?

And you will of course have to inform your insurer of the modification.

Very interesting.
Each to look after their own.
I haven't got an airbag in a Mazda so personally couldn't give a flying wotsit