(NA)Airbag Issue(/NA)

[Greg Bockelman]

I just swapped out the front seats and console in my 2012 Ram because the seats were threadbare and the foam was broken down, to say the least. My seats had side airbags and in the console there was a USB outlet as well as a cigarette lighter style outlet and a 3.5 mm Jack for an audio input. No power seats otherwise. The seats I put in did not have any of that.

I took the wiring harness out of my seats and console and put it in the new seats I put in. Everything works fine except that since there are no side airbags in the “new” seats, I have nothing hooked up to that part of the wiring harness. What that means is that when I drive the truck, the airbag icon in the dash is illuminated.

So the questions for the collective wisdom of POA are, is there a way to “fool” the system into thinking there are side airbags installed when there isn’t? Also, does the fact that the system does not detect side airbags also mean the front bags are inoperative? I can accept the risk of them not working, but I really would like for the front bags to work if possible.

 

[Jim K]

I just swapped out the front seats and console in my 2012 Ram because the seats were threadbare and the foam was broken down, to say the least. My seats had side airbags and in the console there was a USB outlet as well as a cigarette lighter style outlet and a 3.5 mm Jack for an audio input. No power seats otherwise. The seats I put in did not have any of that.

I took the wiring harness out of my seats and console and put it in the new seats I put in. Everything works fine except that since there are no side airbags in the “new” seats, I have nothing hooked up to that part of the wiring harness. What that means is that when I drive the truck, the airbag icon in the dash is illuminated.

So the questions for the collective wisdom of POA are, is there a way to “fool” the system into thinking there are side airbags installed when there isn’t? Also, does the fact that the system does not detect side airbags also mean the front bags are inoperative? I can accept the risk of them not working, but I really would like for the front bags to work if possible.

My understanding is that it won't affect the operation of the other airbags. Watching the guys on youtube who buy cars at salvage yards...they often find airbags that were deployed and not replaced, and a resistor is stuck into the harness to fool the computer and turn the dash light off. I don't know the specifics, but I'm sure you can find them online, just that the computer is looking for a certain amount of resistance from the airbag.

From what I understand this is an illegal dirty trick used by unscrupulous shops...but I won't cast any aspersions on someone who is doing it to get some more miles out of there own old vehicle, especially someone I know to be of high moral character, who isn't going to pawn it off on someone else without telling them.

 

[jesse]

I'm not a RAM guy, so no idea, but I imagine your options are to either fool the computer or reprogram the computer so that it doesn't expect it. Within the Ford world, FORscan is the tool of choice for reprogramming the computers to handle different factory options/equipment.

Buy a ford, wear the seats out, and then I can more directly assist.

 

[Let'sgoflying!]

I thought everyone's go-to was to pull the plug on the offending dash lamp lol

 

[cowman]

You'd have to ask Dodge guys, maybe there's a certain value of resistor you can splice into a harness somewhere. For a good temporarily permanent fix, I imagine 1/2" strip of black electrical tape over the offending light will do the trick.

 

[Llewtrah381]

Black electrical tape over the indicator? Has been working since time immemorial for the Check Engine lights on crew cars