Operation Volvo Seats In A Prius Part 2

thanks! ive decided to go without the airbag.

Now I need to disable the sensor:

The Toyota airbag reads less than 10 ohms in resistance. So would a dead short do the trick? Or maybe a 10ohm resistor?

 

About 10ohm resistor. Or a bit more resistance is fine too. Resistance doesn’t need to be spot on to keep the control unit happy.

But still resistor might be the better idea than connecting airbag as the shape and deployment rate of the airbags are probably different.

 

I would want to measure the resistance of both bags, but if the meter puts out too much voltage it might deploy the bags. if you get t-boned, you will not be happy with your decision to omit the side bag. not a sermon, just a thought.

 

Ill go for a 10 ohm resistor I think.

Do you suggest 10 ohms from experience? Or because of my readings? Because I have doubts as I went to fire the test airbag for disposal this evening, and found out it was a dud. Didn't fire (I expected as much as I acquired the scrap seat from a junkyard.) I will test my own seat soon and get back with the resistance it gives me.

(My grandma's Impala doesn't have a side airbag, my mom's caravan doesn't have a side airbag, I think it would be pompous to think I should need one while they drive daily without one. Safely. Ill keep God at my side for my protection like my Grandma does, really works wonders haha! )

 

Last time I did something like this (with other cars) airbag was about 10ohm but even more than double the resistance was enough to keep control unit happy.

 

ok awesome thanks! Ill try 10 ohms

 

Anyone here have an understanding of how the seat position sensors work. emphasis on HOW, not WHAT they do.
I read on another forum that its simply two settings. The first is the "close" setting and the second is the "far setting." Looking closer at the sensor, there are only two wires going to it, so we don't have much room for variability besides ones and zeros.

The sensor as a decently powerful magnet inside also.

The current knowledge I've gathered is that the sensor sense whether there are two tracks under it (when the tracks are collapsed or in the "close" setting) or whether its just the one track (in the extended position).

Hopefully its an "on/off" setting and I can simply plug it in and leave it away from the rails, as ill most definitely be in the "far setting"

My best guess since its a magnetic device, attracted to the rails, and positioned very specifically/ carefully in relation to the rails, AND since you can adjust the seat while the car is OFF and the computer doesnt have the ability to read and save the sensor passing certain "checkpoints" then that must means its literally ON/OFF..... CLOSE/FAR.

If anyone can add anything to this id be grateful! Otherwise Im fairly confident with my findings.

 

Ok so I tried a 20 ohm resistor, and it didn't seem to work. Nothing major happened, except i had the airbag light on.

BUT FEAR NOT! I did about a 1.5 hour research sesshion nd found out how the "initiator" portion of the airbag inflation system works. Its basically a fuse. Well it is a fuse haha. SO THATS WHAT IM USING. And a fuse works great because then if I do get in the extremely rare situation that the side airbag would have to go off, the resistor wont blow on me, or catch fire. Heres a pic:

 

Update: fuse don't work, shorting don't work. The airbag light remains, and only leaves when I plug the original airbag back in. Not sure what's up, mate there's some grounding going on that I'm unaware of?

20ohm resistor didn't do it, I doubt a 1-19ohm would, but about to pull out the potentiometer

 

Correct resistance will work. Control unit will see the airbag igniter only a as resistance. System can’t even be super precise on what the actual value is so as long as you’re getting it close enough it should be fine.

You are still getting the code for the airbag and nor for the seat position or weight sensor or something else?

 

Yep cause all Im doing is removing the airbag plug. The original OEM Toyota seat is still in the car, and everything else is still plugged in besides the airbag.

UNfortunatley with radioshack closed I can no longer zip to the store for some resistors. DAMN modern society and their lack of electronic DIYers!

Will have to scrounge some circuit boards or order from online I suppose but im impatient.

My potentiometers are 1megohm so they are useless for this application most likely. Their lowest resistance is a stubborn 15ohms.

 

airbags usually have low resistance gonna probably be < 10 ohms. benz's throw a code if the connector gets loose or dirty and adds just a few ohms to the circuit. did you measure the resistance of the dud bag?

 

5ohms did the trick!

 

excellent smithers... you gonna give us some pix?

 

yup im gonna make a new post, so people dont have to fish through this one.

 

Hey guys. So i plan to inatall s60 seats too. Reading those threads but still unsure how fo you mount. Grind off volvo mounts and bolt on prius mounts before measured?