I have a 92 T/A conv. with airbag steering wheel. Can anyone help me with a step by step SAFE removal of it so it doesnt blow up in my face! Thanks

 

I did this on a 91...

Disconnect ground...
I think there was a yellow / wires coming from it on the steering column to a yellow plug (SRS), unplug that...
There were 4 bolts on the backside of the wheel that attached it to the wheel.... remove those...

Try not to work in front of it... just in case...

Once safely removed, I put it on the street & hooked up 12v to it... it shot up so high, it hit the power wires above the street! (ooops!)

Raf

 

#1 Disconnect Your Battery!

#2 Pull the SIR fuse from the Fuse Box

I read that the system can hold a Battery Charge for a small amount of time, so I left mine overnight, but then again, mine isn't a daily driver.

Then there are 4 torx head screws on the back side of the steering wheel (the size escapes me right now), then just pull the bag off, and unplug the Yellow wire, Then steering wheel removal is the same as any other.

 

You dont really have to disconnect the battery. If you dont mind resetting your stereo stations, cool. At work, Inever do. Remove the fuse for the SIR. At the base of the steering column there is a yellow plug. Disconnect it. There is no more risk of it deploying now, well, mostly. Remove bolts and take off. Should be a connector underneath it.

 

Thanks alot for all the replies! This will help me out greatly, and save my face form being flattened!

 

I was hoping to remove the entire SRS circuit... Will this mess with any normal functions? Like, if I remove the 2 SRS units under the Center Console, and all the yellow wires... will there be a computer code that will prevent me from starting the car, or anything wonky like that? I know electronics can be frikkin weird, so, thought I'd ask opinions before I made any actions... Thanks in advance.

 

Just do what ya gotta do..and don't have your FACE all up in it?

 

Well, the AirBag unit is gone, I sold it for $120 on Craigslist... All that's left is a buncha (potentially) Useless yellow Wires, and Airbag sensing computers and what not... Thanks for pointing out the Obvious though, Christine. lol :P

 

You are very welcome..

 

I'm assuming nobody knows how to get rid of these lil black boxes then?

 

Just remove them. I pulled them out of my 92 Camaro last winter and have had no problems at all. The only indication you'll see of them being gone is the SIR light on the dash will light up constantly. I just pulled the bulb.

 

Exactly the answer I was looking for, thanks bro. I just waned to make sure that was all that was going to happen... Better safe then Sorry.

 

i want to do this on my 91 TA, i live in NY so i have inspections every year! is there a way to remove the wheel & leave all the wiring in the column intact for an easy swap back?

thanks!

 

First thing is double check to make sure the airbag is required to pass. In PA, the law on airbags is weird. Anyone can remove the airbag and drive it, sell it, do whatever with the car and its legal. A car dealership, even a used car lot is not allowed to sell a car without an air bag if it came with one from the factory. NY may be the same way, if so then all you have to do it take it out and leave it out.

If not, then you could leave the wiring intact as long as you disconnect the yellow 2-wire connector at the base of the steering wheel. You also need to make sure that the connector in the steering column does not interfere with the adapter for your new wheel. I would tape the bag connector to the clock spring mechanism inside the steering column so that you don't have to worry about it jamming itself in there somehow and locking up the steering wheel.

 

thanks man i have to look into that, i just dont like how ugly the 90-92 wheel is!!

 

I will be pulling mine off my 92 camaro and I have done it on other cars easily. The one thing that scares me is that when working on a air bag its alot like working with a loaded gun pointed at you and knowing that it can cause serious damage if not death.

 

You could always short connect it to the battery and set it off from outside the car. That way you don't have to worry about it going off accidentally. Just make sure the driver's side window is down, and I would take the T-tops off if you have them just in case. I've seen cases where the air bags have damaged the windows when they go off.

When I took mine out, it was already blown because the guy I bought the Camaro from had wrecked it.

 

Amen to that, I Want a Sparco SO bad... but, Not $300 bad...

 

do I have to put the SIR fuse back in after the install?

 

I guess its the Upstate NYer in me (REAL Upstate - not Albany 'upstate'); I was gonna say put your friend in the drivers seat and kick the bumper...

Be careful selling airbags, some states frown on this. Thats all Im gonna say.

Additionally, in NY State, if the airbag is NOT standard equipment, its NOT required to pass a NEW YORK inspection. Same thing goes for ABS. I bought a mint 95 buick regal for 300 bucks because the kid who owned it didnt have the money to scan and replace the ABS sensor. I doublechecked with my mechanic (dad) and since ABS wasnt standard equipment on that car, I just put a nice neat square of electrical tape over the ABS light on the dash - problem solved (If it was standard equipment and/or I didnt know a good ol boy mechanic, Id have had it scanned and replaced the offending ABS sensor). Note: I do NOT advocate treating every car like this. I fully understand the risks of driving without ABS and since Ive only owned one car with it until very recently, I was very okay with this. Besides that, concerning third gen cars...talk to your local mechanic, theres plenty of carbed late 3rd gens and S10s and Mustnags here in Syracuse. If its your summer driver, apparently people accidentally write the wrong mileage in the inspection book and the car owner accidentally leaves a 12pack of cold err soda behind. Ask some well thought 'theoretical' questions before you go and drive your Shafiroff 454SB 1050Dominator'd 91 Formula into his shop and he laughs at you...if he does laugh, sell me the engine or, better yet I'll trade you straight up for my 305tpi

 

Nope. I left mine out and haven't noticed anything not working. Checking the scanned pics of wiring diagrams I have, I don't see anything else that it supplies power to.

 

Alright, thanks alot, everything's cool now.

 

Great thread here. I just ordered a new Grant wheel for my 91 Firebird and this is exactly the info I've been looking for. One question, does anyone have a pick of the fuse layout for 91-92 Birds?? Which fuse is the SIR fuse?

 

Thanks for the info!