O/T Car air bags

Neighbor called last evening around 7PM his daughter had rolled her Ford escort wagon on the gravel road about a mile from home. Rolled one time then into the ditch. The airs bags did not go off so is that normal or not. I pulled it out of the ditch with my truck and trailer on behind loaded it up and took it to there place. Also does disconnecting the battery make it safe as in so the air bags can not blow up in your face when loading it etc>???

I don't know much about them but I think it does take a pretty good impact to set them off.
Last winter when I rolled my PU onto it's top the air bags did not deploy.

Yes disconnecting the battery will not let the airbags deploy. Disconnecting the battery in a vehicle after a serious accident like that is the safest and first thing to do. This will eliminate any chance of creating electrical sparks that may cause a fire with leaking gasoline. The fire dept will just cut the negative cable. This is the first thing they usually do in serious accidents when fluids are on the pavement that have leaked from the wrecked vehicles.

I forgot to mention that when ever you disconnect a battery always take the ground off first. Wether it's a positive ground or negative ground. People will argue this piont saying it doesn't make a difference which one you take off first. Well it does!! If your wrench is on the ground terminal loosening the cable and it touches the frame of the vehicle in the process there will be no sparks or melting of your wrench and burning your hand seriously. If you take the Hot Cable off first and your wrench touches the frame while it's on the battery cable clamp you'll melt the wrench or blow up the battery. I've seen wrenches melt with 24 volt systems. It happens so fast you don't have time. It's costly too!

front mounted air bags will not deploy in a rollover, there no sensors to activate them in the body pannels that would be involved in a roll over, they will deploy in a front end crash or if equipped with side airbads a hit in the side and possibly a rollover will deploy those

It takes a pretty serious deceleration to activate the air bags on most vehicles. I think it's something like 30 G's.

I did in fact remove the + not the - cable but it was the easiest one to remove at the time. Yes I understand the spark problem so I was extra careful not to hit any thing with my 4 in Proto crescent wrench. That key chain wrench sure is handy. Oh and by the way NO fluid leaks on this one which did surprise me

I like your point of always taking ground cable off first. Also, if more than one battery hooked parallel , get all grounds off first. I have had to bite my tongue many times seeing experienced mechanics unhooking the live wire first. Had a friend in the Army, he wasn't a mechanic, (actually went on to play professional football for Green Bay among other teams) who used to fry wrenchs on them 24 volts systems on the trucks. He just could not get it straight which terminals were safe to work on and not have to worry about touching frame or something.

Did you report the crash,if not you could be in trouble for just hauling it off.

Gee whizz yes by all means let the government know that someone made a boo boo. You might want to report if she wet her pants in the roll over or even said a cuss word.

gotta be one on every corner to keep the government informed.

Also, if there's a short (even a little one) and you take the + off first, you'll get a spark as you pull the cable end off the terminal. But no spark if you do the ground side first.

Guessing the daughter was OK. Must have been wearing her seat belt.

I'll second what DickL said.

Well, your partially right, they can deploy when the battery is disconnected, but it would involved a certain set of circumstances, or someone tampering with it trying to take the bag out, but in olds case, it should be OK. I use to work evenings and weekends for a wrecker company, and we always cut the neg cable and secured it by wrapping the end in duct tape and a peice of cut up innertube. We only had one ever pop after we did all of that, al it popped after we loaded it and we on our way back to the yard. The car had been rolled a few times.

I guess your to dumb to realize that if she was hurt or going to try to collect on insurance she will need a police report.Insurance companies won't pay without one.Was she drunk or just wreckless?

several years ago i was looking at new cars and salesman went into his speil about the air bags in the car i was looking at . i told him i already had a air bag . you should have seen the look on his face

My son did a headon with a semi on ice with his 98 F-150 pickup and did not set off the air bag although it was a slow motion collision they hit square, evidently it did not set off the dinger in the bumper consequently it did a couple thousand dollars worth of damage if the bag goes off it's seven thousand or more.

I see you are full of compassion and a need to know guy. I'd say Old is smart enough to not step into something like that. Gonea be a lot more good honest helpful people helping neighbors that need a hand that does not cost them a few meals with the government causing our jobs to go south. Everyone does not have funds to pay a wrecker that will be automatic if you call to have a report filed.

I have helped people out of a ditch when there was no property damage and no one was injured.

Gravel road one car only not cops needed at least not in this area. All the Sheriff dept would have done was say ok was any body hurt and there wasn't and then they would say ok we will not need to look

Ya she was fine just shaken up a bit. She didn't even look like she had one single cut on her

A few years ago my son's girlfriend lost control and rolled her car in the ditch about a mile south of here when a rear wheel spindle broke off. No one called the law because she had had a beer so we just pulled the car home to my place and parked it by the machine shed.

She called the insurance company the next day, they paid her in a few days and a truck came and hauled the car away. It was short and simple.

I was at the neighbor's a couple weeks ago & someone there had locked their keys in the car. When the service guy came to open the door, he worked on the back door. He said he hates to do that on a 2 door for fear of tripping the air-bag sensor. Took him about 5 to 10 minutes but he got it open. He said almost every one is different. No button on the door to show when you get it either.

Dickl
Don't remember, as it was a long time ago, whether it was law or just policy. But around here if the driver/owner was alert, he/she could specify who would do the towing. If driver said just take care of it, then officer would call whoever was on standby. Local tow operators would take standby calls on a rotating basis, a week at a time.
Was working both sides of the fence in those years, sheriff deputy, also part time tow driver.
Willie

I'll bet that was an alarming thing to sit through.

WOW ! I would like to sell air bags to the folks you know that pay 7K or more for air bag replacement. Could that be coffee shop talk ? Makes for interesting conversation........

I think cadet trooper was talking total repair,not just air bag replacement.

Old, just so you know I think you are a good guy all the way around. I also know that a few jabs were made responding to your post.

Lets not go there, but give it some thought before you are a good guy again regardless what some of these dudes are saying. So the gal isn't hurt? Any idea how many claim that as if it makes the accident less of a ordeal? Then a few months later her back hurts and the insurance company gets involved --no cop report?

So lets also assume you are insured for acting as a wrecker service? How much extra does that cost on your pickup insurance? And now lets also say someone hit you while in the process without a cop's lights?

I know there are a few things that seemed far fetched---but in the real world, they have happened. And sombody lost the farm out of the deal.

I still pick up hitchikers, and still do alot of not so legal favors, but I can reasure you many folks with good intentions have paid a very serious price.

Another thing to consider for everyone is to check and see if it is a Hybred --- this is very important, and the batteries are hidden in several different places. You can be a victum real fast, or cause harm to others. Our stupid government can't set rules for disarming anything from Hybreds to air bags. There should be one way to disarm them, and standard one rule applies to every vehickle and at one location for the fireman.

I'm usualy the one who gambles with the air bags, I make it a point to keep my back or side facing the airbag if it hasn't deployed. I also try to keep my head and helmet higher than the trapped person so if it tossed me into the victum my chest would hit their head, rather than a head to head ordeal. A very stupid thing to do on my behalf, but I'm a old man, and someone has to do something.

I would personaly take a roll over pretty seriously when it comes to injuries, and advise someone to get checked out. I know this will get some real laughs from some of the smart folks here, and accuse me of wearing tin foil for a hat. Yet internal injuries can have no visible side effects, even to the trained eye.

This sort of thing doesn't happen every time, but it does happen more often than you may think -- especialy with teenage kids involved, and moncho men are second on the list.

Air bags are a rare breed without rules for deployment, a straight head on it is a pretty safe bet. Also, ever hear of a front bumper being tore loose on one side, and not the other? That bumper can come around using the one side as a hinge, and reach out a tear your legs off (if it is a certian type).

It's great to be a good guy, attornies and insurance companies may see it in a different way.

Anyone near North East Iowa can remember a bad deal a few years ago, where everything that could seldom,or never happenen, all happened at the same accident. Actualy six different ordeals if I counted right, and no one could have ever thought any were possible, even in a movie. Three more could have died, only luck was on their side for a few seconds.

so you would help a drunk or a lousy driver avoid the law? maybe she will kill one of your family members next time.

rich, if it has driver and passenger front air bags, the vehicle will need approximately a 3g decelleration to activate the bags. a rollover generally will not trigger the front bags unless the perimeter sensors and sensor in the derm module is triggered at the same time. the new generation air bags trickier yet. some have a two-stage deployment, and then add in side curtain bags, side bags in the seats, the lower dash bags, it 'll make ya dizzy. disconnect the battery for about 15 minutes before working on the air bag system. some vehicles like a honda, have anti theft radios. if you disconnect the battery, the radio will shut down until you enter your secret code. after 5 failed attempts, a fusible link will blow in the radio.

Not to be a smart A, but read his last line. If I read it correctly he says it will ad AT LEAST an additional 5K or more. Still pretty good pay for repairer. Not picking a fight, I just think talk can become a run away before you know it. Have a good day all.

Just trying to be helpful here. In todays world leaving the scene is a felony in most states (thats jail time). Failure to report is a separate insurance/bmv issue. My rule today with cell phones and the highways crawling with cops is to be the first to report anything involving another party, dont need to do amymore than report an incident and ask if a cop will be coming, no other info as they record it all.

By the time I got there no one was in the car and mom and dad plus brother and sister and boy friend where all there. This neighbor buys hay from me all thew time and we help each other out all the time. All I did was pull an empty car out of the ditch and haul it home for them no more no less. As for where the cops call I do not know was the car insured with full coverage I do not know all I do know is the car is a total

Single car gravel road out in the middle of no where, wheres the felony?? Now yes if it was 2 car or more but this was a simple going to fast in a gravel road and a simple flip over. As for where the cops called I do not know all I was there for was to pull the car out of the ditch and haul it home and for all I know it was probably 30 minutes to an hour before I was even called

Ray you may mean well but your reading way way way to much into this. All I did was pull a wrecked car out of a ditch. As to was it reported I do not know and I was not the person who needed to do so I was just helping a friend out. So how does a simple question about an air bag get to such a ridicules point as you have taken it. By the time I got there it was long enough for a guy 30 miles away to drive there plus her parent to be there and look things over. I'm sure I was no where near the first person they called.

Well funny how a simple question get way off track. But just ti fill in a bit more the guy calls me and ask me if I have a chain he can barrow because his plan was to pull it a mile and a half with his 8N. I knew the road and figured it would be easier and safer for me to bring my truck and trailer and haul it home for him. All I was doing was being a friend and neighbor

Hey Rich , BTDT so many times over the years Also ... you live in a area similar to mine before the gambln boat came here 15 yrs ago and changed everything.. If I woulda posted that Story they would a been chewin on Me instead .... don't let them Shake your tree ,...some of them mean well.. , ain't no wonder Jesus Christ was Crucified ..... nuthin's changed in 2000 years , and btw , i think if the battery is diconnected NO AIR BAG WILL DETONATE,.. but thats what i think ....

The last set of airbags I bought, I bought on e-bay for $199 for the entire system, bags, control module, dash pad, etc.

As long as the sensors are replaced, an undeployed air bag is no different than any other used part.

Actually, the airbag controller stores battery voltage with a capacitor for up to several minutes after the battery is disconnected. This is to allow the air bags to deploy in case the battery is disabled in an accident.

My Chilton manual says just to be safe, wait 30 MINUTES after disconnecting the battery.

They told us when we bought our car the driver's seat was $4000, and easier to replace whole than to try to repair when all those bags go off. That wouldn't include the dash/steeringwheel bags, and the passenger seat either.

--->Paul

I guess YOU'RE too dumb to realize Old was not involved in the accident, therefore he does not need to worry about a police report. And more so if he was not charging for the recovery. Old obviously was not a witness to the crash so he would be just speculating as to the reason of the crash. Maybe YOU should worry more about responding to the original question or your spelling and grammar, instead of insulting Old for helping someone.

No, there WAS a wreck. Didn't you read his post? Probably her being reckless was a contributing factor.

No, there WAS a wreck. Didn't you read his post? Probably her being reckless was a contributing factor.

Old, I have no idea in your state how the law is, but in Iowa I have seen auto roll overs where the car was seventy feet into the farmers field. It was his hired man that wrecked, and the large JD tractor was ready to hook the loader on and remove the car.

The deputy right or wrong, would not let him hook, but rather insisted the insured wrecker would make the hook. I thought it was chicken poop, and told the deputy exactly that. He claimed that if anything went wrong, it could reflect back on him making a bad decision, and could get very stickey for everyone.

Most of us have no idea how fast things can go wrong, and we all do it because we are nice guys.

There is lots of advise here, some from over concerned folks, some from folks that sit with a can of beer in their hands telling you it ain't no big deal.

As I have stated before I have been playing the game for thirty plus years, and once in a while we talk about what went wrong, and how in the heck it could have possibly got that complicated.

It just comes to mind that some guys haul the Amish around, but once they take a cent for doing so, they must be insured as a taxi, and a whole lot of other legal issues. One guy that did so told me it cost him over $800.00 to haul four Amish to a auction. He doesn't do it any more.

Wreckers in Iowa are allowed the first hook when toeing a wrecked car. Meaning everything doesn't have to be perfectly legal. Once they drop the vehickle off, then it is a different set of rules. If they have a light not working, and some one hits them? You gussed it, the attorneys get all over the poor wrecker driver for being so neglagent.

A officer told the lady to remain in her wrecked car till we got there. She insisted she was ok and was going to get out come heck and high water. The officer opened the car door. Yep he was trained, and knew better, yet did it anyway. Any idea how much that cost bottom line?

I will never allow a teenager to sign off on a refusal form, their parents can for them if they are there. I have no idea of the extent of their injuries, nor would a doctor standing there. So will I alow a kid to be cripled, or even die because they say they are just fine? Sorry I don't get paid enough for that, and the good samaritan law doesn't cut it for those issues.

Heck, always be a good guy, just understand a few of the problems you could face. I got alot of smarts from the school of hard knocks, and hope I can help others avoid the same bumps.

Old did break the law by assisting to cover the accident up in the legal part. He was aware the cops weren't there before he helped the neighbor out. In Iowa it is a set amount that everyone is supposed to know if you have a licence.

Of course no one will ever find out except for everyone on this web site that is. Not reporting is a big deal, how ever that is not Olds responsbility. We all break the law because we are unaware of it.

Take some time and sit in on some court crapola, then shake your head the rest of your life wondering what the heck is this world coming too.

No one said it is right, or even close to it for that matter, just a real mess with the laws.

The big offenders get off, the poor good guys often pay.

"you take the + off first, you'll get a spark as you pull the cable end off the terminal. But no spark if you do the ground side first."


Yeah, RIGHT!

No current flow in the (-) side of the "circuit", eh?

It'll spark either way, end of story. Neg is safer because of already stated wrench coming in contact with grounded metal in car.

One more thing to note while we are on the topic of things to look out for after an accident, and it doesn't come into play in this case as there was no front end damage, is the front bumper.
The front bumpers on most passenger cars are mounted on a gas charged cylinders. After a front end collision in which one or both cylinders have been compressed, they can all of a sudden let go and fire the bumper at a very high rate of speed. I'm a volunteer firefighter with auto extrication training, this is something they stress in training. NEVER stand directly in front of a vehicle that has front end damage. This can also happen in some vehicles if they are burning. It has seriously injured rescue workers on numerous occasions. I don't know if we can post links here but go to youtube and search for "front bumper explosion".

For the record, I think you did the right thing Old, I would have done the same. It's pretty sad if you can't help a neighbor due to possible legal red tape.

It did have some front end damage from hitting the ditch but not a lot. I think the ditch is what stopped the car from rolling over more. That hill she rolled on is about 1/2 mile to the bottom so if she had not hit the ditch she probably would have kept on rolling

"Single car gravel road out in the middle of no where, wheres the felony?? Now yes if it was 2 car or more but this was a simple going to fast in a gravel road and a simple flip over. As for where the cops called I do not know all I was there for was to pull the car out of the ditch and haul it home and for all I know it was probably 30 minutes to an hour before I was even called"

Old did NOT know if the cops were called. He may have been UNKNOWINGLY guilty of an infraction, but I doubt anything would come of it. What do you mean by "In Iowa it is a set amount that everyone is supposed to know if you have a licence."? That statement doesn"t make sense, can you explain that better? I understand why the deputy made the guy use a licensed tow driver to pull the car out of the field, if someone hit a citizen trying to recover a vehicle and they don"t have the proper training or warning lights, they may cause an accident. Having said that, a couple of years ago, I helped pull a State salt truck back onto the road. The driver had tried to stop to check on someone who had slid of the other side of the road and she slid off herself. The road was covered in black ice. Technically it was an "accident", but we needed that salt truck back on the road ASAP to prevent more accidents, and it was late at night so there was not much traffic. The tow truck would have probably taken an hour to reach us, so I told her we"d just spread some salt on the road and I"d use a tow strap to assist her out. It only took about 5 minutes. Might have been technically illegal, but it was the right thing to do.

I just looked at the Iowa manual, and it states any accident must be reported withing 72 hrs if the damage is over $1,000.00. If a cop is there you do not have to find the form etc.

To back paddle, we had a auto accident a month or so ago, and the front of the auto was probably a hundred feet from the crash site. In all fairness, the HWY was blocked off, but they had a farmers hired man pick up the front end with a skid loader and put it on top of the tilt bed truck. There was at least eight cops there at the time. So it seems that the rules can change. Now that I think of it, we were less than a 1/4 mile from where the officer was a real butt head with the other auto / tractor I mentioned.
And to coment on that tractor auto ordeal, lets just say that Arazonas new law would be a subject of discussion. And the driver was acting like a sixteen year old when the accident happened.

I'm a well doooer myself, but if you were to have gotten hit even by a drunk driver when assisting, you probably could have gotten into some trouble. Iowa is maybe tougher, who knows.

A snow plow on a state hwy was less than a 1/4 mile from a blazing house, but the driver refused to plow the 1/4 mile on a county road so the fire trucks could get there. It turned out the plow driver acted as he was supposed to because it was not a state road. Talk about stupid options.

I just called a cop, and asked what the deal was, he said that if the auto was on a county road of any nature except a level B the tow truck driver has to have a liability of so much, he was unsure. Now if it was totaly on private property, then all rules are off. He said that while loading the auto and something goes wrong, probably the good guy had no insurance if it was not farm related. A comercial wrecker service must meet some requirments that are stupid and all, but never the less it is the law.
He said probably not a big deal unless something goes wrong, or damage is done to a utility pole, stop sign, fences etc. Then if a adult beverage or drugs were involved, all cops jump on that one, as it is popular, / brownie points. And above all, make sure you have your insurance card.
His advise was just like the drug motto--just say no. He said we all do it, but we probably would not sleep if we knew how bad it could get, it happens all the time. Then he mentioned attorneys having a real close relationship with their mothers.
He said if ya go to court a few times, a person should just leave your shooting iron at home, because otherwise a person could go postal.

He also comented that helping a Amish put his buggy back onto its wheels is the only slim chance a guy has not to get sued nowdays.

As a side note a farmer somewhat close helped a very old man out by pulling him out of a smow drift. He made the old guy hook to his auto, but the bumper was pulled off / auto damage. A month later, he got a bill because he used poor judjment and excesive force. I think it was around eight hundred dollars. His attorney said to just pay it and learn from it. The auto insurance company had big dollar attorneys on the payroll, not worh fighting. The farmer blew off steam at the attorneys desk, but later got a second opinion, with the same answer.

The farmer strung out the ordeal as long as he could, and only made small payments strung out over a long period as well. He had the insurance company attorneys on his speed dial, and called them real often with some dumb question just to agravate the butt heads.

as bob said.. think of it as a loop tru the load from the battery.

current flows at all stages of a closed circuit.. spark will occur anywhere you break the ckt.

soundguy