Air bag sensor Can I replace it myself?

SNAKESOLDLADY

MEMBER
1997 CADILLAC SLS
185,000 MILES

The front air bag sensor on my 1997 sls is damaged. Can I replace it myself or can I disable the air bag system? The sensor has been removed. The light (obviously) stays on and I haven't been able to find another one. I'm also afraid that if I replace it incorrectly or get a defective one from an auto graveyard, it will trigger the air bag to deploy. I wouldn't ordinarily disable the air bag system, but it's already not working, so.

Wednesday, May 16th, 2012 AT 3:54 PM

1 Reply

KHLOW2008

MECHANIC
41,814 POSTS

You need not disable it. If any errors had been detected, the airbag system self disables and triggers the indicator light.

Replacing the airbag sensor would not trigger the the system as it is programmed to activate only under vehicle moving conditions when any impact on the sensor occurs.

After installation of the sensor, if it is bad, the indicator light would not go off even if you reset it.

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Wednesday, May 16th, 2012 AT 4:25 PM