Fitting passenger airbag, help needed! what parts to order?

[eresseraca]

Hi! First post here, been searching and reading around for the last two weeks before buying my first Transit. Many thanks for all the useful info around here!

The van is a 1998 150 LWB semi-high roof, 2.5TDi, that started it's life as a 9 seater personnel transport for the fire department, it seems to be in brilliant condition all in all, no rust so far, serviced regularly and very few kilometers on the meter. It's registered as a 3 person van now with the extra seats in storage and we will be travelling with it during the summer. Some updates are planned as to "modernize" it a bit and make it suit us better.

Without knowing much about transits it feels like it's got quite a lot of bells and whistles including electric mirrors (manual windows though), electrically operated (on/off button on the dash) diff-lock, anti-theft, webasto with timer, electrical fan in the back, extra installed lights both inside and out, seat warmer for the driver seat, an extra button panel mounted on the top of the dash center console (mainly for controlling lights, the extra fan, probably sirens at some point etc.).

First upgrade that we are trying to crack is safety. In other words the passenger side air bag. The fire department seem to have had it ordered without passenger air bag and had instead mounted an LA com radio in that hole, so there's a square hole cut in the panel covering the airbag hole, the panel seems to be the original from factory in which they just cut a hole for the radio.

I suspect it's wiring is high spec (especially since it's got electrical mirrors and the seat warmer) and thus, from what I've read here on the forum, the passenger airbag control cable connection should be available somewhere behind the dash.

I've found an airbag, the passenger-side control wire/harness and an Mk5 On/Off airbag button which I could order. But what more would be needed in parts, mounting hardware for the airbag or anything else?

Also, how big a job would this be? Could I connect and install it myself with this forums assistance and then drive it over to a Service Station (I guess with an lit up Airbag warning light) and have them configure the ECU to recognise two air bags instead of one? Or should I just order all the parts needed and have a service station connect everything?

Attached you'll find a few shots looking into the dash, if they are to any help in figuring out what parts would be needed.

Grateful for any replies and help!

[eresseraca]

So, I've gotten some more information and pics of the airbag module.

It seems to me that the airbag fastens to the dashboard with two bolts on each side, but is there some kind of support plate that should be attached behind it as well or is that all there is to it?

The wiring, also a pic attached, with some guessing. Cable has 1 big connector, 4 small connectors and one abiko connector/eyelet. I'm guessing the big connector connects to the high spec loom, two of the small connectors attaches to the airbag, third one to the on/off airbag switch-button (also in the pics below) and the fourth I can't come up with anything for. The Abiko connector maybe goes to ground?

Anyone with more experience and knowledge on this here?

Also if anyone sits on a PDF of the workshop service manual or know where I can download one for the 1998 Mk5, I'd be very grateful! That might maybe shed some more light on this as well!

[eresseraca]

Update on this in case anyone else is interested.

The cable above and my guesses we're wrong. That cable pictured replaces the single airbag cable and will instead connect both steering wheel and passenger airbags to the airbag control module. No on/off switch has been/is available for the Mk5, so I'm skipping that.

The Mk5 checks airbag status with blink code and according to my source thus the install should be a breeze as long as the new dual airbag wiring and the passenger airbag is working properly. More or less... disconnect battery, wait 30 minutes, remove old wiring, install new wiring and connect both airbags and battery again.

So I will get to this within the coming month or two

[eresseraca]

Update again, so passenger airbag installed, everything connected and I was greeted by the 5 second flash of the airbag lamp in the dash at start. Then turns off after that, just like it should! Wohoo!
Success on that part! I feel relieved, had a helmet with visor on at the first startup (stood outside the car streching my arm for the ignition, didn't sit on the seat waiting to get hit of course)

What about the seatbelt pretensioner, can I retrofit that as well to the passenger side of a double front seat? It's a pyrotechnic one judging from the pics, but it should be attached to a tube/cartridge with a charge right?

Would this even be possible or should I just forget it?

http://www.transitcenter.uk/front-right ... -3286.html

Driver side, originally fitted with airbag would already have one, correct?

[eresseraca]

Okay, did some more research. So the cartrisge is located in that black square looking metal housing, cable that comes out of it that has a black (not airbag yellow) connector, is then connected somewhere and ends up getting controlled by the Air Bag Control module that sees to it that it deploys before the airbags do.

Anybody with a passenger airbag and pretensioner that would be willing to trace that cable for me with some photos. How and where does it come out of the passenger seat, where does it go and ultimately where does it connect at the other end?

on a third look, it isn't a cable, it's a wire... so mechanical connection? (I'm not in the same city as the van anymore so cant check my driver side and would like to order the parts and have them ready to install next time I'm up working on it)

[CamperVanBeethoven]

I didn't even know airbags were an option on the Mk5. How would I tell if I had them?

[Altransit]

How would I tell if I had them?

If fitted, the driver one would be in the centre of the steering wheel, and the passenger one in the centre of the passenger side dash, with the words AIRBAG printed on the covers

[bambi mk 1]

I didn't even know airbags were an option on the Mk5. How would I tell if I had them?

If you ran it in to something you might be able to tell,but then again you might not if you hit it too hard

[CamperVanBeethoven]

I didn't even know airbags were an option on the Mk5. How would I tell if I had them?

If you ran it in to something you might be able to tell,but then again you might not if you hit it too hard

[CamperVanBeethoven]

How would I tell if I had them?

If fitted, the driver one would be in the centre of the steering wheel, and the passenger one in the centre of the passenger side dash, with the words AIRBAG printed on the covers

Ah, well I don't, then.

You may think it a bit silly that I'd be confused on the issue, but the sun blinds warn about the airbags. So I have never been sure I assumed the sun blinds came off something else, because like you say, the word AIRBAG is nowhere to be found on the dash ... So either all sunblinds have an airbag warning, or they are off something else.

[eresseraca]

My visors don't warn about airbags or someone took the sticker off, both the steering wheel and the newly installed dash piece on the passenger states, SRS airbag, presume it's a mandatory logo for all vehicles that are equipped with them.

[CamperVanBeethoven]

Seems strange that they would have removed them.

I've had an airbag blow up in my face once. In fact, that's how I ended up with a Transit. I wrote off my E200 Merc (someone went through a traffic light in front of me, although it may have been a case of the lights being installed incorrectly; never have found out). Boy, it is not nice. The airbag flap scarred my arm and the smoke made me choke so bad I had to get out

[David Day]

Hello eresseraca,
I also have a 1999 TRANSIT WITHOUT AIRBAGS AND WOULD LIKE TO FIT THEM. Did you ever get the information you wanted do this, what parts are needed ? if so could you pass it on to me?
Thanks,
David

[twin wheel camper]

He appears to be no longer a member because everything is blank so your not going to get a reply from him
Might have a new profile but I’d doubt you will get him to reply unfortunately.