I was at the local LKQ P-N-P yard the other day, and they have a sign posted saying that they are no longer selling SRS bags. I assume that is because of the issues with the Japanese air bags. I just wanted to give everybody a heads up, to the effect that other yards will probably follow suit in short order. If you need an airbag, don't wait too long, or you may not be able to get one. I converted my cars to aftermarket steering wheels and no longer have airbags. That may soon be the only recourse if yours goes off.
Thanks for the notice, Fred. Whether it's a recalled unit or not, I can certainly understand a yard's reluctance to sell an airbag unit, and having an unknown risk out there. Very hard to 'test' whether a unit is good or not. Generally though, the devices themselves are simple in operation - provide a voltage through a switch, which starts a chemical reaction, and BAM, your air bag goes off. It's the complication in the sensors that's the hard part.
Back around 1995, I did know a guy (through my work) that was part of a company that did air bag replacements in So Cal - a vendor, I guess you could say. Had a lot of knowledge on how the systems work. I invited him to my Church Men's Group monthly meeting to do a demonstration........blew a bag about 40 feet in the air.
Well, there are videos on the internet showing some goofballs being launched in the air from an air bag activation, but the guy I used pointed the business end DOWN, so the bag basically launched itself.
I wonder what the ramifications with the insurance company are if you get injured in an accident after removing your air bag and installing an aftermarket steering wheel?
Interesting question. If anything, it might be the same as not switching the passenger bag on with someone in that seat. "If you refer to your wife and mother-in-law as 'dual airbags,' you might be a Redneck." Marshall, the dealer shops usually have specific test units for testing the airbag systems on older ones without self-test capability. Newer ones are accessible through a scan tool with the correct connector and software. Pinpoint testing the system is like working on a missile system (for which I've worked on in the Navy)--you disconnect the circuits for the squib firing (chemical reactions started with an electrical signal always use an initiator, such as a squib, blasting cap, etc.), then connect a dummy load across the firing circuit's connector, trigger the sensors, and confirm the dummy load reacts immediately. Sometimes, with self-test, it'll be very clear as to the problem, so a pinpoint test is not required, such as an open in the squib circuit, you confirm both connectors to the clockspring are attached, and if after that the code comes back, it's natural to assume the clockspring is bad.
The following goofball Beavis & Butthead types, speaking a horrible hybrid of French, launch roadkill, somewhere in Quebec: