Making Use of the Passenger Airbag Compartment (With airbags removed)
05-31-12, 01:57 PM
#1
Making Use of the Passenger Airbag Compartment (With airbags removed)
If you've removed your airbags, here's an idea.
I removed my airbags a while ago because the airbag light was on and I didn't really trust airbags this old anyway (I've heard of them going off at the track under heavy braking). Not to mention that fact that the airbags in this car are super heavy. Anyway, I wanted to make use of the space where the passenger airbag used to be.
I recently redid most of the wiring on my car, and I wanted a clean place to locate my Dakota Digital unit, a couple relays, and a distribution block for my gauges and accessories so I figured I'd make a bracket and mount them in the passenger airbag location. Another thought I had was to put the cover on a hinge to make it an easily accessible "secret" compartment for storing a gun and/or maybe a fuel pump cut-off switch to prevent theft. However after some effort I wasn't able to make a hinge setup for it that worked well, so the cover will be fixed. I was going to make a bracket to hold the cover in place, but I think I can just use zip-ties which are simpler and lighter.
Anyway, here are a couple of pics.
Here's the bracket. I love nutserts.
Dakota digital box, two relays for A/C control, fused distribution block for gauges, and the circuit board on the right has a 5V voltage regulator for one of my gauge sensors. It's kind of an ugly temporary solution until I find something better.
I removed my airbags a while ago because the airbag light was on and I didn't really trust airbags this old anyway (I've heard of them going off at the track under heavy braking). Not to mention that fact that the airbags in this car are super heavy. Anyway, I wanted to make use of the space where the passenger airbag used to be.
I recently redid most of the wiring on my car, and I wanted a clean place to locate my Dakota Digital unit, a couple relays, and a distribution block for my gauges and accessories so I figured I'd make a bracket and mount them in the passenger airbag location. Another thought I had was to put the cover on a hinge to make it an easily accessible "secret" compartment for storing a gun and/or maybe a fuel pump cut-off switch to prevent theft. However after some effort I wasn't able to make a hinge setup for it that worked well, so the cover will be fixed. I was going to make a bracket to hold the cover in place, but I think I can just use zip-ties which are simpler and lighter.
Anyway, here are a couple of pics.
Here's the bracket. I love nutserts.
Dakota digital box, two relays for A/C control, fused distribution block for gauges, and the circuit board on the right has a 5V voltage regulator for one of my gauge sensors. It's kind of an ugly temporary solution until I find something better.
05-31-12, 03:42 PM
#3
05-31-12, 04:11 PM
#4
It's for one of my gauge sensors. I could have tapped it off the ECU, but I'd rather have it as a separate circuit so there's no risk of overloading the ECU. That way I can also use it to power other things (additional gauges) in the future without worry. I can also add additional voltage regulators to that little circuit board if I need more than 1A (max rating of the regulator).
05-31-12, 04:22 PM
#6
I can post some eventually. Still got some work to do... completely restored the interior with new carpet, seat leather, and fixed all the plastics. The interior is almost done, then I need to put some stuff in the engine bay back together, install an oil cooler setup, and make some mods to my exhaust setup.
05-31-12, 05:09 PM
#7
Very cool idea. I don't really trust old airbags either, so I may end up doing something like this.
I wouldn't be comfortable putting fuses under a fixed cover; I'd want an easy way to check/change them. Probably wouldn't be too hard to make a frame that fits into the stock slides on each side, and allows in/out movement?
I wouldn't be comfortable putting fuses under a fixed cover; I'd want an easy way to check/change them. Probably wouldn't be too hard to make a frame that fits into the stock slides on each side, and allows in/out movement?
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05-31-12, 08:25 PM
#8
Very cool idea. I don't really trust old airbags either, so I may end up doing something like this.
I wouldn't be comfortable putting fuses under a fixed cover; I'd want an easy way to check/change them. Probably wouldn't be too hard to make a frame that fits into the stock slides on each side, and allows in/out movement?
I wouldn't be comfortable putting fuses under a fixed cover; I'd want an easy way to check/change them. Probably wouldn't be too hard to make a frame that fits into the stock slides on each side, and allows in/out movement?
You could make some kind of hinged cover work, but it's not very easy and I decided it wasn't worth it. I had something that sort of worked but it wasn't smooth and I could tell it was going to wear out the vinyl from opening and closing it over time.
06-04-12, 12:56 PM
#12
+1 for the separate regulator 
isolation is safer.
looks clean.
isolation is safer.
looks clean.
It's for one of my gauge sensors. I could have tapped it off the ECU, but I'd rather have it as a separate circuit so there's no risk of overloading the ECU. That way I can also use it to power other things (additional gauges) in the future without worry. I can also add additional voltage regulators to that little circuit board if I need more than 1A (max rating of the regulator).
06-05-12, 06:34 PM
#13
I ended up securing the cover to the dashboard with zip ties. I attached the zip ties to the cover:
Then I pulled the zip ties through a couple of mounting holes in the dash and used a couple of washers and zip tie ends to tie them down.
If I need to access the fuses, I need to remove the two bolts securing the glove box, then cut the zip ties to remove the cover. Not super convenient, but it's not something that needs to be accessed often.
Then I pulled the zip ties through a couple of mounting holes in the dash and used a couple of washers and zip tie ends to tie them down.
If I need to access the fuses, I need to remove the two bolts securing the glove box, then cut the zip ties to remove the cover. Not super convenient, but it's not something that needs to be accessed often.
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