KABOOM!!! That's kinda fun on the holidays isn't it? Well, the pyrotechnics in a car can be satisfying as well. Satisfying to your wallet that is. I'm sure you've heard how "dangerous" air bags can be. Well they can be dangerous, but at the same time, they are pretty safe, too.

An electronically controlled air bag requires a sufficient voltage and ground supplied to it or it will not detonate. Notice I specified "electronically controlled." There are some older models that were mechanically activated. I encountered one such style years ago on a 1991 Jaguar XJS. The driver's air bag on that vehicle actually detonated by mechanical means of the steering shaft bumping a pin in the back of the bag. There was a disarming bolt that had to be backed out in order to remove the bag. Even with the bag disarmed, that one still made me a little nervous, knowing that I was handling something that was designed to explode from bumping it around.

However, when it comes to the typical electronic SRS system, I'm not worried because I know that I have to mess up pretty badly to set one off. So after reading this article, if you feel as though you'd like to add SRS work to your shop, go for it. Just be sure to get more indepth training for yourself and your techs before actually taking these systems on because they can have deadly consequences in untrained hands.

Air Bags
It used to be that only the driver had an air bag. No...