Short answer-I had a shop by me put the resistor in so the lgiht is out and do not have to clear the on board computer every time I start up the car. Airbag system works. Ended up needing a (.5) resistor.

Long answer- The shop found out that my car did not have a steering clutch box? Must have been removed with the stock wheel. So they had to take apart the steering column of another 996 and take the box? out of it and put it in to my car just to check if the airbag system worked and to find out which resister would trick the system in thinking there was a steering wheel airbag.
The box was not left in my car, it was just used to test. So a .5 resistor was needed and I assume spliced into some wires. It cost me $350, they wanted $400 and there was know way I could have done the job.

Hope it helps,
Joe

 

Joe, I'd like to know what they are talking about as the only thing removed to put in the cup wheel and quick disconnect was the old factory wheel and airbag module. No electronics or parts were removed.

Something sounds a little fishy in what your shop told you. I'm glad it's all worked out now but I still don't understand what they said they needed to sell you. Also, why type of resistor did they end up using? Is .5 the Ohm or the W? The resistors I sent you were .5W resistors.

 

Well my shop applied the 1.8 resistor and that diddn't work, so they taped over the light. The digital display stated i had an airbag malfunction and i cleared it with the lever under the turn signal. Then the shop applied the durametric and cleared the fault code.

I usually drive solo so never thought of the passenger airbag. There is a porsche part to disable it for a child seat. I don't know the part number.

I'd be interested to know what resistor you got that worked Dell.

 

I have wired the fix but it was the same resistor that Gert includes with the Cup wheel purchases. I never worried about it since I didn't need the airbag light cleared but Joe needs it cleared to get inspected. How do you get around it in Cali?

 

OK, just talked to the shop and they told me .5 ohm resistor and the part they needed just to test the system and find out which resistor would do the job is called a "spring cluck" which is part of the airbag.
Sorry for the confusion, not good with mechanical stuff.
Joe

 

Wow! .5 Ohm resistor to get it done. Interesting since the one Gert included was much more than that. I am not and EE and don't profess any high level knowledge in current so I will pass to those that can explain better.

Joe, let's chat offline if you want to get that number panel replaced

 

I need to get my car inspected too, do we need a horn in Cali?

 

I wired my horn to an empty switch on the upper left of the center dash.

 

how?? I couldn't figure it out

 

I had my shop do it when I had the rear toe links changed. I was going to do it myself. They used a momentary switch, actually a PSM off switch, and connected it to the horn wiring. I wanted the horn to work since I do drive it on the street. No lack of idiots around here!

 

Gang,

It seems to me we want:

a device which easily lets us disable the airbag for track use and re-enable it for street use, which does not leave the airbag fault light on when we re-enable.

Does anyone yet have a solution for this?

If so, what is it and how do I (and others) replicate it??

fred

 

bought some resistors today. Hope to get the experimenting going Sun or Mon.

 

Did a little investigating. Here is what should work to allow a track wheel to be used without an air bag warning, but still aloow us to convert back to the OEM SRS wheel for passing inspections or street use.

THe larger yellow connector in the image is the SRS connector from the steering wheel module that allows for continuity while wheel is turned. The smaller yellowish male connector plugs into this and is from the chassis. It ignites the bag.



My original plan was to connect the resistor in parallel across the male chassis end plug. These are gold plated and different than most automotive pins. I couldn't fit the resistor wires in and maintain good contact. I thought about tapping into those two wires for a couple of seconds, but nixed that due to the possibility of SRS failure.

My current plan is to make up a simple new harness to plug into the chassis end connector with the resistor in it. THis would be simple, reliable and fully reversible. It would do no damage to the car. I don't know what Gert sends with his Cup wheels, but I suspect it may be something similar.

Now, I have to find the proper female connector to make this up. If any of you who have converted a 996 to a dedicated race car have one lying around, I'd love to give this a try. Otherwise, I'll start calling Porsche dismantlers to find one.

 

I got a "clock spring" and got the air bag connector from it. Here is the new harness that I made with a resistor. I'll test it after I get the car inspected and the SRS light has been reset. Assuming the resistance is in the range that the computer wants to see, this should work. After I test it, I'll seal it up with som heat shrink. Kyle

 

that resistor, 2200 ohms is way above the 1.8, 2.8 ohm resistors that have been mentioned and it may trigger a light...you should get the lowest ohm resistor you can find...the k after the 2.2 indicates 1000's of ohms or 2200 ohms in this case...see if you can find a 2 ohm resistor (the lowest I have is 50 ohms or I would send you one)...good luck