Weld Or Plasma Near Airbag.

[Grebbler]

Greeting oh Wise Ones.

 

Being a shrimp I have always modified my driver seat to sit a bit taller.

 

On my previous trucks it was no big deal. However, my 2002 Tahoe seat is a bit more complicated and I foresee some Tig welding involved.

 

My concern is the built-in airbag. I have never messed with them and even though they didn't deploy during a violent spin out accident I was in, I am still leery of them. I have read that they are sensitive to static electricity and arc welding within a few inches of the wiring harness can't be good.

 

Can the airbag be safely removed and replaced so I can work on the seat? Maybe I should ask; Can I safely remove the airbag and put it back in without incident?

 

Thanks,

[Nytemare]

Greeting oh Wise Ones.

 

Being a shrimp I have always modified my driver seat to sit a bit taller.

 

On my previous trucks it was no big deal. However, my 2002 Tahoe seat is a bit more complicated and I foresee some Tig welding involved.

 

My concern is the built-in airbag. I have never messed with them and even though they didn't deploy during a violent spin out accident I was in, I am still leery of them. I have read that they are sensitive to static electricity and arc welding within a few inches of the wiring harness can't be good.

 

Can the airbag be safely removed and replaced so I can work on the seat? Maybe I should ask; Can I safely remove the airbag and put it back in without incident?

 

Thanks,

Yeah, you can remove it easily, Best bet is to get yourself a Haynes manual, it gives a nice step by step and pictures.

 

Main thing is to ensure that the Battery is disconnected...Its not as complicated as you think.

[gmtech4]

there is a process,remove the fuse ,excetera,me ,I just disconnect them and remove them with key off,but be safe and follow directions as mentioned

[jro909]

be warned the air bag will hold enough juice to deploy even with the battery disconnected for anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour....

[minibike132]

Not to turn this into the ditch or anything but how tall are you? I ask because you have side air bags but not power seats that move up?

My girlfriend is 4'11 and there is plenty of lift to get her comfortable and then some.

 

To your original question, do not weld with the seat connected electrically at all. Disable the air bags by pulling the fuses, disconnecting the battery and waiting for everything to power down. Half hour should be enough time. We pull these things without disabling anything all the time but it's a balance of risk/how much money I'm going to make/how much time I have/ and knowledge of how everything works. You are limited on the knowledge so do it like it is supposed to be done.

 

Remove the seat then remove the riser and weld it with nothing electrical attatched at any point. If it has seat motors, take them off. To arc weld you are grounding through the frame and sending a ton of current through it. That can take those things out and it is better to spend an extra hour taking it all apart then to risk smoking any of it.

[Grebbler]

I drove vans for so many years that I became accustomed to sitting higher and not having much hood to look over. If I used a cushion, my relation to the head and arm rests would be off.

 

Plus I want to take advantage of the extra space afforded by not having any hair.

 

I now plan to disconnect the battery. Maybe I should run a load to keep a charge from building just to be extra safe? I tend to get anal when I don't intimately know how something works.

Ground myself via the latch post.

Disconnect and remove the seat and make spacers or remove the air bag and modify the seat mounting pads themselves.

 

Since my welding gear scrambles computers and network gear when used nearby, I will put the bag a good distance away until I am done.

 

Do I need any special precautions handling an air bag with a loose connector?

 

Thank you all for your replies.