Air bags and rodents

OK....so i have an 06 tacoma. the airbag light on the driver side came on...passenger side light is working normal.

Looked at the fuse and it dosnt seem to be bad...I plugged my code scanner in, and now codes came out.

I started following wires, and lo and behold it appears some kind of rodent or something has chewed through the wire that goes to the driver side front airbag sensor.

Question is, how would I go about fixing this? I am leary of airbag systems in general, but I would imagine that if I can completley cut off power to the system and drain it then I could probably fix it. (im assuming this is the problem as ive heard about the infamous clock spring)...


any ideas, hints or help would be appreciated....

 

find the rodent, tape it to the dash and ram your truck into something, should send the rodent flying

IMHO, i dont mess with safety systems. i would take it to the dealer. you dont wanna accidentally set the bags off in your car

 

Usually, you disarm the airbags by disconnecting the battery and waiting 20 mins or so for the back up power to run out. As long as you look up the actual procedure for your truck, I don't see why you can't fix it yourself.

The wiring HAS to be perfect though, don't want an airbag to the face while on the road. I would solder and shrink tube all the wires that need to be repaired. Use the type of shrink tube with waterproof adhesive inside it. I would do it on my truck, I'm sure that the replacement harnesses are $$$$

 

I personally wouldn't attempt it if you can replace the wiring that has been chewed, I don't think you can put $$$$ on your safety when it comes to airbags. I work at a Dealership and we WILL NOT repair any airbag wiring due to the liability that comes with it. We replace the wiring just to be 100% sure that it is safe.

 

thats what I mean by "repair"....I would replace that entire wire...eventually it has to go to something with nots and bolts

 

If you were to attempt this, use the same color wire or shrink wrap in the correct color.

 

eatem.........

 

So I dont suppose anyone has any further advice on this matter?

 

Well, just to let folks know for future work, the airbag system on an 06 is a rather repairable design.

I took the batter out, disconnected most of the grounds and bolts that held the fuse box in place and was able to free the wire going to the airbag sensor. I also had to unplug some wires going in.

The next day I unbolted the airbag sensor by using a wrench through the top...inbetween the fan shroud and grill guard. 10mm socket...There where two bolts holding the sensor in place. Then I took the old wire protector off, stripped, crimped, and heatshrunk the wires that had been chewed through. Then use a little electrical tape around the connectors to keep them from having to bear any future loads. I then used a new section of slightly larger wire protector to put all the wire in (and accomadate the larger sections where the connectors are). Then use some yellow electrical tape around the wire protector to keep it closed and keep OEM appearance as well as warning.....Bolt back in the fuse box, battery, and carefully started her up.

Light was off and she has driven fine the rest of the day.