| This is FAQ is intended to guide you through replacing your blown airbags, at your own risk I might add. I wont be held responsible if you blow your bag up in your face. Now on to the goodies: The airbag control/diagnostic/computer/modual will hence be known as the airbag ECM or ECM. Not to be confused with the ECU. Precautions:
Never ever ever ever ever never use electrical test equipment on the airbag components, doing the wrong thing can ruin sensors and give the ECM signals to blow bags. Big no no. So just dont do it. When handling the bag they should always be carried so that if they deploy the bag hits you, not the underside which could cause damage to you, same goes for the storing them, they should always be stored so that if they deploy they deploy upwards. Parts needed for 91-93 300zx with a blown airbag:
Drivers side airbag - All 91-96 DS airbags are the same and will work*
Undeployed Airbag ECM** - All 91-93 Airbag ECMs are the same. Parts needed for 94-96 300zx with blown airbags:
Drivers side airbag - All 91-96 DS airbags are the same and will work*
Undeployed Airbag ECM** - All 94-96 Airbag ECMs are the same.
Passenger side airbag - Only passenger airbags for a z32 will work.
Passenger side airbag cover - Not a necessity, however your dash wont look quite right without it.*** *In addition nissans of similar vintage use the same basic modual, however to use these you will need to replace the entire steering wheel, horn buttons, and modual. I have not tested this method myself but all the connections and basic parts appear to be the same from visual inspection, meaning steering wheels, splines, horn cable and airbag cable connections appear to be the same. Considering that these components can be had much cheaper than the Z specific bags it would be worth a try. **The Airbag ECM can be reset, however it will be hard to find someone/some company that knows how to do it. I was quoted $150 to reset the ECM from airbagcenter.com ***Chances are if your buying a used passenger side airbag from someone they will also have the airbag cover. You should get it even if its not the correct color. It can be painted to match, or traded for one that is the correct color. Z1 told me they would be willing to do this + some cash. To get the airbag cover from Nissan you will need to buy an entire dash, the cover is not sold any other way. Ok so now you have yours parts, now what? You should check all your sensors, the left frame rail sensor, rad support sensor, right frame rail sensor, and tunnel sensor. (aka safing sensor to Nissan). As well as check all the related wiring, if any of the sensors or wiring is damaged it should be replaced. Tools you'll need:
T-50 security Bit
10mm wrench or socket
12mm wrench or socket(for pass airbag only)
Plus various extensions and screw drivers to pry pull push tug etc. Alright time to put in those new parts:
1) Disconnect Negative Battery cable 2) Remove dash -
It ***MAY*** be possible to replace the ECM without removing the dash, however its hard enough to do with the dash out, so ill let ya try on your own. 3) Replace ECM -
I would start by removing the 10mm nut from the stud on the lower side of the ECM shown here:
 Next you will need to remove the 2 security bits from the ECM, the upper one is the most difficult, When I removed it I used just my ratchet and torx bit. However when I reinstalled it I used a very long extension and snaked it up through the dash to screw it in. The red in the picture below is the upper torx bolt hole, and the yellow is the lower torx bolt hole:
The upper hole:
Here are both locations, however they are both concealed in this shot so I have put the colored dots over where they are. After all the ECM is unbolted youll need to remove the plug, while not hard to do it is an interesting clip. Use a screwdriver to pop the grey plastic retainer up, then push it out of the way untill it snaps open and the wiring can be pulled out. These pictures show how it works, just imagine a plastic plug in there with the wiring bundle coming out the right, or bottom side of it.
Then the plug will just pull out. The ECM will need to be dropped out from the bottom, push up on it a little to dislodge it then it will come right on out. 4) Remove old airbags. -
These are both pretty easy to to, and with the dash removed the passenger side bag is easyer to remove. For the passenger side it is just the 2 torx bolts and the 2 wires that need to be disconnected. Bolts are circled in blue, wire plugs in green.
 Next you will need to remove the DS airbag, there are two bolts that hold the airbag on, above it is a plastic clip, it comes off easy then just remove the torx to get the bag out:
These are the plugs you will need to disconnect to remove the drivers airbag. Remove them.
 5) Install new airbags -
This should be easy to do, its just the reverse of what you just pulled out, be sure to hook up the airbags before installing the new ECM. 6) Install new ECM -
Just like removal, however be sure that the plug is in good, you dont want to put everything back in and realize that the plug isnt plugged in. In the photo below you can see the extension setup I had to use to get to the upper bolt to screw it in.
 7) Reinstall dash 9) Hook up neg battery cable. Your done..yay!!!! I would recommend that after you get all the bag and ECM stuff hooked up you plug in your cluster and check the airbag light for codes. If it flashes, then run the airbag codes, if its solid on, that means your ECM is a deployed one, and you need a new one.
-------------------------------------------------------Don't argue with idiots. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience. — Phil
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Let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we shall die. - Isaiah 22, 13
A man has to believe in somet hing. I believe I'll have another drink. - W.C. Fields
Most people would rather die than think; in fact, they do so. - Bertrand Russell so i got raped by an 80 year old man last nite... - dogpile 19:28:16 08/16/03
"......a f lat bed construction truck tried to rape the front of my car......." - Snoguitar 12:01:58 05/11/03
It isn't road rage if the other guy doesn't see it coming. -Bil ly The Kid 4-18-03
Do you drive your Z like that...? (n/m) - yellowpearlz.........Like what? - Zluster(Denver) .............like it escaped from a body sh op. (n/m) - YugoBernie (NoVA)
..........I thought your money was in Gart h's g-string last I checked.(n/m) - YugoBernie (NoVA) 12:13:37 04/13/04 When I think of a comeback you are in big trouble... (n/m) - BigTDogg (MA) 12:23:29 04/13/04tt |
airbag replacement FAQ 9 Easy steps!!!! - 
