need URGENT HELP about AIRBAG sensor´s

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Dontino
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Joined: April 2nd, 2007, 9:08 am

need URGENT HELP about AIRBAG sensor´s

Post by Dontino »

Hi,

Just bought a mx-3 1.6 16 v (1998) and it has the airbagsystem.

Yesterday I was looking how an open air-filter should fit were most of You
have fitted one.

To my suprise I found that two airbag-sensors is hanging loose just in that spot where a open air-filter could be fitted...... :shock:

Had a look into the online shop manual, page z-123, and the two sensors are connected to D-sensor center S-03 & D-sensor LH S-02
http://www.mx-3.com/95manual/index.cfm

Them hanging loose is of course not OK, specially that this are the sensors,
but I can´t find where they are suppose to be fitted.

PLEASE, help/guide me where to fit them (so I can feel safe next time I´m driving the car)

//Dontino
/Dontino
Dontino
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Posts: 7
Joined: April 2nd, 2007, 9:08 am

Post by Dontino »

...any kind soul out there....... :?:
/Dontino
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neutral
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Location: U.S. Mid Atlantic

Post by neutral »

In looking at the shop manual diagram (Not online but the Body Elec. Supplement, 1995 - your '98 should be the same), S02 appears to be mounted several inches below the hoodline in the left corner of the engine bay in a line under the A-pillar bottom end, like maybe on the firewall. S03 appears to be mounted forward of S02, by maybe one foot, ~in line with the LH hoodline height, on engine bay side of the fender and laterally in line with the brake master cylinder - could be in vicinity of the LH strut tower. Sorry Mazda's diagram is a little sketchy, like many other Mazda diagrams I'm afraid.

I have a 1995 so will try to remember tomorrow afternoon after work to take a look at my S02 and S03 mounting locations in the daylight and will post more specifics, including pics if that'll help ya out. If I forget, bug me to remember. :oops:
Image -Jim
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Aston Wards
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Post by Aston Wards »

hmm, these things don't just fall off. Quite possibly there is no airbag anymore
91 Eunos Presso KF-ZE
89 Nissan 300ZX TT 2+2
90 Nissan 300ZX TT 2+0
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Dontino
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Joined: April 2nd, 2007, 9:08 am

Post by Dontino »

Thanx Neutral,

I get a "picture in my mind" where the sensor´s could be mounted but pictures from You will of course help me to pinpoint exactly where they should be mounted. It´s a important system so I would like to be 100 % sure.

The -95 and the -98 model is the same (just diffrent year and countries).. :)

Aston Wards,
The Airbags is there for certain but somebody have taken away the airbag-bulb so I want to disconnect the battery first, mounting the sensor´s and then the bulb (more or less prepare the whole system before connecting the whole system back again).

Best regards,
/Dontino
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neutral
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Post by neutral »

Below is a pic that hopefully will help. Not my engine bay (rain here has prevented pics) so credit goes to 5speedMX 'cause it's from his cardomain page. Your car has 3 forward positioned D-sensors. LH, RH, and Center. I suspect you might be seeing both ends of the center sensor/wiring harness hanging loose in your engine bay? Here's why.

The installed center D-sensor (S-03) and its wire harness are accessible, in plain sight in the engine bay. The LH (S-02) and RH (S-04) sensors are not mounted in the engine bay but are mounted (out of sight) covered by the front bumper, behind each turn sig, under the headlight. Their wiring harness routes back completely inside the fender to a connection point near the firewall but still inside the fender so I'm doubting that you are seeing these loose in the engine bay. Unless of course, if the LH sensor was previously unbolted from the body behind the sig light and somehow left misrouted, hanging through the fender into the engine bay. If that is the case, post back and I'll try to get pdf scans from my Body Elec Manual that gives specific diags for LH sensor reinstall. Mazda shows that removal of the mudflap and plastic wheelwell liner is the method for reaching both the 2-3 bolts that attach the LH sensor and to reach the harness connector near the firewall inside the fender.

Now for the center S-03 sensor. I tried to highlight in yellow the S-03 wiring harness. Hope it is clear enough. The top arrow points to the S-03 harness connection just behind the strut tower, that orange and blue connector. Does that look like one of the loose ends in your bay?

At the other end, the sensor itself is not clearly visible in the pic but is located below the lower righthand arrow, on the underside of that black horizontal protector plate with the two visible mounting bolts. The harness is visible just to the right of that point. I believe the protector plate is just to prevent accidental shock to the sensor since it would otherwise be completely exposed and some curious fool might smack it with a hammer to see what would happen lol. The harness drops down below the protector plate and bends toward the hood latch(pic is cutting off view). The smaller lefthand arrow points to the black mounting arm that is actually part of the sensor. That arm positions the sensor sorta from the side, holding the sensor in position under the adjacent protector plate. I'm thinking that is the "second loose end part" that you have hanging in the bay. Like I said, post back if you still think one of the loose ends you're seeing is in fact, the normally concealed LH S-02 sensor.
Image
Image -Jim
Dontino
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Post by Dontino »

Neutral ..... :2thumbsup: .... Many Thanx... :bowdown:
neutral wrote: The LH (S-02) ..... but are mounted (out of sight) covered by the front bumper, behind each turn sig, under the headlight. Their wiring harness routes back........ inside the fender so I'm doubting that you are seeing these loose in the engine bay. Unless of course, if the LH sensor was previously unbolted from the body behind the sig light and somehow left misrouted, hanging through the fender into the engine bay.
Unfortunal that´s the case. Somebody have done a mess with the airbags-system on my car, so it´s really the LH sensor which (also) is hanging loose.

Could You try to take a picture of the LH sensor... :?: ... :bowdown:

The center sensors is now mounted but there was no hole(s) so I drill 3 of my one......

I suspect that the radiator is changed and the plates "around it" so that´s why there is no hole for the front sensor. The cap for the radiotor is on the right side (compare to yours which is on the left side).

Best regards,
/Dontino
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neutral
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Post by neutral »

Dontino wrote:Unfortunately that´s the case. Somebody have done a mess with the airbags-system on my car, so it´s really the LH sensor which (also) is hanging loose.

Could You try to take a picture of the LH sensor... :?: ... :bowdown:
Wow, that stinks. Unfortunately I can't really take a usable pic for you of the LH sensor because I'd have to remove my bumper assembly for access to a clear shot. You mentioned in a PM that you had located the mounted RH sensor but had no similar threaded holes on the LH side to position/mount the LH sensor in the same manner as the RH sensor.

According to the Mazda Body Elec. Manual, the mounting position and threaded mounting holes are in the same place for both the RH and LH sensors. In fact, they are depicted in Mazda's diagram as identical exact mirror images when comparing the LH and RH mounting position and hardware. Sounds like whatever front end damage was repaired by a previous owner may have allowed use of replacement body parts that were not pre-drilled and threaded to accept the center and LH airbag sensors? I think your best bet is to remove the bumper cover and/or if necessary, the bumper assembly, and use the currently mounted RH sensor to guide you for drilling holes so you can mount the LH sensor on the left side, in the same position as the RH sensor. Since you've already discovered that you have no LH sensor mounting holes, you'll need to remove the bumper to drill for those anyway.
Image -Jim
Dontino
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Joined: April 2nd, 2007, 9:08 am

Post by Dontino »

neutral wrote: Wow, that stinks. Unfortunately I can't really take a usable pic for you of the LH sensor because I'd have to remove my bumper assembly for access to a clear shot.....
It´s OK, Neutral. You have been a enormus (spelling?) help to me with the useful info & supporting pictures from You.... :2thumbsup:
It´s, as I see it, only hard work from my side now to fix it and end this sad story.
neutral wrote:Sounds like whatever front end damage was repaired by a previous owner...
More or less, I´m certain that is what has happend with the front of my car.

And again, many thanx for all of your help, Neutral...:bowdown:
/Dontino
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