Note to self: never put off airbag service

[KA1ZGC]

For that matter, don't put off windshield leak repairs.

For a while now, I've had a tiny leak on the top of the windshield on the passenger's side of the Buick LeSabre I've been driving. During the recent rains, that leak became a 5 or 6 inch long gap dribbling water down the inside of the windshield.

Eventually, the airbag light came on. I drove with my fingers crossed, hoping that the airbag itself had just gotten wet and would dry out.

This morning, as I went out to start the car, I was half tempted to pull the fuse in case the thing decided to go off (yes, Chris, I you told me so), but it was damn cold and I was in a hurry, so I just started the car.

Bad move.

Three seconds after I start the engine, BANG goes the passenger's side airbag.

About two seconds and several profanities later, BANG goes the driver's side, right in my face.

Man, those pyros really stink when they go off!

Then, of course, the horn gets stuck on. So I pull the fuse panel, no label for the horn fuse. Naturally, the hood latch wasn't working any better than anything else in the car, so it was a good five or six minutes before I got the hood open.

Side-connect battery. Great. Now, where the hell are my tools?

Oh, yeah. They're in my truck, 200 miles away.

Thank God a buddy of mine, Steve, WZ1J, gave me a pseudo-leatherman kit he'd picked up for cheap recently. Mangled the piss out of the negative connection, but managed to get it pulled off so at least the damn horn would stop.

So here I sit with the car at the shop down the road, reeking of explosives, busted knuckles, shaking off the adrenaline, and generally feeling completely hyellified. Thank God there's pizza and beer within walking distance, and I can "work from home" at least somewhat.

On the positive side (of the situation, not the battery), when I called the glass company that installed the windshield back in August, the guy I related this all to came across like he meant it when he said he'd be making some phone calls and getting to the bottom of this.

In the meantime, looks like I'm dining in Salem.

--Thom
Kraft Advertisement One Zesty Grated Cheese

[Ed KB1HVS]

Thom you told me the baglight was on. It gave you fair warning. Hope you changed yourself and did the laundry after

[W3SLK]

Thom said:

Man, those pyros really stink when they go off!

They are loaded with sodium azide. Its a helluva catalyst. We use it here in conjunction with Thionyl Chloride and Hexane. Needless to say the place where this is mixed together is called the 'Dynamite Shed.'

[W1RKW]

Thom,
I'm glad you weren't driving and got hurt. That would vacuum.

[kc2ifr]

Thom,
Thats a funny story....I can see it all now.......just glad u are ok......................but it IS funny.

[KA1ZGC]

Thom said:

Man, those pyros really stink when they go off!

They are loaded with sodium azide. Its a helluva catalyst. We use it here in conjunction with Thionyl Chloride and Hexane. Needless to say the place where this is mixed together is called the 'Dynamite Shed.'

Got an MSDS sheet handy? I'm wondering if that's where I got my sore throat. 

Of course, I chain smoked for a good half hour afterwards, so probably not. 

--Thom
King Abraham One Zebraham George Charlie

[KA1ZGC]

Thom,
I'm glad you weren't driving and got hurt. That would vacuum.

Tnx. That was one of the first things that went through my mind. To be honest, though, the profile of the bag was narrow enough that it wouldn't have blown my arms off the wheel, and no little bits of mechanics came flying out, so I probably could have got it to the side of the road.

Would have had all kinds of fun with the stuck horn then!

--Thom
Keep Away One Zorched Ground Connection

[Ed KB1HVS]

Yeah. Im am also happy you did not become pink haze. Damn funny story though. Now do you have to replace the bags in order to legally use the car? Not sure how the laws are in ME.

[Jim, W5JO]

Whatever the laws, it will be expensive, hope the glass company who did the installation ponys up.

[W3SLK]

Thom said:

Got an MSDS sheet handy? I'm wondering if that's where I got my sore throat.

Not right now but I can get one at work tomorrow. Generally, sodium azide is typically in powder form. That automatically makes it an eye and respitory irritant.

[W1RKW]

Got an MSDS sheet handy? I'm wondering if that's where I got my sore throat. 

Of course, I chain smoked for a good half hour afterwards, so probably not. 

--Thom
King Abraham One Zebraham George Charlie

I ended up getting a sore throat from the use of a fire extinguisher once. Got a snoot full of the powder. Don't know what the powder stuff is but it irratated me for several days.

[Vortex Joe - N3IBX]

Thom - What a splendid way to start the day - Not! At least it's behind you now and you have a good attitude about it. I think anyone who went through the bullcrap you did would need a serious attitude adjustment. Most of the time it can be found in a bottle of Jack Daniels!

Better days are coming!
                                Joe Cro N3IBX 

[W3SLK]

Bob said:

I ended up getting a sore throat from the use of a fire extinguisher once. Got a snoot full of the powder. Don't know what the powder stuff is but it irratated me for several days.

Most fire extinguisher dry chemical is either sodium bicarbonate or potassium bicarbonate (known as purple K).

[KA1ZGC]

Thom said:

Got an MSDS sheet handy? I'm wondering if that's where I got my sore throat.

Not right now but I can get one at work tomorrow. Generally, sodium azide is typically in powder form. That automatically makes it an eye and respitory irritant.

Just found one online. Nasty stuff. Almost sounds like a weaker version of teryllium, except it's considered stable.

It's described as colorless crystals or white powder, and odorless. What I got a few lungfuls of was far from odorless, so now I'm wondering what sodium azide becomes after combustion.

Well, I'm not dead and I haven't gone blind, so I guess I'm okay. At least now I know what to research. Thanks, Mike(y)!

--Thom
Kilowatt Amplifier One Zero Grid Current

[KA1ZGC]

Now, let's see if I can get this picture to upload...

[Ed KB1HVS]

Now, let's see if I can get this picture to upload...

One of my buddies slid into a snowbank last winter and the bag went off. No sore throat but I think he was as yellefied as you Thom. He pulled the bumper out and replaced the broken lights and tied down the sprung hood  but he did not replace the bag. Mass State Police pulled him over for some reason but fined him for not having proper safety equipment. He drives (drove) a 94 Crown Vic ex police cruiser with a plastic skull  on the rear dash that lights up when the brakes are applied

[w1guh]

Speaking of snowdrifts...I know a guy up in the Catskills that was driving home after partying.  He hit some ice and had a little fender-bender with the guard rail.  There was no real damage and, after a quick inspection, he drove off home.

What he didn't notice was that his bumper had fallen off, complete with a license plate.
He shortly got a visit from the local "friendlies."

[W1RKW]

I've never been comfortable with the airbags after buying a car with them. Up until recently my cars didn't have airbags until I bought the 2001 Honda. The old 95 Ranger doesn't have an airbag.  I've always wondered if an airbag could pop out for some stupid and unexplainable reason.  Normally I don't sit close the impact zone anyway as I like to put the seat back as far as possible because I have long legs.  But I've always made it a practice to be as far away from the steering wheel as possible without influencing driving even before airbags were mandatory in cars.  Knowing that those can be triggered because of dampness now reinforces my mistrust in them.  I don't want to be freaked out  or have my nose caved in when I'm driving down the road or trying to clear that powder out of my eyes while tooling down a busy section of road.  That odds are probably slim for that to happen but my luck sucks anyway afterall I have been hit by lightning.

[KA1ZGC]

I've never been comfortable with the airbags after buying a car with them. Up until recently my cars didn't have airbags until I bought the 2001 Honda. The old 95 Ranger doesn't have an airbag.  I've always wondered if an airbag could pop out for some stupid and unexplainable reason.

Even rational reasons scare me.

I keyed up the GE Rangr in my Tacoma one afternoon and the airbag light came on. Scared the piss out of me. It went out again when I unkeyed, and I discovered the feedline had been pinched. Tore the antenna off (literally, while Timmy tried to calm me down) and stopped using the Rangr.

Turns out my instinct was correct: the airbag control module (under the passenger's seat, believe it or not) was immersed in water. The guy at the shop still isn't convinced it came in through the windshield, but he hasn't seen the leak in action. I'm going to take a walk up in the morning and point the evidence out to him. If we can agree the water came in through the windsheld, the repairs are paid for. Unless someone can find some other entry point for water while the car is parked (and yes, the windows were all closed), the one gushing water is probably it.

One more day without the car, though. What a pain. I'd almost rather drop the $2,200 and be done with it.

--Thom
Kevlar Airbag One Zucchini-Green Car

[W1RKW]

Like the new phonetics for the call sign

[KA1ZGC]

Like the new phonetics for the call sign

Thanks, Bob. I don't know how I do it, they just come to me. Hell, if you can't laugh at your own rotten predicament, what do you have left?

Well, the moment I've been waiting for has arrived: I just spoke with the shop, and the guy is "100% convinced" that the water that got into the airbag control module came in by way of the gap in the windshield (which he said "you could stick a coathanger through").

So now all that's left is for someone from the glass company's insurer to come out and have a look for themselves. Once that's done, it looks like I'll be good to go. This means more waiting, but if waiting saves me $2,200 bucks, then wait I shall.

Maybe I'll clean the apartment. Then again, maybe Jesus, Elvis, and John Lennon will simultaneously rise from the grave and bust into a rousing chorus of "It's a Long Way to Tipperary". 

--Thom
Kerolene Apparatus One Zooming Golf Cart

[W1RKW]

I've been trying to come up with something clever for my current callsign but I come up with zilch.  My old call I had a couple of funny ones.

[w1guh]

Yea, I hate airbags.

When I took driver ed. I was taught, like probably everyone else, that the safest hand position on the steering wheel is "10 and 2".  Made sense, if felt right.

Then, a few years ago, I read in the AAA magazine that, because of airbags your hands should be "...no higher than "9 and 3", but "8 and 4" is recommended.


   Excuse me?

A "safety feature" that forces us into a less-safe hand position?  And this is from AAA, of all places.

Not to mention that, if your airbag goes off for whatever reason, it'll cost you so much to replace that if your car is a few years old, it might be a "total loss."