cherokee failed inspection for airbag??

[wishihad1]

hey everybody

i recently "finished" my cherokee. well after 2 years of being off the road i took it to get it inspected. i knew it might need to have a few little things "slip" but it should be good to go. basic specs were d44 front, DOM steering, hydro assist, 8.8 rear, 38s, etc.

all IMO solidly built, and i can comfortably drive it 55 MPH with no wobbles, noises, etc. for what it is i think it drives very nicely. all good components were used in the axle builds, and suspension.

well i had a buddy at a dodge dealership that said if i brought it up there it should pass. i was a little skeptical about taking it to a dealership, and having any leinancy. but i went anyways.

it didn't have an e-brake, so i thought that would fail, but i was hoping to get an starting point with how much i would have to do to get it streetable. e-brake wasn't a big deal, as i only needed to get the cables hooked up.

but the person that inspected it wrote airbag on the rejection sticker, as the prime reason for failing. which confuses me, because the airbags have never been deployed, and im running stock bumpers (i know that doesn't truely affect airbags, but some people cant get it through their heads)

any help on this. i feel like the guy wanted to fail it for something, but just couldn't find anything really to fail it for.

i dont have any airbag light that comes on or anything like that (1995), so i dont know what could lead him to believe theres a problem

 

[Shorty]

the air bag light is supposed to come on and flash seven (i think) times when the key is turned on. During this time it performs a self diagnosis and shows that the light functions (to alert you of a malfunction)

if it does not do this (and it was equipped with an air bag) you will fail the inspection as you have an inoperable safety device. I don't think there are any ways around it in VA as you are required to have all safety devices that came with the vehicle working to legally pass a safety inspection.

 

[wishihad1]

thanks...i wasn trying to get around it. just trying to see why it could fail

 

[Shorty]

some inspectors aren't very clear about why something fails-- see if you can contact the inspector and ask what the specific reason was. They should specify why it failed and can ONLY check that when they re-inspect it. If it's not clear, they can check anything involving the "air bag" system and still be "legit."

 

[kastein]

Isn't the entire airbag system on pre-97 self contained in the steering wheel? I know the sensor and airbag module are all one piece with no wires going to it on my 96, there's just the arming bolt that pushes a lever on the back of the module. There aren't even any power cables going to it, I was slightly confused by this.

 

[gradon]

X2. The 95 and 96 airbags are strictly mechanical--I don't think there is any electronic sensor to light a dash display or communicate with the pcm. That inspector probably doesn't know the differences b/t them and the 97+. If that test does apply to 95 and 96s, I'd be curious to see what mine does, since I removed it.