# Airbags Set off while Plowing!



## JohnRoscoe (Sep 27, 2010)

So, this morning I had both airbags go off in our 2001 F150 truck when I hit a water valve box in the street. Thing is, we've been plowing with this truck for 10 years, and have hit that valve box before, with no problems. To be honest, the plow's bumped into a fair amount of stuff in the last decade that would rattle your teeth.

What was different this time? Any ideas on how to avoid it in the future? I'll be turning off the passenger bag in the future when no one is there, but I'd hate to spend this money very often.

Felt like I was hit in the face with a 2x6, and since the truck jarring wasn't anything that ununsual, I was very surprised!


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## JD_F250 (Nov 17, 2010)

There is only one thing to do to make this right. Pick up that 2x6 and smack your truck in the face! There...your even! But seriously, ive heard of this before. My plow guy said that people have installed a switch on there truck that turns of power to the airbag. Not sure how or anything but thats what i know. I can just picture you...what the ****


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## chasity2682 (Sep 10, 2009)

I could be wrong but i am pretty sure someone told me that when the dealer installs your plow they diconect the sensers in the front end of the truck.


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## clark lawn (Oct 7, 2005)

I'M calling BS. you have to trip more than one sensor in the vehicle all within a split second for them to fire.

if a dealer actually did diconnect a sensor and let the truck go out that way that dealer would not be in business for long.


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## Triple L (Nov 1, 2005)

clark lawn;1147287 said:


> if a dealer actually did diconnect a sensor and let the truck go out that way that dealer would not be in business for long.


I couldnt agree more... 99% of people use their trucks in the summer too...


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## JohnRoscoe (Sep 27, 2010)

I wouldn't want to switch it off even if I could, I can only imagine the repurcussions if someone were in an accident with a modified airbag system

The service writer at the dealer suggested I turn off the passenger side when plowing solo though. When I asked her what that would do, she said, "save you $600 next time." Doh!


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## Too Stroked (Jan 1, 2010)

chasity2682;1147034 said:


> I could be wrong but i am pretty sure someone told me that when the dealer installs your plow they diconect the sensers in the front end of the truck.


Yea, I'm pretty sure you're wrong. As has already been stated, triggering an airbag takes a relatively complex series of events and disconnecting a few sensors won't do it.

The more important reason that I doubt any dealer would do this is liability. No dealer would risk getting sued out of business when a real crash failed to set of the bags.


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## THEGOLDPRO (Jun 18, 2006)

i bet you had to go home and change your underware after that happined.


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## kc2006 (Oct 16, 2005)

it's like a pimp hand to the face, they even throw the powder on it


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## REAPER (Nov 23, 2004)

Since the plow mounting is bolted up to the frame of the truck I am not sure how this happened. 
Unless you welded the mount to the bumper. 

I hit a curb at Toys-R-Us a couple of years ago so hard it put the back wheels in the air while loaded with salt, bent the heck out of the blade, broke a trip spring and cracked the A-frame of the plow. But had no air bag deployment.


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## clark lawn (Oct 7, 2005)

REAPER;1148050 said:


> Since the plow mounting is bolted up to the frame of the truck I am not sure how this happened.
> Unless you welded the mount to the bumper.
> 
> I hit a curb at Toys-R-Us a couple of years ago so hard it put the back wheels in the air while loaded with salt, bent the heck out of the blade, broke a trip spring and cracked the A-frame of the plow. But had no air bag deployment.


that why i said BS. i know what is required to set an airbag off and hitting something with a plow is NO|T going to do it.


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## JohnRoscoe (Sep 27, 2010)

I wish I could agree with those of you calling BS, but my sore body, deployed airbags, and cracked windshield would all disagree. 

FWIW, the plow is a 7'6" Boss V, with the correct mount bolted to the frame, back in 2000 when the truck was new. It's never happened before, and I hope it never happens again.


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## suzuki0702 (Apr 6, 2008)

a boss v on a f150? really?


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## kc2006 (Oct 16, 2005)

Pics then.


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## 2COR517 (Oct 23, 2008)

I have had two airbags go off on me, neither were plow trucks. First time the front of my car was hit by a runaway tire & wheel from a pickup coming the other way. Second time was a low speed rear-end collision. Neither time were mulch fun, that's for sure.

I have had numerous hard hits in my airbag equipped plow truck. One time was an instant dead stop on a driveway cut, another was hard enough to knock over a good sized tree. And numerous other decent hits. No airbag deployments.


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## MickiRig1 (Dec 5, 2003)

From my training, the air bags don't go off at low speeds. Like under 35MPH. I can see some of the sensors seeing it as a crash. That sudden stop is pretty violent. I broke a cutting edge right up the middle on a water shut off box.


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## JohnRoscoe (Sep 27, 2010)




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## Rc2505 (Feb 5, 2007)

Holy crap batman that looks like a deployed air bag. I guess BS should be withdrawn.


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## eric02038 (Oct 1, 2010)

chasity2682;1147034 said:


> I could be wrong but i am pretty sure someone told me that when the dealer installs your plow they diconect the sensers in the front end of the truck.


That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Sure they do and they must give everyone a million dollars too


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## Township1 (Apr 17, 2008)

John,

This should not have happened, though I have personally seen two cases where air bags went off for absolutly no reason. You need to get the system checked out.

Has the vehicle been involved in any minor accidents recently? It sounds like you may have a tripped or malfunctioning crash sensor, and when you hit the water box, you may have tripped the arming sensor.


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## 91AK250 (Nov 28, 2007)

i'll tell you this. my god mother has a '03 f-150 fx4. last winter she slid into a snowbank....blew both airbags!! only damage was the lower plastic on the bumper was cracked.


now on the other hand, i was in a 35mph head-on crash with my '00 excursion in october and none of my bags exploded.

every trucks different and i dont have alot of faith in these bags after they did not go off in my wreck. i'd say its very possible.


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## phillie (Aug 24, 2010)




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## REAPER (Nov 23, 2004)

Can we get a pic of the front of the truck and blade?


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## exmark1 (Nov 30, 2005)

We had a 2001 Dodge 2500 that drilled a curb going way to fast! Destroyed the tower, A-frame and wrecked the truck mount. Not to mention the driver put his head through the windshield and the bags didn't blow. I am thinking it should have...since it would have kept him from being cut up


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## DriverDown30 (Dec 11, 2010)

JD_F250;1147019 said:


> There is only one thing to do to make this right. Pick up that 2x6 and smack your truck in the face! There...your even! But seriously, ive heard of this before. My plow guy said that people have installed a switch on there truck that turns of power to the airbag. Not sure how or anything but thats what i know. I can just picture you...what the ****


You void warrenties doing that


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## chasity2682 (Sep 10, 2009)

eric02038;1149073 said:


> That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Sure they do and they must give everyone a million dollars too


Well i guess i was wrong it's a good thing i had someone brilliant like you to point that out 15 post later after it was already established, was that thought original or did you read one of the 15 post before hand, way to go sparky:waving:


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## bigc1301 (Apr 7, 2007)

Well the Air bags SHOULD go off in a accident over 14mph. With that being said you still have to hit multiple senors. I am a Fire Chief and have seen alot off accidents. Sometimes it is like why didnt they go off and others you wonder why they did. It all depends on where the senors are.


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## MickiRig1 (Dec 5, 2003)

You need to do 2 things when you start out. Put your seat belt on and start the truck. If the air bag goes off or not your protected from injury. If you plow without a seat belt on your an idiot! After the first time stopping on mister steering wheel while plowing you will wear it.


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## ctbman (Dec 21, 2010)

The guys calling bs are right in that it take mor than one sensor to trigger bags, but if the front sensors are loose on there mounts that 5 mph impact can be alot more because of the enertia of the sensor sliding.just a thought


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## gtstang462002 (Dec 23, 2009)

The sensors are nothing more than a steel ball stuck to a magnet connecting the 2 wires together. Typically with a resistor in line so the airbag module knows the difference between a deployed sensor and a cut wire or unplugged sensor. It typically takes 15 ft lbs of force to rip that steel ball off of the magnet to set the deployment cycle. And it only takes one sensor to set off the air bags. In fact most of the older 150s only had the one sensor in the front anyhow. I would say either the deployment sensor was bad and that one smack was all it needed to get set off or you happened to catch that meter just right to meet the parameters to deploy it this time. 

Ways to avoid it in the future, slow down around the known obstacles.


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## mwalsh9152 (Dec 30, 2008)

bigc1301;1152574 said:


> Well the Air bags SHOULD go off in a accident over 14mph. With that being said you still have to hit multiple senors. I am a Fire Chief and have seen alot off accidents. Sometimes it is like why didnt they go off and others you wonder why they did. It all depends on where the senors are.


I've been in towing and recovery on and off for 15 years, and have seen much of the same.

I was at a friends tow yard once, and he had a gm of some sort sitting in the yard with not a scratch anywhere to be found, but both bags deployed. He saw me looking at it and told me to look underneath, she had caught a curbstone on the front crossmember and stopped her dead, blowing the bags


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## Tony350 (Feb 6, 2010)

On my 2005 f350 I slid down a hill and left the plow down and hit a curb went about 15 20 feet over the curb nothing really seemed to happen. Later when I got out to do some shoveling my door didn't want to open. I almost had to kick it open, then I realized my airbag light was on. I called my step momshe is a service writer at ford. She told me "I probably broke the sensor but I think you have to be going ove 30mph to have it deploy. Your airbag system will have to be checked it probably won't work properly until the sensor is fixed." Not sure if it is the same for half tons, but I have also hit plenty of things and luckily never had one deploy.


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## clark lawn (Oct 7, 2005)

gtstang462002;1179222 said:


> The sensors are nothing more than a steel ball stuck to a magnet connecting the 2 wires together. Typically with a resistor in line so the airbag module knows the difference between a deployed sensor and a cut wire or unplugged sensor. It typically takes 15 ft lbs of force to rip that steel ball off of the magnet to set the deployment cycle. And it only takes one sensor to set off the air bags. In fact most of the older 150s only had the one sensor in the front anyhow. I would say either the deployment sensor was bad and that one smack was all it needed to get set off or you happened to catch that meter just right to meet the parameters to deploy it this time.
> 
> Ways to avoid it in the future, slow down around the known obstacles.


that was the first generation of airbags. they are much different these days and have been for a while.


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