New Alternative to Porsche Passenger Airbag Deactivation Bar?

[jnicholson30]

I know many on the forum have talked about their wish to deactivate the passenger airbags in order to take their kids along for the fun. Unfortunately, the only way to do this has historically been to hack up a Porsche child seat and proprietary buckle system to turn it off, which can be hard to find and can be quite expensive as well.

Well, I found this on ebay and ended up buying it as it is short money (only about $50 bucks) and seems to work quite well. This guy in the UK came up with a way to mimic the completed system and it comes with a switch to turn on and off. Once received, I plugged it into the factory fitting under the seat and flipped the switch to "Airbag Off", started the car and low and behold the car does in fact read that it is installed, with the dash airbag light illuminated! Essentially it fakes the system into thinking the real deal is installed.

Here's the link to ebay: Porsche Airbag de Activator Alternative to Bar and Child Seat Boxster 911 | eBay

Perhaps others may be able to benefit from this as well. Has anyone else tried one?

Also, one question if anyone knows the answer... At the moment, the dash airbag light stays on when the device is activated. This is because I have not yet had the computer setting switched. Does anyone know if in this setting, it means the airbags are actually deactivated (with dash light on) or do I instead NEED to find a mechanic with PST2 (hard to find) that will flip the factory setting in the computer (when activated, the dash light will turn off after starting) before they will truly turn off? It would be good to know this while I search for someone that will connect and change the setting....

Either way, it seems like a good find. Hopefully this is helpful to some of you!

Jeff

2000 Boxster S 62K mi
Silver/Black

[tonycarreon]

i know the durametric can turn off the airbag warning light, but i don't know if it's meant for racers who do not have airbags...

be aware though, that just because the light is on does not mean the airbags are disabled, only that there's "something wrong" (hasn't been programmed) so they may still deploy (or fail to deploy). when all is well and the child restraint system is functioning, the light will flash for 60 seconds after starting the car then go out.

[thom4782]

I have the deactivation bar set up. My independent shop, which uses an Autologic system testing / programming unit, made the programming changes necessary to deactivate the system when the special child seat buckle is inserted into the bar.

When I plug the child seat belt latch into the deactivation bar, the air bag light blinks for about 1 minute to tell me the airbag has been deactivated. After the short blinking period, the airbag light goes out.

My guess is that the new device alone has not deactivated the passenger side air bag. I believe you need to program the car to tell it to expect the presence of a phantom child seat.

[jeffm]

This is fantastic as I've been looking for a solution, but the bar and buckle have been difficult to locate. My understanding is, even with the deactivation bar and buckle, you still need to have the computer updated so the airbag is truly deactivated.

Good info....thanks.

[jnicholson30]

The update...

I finally found a place that could do the PST2 programming (the guy was as eccentric as they come; no joke, when I asked how much I owe him for the work he twice refused to give me a price saying only "how much you got?"). Anyway, he did the programming and low and behold, it works perfectly!

The computer does just as it should, with the dash light stopping blinking after 60 seconds, which indicates that it is deactivate. The unit comes with a toggle switch that you can use to easily turn the bags back on - tested that too and sure enough it was all back to normal. In essence, the switch mimics the buckle.

All good!! Hope this helps others considering a similar solution.

Jeff
Porsche Boxster S 62K mi

[cardiffgiant]

Does this switch disable the passenger side only, or both bags?

[jeffm]

Just passenger side.

[mr.borrie]

These are no longer sold, any alternatives for the alternative or someone who has one not in use willing to sell?

[airbagguy986]

These devices can be made to order if anyone wants one.

They work exactly like the OEM Bar (Tell the Cars CPU that a Bar (and seat) are Installed) using identical signals to the OEM devices but without the need for an OEM Seat or Bar or Buckle

They are made from quality materials with all connections soldered for rugged durability

The Car's CPU settings still need to be set up correctly to use the device the same as they do for OEM bar

Porsche does not want the inventor selling these (they've made that very clear) so he doesn't .... offer to sell them ..... But YOU can do whatever you want with YOUR car and if YOU want to get one of these made to your order then I will happily discuss that with you.

[CharlieChalk]

This is a huge longshot, but I need the male buckle for the Airbag Deactivation Bar.

I have managed to find the deactivation bar (I hope - waiting for dispatch confirmation!) but the male buckle alludes me!

I'm happy to make my own if someone has the exact dimensions or 3D file.

Thanks in advance 🤞🤞🤞

[casioqv]

Originally Posted by CharlieChalk

I'm happy to make my own if someone has the exact dimensions or 3D file.

You can just dremel a little groove in the front of a generic "Car Seat Belt Silencer" ($5 or so on Amazon) to match the opening in the Porsche belt clip. Worked for me.