2001 Dodge Stratus - 2.4L Airbag Deploys? FIXED

[robertkovars]

We picked up a customers vehicle and this is what we have going on. Customer states he was driving down the road and noticed a lack of power as he decides to pull off the road, smoke starts to come out of the vents, the radio started to act funny and as he makes a turn to get off the road the air bag deploys. We checked for codes and only were able to pull some misfire codes and the key will not come out of the ignition. There is also no visable damage to explain the air bag deployment. We are stil in the process of diag it further. Im looking for any ideas as to why this would happen.

[wbuxton]

Reminds me of a 16 year old that was trying to tell me she changed the radio station in the middle of an intersection when her air bag went off causing her to hit a car. Except there was plenty of damage to the front of her car and she explained due to the air bag she could not see. With all the fail safes intergrated into the SRS I would believe you have an indash short that should be easily found.

[steven kiser]

check for wiring harness damage. see if something was drug under the car. what did smoke smell like. if it was wiring there should be a distinct odor.

[robertkovars]

We found all the air bag wires and antenae wire under the center counsel are melted together. Its still got us baffled why it happened.

[robertkovars]

I would like to say thank you to everyone that posts on this forum it has been very helpful. We always seem to get those jobs that no one else can figure out lol. It gets very interesting around here sometimes.

[steven kiser]

i'de look more at the antenna wire. not trying to sound way out here but look at the primary grounds on the engine and chassis. if they are loose or missing the antenna cable may have become the primary ground. i remember a time when there were (i think horizons) that had such poor ground locations that the shift cable would become the primary ground and melt. what a mess.

[robertkovars]

we found the problem the cat was plugged and it overheated and got the floor boards hot enough to melt the wires.

[steven kiser]

i would suggest taking another look. as a rule i've found exhaust restrictions will cause lack of power or stalling. when a cat cherries up i usually find an injector or two stuck open. if i remember correctly these cars were known for injector failures. how did the heat reach the antenna wire without setting the interior on fire. I'm thinking that the cat being plugged may be a result not a cause. not questioning or challenging here, just thinking out loud.