Batboard

I just saw a commercial for Ford advertising side curtain airbags which are discharged fro the headliner just above the doors of the vehicle. Expeditions are very popular for public safety vehicles. How do you think this will affect antenna and lightbar installations?
Mike

It shouldn't effect them much, as always look before you drill. The canisters in side curtain airbags are either straight up and down behind the plastic on the B pillar or running sideways right at the B pillar.

well if you don't drill holes through the roof, and just run the cables out through the door jam, you, or anyone sitting in the back could be seriously injured by the cables, or the airbags could malfunction. Most likely if anything is even considered, the side airbags will either be removed, disabled, or a key lock will be put in to disable the airbags similar to some of the trucks, and impalas front passenger air bags.

Conundrum

it might be a option only... b/c i have a explorer and it doesnt have them......but my sister has a explorer and she does....

Well, a little old, but still might be interesting. I just poked the roof on my 2006 Hyundai Sonata. It has side curtain airbags. The charges are in the rear pillars. Basically ran ultralink cable straight back, and then to the left just above the rear window under the headliner. Came down under the plastic pillar cover on the rear window side of the squib in order not to get anywhere near it, or between the curtain and anything else.

Generally, side curtain airbags use a stored-gas inflator... not any type of burning/reactive mixture like the silver azide used in the steering wheel airbags. The cylinders are typically charged in the 3,000psi range and are enough to cause serious/fatal injuries if ruptured.

Thanks for the info. I would think the precautions I took would apply to either a hot gas generator, or a stored pressure system as you describe. Disable the system according to the manual, and make sure anything new doesn't get in it's way.
Now that I think about it, the device in the pillar did look kind of like a cylinder. What's the release mechanism? Some sort of electrically actuated valve?

Yup, exactly... just a rapid-acting valve. I haven't studied the actuator system itself in depth... the big thing to remember is that everything from the cylinder to the bag has the potential to have 3,000psi behind it...

Actually, the majority of bags these days are stored-gas. In general, only the main driver and passenger bags are azide. With some cars having as many as 16 bags these days, it's quite important to be able to completely visualize anything you're about to drill, cut (in the shop or during an extrication), etc.