I am getting an intermittent airbag light "on" in my 98 LeSabre. The FSM indicates that the first thing to do is look for codes (scantool is on the way), and the second thing to do is inspect connections and wiring.

My (possibly dumb) question is this: is it possible that I can accidentally deploy the airbag(*) simply by jiggling wiring and/or unplugging connectors and/or replacing components in the SIR sytem?

Do I need to take out a fuse or link or something first to prevent accidental deployment?

Thanks.

Remove the SIR fuse and wait 15 minutes before doing anything on the SIR system.

As Mark mentions any static discharge can set off an airbag. If you live in a part of the country where it'* dry this time of year and there is any static, you want to first remove the fuse (personally I unplug the battery) and while the manual says wait 15 minutes I also like to wait 45minutes. Then ground yourself as well. For this a long wire and rubber band work well. Strip back some wire and wrap around part of the rubber band. Put the rubber band around your wrist and hook the other end of the wire to a ground.

In some cases this might seem extreme, however in my part of the country...it'* very dry and static is everywhere.

Thanks for the tips.

Disconnect battery, wait awhile, and ground strap myself to vehicle sounds like a foolproof plan.

I meant to post a reply to this topic sooner but was shanghai'd by Electric Boat for a few days. You should be able to go to an electronics store & buy an Electro-Static Discharge (ESD) wrist strap for cheap. It comes with a wrist band & coiled lead with an alligator clip for clipping yourself to ground.