Citation

Bartlett W. Collision 2008; 3(1): 28-33.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Collision Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Although airbag control modules (often called sensing and diagnostic modules) with event data recording capability are very durable, severe damage can occasionally make it impossible to complete a normal download, even if the Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM) memory chip is undamaged. In these cases, it may be possible to swap the memory chip from the damaged module into a good surrogate module to interrogate the chip. This article describes the transfer process, using the example of a fire-damaged airbag control unit from a pickup truck. A key aspect of the technique is the installation of a plastic leaded chip carrier socket in place of the EEPROM memory chip in the surrogate module. This allowed repeated installation and removal of EEPROMs for downloading. The process of transferring an EEPROM to a surrogate module did not alter the crash data retrieval translation of the data file in either of the two control units. Findings from the example indicate that the proposed technique provides an accurate interpretation of a recorded file.