Fuses - ABS/TC and Airbags

[Nathan]

 

[Paul Zietsman]

Guys,  I just saw this video on YouTube showing that Fuse 28 is for the Occupant Restraint Controller (ORC) unit in the 2019 Ram 1500. Does that mean that all airbags would be deactivated if I pull fuse 28?

Edited July 27, 2022 by Paul Zietsman

[Nathan]

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vTa0bLIj2ruE-3_ul_tixIlhmc2eEhvG8tk6kBd7YrkVxRVUD2OQAHu9HuZ2RizI0IPAAN2ab3Kg3xx/pubhtml#
 

you may well have cracked it! It’s in the internal fuse box by the looks of things. I’ll try it Saturday 

[Paul Zietsman]

I unfortunatly hit another snag.  The Owners Manual says that the ORC unit has a backup battery for in case you battery runs out or you have aloose connection.  The bags might thus still pop even if the fuse is pulled.  I am now looking into getting one of these switches installed: https://www.pro-gard.com/product/aoi-electrical-air-bag-control-switches/

[Nathan]

Makes sense. There will likely also be a pyro fuse somewhere for the seatbelt tensioners. 

[Mayank Joshi]

Hi All, just to add to this thread. I have a 2021 Rebel and i have been thinking was there any final conclusion for disabling the airbags.

[Frederic]

@Imran Asghar let's try to tackle the issue you faced yesterday and update this topic.

@Infaz as you are driving high level drives with the RAM, could you clarify how you disable the airbags and traction control? Imran had kill switches installed for disabling both but found the car going back in 2WD during a stuck situation. Check Engine Light was also on, so we suspect the kill switches (installed by dealer) are throwing the RAM into a tantrum.

[Infaz]

1 hour ago, Frederic said:

@Imran Asghar let's try to tackle the issue you faced yesterday and update this topic.

@Infaz as you are driving high level drives with the RAM, could you clarify how you disable the airbags and traction control? Imran had kill switches installed for disabling both but found the car going back in 2WD during a stuck situation. Check Engine Light was also on, so we suspect the kill switches (installed by dealer) are throwing the RAM into a tantrum.

Sure @Frederic 

On the RAM, @Imran Asghar you should have two separate kill switches, and I believe that’s what you have installed:

Kill Switches
1. Airbag – a separate kill switch.
2. Traction Control/ABS – a separate kill switch.

For the airbag, the connection can be taken from the seatbelt circuit or another airbag related wire. For traction control/ABS, it can be taken from:

Traction/ABS
1. Fuse box (This works for my car)
2. Directly from an ABS sensor. (This doesn't work for most of the cars)

On some RAMs, taking the connection directly from the ABS sensor can prevent you from engaging 4WD totally. I actually tried this on mine once, when I was investigating a thudding sound that eventually turned out to be coming from the front differential. But when I connected it through the ABS sensor, I couldn’t engage 4WD at all. 

However, in your case, if you have two separate kill switches and you have (Traction/ABS done through the fuse box) the truck only drops back into 2WD when you’re stuck or applying a lot of power, I would be more suspicious of an issue with the transfer case or the 4WD system itself.

My thinking is that if the kill switch were the main issue, you’d expect to see problems engaging 4WD totally or while during normal 4WD driving as well, rather than it happening only under heavy load. When you try to push harder may be it slips. 

That said, it’s difficult to rule out an electrical issue without checking the fault codes and wiring, especially with the check engine light on. I’d get those checked before concluding that it’s the transfer case.


 

[_luke_]

On 10/19/2026 at 12:53 PM, Infaz said:

Sure @Frederic 

On the RAM, @Imran Asghar you should have two separate kill switches, and I believe that’s what you have installed:

Kill Switches
1. Airbag – a separate kill switch.
2. Traction Control/ABS – a separate kill switch.

For the airbag, the connection can be taken from the seatbelt circuit or another airbag related wire. For traction control/ABS, it can be taken from:

Traction/ABS
1. Fuse box (This works for my car)
2. Directly from an ABS sensor. (This doesn't work for most of the cars)

On some RAMs, taking the connection directly from the ABS sensor can prevent you from engaging 4WD totally. I actually tried this on mine once, when I was investigating a thudding sound that eventually turned out to be coming from the front differential. But when I connected it through the ABS sensor, I couldn’t engage 4WD at all. 

However, in your case, if you have two separate kill switches and you have (Traction/ABS done through the fuse box) the truck only drops back into 2WD when you’re stuck or applying a lot of power, I would be more suspicious of an issue with the transfer case or the 4WD system itself.

My thinking is that if the kill switch were the main issue, you’d expect to see problems engaging 4WD totally or while during normal 4WD driving as well, rather than it happening only under heavy load. When you try to push harder may be it slips. 

That said, it’s difficult to rule out an electrical issue without checking the fault codes and wiring, especially with the check engine light on. I’d get those checked before concluding that it’s the transfer case.


 

Nice write up @Infaz.
One other note @Imran Asghar how have you determined that you need a kill switch for ABS?
A lot of the trucks these days have specific modes for offroading (specifically sand/mud) that will 'almost' disable all traction controls.. except in instances where a lot of one wheel slipping is detected.

In those cases the ABS can often apply brakes to one wheel to allow the other to get traction. (Think fake front diff lock)
Assuming you dont have a dedicated factory front locker?

Worth investigating what drives modes you have, and what changes they effect on the overall system before trying to trick the computer into disabling ABS etc through shorts.

FWIW, many people install kill switch with various levels of success in the ford ranger, whereas i have left it be. I find that engaging certain offroad modes,.. plus long press on traction off.. gives me more than enough offroad performance without having to go down paths of messing with the wiring to put car into disabled modes..