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Our Crash Data Retrieval (CDR) system consists of hardware and software that downloads Pre-Crash and Crash data from a vehicle's air bag module to a laptop computer. Our reports present this data in easy-to-read graphs and tables accompanied by a summary report.

Since 1994 General Motors has used this “black box” technology and Ford followed in 1998. The majority of vehicle manufacturers have followed suit since. The obtainable data depends on vehicle make, model and year.

Obtained data is recorded in both Deployment and Non-Deployment Events. There are two types of air bag module (SDM) recorded crash events.

The first is the non-deployment event.

A Non-Deployment event is an event severe enough to “wake up” the sensing algorithm but not severe enough to deploy the air bag(s).

The second type of SDM recorded crash event is the Deployment Event.

The following is typically obtainable through most diagnostic recoveries               ·         Vehicle speed (5 seconds before impact) ·         Engine speed (5 seconds before impact) ·         Brake status (5 seconds before impact) ·         Throttle position (5 seconds before impact) ·         State of driver's seat belt switch (On/Off) ·         Passenger's air bag enabled or disabled state (On/Off) ·         SIR Warning Lamp status (On/Off) ·         Time from vehicle impact to air bag deployment ·         Ignition cycle count at event time ·         Ignition cycle count at investigation ·         Maximum ΔV for non-deployment event ·         ΔV vs. time for frontal air bag deployment event ·         Time from vehicle impact to time of maximum ΔV ·         Time between non-deploy and deploy event (if within 5 seconds)   Depending on the particular vehicle, all or a subset of this data may be available.

The SDM can store up to two different Deployment Events, if they occur within five seconds of one another. The first deployment event will be stored in the deployment file (this would have been the event that deployed the air bag) and the second Deployment Event will be stored in the Near Deployment file. Deployment events can not be overwritten or cleared from the SDM. Once the SDM has deployed the air bag, the SDM must be replaced.

The amount of information recorded and the Model Year that they began installing these recordable air bag modules differs for each manufacturer. The NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) and the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) have recommended that all vehicle manufacturers equip their vehicles with recorders capable of storing crash data.

Several papers and studies have been published concerning CDR data validation.

If the vehicle's electrical system is operational, data can be read.

If the vehicle's electrical system is not operational, then data can be read by connecting directly to the air bag module.

All SDM recorded data is measured, calculated, and stored internally, except for the following: Vehicle Speed, Engine Speed, and Percent Throttle data is transmitted once a second by the Powertrain Control Module (PCM) via the Class 2 data link, to the SDM. Brake Switch Circuit Status data is transmitted, once a second by either the ABS module or the PCM via the Class 2 data link, to the SDM. Depending on vehicle option content, the Brake Switch Circuit Status data may not be available. In most cases, the Driver's Belt Switch Circuit is wired directly to the SDM. In some vehicles, the Driver's Belt Switch Circuit Status data is transmitted from the Body Control Module (BCM), via the Class 2 data link, to the SDM. The Passenger Front Air Bag Suppression Switch Circuit is wired directly to the SDM. All the data retrieved from the air bag module is downloaded and available in our report.

To order a CDR, please contact our office or fill out an online assignment sheet.