Need help with passive restraint system

David Neibert

SCCoA Admin
When I picked up my 93SC the other day from the shop that installed a standalone computer system with new harness and sensors for the fuel injection and ignition , the guy doing the work pointed out that the seat belts are now acting whacko. I read this post which contains a ton of great info on the subject, but I didn't see the symptoms I have.

http://www.sccoa.com/forums/showthread.php?t=53919&highlight=seat+belt+passive

Mine will usually retract the belts to the A pillar (open position) when the door is opened, but when getting in the car closing the door and starting it they will remain in the same position. I found that turning the ignition off and then back on will usually cause the belts to move to the B pillar closed position.

Once they moved to the B pillar closed position but the dash indicator lights and chime was on even though the belts were all attached and in the correct position. I turned off the motor and restarted it and the chimes and indicator went off. Sometimes the belts will fail to open to the A pillar position when I open the door with the motor running.

I'm looking for some tips on where to look for the problem. The areas this guy was working on were mostly in the kick panel area, but he did have the drivers console out installing a switch for changing computer programs, and he had the rear seat bottom out wiring into the fuel pump relay. I suppose it's also possible he could have blown a fuse somewhere, but I don't think thats the case because of how everything still works if the ignition is turned off then back on.

Thanks, David
 
Hi David,
There are limit switches at each end of the track, if one of these was bad though cycling the key would not make it work. It sounds more like in the "door ajar" switch. OR since cycling the key corrects it, have you visually inspected your ignition switch?? I thinking maybe it's starting to separate on you.
 
Re

Ahhhh that's to funny Dave I just spent the entire day working on
the fricking seatbelts. Screw that if you take out the seat bottom
of the rear there is a access panel unplug the seatbelt motor and
on top up the motor there is a knob turn it and it will retract the
belt all the way back and forget about it. This also shuts off the dinger.

Anyway hows that thing run now?


Chris
 
Since work was done near the fuel pump relay, check that the two connectors to the passive restraint module are plugged in well.
 
Blown347 said:
Ahhhh that's to funny Dave I just spent the entire day working on
the fricking seatbelts. Screw that if you take out the seat bottom
of the rear there is a access panel unplug the seatbelt motor and
on top up the motor there is a knob turn it and it will retract the
belt all the way back and forget about it. This also shuts off the dinger.

Anyway hows that thing run now?


Chris

Chris,

Are you saying that if I unplug the motor with the belts in the closed position the indicator and chime will stay off and I can just manually fasten and unfasten them ? If it's that easy I won't waste a bunch of time trying to firgure out what's wrong with them.

The car is running great/scary :eek: . In addition to the new computer, crank trigger and distributor, the guy working on the car made a larger crossover pipe and wired up the two step rev limiter. It was 2.25 ID and now it's 2.5" ID. Feels much stronger now in and out of boost. With 15 pounds of boost and only 15 degrees of timing it's spinning the M/T drag radials in 3rd. I know I could safely increase timing to around 20 degrees with the methanol injection system I'm using, but I'm not sure I could keep it out of a ditch when the turbo spools. I may make a couple dyno pulls next week just to see what it's doing.

I haven't tried the two step yet, but the guy who was working on the car said it will make 2.5 to 3 pounds of boost at 2500 rpm in 97 degree heat while holding it with the foot brake. He said it launches pretty hard and when the weather gets a little cooler will likely make about 4.5 to 5.0 pounds of boost at the same rpm which is about all he thinks the tires are going to be able to hold.

BTW, It still drinks fuel like it's got a hole in the tank, but some of that is because of me pressing the go pedal too hard. :D These tires are not going to last very long.

How is yours running ?

David
 

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David Neibert said:
Are you saying that if I unplug the motor with the belts in the closed position the indicator and chime will stay off and I can just manually fasten and unfasten them ? If it's that easy I won't waste a bunch of time trying to firgure out what's wrong with them.

That's how my drivers belt is. No light, no chime, nothing. And no screwing around with it. I'll do the same to my passenger belt eventually.

-Melon
 
Re

Yep thats it Dave just un plug the motor and spin the knob to the back position and your in good shape. I played with mine for 8 hrs had the door panels off the reverse switches out to test bla bla bla, and what really sucked is I have that roll bar that blocks the back side panels and about started to cry till I poked around a bit and found the little trap doors to the motors then I thank the man above.

The cars running great I still can't get out of the hole got like a 2.1 60' I got the same tires you got and just burn the hell out of them I think im going with stock mustang wheels and some ET Drags. Do you like the 373 rearend ? I still have 327 and may either bump up the stall on the converter or put 373 in. Also how hard is it to hook up the 2 step on the Dig 6 ?

I just put in a .96 exhaust housing and wow lost some low end but it spun to much down low anyways it now pulls really hard at 3500 and up, I plan on getting to the track this thursday to try out the bigger exhaust housing last week they where only running 1/8 mile so I really like to get some 1/4 mile times in.


Chris
 
Chris,

Hooking ip the two step to the MSD digital 6 is very easy....you simply supply 12 volts to the blue wire and adjust the rpms on the side of the box to as much as you can hold with the foot brake. I bought a B&M button/switch on a cord make for a trans brake/two step and the guy made it where it plugs into a connector inside the glove box. I'm just planning to hold the button in with my right hand while it's on the shifter and drop it after launching.

I like the 3.73s, because it's easier to get this heavy car rolling when not in boost and it raised my cruising rpms up a little beyond the converter stall which keeps the transmission running cooler.

David
 
David Neibert said:
Chris,

Are you saying that if I unplug the motor with the belts in the closed position the indicator and chime will stay off and I can just manually fasten and unfasten them ? If it's that easy I won't waste a bunch of time trying to firgure out what's wrong with them.


David

David,

That's what I did with mine...just moved it back and unplugged the motor. I did still have an issue with my chime going off and the light still on. I simply removed the chime and called it good. It doesn't chime now for anything, but I found it to be annoying anyway. I just have to remember to turn off my lights when I manually turn them on. My next step will be to remove the seatbelt light from the dash. FWIW I also messed with mine by replacing all the limiters/switches, etc and none of it helped. My problem was that no matter what the seatbelt would remain in the a pillar position. Nothing sucks more than replacing all the sensors, manually moving the seat belt to the b pillar then turning the ignition on with the door shut and the seatbelt went back to the a pillar position! Talk about frustrating! Good luck.
 
David Neibert said:
Exactly where are these motors/access panels located ...under the rear seat cushion ?

David

They are just under the arm rest (towards the front of it) and it's a little panel that will pop off. I do not think though that you will be able to unplug the motor that way though. If memory serves me, you actually have to take out the entire rear quarter trim to get to the plug for the motor. That's not a difficult task, but a bit time consuming. entire rear seat comes out then the trim pieces around the door get loosened up (no need to completely remove) then the rear seatbelt cover (the thing that covers the mechanism under the rear window) then you can access the panel completely. Just remember to get out all the screws and be gentle with it, particularly around the B pillar. That area is delicate, especially after the years and can crack/break easily. Oh, you'll also have to remove the speaker cover and speaker before you pull it off. Bottom pops out and then pulls down to get it out I believe. I broke a tab the first time doing it wrong. I don't think there' much more to it than that...sounds relatively easy, but allow for 3 hours to get everything out and re-installed. It is time consuming.
 
Would it be easier to just cut the wires or pull a fuse somewhere instead of removing half the interior just to unplug the stupid motors ?

David
 
David Neibert said:
Would it be easier to just cut the wires or pull a fuse somewhere instead of removing half the interior just to unplug the stupid motors ?

David

Dave, it's not that bad to remove the interior needed. If I make some serious headway emptying my garage this week, I can probably stop by on Sunday and help. Heck, there's a slight chance I could do it before dinner tomorrow night.
 
fuse under the hood, my motor would keep running so the fuse got pulled under the hood and now you just slip the belt over your head when you get. Very classy.
Phil
 
Phillio99 said:
now you just slip the belt over your head when you get. Very classy.
Phil

That's what I did on my 91, as it mysteriously stopped working and stopped at the B pillar. It was that way for at least 6 months and then it started working again as mysteriously as it had stopped. I had gotten so used to lifting it up to get out, when it started working again, I had it pulled from my hands several times.:eek: :eek: :rolleyes:

So far, the belts on this 89 work good. :D :cool:
 
Dave N.

i just popped in to see what everyone is doing these days. If i understand this thread correctly, i think i can shed some light on your auto belts issue. i had this problem when i had my SC, and i found out that there is a small wire in the door (dont know the color) that may need to be grounded to make it work smoothly. there is a small ground wire (or there should be one) in each door that attaches to the door frame some kind of way. Once i did this, the problem was fixed permanently- of course the entire frame of the car would have to be adequately grounded though.
 
David,

If you decide to take the interior panel out to get to this thing, you might as well replace the whole restraint mechanism.
Worked for me. Its time consuming, because you have to remove the rear seat bottom, and unscrew like 1000 screws/bolts.(another Ford overkill measure).
I had a problem with my 89 and found that the front/A pillar switch had partially failed. If either one does, they can trick the computer into thinking that it (the seatbelt) is in the position it needs to be in.

paul
 
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