Seat Belt Systems: Description and Operation
Safety Belt System
WARNING:
- To avoid accidental deployment and possible personal injury, the backup power supply must be depleted before repairing or replacing any air bag occupant restraints system (ORS) components. To deplete the backup power supply energy, disconnect the battery ground cable and wait one minute. Failure to follow this instructions may result in personal injury.
- Never probe the connectors on the air bag module or pretensioners. Doing so may result in deployment. Failure to follow this instructions may result in personal injury.
- All safety belt assemblies including retractors, buckles, child safety seat tether brackets and attaching hardware should be inspected after any collision. New safety belt assemblies should be fitted unless a qualified technician finds that the assemblies show no damage and operate correctly. New safety belt assemblies should also be fitted where safety belt assemblies not in use during a collision, are inspected and damage or incorrect operation is noted. Failure to follow these instructions may result in personal injury.
CAUTION: Electronic modules are sensitive to static electrical charges. If exposed to these charges, damage may result.
NOTE: Repair is made by replacement only. If a part is replaced and the new part does not correct the condition, install the original part and carry out the diagnostic procedure again.
WARNING: All vehicles fitted with the passenger air bag from the factory have a WARNING sticker attached to the instrument panel, PROHIBITING the use of rear facing child seats in the front seating position. Failure to follow this instruction may result in personal injury.
NOTE: The front seat belts, which incorporate the seat belt retractors and pretensioners are supplied as an assembly and not serviceable components.
The safety belt system fitted to the vehicle utilizes the conventional lap and diagonal three point fixing. The front and rear safety belts use a conventional static type buckle which is attached to the seat frame of each front seat and directly to the floor pan underneath the rear seats.
The front safety belt buckles and rear safety belt retractors incorporate pretensioners.
Each front safety belt buckle is fitted with a switch, which is connected through a wiring harness to a warning indicator which is housed within the instrument cluster. The safety belt retractors which are mounted within the base of the B pillars, incorporate a torsion bar load limiting device. This device consists of a retractor reel which is mounted onto a spindle (torsion bar) which once the sensor has locked the retractor reel and a predetermined load is applied, twists and allows additional webbing into the system. It should be considered that during any event that utilizes the full capability of the safety belts, the webbing may have been elongated and the torsion bar may have twisted. For this reason, if a vehicle is involved in an accident which results in the deployment of the airbag(s), all the safety belts that were in use at the time of the accident MUST NOT be reused, NEW safety belts MUST be installed.
Seat Belt Warning Reminder
The seat belt warning reminder will allow the seat belt warning lamp constantly to illuminate if either or both of the front occupants are unbuckled. If only the driver is present the seat belt warning reminder will pertain only to the driver and extinguish when the driver seat buckle becomes fastened. If the front passenger is present also, the warning will pertain to both front occupants and the warning will extinguish when both the driver and front passenger seat belt buckles become fastened. The passenger seat weight sensor will be used to determine whether a front passenger is present or not.
European Beltminder
The beltminder function is an incremental warning to seat belt warning reminder. Under the conditions where a front occupant is present and unbelted or becomes unbelted and the vehicle is moving above 16 km/h (10 mile/h) then an incremental warning of an intermittent tone will start or resume accompanied by the seat belt warning lamp flashing. The intermittent tone and flashing lamp will last for 10 seconds and repeat every 30 seconds for 5 minutes. The incremental warnings will stop when conditions are satisfied such that all occupants seated in the front of the vehicle have their seat buckles fastened or if the vehicle is halted.
Beltminder Disconnection Procedure.
1. Make sure the front passenger seat is unoccupied. Steps 2 - 5 must be completed within 60 seconds.
2. Turn on the ignition to the RUN position (do not start the engine).
3. Buckle the driver seat belt buckle until the seat belt warning lamp extinguishes.
4. Unbuckle the drivers seat belt buckle until the seat belt warning lamp illuminates.
5. Repeat 3 and 4 a further eight times.
6. Upon the action that will result in the driver seat belt buckle being unbuckled for the ninth time, the cluster will exhibit a single chime. The single chime is acknowledgment that the beltminder feature has been disabled.
The beltminder feature will be disabled until the aforementioned process (steps 1 - 6 are repeated). Upon repeating the process, the beltminder feature will be reactivated.
Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR)
The retractors in all seat positions feature ELR. During any period of sudden deceleration, or under torsional load when cornering at speed, a sensor weight within the safety belt retractor moves a locking pawl against the teeth on the retractor reel, which then locks the retractor preventing any further release of webbing. As soon as the load applied onto the retractor through the safety belt webbing is removed the locking pawl releases the retractor reel and normal movement is returned to the retractor.
Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR)
Automatic locking retractors (ALR) are installed in all passenger seat positions. The safety belt webbing on these are clearly marked with a label to show their operating feature. The ALR feature is initiated by pulling all of the webbing from the retractor with the buckle fastened, when the webbing is then released as it retracts the retractor locks allowing travel only back into the retractor preventing the safety belt from introducing slack, and making any child seat it may be restraining more secure. The ALR mode of the retractor is disengaged by allowing the unfastened webbing to fully retract on to the reel.