auto seat belt stuck

[92_LSL]

My drivers seat belt is stuck in the forward position. It just stopped working out of nowhere. Can anybody tell me what would cause this and how to fix it.

[RojoRocket]

If it is only the driver side that is inop it could be the door latch switch on that side door is stuck "ON" or a short in that side wiring. If the door is closed, key in ignition but left in "OFF" position the key warning chime should be operating if the door latch switch is stuck "OFF or open circuit in wiring"). I see you're in Fla, so frozen latch or switch is unlikely. :rolleyes: but could be wet or shorted.

If both sides are inop check fuse No22 (15A) that powers the Passive belt control unit. Are you getting any display on the dash indicating a seat-belt fault (flashing seat belt) ?
Gotta warn you, the Service Manual section "Troubleshooting{Automatic Shoulder Belt} is 32 pages if a self-diagnosis fault is displayed, including instructions on use of the diagnostic plug located near the fuse-box in left footwell to trigger display of trouble code (only one fault is stored at one time).

Be sure to check here: http://www.subaru-svx.net/forum/showthread.php?t=53940 for instructions on it's use.

Glenn

[icingdeath88]

My drivers seat belt is stuck in the forward position. It just stopped working out of nowhere. Can anybody tell me what would cause this and how to fix it.

Look in your center console, there should be an allen wrench type thing under the bottom of it. Take off the back seat bottom and use the allen wrench to crank the seatbelt back to the rear position by putting it through a hole under the driver's side armrest that's exposed when the back seat bottom is removed. Odds are either the seatbelt motor or controller are toast. I have both (two controllers actually) if you need them. Controller is the likely culprit if the other side also doesn't work.

[92_LSL]

The seat belt has done this several times before but has always started working again shortly after. The passenger side works fine but the driver's side doesn't work at all even with the key in the ''on'' position.

[Jonnycash]

The seat belt has done this several times before but has always started working again shortly after. The passenger side works fine but the driver's side doesn't work at all even with the key in the ''on'' position.

Mine did exactly what you described... it was the seat belt computer in the trunk. I had a spare, so I switched it just for giggles and it fixed it.

[torxxx]

you guys got lucky if its just a computer issue. normally these auto seat belts suffer from cable snapping or the cable fraying and jamming the motor.

My drivers side luckily is stuck back so I just leave it plugged in adn flip it over my shoulder. I'd really like to get ride of the auto belts... the 3 years subaru used them was more than enuff time to frustrate any mechanic. I've changed soooo many of those auto assemblies

[B 4 You]

okay. i was messing around with my seat belt, and i put a kleenex (don't ask why) in the part where it rests so it couldn't go down all the way. it seemed to lock, and when i opened the door, it opened right up! i put a little piece of soft rubber in there, and it goes into the rubber and stays in place. it feels the same as if it were all the way down. now. will this break if i get into a wreck because it's not all the way down?








also i somehow completely drained my battery by fiddling with the seatbelt for about 20 minutes. someone needs a trip to autozone... :o

[icingdeath88]

it feels the same as if it were all the way down. now. will this break if i get into a wreck because it's not all the way down?

Maybe, actually. It depends on far it still has to go? Like a couple mm, probably ok, but a cm or more, I would try a different fix. The track where the seatbelt catch stops in the rear position is designed to sort of hook to it if there's an accident, the rest of the track isn't.

[B 4 You]

it's not much of a distance, but i don't want to mess with it.. because there is a big metal bar that the seatbelt latches to. i think in a fast wreck it would rip right out, which isn't worth having unsticky seatbelts. the WD40 seemed to help a little bit. once the warm weather hits i think it will be even better. i think something is bent.. oh well. it's not bothering me quite enough to spend money on it. yet.

[92_LSL]

Well today I cranked the belt back, which is a major pita. Once I turned the car on and shut the door and opened it the Damn belt went back and stayed there.

[icingdeath88]

If you unplug the seatbelt motor on that side ( The plug is near where the hole to crank it back is, but I forget exactly where), then it won't go forward anymore. Also if you unplug the seatbelt controller which resides in the ceiling of the trunk.

I also vaguely remember some way of hooking up the rear window switch to the seatbelt motor to control it manually, but you'd have to search for the thread. Could be a way to test if the motor or controller is bad.

[ensteele]

A while back someone found out what the intermitent seat belt fix was. I don't remember who it was, but maybe someone else does. It would be good to find it and I will get it into the How-To Docs. :o

[dcarrb]

Does the "dome" light work properly? If not, it could be the door latch switch. Mine occasionally—well, usually—acts up, but fiddling with the door lock button does the trick.

dcb

[B 4 You]

do you mean the light that comes on when i open the door? yes, it works fine every time. i don't think it's the door latch because it starts to move along the track, but gets stuck after an inch.

[92_LSL]

Yeah my dome light works perfectly fine. The thing I don't get is when I crank the belt back manually then shut and open the door the belt goes forward but doesn't go back.

[K_Dub]

A while back someone found out what the intermitent seat belt fix was. I don't remember who it was, but maybe someone else does. It would be good to find it and I will get it into the How-To Docs. :o

That might be me. I've given the wiring diagram out to a couple of members, but I'm not sure anyone else has tried it yet. Over 2 1/2 years with a brick of relays back there and my seatbelt has never let me down yet. When I get home I'll pull the PDF and send it to you, if you'd like.

Edit: I've attached the Wiring Diagram. It's pretty self-explanatory but if you have any questions just hit me up. I haven't looked at this stuff since I installed it, so I might need to jog my memory.

In a nutshell, with a multimeter we found that one of the two wires leading to the motor was dead. That means that when that wire is Negative (-) the belt still functions, but when it needs to switch to Positive (+) it isn't sending power to the motor (i.e. belt goes forward, but doesn't return). The Yellow, and Green wires (Door Trigger, Belt [forward] Trigger respectively) were found locally in the space behind the door. Grey and Red (Ignition Trigger and Constant +) were brought from under the dash. A fuse was placed in-line on the Constant +, and we tested it until we found the right rating (basically we stopped the belt motion by force and the fuse blew, we kept blowing fuses until we found a rating that seemed good).

Hope this helps somebody. I'd be honored to contribute this to the network. If you think it'd help I could tear back into it and take some pics.

[icingdeath88]

Yeah my dome light works perfectly fine. The thing I don't get is when I crank the belt back manually then shut and open the door the belt goes forward but doesn't go back.

Unplug the motor, so it won't go forward again. Then crank it back.

[92_LSL]

Will do. Hey do you still have that motor ?

[icingdeath88]

It's going to be rebuilt 11:1 CR over the summer, if at all possible.

[92_LSL]

Do you know anyone with an engine for sale? I recently discovered I have blown ring lands on one of my pistons and i has scarred the cylinder walls past the point of repare. I have had a crappy year and I have had ongoing financial problems and this caused me to not be able to buy that engine.