Automatic belt just died

Pass side automatic belt died in the forward position. Any ideas??

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The OPEN DOOR icon is not lit, so the door position sensor knows the door is closed. The red seat belt icon flashes. No fuses are open. Today I replaced the lock actuator assembly, so thought I might have left something disconnected, but I pulled the door panel and found everything correct.

Eddy: do you know that circuit? Any ideas?

[eddycat2000]

Originally posted by Henry
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The OPEN DOOR icon is not lit, so the door position sensor knows the door is closed. The red seat belt icon flashes. No fuses are open. Today I replaced the lock actuator assembly, so thought I might have left something disconnected, but I pulled the door panel and found everything correct.

Eddy: do you know that circuit? Any ideas?

First thing I would do is disconnect the battery for a few minutes. Sounds funky, but in the XT manual it is the *last* thing the trouble tree tells you do to and likely to be the fix after you've gutted the interior of the car checking everything else.

If that doesn't do it, then yes I have seen some door switches go bad. There are also limit switches on the front and rear of the run for the belt. The best thing to do is to pull up the codes that are being set to get an idea of where to start. (Yep, just like a check engine light). I don't have access to the manuals anymore, but maybe Aredub would be so kind as to scan the procedure and e-mail it to you.

And finally, sometimes it's as simple, (and cheap), as the grease in the run has just gotten too gunky and the motor can't work properly.

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I disconnected the battery for a while - then removed the rear seat and cranked the belt anchor into the rear position - then went through the ritual of ignition ON, door OPEN, door CLOSED a couple of times. The seatbelt icon flashes, and the anchor remains immobile.

Seems to me that the problem is in the logic - there's no wiring fault or motor problem. The car's just confused...

As much as I distrust my local Subaru dealer (who saw an SVX once), that's my last re$ort. Aaargh!

Eddy - we need you here San Diego!

Originally posted by Henry
Eddy - we need you here San Diego!

No joke, Eddy could make LOTS of money as a travelling SVX mechanic. Labor is 80 - 90 an hour out here.

[eddycat2000]

Originally posted by Henry
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I disconnected the battery for a while - then removed the rear seat and cranked the belt anchor into the rear position - then went through the ritual of ignition ON, door OPEN, door CLOSED a couple of times. The seatbelt icon flashes, and the anchor remains immobile.

Seems to me that the problem is in the logic - there's no wiring fault or motor problem. The car's just confused...

As much as I distrust my local Subaru dealer (who saw an SVX once), that's my last re$ort. Aaargh!

Eddy - we need you here San Diego!

You asked this on another thread, but I'll answer you here. There is (to my knowledge) no door position sensor. There is however, providing the setup is like a legacy, a separate switch that is part of the door latch assy. But the illumination part of your post has me a wee bit confused. The switch in the latch doesn't control any of the lights as I recall. If it is like a legacy, then you just need to disconnect the two wire connector and run a jumper between the terminals to simulate open/closed door positions.

If it's not setup like a legacy...Never mind!

[eddycat2000]

Originally posted by zsvx
No joke, Eddy could make LOTS of money as a travelling SVX mechanic. Labor is 80 - 90 an hour out here.

What makes ya think I'd be any cheaper if I had to drive to southern California from northern Ideeho? Not to mention the fact that my tool box is so heavy that is has sunk through the floor of the shed. (And even empty you need three body builders and a lot of time to move it).

Eddy -

The belt thing became somewhat clearer last evening, when I saw that the passenger door doesn't turn on the interior light. Therefore, I think it's the door position sensor and nothing more than that -

Do you happen to know how/where the SVX senses door position?

[eddycat2000]

Originally posted by Henry
Eddy -

Do you happen to know how/where the SVX senses door position?

As I said, to my knowledge there is no door position sensor. There should be a switch incorporated into the latch assy for the automatic belts, and there should be a simple push button switch for the dome light/door ajar light. Now mind you, I can't recall having a belt problem on an SVX, my thinking goes back to legacy's but Subaru rarely changed things so drastically that you couldn't draw some conclusion from an earlier (or even same year, different model) design. I may run out to mine and look, but I'm pretty sure I'm correct in this. (Dang, this means I need to get out of my green robe on a Sunday! BAD HENRY! BAD BAD HENRY!)

Sorry about the green robe thing, Eddy, but here's a bit of SVX information to stick in your library of solutions.

I searched carefully and couldn't find any buttons or levers or mag switches that might signal the car that the door is open.

So, I disassembled the door again and checked every circuit. The door position sensor is INTEGRATED with the lock assembly - I've never seen that. I checked continuity and found a connector with one pin pulled back a bit. Pushed, crimped, and voila!

I also decided to do an autopsy on the failed door lock motor assembly, and will report. It's held together with screws, not rivets, so I suspect it's repairable. At $300 it damn well should be!

[Aredubjay]

A "problem" with the automatic seatbelt system is indicated by the seatbelt warning light flashing in 0.3 second intervals, six times (normal operation is indicated by an "on 0.5 seconds, off 0.7 seconds, on 0.5 seconds interval). The flash will occur immediately after the ignition switch is turned on.

To perform self diagnosis:
1) Turn ignition switch on (with engine off)
2) Connect DIAG terminal to the number 8 terminal of the diagnosis connector.
3) Check in accordance with the trouble code outputted by the seatbelt warning light.

Here are the trouble codes (remembering that a "long" flash gives units of 10 and short flash indicates units of one. One long flash and one short flash would be a code 11).

11 Open and closed ends of driver's side door latch switch are ON

12 Open and closed ends of driver's side door latch switch are OFF

13 Front limit switch on driver's side remains ON

14 Rear limit switch on driver's side remains ON

15 Front and rear limit switches on driver's side are OFF

16 Shoulder belt buckle switch and front limit switch on driver's side are OFF

21 Open and closed ends of passenger's side door latch are ON

22 Open and closed ends of passenger's side door latch are OFF

23 Front limit switch on passenger's side remains ON

24 Front limit switch on passenger's side remains OFF

25 Front and rear limit switches on passengers side are OFF

26 Shoulder belt buckle switch and front limit switch on passenger's side are OFF

32 Ignition switch is ON with battery power left OFF

Only one trouble code is stored in the memory of this system. If several trouble codes are outputted, only the initial trouble code which is detected by the system is memorized.

After any repairs, the automatic shoulder belt system must be operated over its entire range (with fuse #22 removed [ignition switch OFF] and with the memory cleared) to check that the seatbelt warning light blinks abnormally.

(The removal of fuse #22 with ignition switch off, clears the memory)

The front limit switch is located on the frontmost end of the rail, while the rear limit switch/warning switch is integrated into the locking device at the shoulder anchor.

Hope this helps.

Originally posted by eddycat2000
What makes ya think I'd be any cheaper if I had to drive to southern California from northern Ideeho? Not to mention the fact that my tool box is so heavy that is has sunk through the floor of the shed. (And even empty you need three body builders and a lot of time to move it).

I would have no problem paying 90 an hour to someone who knew what they were doing AND would come to my house. Just get a big uhaul truck

[immortal_suby]

The auto belt in the wife's svx just died yesterday. The driver's side belt is stopped in the back position. The "door position sensor" must be working since the interior light turns on and off with the door opening and closing.
I tried retreiving the codes but the seatbelt light only blinks steadily about a half second on, half second off. With the diagnosis pins (tried each one) plugged or unplugged, the seatbelt light does the same thing - constant blinking with no pattern. It does this when driving as well. I am pretty sure I am plugging them into the correct hole since the check engine light blinks steadily when I plug either one in.

Disconnecting the seatbelt from the latch causes the seatbelt warning bell to go off. If I disconnect the seatbelt and then push the latch upward as far as it will go in its track the bell stops. (Is this the limit switch properly working?)

I do not hear any type of noise from the belt motor when opening or closing the door. The passenger side belt works fine.

I also tried disconnecting the battery for about 10 minutes and that didn't change anything. Should I try an overnighter?

There has been no apparent problems with the seatbelt operation up to this point.

car is a 92 LS-L w/ 106k

Eddycat - ever thought about opening a paypal account and collecting some beer&smokes money when you diagnose these problems with such sketchy information supplied? I know you aren't in it for the money, but I bet alot of us here would like to buy you a case of beer when you save us a trip to the dealer.

[eddycat2000]

Sometimes you won't get a code when there is no real mechanical failure. For example, I found that a piece of the rubber around the railing had gotten wedged in one not letting the latch go all the way back to the limit switch. But far more frequent is the door switch, which is incorporated in the latch for the door, (not the dope light switch). It might always show open or closed, but not necessarily bad.

If it stopped all of a sudden, not working funky for a few days, my first best guess would be the door switch. But even though our SVX's are getting old now, the ocassional backed off connector isn't out of the question.

[eddycat2000]

Originally posted by immortal_suby
Eddycat - ever thought about opening a paypal account and collecting some beer&smokes money when you diagnose these problems with such sketchy information supplied? I know you aren't in it for the money, but I bet alot of us here would like to buy you a case of beer when you save us a trip to the dealer.

Don't even know what a paypal account is. Rufus sent me some genuine crabcakes from his area of the USofA though. (I think it was Maryland) So while I don't solicit donations, the ocassional nice gesture does give me a nice warm fuzzy feeling. Besides, much like the (died in commitee) video idea, who knows what would be a fair "price" for advice?