ARgH! Auto seatbelt

[Schralper]

Driver's side not moving from forward position after a friend slammed the trunk closed. Moved to forward position after I got out, but no movement since.
Got the seatbelt ecu out and looked at resoldering like was suggested in other auto seat thread. But here's what my seatbelt ecu looks like inside.
Notice in closeup how the circuit board looks messed up.
Thinkin' it might be toast whaddya think?
Anyone got one for sale??

[immortal_suby]

it looks like toast.
but if you are handy with a soldering iron give it a try, you have nothing to lose.

[gsodonis]

I've done the soldering gun thing - it didn't work. Logic tells you that the problem is not as simple as re-soldering the joints since all of the joints look inttact (or at least they did on my board). I got ahold of another computer and the belts worked fine for a few weeks. Then one day as I got out, I heard a loud relay cycling on and off in the trunk. It was the seat belt computer. The belt had traversed to its rear most position and the relay was clicking. Had I not pulled it, it would have drained my battery. I believe that one of the microswitches that tells the computer that it has reached the end of travel is bad and the computer keeps trying to drive the motor. That generates heat, damaging the capacitors and the board.

I give up on the auto belt crap. Before I replaced the computer the first time, the belt was stuck forward - a pain while driving. This time, I removed the computer with the belt in the rear locked position and will forever more clip and unclip the belts manually. What a stupid technology in response to American's being too lazy and too stupid to buckle up in the 80's and 90's. Not too far removed from the brake/ignition interlocks that came as a result of the Audi 5000 'unintended acceleration' fiascos.

You can get a replacement computer from a junkyard for ~$10, but if there's sopmething else wrong, the computer may not last. Or you can bail and go manual - you just have to get the belt to the back first. Someone on the boards may know how to do it manually, I hadn't found a way when I tried.

Good luck.

[nextse7en]

Mount you friend in the back seat. (Not the way, sickos) and give him an allen wrench to manally crank the seatbelt back when you get in the car.

Sure, you'll have to concoct some feeding/elimination system, but sweet, sweet karma will have been restored.

[Schralper]

Originally Posted by nextse7en

Mount you friend in the back seat. (Not the way, sickos) and give him an allen wrench to manally crank the seatbelt back when you get in the car.

Sure, you'll have to concoct some feeding/elimination system, but sweet, sweet karma will have been restored.

Damn I hadn't thought of this one. I might have to give it a try w/ my trunk monkey
http://youtube.com/watch?v=MkZcG_pgp0Q&feature=related

[Schralper]

Just noticed that the seatbelt light isn't lighting up. Soooooo, I guess I'll fix that then see what kinda trouble code I'm getting. Sheesh, one thing after another.

[svx_commuter]

The seat belt was acting up in my SVX and the control unit just cost to much. I disconnected the SCU. No problems any more. Best of all I am not cutting of my head when I look out the window and then open the door with my neck still hanging out!!!! The seat belts work fine. There is that centrifugal stop mechanism that works without electricity.