Automatic seat belts don't work

[jimdanahand]

I've got an old 1990 Subaru that the automatic seat belts don't work. The manual doesn't list a fuse for the seat belts and all the fuses in the box look fine. The cable on the driver side looks like its out of its groove so that may be part of the problem but don't know why the passenger side doesn't work either. If there is a fuse, please let me know where it is located. Thanks.

 

Jim

[firstwagon]

I've got an old 1990 Subaru that the automatic seat belts don't work. The manual doesn't list a fuse for the seat belts and all the fuses in the box look fine. The cable on the driver side looks like its out of its groove so that may be part of the problem but don't know why the passenger side doesn't work either. If there is a fuse, please let me know where it is located. Thanks.

 

Jim

 

Just curious, what do you mean by an "automatic seatbelt"?

[Manarius]

I think there's a box for the belts under the passenger side seat. I'd check to make sure all the connections are connected correctly there.

[jimdanahand]

Just curious, what do you mean by an "automatic seatbelt"?

In the early 90's a lot of cars started adding automatic seatbelts to the front seats. When the door is closed and the ignitiion turned on, the chest belt comes from the front of the door to the back of the door thereby holding the passenger upper torso in place in case of a crash. They obviously turned out to be a bad idea and have been replaced by the modern shoulder harness.

 

Jim

[WoodsWagon]

They actually weren't a bad idea, it was just that people would figure the auto belt was all they needed and not put on the lap belt, which was seperate. When they crashed, they would "submarine" under the shoulder belt, which sucked for their neck, and they would bury their lower body into the dash. As long as you don't stick your head out the window and then open the door, the belts aren't a problem.

 

There is a pocket at the front edge of the rear seat , down by the floor, that has an allen wrench in it that is for cranking the belts back. Each B-pilar has an acess hole at the bottom for cranking the belts back. If you pull the trim panel off of the b-pillar, you can unplug the belts motor. Then just use the "emergeny" release button and pretend you're hooking up a 2 point harness each time you get in.

[jamal]

There is a pocket at the front edge of the rear seat , down by the floor, that has an allen wrench in it that is for cranking the belts back. Each B-pilar has an acess hole at the bottom for cranking the belts back. If you pull the trim panel off of the b-pillar, you can unplug the belts motor. Then just use the "emergeny" release button and pretend you're hooking up a 2 point harness each time you get in.

 

Exactly what I've done. Although I just leave it buckled and duck under it when I get in the car.

[firstwagon]

In the early 90's a lot of cars started adding automatic seatbelts to the front seats. When the door is closed and the ignitiion turned on, the chest belt comes from the front of the door to the back of the door thereby holding the passenger upper torso in place in case of a crash. They obviously turned out to be a bad idea and have been replaced by the modern shoulder harness.

 

Jim

 

Yeah, I remember hearing about those now. Never seen one though, they weren't available in Canada. I seem to remember the goverment studying them and deciding the weren't as safe as a conventional seatbelt.

 

My 91 Legacy just has the normal belts.