Automatic Seatbelt Problem

[cheetah85]

I pulled my turn signal/wiper swith out of my 91 Festy thinking I had a wiring problem but I created another. When I put it all back together, my automatic seatbelts do not work. I checked the fuse and it did blow. Every time that I replace the fuse in the fusebox, it immediately blows. I think I may have damaged the wiring for the automatic seatbelt on the signal/wiper switch but I cannot identify which wires that connect to the signal/wiper switch look for. I attempted to remove the fuse box and see what color wire attatches to the 30 amp seatbelt spot but I could not get the fuse box panel out.

Does anyone know what color wire goes from the signal/wiper switch on the steering column to the fuse box? Something is definetely shorting out.

[jglutz]

The seat belts, turn signals and four ways are protected by three different fuses.
From the fuse box:
Yellow wire goes to the seat belt controller.
Black with yellow trace wire goes to the steering coulmn....turn signals
White with blu trace wire goes to the steering coulmn...Four ways.

[cheetah85]

Thank you Joe for the reply.

Does this mean that their is no wiring going from the fuse box to the steering column for the automatic seatbelts?

[jglutz]

It seems that way...there closest point is the back of the fuse block.

[SimonTuffGuy]

Disconnect the wires that are connected to the turn signal/wiper stalks. I believe there are 5 total. Then replace the fuse in the box and see if it blows. If so, you've found your problem.

[cheetah85]

Thank you Simon for the reply.

I have already disconnected all 5 connectors and the fuse still immediately blows. Any ideas on where the short may be?

[SimonTuffGuy]

That's really weird. Nothing else was changed while you were messing around with the wiper/turn signal stalks?

Why don't you unplug the box under the drivers seat, then put in a new fuse... Does it blow with that unplugged?

[cheetah85]

I will disconnect the box under the seat tomorrow and let you know what happens.

Thanks for your advice.

[cheetah85]

Simon,

Concerning the passive restraint System box under the driver's seat, I disconnected the connector this morning, put in a 30 amp fuse in the fuse box, and it did not blow. When I proceeded to put the connector back into the box, the fuse immediately blew.

As far as some history on my car, about 3 years ago my main fuse blew every time I started the car. This is when the seatbelts stopped working. I got aggravated because I could not figure out where the problem was and I bridged the main fuse blades with a piece of 10 guage wire and the car has done fine since with the exception of the automatic seatbelt problem. I know that connecting that 10 guage wire is considered (Festiva Suicide) but I swear the electical system, with the exception of the automatic seatbelt problem, has performed flawlessly

I think that the seatbelt problem stems from the main fuse problem. Today I am purchasing a new battery for the car and I have a used alternator that I purchased on ebay that I hope is good. I will install them both, and install a fusible link with a 30 amp blade fuse on the main fuse block blades. This may lower the power surge to the main fuse and the passive restraint box under the seat and thus cure my problem.

If you have any other ideas, let me know. I will keep you informed of the results.

[jglutz]

Just a thougth....the problem int he seat belt circuit may not be in the control box under the seat but rater at the seat belt motors.
The seat belt motors (most of them on the market) have a device at the motor called a thermal overload (OL). The OL is analogous to a fuse, circuit breaker or Fusibel Link.
The motor may have jammed and either the motor or OL cause a direct short to ground causing all of the previous havoc.
It might be a good idea to disconnect the seat belt motors at the motor and see if the fuse still blows.

If the fuse does not blow...the problem is at the motor. If the fuse blows the problem is between the controller and the motor...including the wires fromt eh controller to the motor.

[cheetah85]

Thank you Joe for the advice. I think I can disconnect the the motors through the little flip up door on the back seat panel. Correct me if I am wrong. It is pouring the rain here in West Virginia. I will try your idea tomorrow after church.

I will let you know what happens.

[SimonTuffGuy]

Joe has a good suggestion. You might be able to get at the wires through the access hole in the back... For some reason, I'm thinking there are 2 plugs there... 1 at the access hole and one near the bottom. You may need to pull the interior panel to access the lower of the 2.

Good luck!

[cheetah85]

After spending several hours trying to diagnose my automatic seatbelt problem, I have came to the conclusion that the Passive Restraint Device (Controller) that is under the driver's seat is bad (Little Black Box with the connector connected to it).

When I diconnected both seatbelt motors, the fuse still blew. I then took out the seats, rolled back the carpeting, and took all of the tape off of the wires. I checked, double checked, triple checked and checked every wire for any broken insulation or sheathing and found none.

One thing that I did notice is that my parking brake light, and seatbelt light on the dash do not operate even when the parking brake is set, and the seatbelts are not buckled. Both devices have wiring coming from that Black Box under the driver's seat.

Every indication is telling me that it is bad.

Has anyone ever had the same problem?

What are the symptoms of it going bad?

[cheetah85]

I ordered the Passive Restraint Box (Little Black Box under the driver's seat), from festivamotorsports.com. It cost about $29 including shipping. I plugged it in and thank goodness, after 3 years of blowing 30 amp main fuses and 30 amp automatic seatbelt fuses, tracing down wiring and saying a few cuss words, the seatbelt problem is fixed. If I would have suspected the little black box was the culprit 3 years ago, I would have definitely purchased one then.

So, if your automatic seatbelts do not work, your main fuse in the engine compartment and 30 amp seatbelt fuse in the fuseblock blows, instead of tearing your interior out and tracing down wiring that may not be damaged, try locating this Little Black Box.

Trust me, it will make life much easier.

[SimonTuffGuy]

Glad you got it fixed. I would've given you one of those boxes for free (have a spare off my uncles parts car)... But, at least you've got it working now.