Seat Belt Retractor.

[tac]

OK, trying to follow the Ford diagnostic flow chart for the seat belt re-tractor they refer to the "Inertia Switch". Are they talking about the one for the fuel pump? If so the car runs so I assume it's not tripped. Is there a separate circuit for the seat belts or is it tied on to the fuel pump inertia switch?

[Movin]

The manual may have a flow chart for other cars it also covers, you are probably in this flowchart by mistake if you are talking Festiva. The seatbelts have circuitry to figure out if the fasten belts light needs to be on, nothing more. If you are asking about a car with the airbag light on then they are talking about the sensor in the airbag control module and the retractors are explosive devises built into the seat belts to tighten the belts a good bit in the event a crash sensor goes off and the motion sensor in the airbag determines the impact could throw you from the seat.
Did I say these things are fast? Side curtains on modern cars will be completely deployed before a semi truck driving 35 mph finishes coming through your door!

[bravekozak]

The inertia switch they are talking about is in the seat belt retractor. It has nothing at all to do with the fuel pump inertia switch. The seat belt has to lock on impact. I haven't disassembled a Festiva seatbelt but I think you will find a lever that doesn't swing on impact because of inertia, to lock the ratchet on the roller. There are no electrics in Ford Festiva seat belts.

[Chobobulous]

I bet its referring to the switch at either end of the track that tells the cpu the clip has reached the limit of travel.

[tac]

Thanks for the response. The manual only covers Festiva from Ford. I found the controller under drivers seat. Fuses motors and limit switches are functional so I'm left with the inertia sensor to test, but my guess it's the laundry soap that my daughter spilled all over it!

[Movin]

Okay guys, time to eat some crow! The inertia switch is an input to pin i on the seat belt module!!
That is the fuel pump inertia switch.

[tac]

My mistake. I was talking about the passive restraint belt not working. The controller is under the drivers seat and looks like my daughter has spilled laundry soap all over it. There is a signal at the controller connector coming from somewhere called "inertia switch" and the manual assumes you know where it is. I'll check to see if the seat belt retractor has a wire coming out of it. Thanks

[bravekozak]

Sorry, I forgot the U.S. had auto seat belts that were not available in Canada. I wonder what the logic is for the seat belts when the inertia switch has popped.
Does it try to keep you in your seat and not release? Anyone know? Have someone sit in the car and pull out the connector to the inertia switch while the car is running and see what happens to the seat belt. Do the automatic seat belts normally retract after the ignition is shut off?

[tac]

Yes this is the controller that's under the seat. After taking all of the trim off I did notice under the plastic plug behind the front seat is access for an allen wrench. You can crank the shoulder belt back manually if the electronics fails.

[Movin]

I don't know the logic for sure, ( as I'm choking on crow cough cough ) but I bet if the inertia switch gets thrown it opens the seat belts so that people can get out even if your doors are smashed shut.

Normally they open when the door opens even on the interstate!

[bravekozak]

Wouldn't you think that if the inertia switch is triggered the seat belts would remain locked as you roll down the hill or embankment and into a lake? I wouldn't want them opening immediately on impact!

Who is willing to test?

[tac]

OK, now I'm curious. I'm not going to test it but I may have to reverse engineer the controller logic. Like I need another project.

[sdavenport]

This is the exact thread I was hoping to find. Maybe you all are still getting message updates and can shed some light on my predicament.
1993 Festiva, GL, 1.3L.
I removed the seats to do a through cleaning as I bought this car site unseen and it was a mess. I removed the retractable lap seat belt unit from under the door threshold and the shoulder strap belt retractable unit from off the hump between the seats. Unplugged them, two plugs under the driver side and one plug under the passenger side. The are a different design under the drivers side so no getting the backwards.
Before reinstalling the seat belts and seats everything worked fine. The latch over the doors moved to and from when stopping and opening the doors. The lap belts - no issues.

Here is the problem. (thank God he is finally getting to the point) The shoulder straps do not pull out of the floor mounted unit so I can lock them into the latch over the doors. Both sides have to be tugged and released repeatedly until they reach long enough to snap into the latch. Then once I start the car and the latch proceeds to move backwards the seat belt is so tight and does not adjust out of the floor mounted unit.

This is my first Festiva, I like and want to keep it for a while. Anyone here have a solution to this little problem?
Thanks

[bravekozak]

If you can't figure it out, I have a couple of sets of manual seat belts you can choose from. I am a simple kind of guy.