Ok, so this isn't my week, this is more of a question than a problem so far and I am in do it yourself mode, trying to learn. My question is, when should the seatbelts lock up or "catch". For a while I have had my son's car seat in the pass. side, and the seatbelt always seemed to "lock up" preventing the car seat from moving at all. I noticed today that no matter what I do the seat belt isn't locking up or catching, is this normal? I checked the reels and didn't notice anything strange. Thanks...

Leo:crying:
99 Ram 1500 318 4X4

Snatch the belt hard like you're getting thrown into the windshield and see if it'll catch.

most seat belts won't lock-up until during a crash. then all the seatbelts lock-up and won't a one move out. some will lock-up if you snatch on them real fast and hard.

Yeah, neither of them are locking up no matter what I try, short of crashing my beloved vehicle. So this seems normal? The thing is, with the car seat, it doesn't seem to hold as tight as it did before. Anyone else have a car seat setup, in a Ram...looking for the safest setup possible(pass. airbag already off), for the occasions where I do need to use it. Thanks!

While I was at the junkyard I tried a few of the seatbelts on the other Rams there with the same result, no locking, so it looks like this is normal as you mentioned earlier.

Most seat belts use an inertia trigger. That is to say there are multiple types of seat belt locking mechanisms. Here is a quote form Chrysler (it's a good example):
The seat belt retractors used in all seating positions include an inertia-type, emergency locking mechanism. The automatic locking mechanism is integral to the seat belt and retractor unit and is concealed beneath a molded plastic cover located on one side of the retractor spool. The automatic locking mechanism cannot be adjusted or repaired and, if ineffective or damaged, the entire passenger side front seat belt and retractor unit must be replaced.

You cannot make the seat belt lock unless there is motion or the retractor is removed and rotated out of the perfectly vertical position it is mounted in. Pulling rapidly on the belt will not accomplish this action.

Here is another website link that may help you.
http://www.airbagsolutions.com/docs/Pretensioners.pdf

Thanks for the expert info Douglas.
What do you think of stomping the brake while moving slow then check the seatbelt slack?

Excellent info! Thanks for the reply!

Leo