93 Escort Automatic seat belts

[offroadbud]

I have a 93 Escort. The drivers side seat belt is not working but only in one direction. I used the crank that came with the car to wind it to the back of the door but when i open the door it moves back to the front. Does anyone know what the problem could be? Also the dome light only works from the back doors.

[denisond3]

The dome light working from only the back doors means the switches on the frame where the door closes, are dirty or stuck. They can be unscrewed, worked out and cleaned - but new switches would be more reliable.

The automatic belt getting stuck partway is all too common. The slider latch is on the middle of a steel cable that is coated with nylon. The nylon eventually cracks and begins to flake off. At the sharpest curve, up by the driver's ear, the round groove in the aluminum extrusion also wears somewhat. This is where the cable most often jams.
There is a controller module that always tries to position the slider for the belt latch. With the door shut and the igntion turned on, it wants to move the slider to the rearmost position. But if you open the door the module will try to move the belt to the front. There are limits switches at each end of the travel.
The way to get the belt latch item to stay at the rearmost position involves removing the round cover for the spool the motor turns to move the cable. It is located on the inner side of the door pillar down low - like not far from your hip. Its a lot easier to reach on a 4 door car, with the driver's seat slid all the way forward. Inside here is a connector you can pull apart, to disconnect the motor. Then with the tool you can wind the slider item to the rearmost position, and it will stay there. I think this also means the dome light wont come on when the driver's door is open.
The switch that tells the controlling module for the automatic belt is located on the door latch; its not the same switch as the one for the dome light.

I own 5 2nd generation E.Sscorts, and one of them has a non-working driver's side belt. I just hook it up when I get in, like I do with the lap belt. Some guys leave it connected and flip it over their heads as they get in or out.

[offroadbud]

The seat belt works smoothly in both directions with the manual crank but wont move to the driving position with the electric motor

[denisond3]

In that case I would guess it was a bad limit switch (at the rearmost end of the track) or something jammed in the spool where the cable gets wound into.