'90 Passenger Side Seat Belt Help

When I originally got my 'bird, the passenger side automatic seatbelt would not slide down the track when the door opened without a little nudge.

This past Sunday, I think it finally died. The motor that pulls the seatbelt down the track is so annoyingly loud that you can hear it outside the car, regardless if the car is running or not.

A couple of questions:

A) Is there is belt that could have snapped connecting the motor to the belt/track?

B) Is it possible the motor could have locked up, and if so, can it be "unlocked" or should it be replaced?

C) How difficult is it to DIY replace the motor and track, provided I had the parts to replace it with?

D) What year(s) will work, if the junk yard does not have one for 1990

E) And will the Drivers Side Track and Motor work on the passenger side?

Thanks for any and all help....

Alex

A) Probably not the issue. Maybe more of a switch, lubrication, or adjustment issue. The ratcheting noise you are hearing is a dry track. Spray some silicone lube in there and it should help. Best bet is to take it all apart to lube the track properly.

B) See A

C) Be patient because you will have to take everything apart.

D) Any '89 - '93 with auto seatbelts should work.

E) Best I can recall, they are side specific.

Thanks for the suggestion... I will try and lube the track.

However, that still doesnt solve the horrific annoyingly loud sound coming from the seat belt motor. I am 99% positive it is coming from there, as I have traced the sound to behind the seat, near where the back (not back dash) speakers are.

In addition, if the car is turned off, when someone gets in the passenger side, the motor constantly grinds, and doesnt shut off for approximately 17 seconds. BUT... when the car is running, and someone enters the passenger side, the motor runs until the door is closed. ** Important side note** The seat belt no longer tries to move, and I have not been able to coax it along, even while the motor is grinding.

'Coupe... if it is a switch problem, where does one locate the switch, and does it get replaced?

In the mean time, is there a fuse I can pull, or a way to disconnect the seat belt motor from power so it doesnt want to "retract" when someone gets in until I can figure out the exact problem and get it repaired?

Thanks again for the help....

Alex

However, that still doesnt solve the horrific annoyingly loud sound coming from the seat belt motor. I am 99% positive it is coming from there, as I have traced the sound to behind the seat, near where the back (not back dash) speakers are.

In addition, if the car is turned off, when someone gets in the passenger side, the motor constantly grinds, and doesnt shut off for approximately 17 seconds. BUT... when the car is running, and someone enters the passenger side, the motor runs until the door is closed. ** Important side note** The seat belt no longer tries to move, and I have not been able to coax it along, even while the motor is grinding.



Okay, after reading this and rereading the above, you are probably right in the motor being bad, or at least the gear that drives it. The only thing I know that will stop it is to disconnect the wiring harness at the motor. There was a post on tccoa.com with pics from a guy that disassembled the whole track assy. Let me see if I can find it.

'Coupe, you rock man... if you can find that link... that would awesome... I would owe ya a beer or something...

Your best, educated guess here.... is this something (with pictures, and some elbow grease) that a car n00b can handle in a day? I mean.. I dont mind if it takes 10 hours... but I would like to get it done in a day.... lol...

if nothing else.... disconnecting the wire harness from the motor assembly should take not too terribly long, right? **Skeered** Lol

Thanks again...

Alex

When you lube that rack, try to clean it out as well as possible with a Q Tip first. My motor was making a bad sound too, but I figured that it was due to resistance. When I cleaned out the track and re-lubed it, the belt went smoothly, and the motor stopped making that sound.

Well, can't find the link for you. But if you want, go to tccoa.com and click the search button. Enter "seat belts" and choose the "interior" forum. That will give you several discussions on the matter. For the time being, there should be a small 3"x5" or so access panel just behind the b-pillar, below the armrest. You can go through that to get to the motor and should be able to get to the motor. Not sure if you can get to it by removing the speaker cover and speaker. If you can get it unplugged and rotate the motor, should be an adjuster on it, to the rearward most position, you can use it like a manual seatbelt.

OK.. I will try and lube teh track first.... since that seems the easiest to do...

I will then try to access the motor to disconnect it... To clarify.... the access panel is on the Door? or near the speaker mount?

I checked tccoa.com... and couldn't find the pics you spoke of 'Coupe.... found 27 entries... none with the tear down you saw :( I will continue to look though :)

And the seat belt is currently in the "locked" position, so all I SHOULD have to do to stop the noise (for the time being) is disconnect the motor.... I should not have to touch the adjuster, correct?

While the panel is off, is there a way to troubleshoot to see if the motor is in fact locking up?

I will attempt to do this tonight.... and I will keep you posted...

Thanks for all the help....

Alex

The panel is in the rear passenger compartment below and near the front of the arm rest. I couldn't find the pics either but there was quite a bit of tech info in the posts. If the belt is in the rearward most position, all you should have to do is disconnect it. You may be able to hook a power source to the motor if you can get to the connector. Not sure because I haven't tried something like that.

Ok I found the panel I think....

IF its the panel I need, the middle of the panel is located at the top of the rear passenger seat.

Now... if this IS the panel I need, (as I havent tried to remove the panel yet) what do I need to remove it, and do I have to do anything with the rear seat in order to get the panel out?

I hate being car retarded. Thanks for the help...

Alex

Sit in the back seat. Place your arm on the arm rest, not the fold down one in the middle. Just below where your hand will hang down is the panel I am referring to.