seat belt operation

[bumpyroad]

I have a 98 Explorer. I am not sure if the rear seat belts are working OK. The drivers belt lock automatically when the belt is jerked. The rear belt just free wheel when jerked. The ratched works OK when the belts are pulled out fully.

Are my belts working correctly? Is there a smart inertia mechanisim in the belt?

Thanks for any advice

 

[MONMIX]

hello and welcome to the site.

Explorer did not have pretentioners in their seat belts in 1998, so a good quick yank should lock it up. If it doesnt, then it should be replaced.

 

[Charlie's_93EB]

ok what are pretentioners?

 

[MONMIX]

Pre tensioners can be either on the belt side or on the buckle side.

In a collision the belt tightens or the buckle contracts. Once this has occourd both are useless and then need to be replaced.

 

[Charlie's_93EB]

ok, so they have a brain?

 

[MONMIX]

yeah it ties into the air bag system.

That doesnt mean if the bags go off so do the belts. Well actualy it does, but not nessicarily the other way around.
Meaning, if the bags go off then the belts will too, but the belts can go off with out the bags deploying.

 

[Charlie's_93EB]

ok i understand now, but i have a new one in my old rolled 95 ranger there was a red/orage warning of some sort in the seat belt saying that it needed to be replaced. Do you know what mean?

 

[MONMIX]

Well the ones with pretensioners will have a yellow wire conncector and a cylender about six or seven inches long about as big around as a medium cigar.

I just threw a few away a week or two ago. They were from an Escape. Had we had this discussion than I would have snaped a photo or two.