Quote:
Originally Posted by vstech
ABSOLUTELY no jesting involved!
an explosive charge is built into many 123 and up vehicles' seatbelt retractors to PULL you back into the seat in the event of an accident. having one explode in your face would be a very bad thing.  |
I had never heard of this until now. Where are the charges located? In the B pillar? Are they present in the rear belts as well? What years/models had them? Sorry for all the questions, but I would like to pass on this info at my next vehicle extrication class as it has been generally said that no SRS devices were used until early 1990's. There are a lot of 123's around my area and the possibility of having to use the jaws of life on one, either in a drill, or in an emergency extrication, are very real so this would be great info to have. Thanks-Scott
Edit- I just looked in my FSM for the 126 series and it appears that they had them as early as 1982, and airbags as well. Only in the front from what I could gather. They are called ETR's (emergency tensioning retractors) and are located in the belt tensioning unit inside the pillar. There is a whole section on location, testing, etc. I also looked in my FSM for the 123 series and there was no mention of any sort of SRS- airbags or ETR's or anything else. I should also note that the FSM indicated that the ETR was not strong enough to pull you back in your seat, it would just keep you held securely in an accident.