SEC seat belt extenders
 

Dear All:

I do not have a mnual for my 380SEC. I am wondering if someone could explain what the seat belt extender should do. Mine is likely faulty as the left side just goes back and fort - never stops.
My guess is that when you close the door and insert the key - turn to ignition, it should extend and stay extended until I buckle the other side - right?
However looking at the schematics I see:
- the seatbelt switch (that opens when you have buckled)
- a force switch (I guess this is the one causing the problem)
- a retracted switch (I guess closing when fully retracted)
- extender switch (closing when fully extended)
- "return one inch switch" signalling 1 inch back from fully extended

Does this mean that it should fully extend, go back one inch and stay there until buckled? (if so, why?)


Thanks,

Greg

When you close the door and turn on the ignition it should extend out then retract slightly, when you plug in your seat belt it retracts completely. Also if you open the door it should retract regardless of what else is happening.

Greg, the trim piece on the seat belt presenter pod of our 1992 300CE kept coming loose when the seat belt presenter operated ... so I removed the fuse that powers it. It's simple enough to reach back along the side of the seat cushion and grab the seat belt. On our car that particular fuse also controlled power to the passenger side outside mirror and the heating circuit for both mirrors ... no big deal for us. In my opinion the seat belt presenters are more trouble than they're worth. They used to startle passengers unaccustomed to our car, and caused problems when a first-time passenger attempted to buckle the seat belt before the timing relay automatically retracted the presenter.

fixed
 

I must admit I do love this feature - a car that offers you the belt :)

Anyway, the force switch got loose and moved closer to the force assy. I put it back in its place and adjusted the tension of the assy; It works great now.

The seat belt extender is only in the coupes and for good reason. The belt is so far back that it requires considerable body twisting to reach it. If you don't want to put the belt on for some reason, it will automatically retract after a period of time.

the tensioner in my 1989CE has a mind of it's own...sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't ...sometimes the passenger side will work even if no one is in the seat...

when it works...which is usually it is a cool thing to have... i fear that one day i may twist my back out of shape if it doesn't work..

Lee, there's no need to twist your back to grab the seat belt without the presenter working ... simply reach back with your hand just above the floor and grab the seat belt. It's quite easy and no need to be a contortionist.

thanks , Fred...never thought of that...

Yeah, mine waits 60 seconds and then it sullenly retreats back into its hole.

For what it's worth ... pressing the red release button on the seat belt mechanism before buckling up will retract the presenter. That way you avoid pulling the presenter sideways while trying to buckle the seat belt.