Hi all. I am new here.

My issue. my shoulder straps on my two 1st gen daks do not lock. Are they broken or do i have a vehicle sensitive elr ?

I read this in an article that states there are 2 types of seat belt retractors

Belt-sensitive ELR: This type of ELR reacts by locking when you tug on it, stop the vehicle suddenly, or turn sharply.
Vehicle-sensitive ELR: This type of ELR reacts by locking when the vehicle stops suddenly or turns sharply. It will not lock when you tug on it.

I called the dealer and they have no data on seat belts for 1st gen Daks

My question is, on my 1st gen Dakotas do I have Vehicle sensitive ELR or are they just broken ? For you 1st gen owners, how does you shoulder belt react when you tug on it ?

for reference I tug gently on my dodge grand caravan and it locks

Thanks

 

I dunno.
'
May I suggest, at this age, just replacing the seat belts?

I bought new ones from 3 Point Retractable Seat Belt with End Button Release Seatbelt Buckle (wescoperformance.com) .

I also needed the install kit for the L-bracket; get those with the belt assemblies. (That's ALL you need, but you DO need that, of a proper grade.)

RwP

 

Thanks Ralph. I got your referal from the other forum and added it to my cart but havent yet pulled the trigger.

But I do wonder if my seat belts are indeed broken or are they vehicle sensitive elr which only lock in an accident

Why did you replace your seat belt ?

My seat belts seem to work fine other wise

 

I chose to hunt down and buy an OE set. very spendy. .
While doing this I learned some things. One guy on YT had your problem and he solved it by extending the belt all the way (out of vehicle) and he scrubbed them good. they were very dirty. When they dried and he let them retract they worked properly again.He used a needle nose vise grip to hold them extended.

 

I replaced them because the entire interior was sun-rotted; dash pad, dash plastics, seats.

But remember, they're what, 25 or more years old? That fabric can go bad with age.

It was cheaper to replace the belts now, than to rebuild me if they didn't work.

RwP

 

Thanks Ralf. I have another question for you. Regarding the new one that you bought from wescoperformance, Does the shoulder strap lock when you give it a tug with your hand ?

Thanks

 

Do you have a link to the you tube video ?

Thanks

 

There might not be anything wrong with them. The first retractable shoulder harnesses in the 70's were really sensitive to moving too fast. Just trying to lean over too fast at a light before it changed would lock it. Newer ones from the late 80's use a pendulum rather than a spinning inertia lock. Get up to speed on a deserted road. Hit the brakes hard and pull on the shoulder strap at the same time. I'll bet it locks then. Seat belt retractors rarely fail.

 

Search seat belt cleaning or seat belt retractor (sp?) on YT and there are a lot of them.
My 94 doesn't grab when I pull it out, the old one was doing that like the old ones Ol' Grouch describes. it took almost a minute to get enough out to get it on sometimes. Cold seemed to make it worse. It does grab and tighten while driving when I have to brake hard.

 

Thanks. I will give this a try. My mechanic suggested I slam on the brakes(safely) but he never mentioned pulling the strap at the same time. He said something about 30 kilometers per hour might be the point where they are set to lock.