Seatbelts won't lock when I pull them.
 

Hi all,

First of all, I'm a newbie from Holland, so I try in my best English ;-)
Last week I bought my first Dodge RAM 1500 1997, Laramie SLT.
Today I discovered a strange thing, 4 seatbelts won't lock when I pull them with strength. They should lock in my opinion, this is a dangerous situation. When i drive they still don't react on pulling.
I read threats about a solenoid, but the problem is more that seatbelts are locked permanently. This is the opposite.
My question is, has the Dodge RAM 1500 '97 also a solenoid? If yes, could this be the base of the problem? And...where can I find this solenoid exactly? (Under middle front seat too?) Maybe a fuse?
Or do I have to check al four mechanism...but it looks unlikely 🤔

I hope somebody can help me out.

Regards Ruben

ruben I have seen dirt build up in the receiver part of a seat belt cause this.. try blowing them out with compressed air and see if that does the trick

Hi!

Thanks for the answer :-)
Well, the receiver clicks well and locks the seatbelt.
Whenever I pull hard the belt it has to lock (impact protection)...but all 4 refuse to do that. Could it be dirt what you say?
Tomorrow I'll take a look (time difference here) and clean the receivers to than.

Step on the brakes. DO the seatbelts lock?

Ah, that one I didn't tested yet.
So I just start the engine, step on brake pedal and the seatbelt has to lock immediately?

Yes, it should.

Goodmorning from Holland!

Well, no luck.
Check my vid:
There's a white box under the middle seat with lots of wires. I'll try to clean the connector. Maybe it's the seatbelt control box. People talk about a black box...maybe mine is different haha!

More suggestions? :-)

Grab the service manual for your truck from here. (get the 96 version if the 97 flavor isn't there.) There should be troubleshooting guides in it for the seat belts. There will be wiring diagrams for them as well.

im sorry I misunderstood, I thought you meant they wouldn't stay locked in the receiver.. you mean the inertia device isn't stopping the belts on hard braking....


FYI just a quick pull isn't enough to see if they are locking, you have to be moving .. get the truck up to about 30mph ( 48 KPH )
and hit the brakes hard and they should lock up

Mine will lock just sitting in my driveway, when I step on the brake......