My seat belt light is not coming on when igntion is turned to the on position and reminder buzzer not working.

051999PRIZM1999

MEMBER
1999 CHEVROLET PRIZM
70,200 MILES

I drive a 1999 Chevrolet Prizm Base which I inherited from my grandma when she stopped driving 3 1/2 years ago. She bought the car new in 1999. Anyway, since I got the car, the seat belt light does not come on nor does the bell ring when I turn on the ignition. I took it to my mechanic, and he said that there was a short in the wiring in the gauge cluster. They determined this by removing one the working bulbs (ie. "Check Engine Light") and that light did not work either. However, today I noticed that there is no wire attached to the seat belt buckle. Both my mom's and brother's car, ( a 2003 Camry and 1999 Camry, respectively), have a wire that runs from the seat belt buckle to under the seat that I suppose connects to something under the seat that tells the car whether or not the seat belt is buckled. I figured that this could be the problem because the seat belt buckle in my car is practically the same as in my mom's and brother's cars because my car was made in the same factory as the Corolla. The seat belt buzzer and light work in my mom's and brother's cars. Could this be the problem, and if not could there be a short in the wiring like my mechanic said?

Monday, June 4th, 2012 AT 3:20 AM

9 Replies

CJ MEDEVAC

MECHANIC
11,004 POSTS

I GRABBED YOU A DIAGRAM OF THE "WARNING SYSTEM CIRCUITS" FOR YOUR VEHICLE

THIS SHOULD SHOW ALL OF THE WIRING/ RELAYS/ ETC ---SEAT BELTS ARE SHOWN ON RIGHT SIDE

THESE "MITCHELL I" DIAGRAMS ARE VERY EZ TO READ AND EVEN HAVE LOCATIONS POSTED BESIDE THE COMPONENT

I DO NOT KNOW WHAT THIS DIAGRAM WILL LOOK LIKE UNTIL I POST IT AND LOOK. LET ME KNOW IF YOU CANNOT READ IT

THE MEDIC

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Monday, June 4th, 2012 AT 3:40 AM

051999PRIZM1999

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5 POSTS

Thanks! I have Haynes repair manual and wasn't sure how to read it.

Should there be a wire from the inner seat belt component (as the repair manual calls it) and would be on the outer side of the component (facing the center console) or facing the seat?

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Monday, June 4th, 2012 AT 3:49 AM

CJ MEDEVAC

MECHANIC
11,004 POSTS

I SORTA TOOK IT TO MEAN THE SWITCH WAS INSIDE THE "SEAT BELT RET" (RETRACTOR?)

JUST AN INQUIRY. WHY ARE YOU SO CONCERNED WITH THE WARNINGS? (PERSONALLY I WOULD DISABLE THE ANNOYING RACKET MAKERS!)

IF YOU WEAR YOUR SEAT BELTS, IT'S USUALLY A HABIT. BELLS AND WHISTLES OR NOT!

OR IS THIS SOMETHING REQUIRED BY INSPECTIONS IN YOUR AREA?

THE MEDIC

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Monday, June 4th, 2012 AT 4:28 AM

051999PRIZM1999

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5 POSTS

No its not required. I was just wondering if poses as a fire hazard or if I ever decode to trade it in, the dealer will lower the value of the car.

Thanks again for your help.

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Monday, June 4th, 2012 AT 4:34 AM

CJ MEDEVAC

MECHANIC
11,004 POSTS

YOUR CAR IS A '99. NOT TRYING TO MAKE YOU MAD OR ANYTHING, YOUR CAR'S VALUE WOULD MOST LIKELY BE JUDGED BY ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION PERFORMANCE. AND APPEARANCE, SHOULD YOU SELL IT. TO AN INDIVIDUAL

GENERALLY, FROM WHAT I HAVE EXPERIENCED AT A CAR LOT, A QUICK 2-5 MINUTE RIDE, A PEEK UNDER THE HOOD, AND LOOKING IN THE "BLUE BOOK" GIVES THEM AN IDEA OF IT'S WORTH. TO THEM. THEN THEY GIVE YOU A WONDERFUL TRADE VALUE. SOMEHOW OR ANOTHER THE NEW CAR PRICE GETS ALL JUGGLED AROUND. EVEN EINSTEIN COULD NOT FIGURE OUT THE FORMULA! BOTTOM LINE. THEY COME OUT ON TOP AND YOU LEAVE THINKING YOU "GOT 'EM"

AS FAR AS FIRE HAZARD, CIRCUITS ARE FUSE PROTECTED, AND HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN INOPERABLE WITH ANY PROBLEMS?

AGAIN, MY OPINION, TAKE THAT PUPPY DOWN AND SWAP IT FOR A CJ OR A WRANGLER. THE OLDER YOURS GETS, THE VALUE DROPS

1ST PIC: MY '77 CJ 5 ("MR. JEEP"). LAP BELTS, NEVER HAD WARNINGS FOR THEM

2ND PIC: MY '46 WILLYS ("WILLY"). NO BELTS AT ALL! 100% LEGAL, AS IT DIDN'T ORIGINALLY COME WITH ANY! (LIKE '63 CARS, ON BACK, NOT REQUIRED).20 YEARS AGO HE HAD AN AIR BAG IN HIM, BUT I DIVORCED HER!

SO EZ TO KEEP UP---HOLD VALUE WELL---LAST FOREVER----MAKES YOU "SPECIAL"!

HAVE I PERSUADED YOU?

THE MEDIC

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Monday, June 4th, 2012 AT 5:29 AM

051999PRIZM1999

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5 POSTS

Yes you have. Thanks

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Monday, June 4th, 2012 AT 5:32 AM

CJ MEDEVAC

MECHANIC
11,004 POSTS

PLEASE RETURN TO THIS POST. WITH A PIC OF YOUR JEEP!

DOES NOT MATTER IF IT TAKES A WHILE, I WILL GET EMAIL NOTIFIED

THE MEDIC

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Monday, June 4th, 2012 AT 5:47 AM

051999PRIZM1999

MEMBER
5 POSTS

Thank you for you help. Today, (6/5) I removed the panel covering the seat belt relay and removed the plug as seen in the picture. Once unplugged, I turned the key to the on position, and the seat belt light illuminated, and the buzzer rang.

Here are the pictures:

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Tuesday, June 5th, 2012 AT 8:32 PM

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
34,330 POSTS

So does that mean the system is working properly?

As a side note to your comment about trading the car in, dealers expect trade-ins to have problems that need attention and make you a trade-in offer accordingly. If you plan on trading, you're better off dollar-wise to do it when a major repair is needed. If you tell the salesman the car needs a $500.00 repair, you will likely get only $50.00 less trade-in value. A lot of new car dealers don't even want used cars on their lots that are over five to eight years old. They just wholesale older cars to the auto auctions without even inspecting them. The dealers who buy from those auctions know those cars are there for a reason and bid accordingly too, so no one really loses.

Put another way, if you tell the dealer you just paid for a $500.00 repair, you might be lucky to get an extra $50.00 in trade.

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Wednesday, June 6th, 2012 AT 9:21 AM