'97 Sebring JXi front seatbelts lockup
 

'97 Sebring JXi Convertible front seat belts lockup

Hi - Can anyone help answer this?

Seat belt won't pull from seat socket on driver side seat. Feels locked up. When it happens the front passenger side does the same at the same time. Day 2 of issue. Yesterday it lets loose by itself after a half hour.

Tried starting engine and turning off. No avail!

Any idea what is going on and how to fix it?

Thanks alot.

RE: '97 Sebring JXi front seatbelts lockup
 

Is the car parked on level ground? In some of the older cars, the belts would lock up under conditions of sudden deceleration. The mechanical system couldn't tell the difference between deceleration and being pointed downhill.

RE: '97 Sebring JXi front seatbelts lockup
 

Hi - Thanks for the suggestion. No the car has always been parked on a pretty level street or driveway.
But I found out what happened that caused the seat belts to lock up, sorta.
The solenoid inside the seatback locks up the retractor. The SCTM box is not sending a 12V signal to the solenoids. That is why when one locks up, both front seat belts freeze. I used a voltmeter to measure the pin voltage of the harness under the driver seat.
Something weird but good happened overnight.
My batt was somehow reset. All my radio stations and clock were reset. The seat belts are back to normal.

So far so good. We'll see.

RE: '97 Sebring JXi front seatbelts lockup
 

The failure to work and the auto reset may be related. The auto reset sounds like what happens when the battery is disconnected. You might have a bad ground somewhere. It's worth checking before it strands you. Check for corrosion or looseness starting at the battery.

RE: '97 Sebring JXi front seatbelts lockup
 

True. Check and clean your terminals as well as where the negative leads head off to their respective connections. Also check the mounting of the under-seat control unit as well as the wiring harness near any seat glides, motors etc.