Saturn SL1 1992 Seat Belts Not Working
 

I just bought a Saturn, and my seat belts are not working. I'm wondering if the previous owners could have stopped the seat belts from working, because they found them annoying...or if they are broken. They remain in the buckled position and are not moving whatsoever. What should I do?

Well - unfortunately, this portion of the vehicle is notorious for breaking down ... what with the motor that drives the belt up and down the track, and the control card itself which is between the seats, underneath the console -- right where any spilled beverage is likely to drip onto energized circuits. First place I'd start, is the fuse panel(s)

Only the PREST fuse or all of them?

Not to mention that the belts are cable operated through a convoluted cable track around the door opening and once some thing wears to the point where the cable jumps the track, the whole thing is a write off. And there are no parts available any longer.

just leave them be in the safe position. The cars came from the dealership with metal hooks to insert into the tracks for when the situation arose that the motors werent cooperating -- check the glove box

I just would like to figure out exactly what's wrong with them and if it's not too difficult...to fix it. I bought this old Saturn mainly for the motorized seat belt, otherwise, I would have gone for something a little bit newer.

I have another Saturn (SL2 1993) in the driveway (destined for the scrap yard) If there's anything to change...I could probably swap it from one to the other. I never had any problems whatsoever with the seat belts on that one, even though drinks have been spilled a few times...

you can go to great lengths to fix them but the belt motors and the control modules are weak points on these years of S cars -- it's really not worth the effort --\

It's unclear to me why you would buy this car for the motorized belts if they weren't working when you bought it (??)

That's the thing...I didn't have much time to look at the car...It's my mistake really. But I asked the dealer if it had been inspected, if everything was working perfectly? He said that everything was working perfectly on it. I was duped!

As I stated before, for saftey's sake find the metal track hooks I mentioned above and install them-- between the two cars you must have one set still in the glovebox . I believe the installation is described in the owner's manual (I am going from memory here)

I've been there done that, there is no such thing as an easy fix on seat belt problems. Mine went out under warranty and it was a $1000.00 repair at the time. The repair has held up. I had a second car that did not go out under warranty, it also did not get repaired. If my current Saturn goes out for a second time, it will stay broken.

i have an 94 sl,the driver side does not move,the fuses are good.i would leave it at that but its stuck midway down the track so the belt wants to go by my face.whats the fast/easyist way to put it back further?

i dont care if it goes back in forth,just need to move it back and it can stay there,is there a release of some kind?or anything i can do without blowing alot of cash?

There is an after-market clip that you can clamp to the door where the belt would normally lock, and then simply disconnect and reconnect the belt as necessary

I wish I had a better answer than no, but! No!. Other than trying to get it to move by brute force I don't think you will have much success in getting it into a position that the seat belt mechanism when belt is plugged into it. will be in a location that is convenient to you.
The belt is a cable driven beasty and some where the cable has become worn and frayed and is jammed. It is a complex cable path and although I personally liked the concept of them on both cars I had that it in it was prone to failure and almost impossible to repair and as to paying some one? You probably won't find any one that has a clue how it worked. I consider my self an accomplished back yard mechanic and there is no way I would even attempt to go after mine to move it should it break again. The best bet is to leave the shoulder belt unplugged and just use the seat. belt. As I remember the clip that is mentioned one came with the car (or 2) and was part of glove compartment stock and it shut the ding ding noise that says use the seat belt, off. Shoulder belts were not that popular when the car was new and it gave the option of not using it.
As I it here writing I do not remember if there was drivability problems if the shoulder belt was not connected. At this point in time, the shoulder belt mechanism still works with my car. I do not look forward to having to deal with it should it break again.

look in glove box for the hooks

if not there you may have luck in salvage yards

Might chase around the local u-pull-it yard and find a complete assembly you can swap out