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Seat Sensor Switch

1K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  docvette 
#1 ·
I finally got around to working on my '72 El Camino, an event I have successfully avoided for about 4 years.

I gutted the interior, except for the headliner. I've been going through the interior harnesses to ensure nothing is a potential problem.

When I got to the Fisher Body rear harness that runs under the seat, I found the connection for the seatbelt buzzer system disconnected. The harness that runs from each seatbelt to a common connector is intact (Y/B and W/B). However, according to the wiring diagram those wires connect to a "Seat Sensor Switch" which is then connected to the Fisher harness.

What the heck is a Seat Sensor Switch and what does it look like? Can I buy one? Get one at the junkyard?
 
#2 ·
Seat

Oh Yeah..one of those things..those were intended to act so you could not start the car w/o the seatbelts being hooked up as I remember..

They were considered to be a great nuisance and were disconnected in a lot of cars of that era...

Do you really need this thing..Probably not unless you are doing one of the 100% restores..

OMT
 
#3 ·
I agree with OMT. Most if not all hit the waste can at the dealers after people were calling with complaints that their new car would not start.

I was just a kid at the time but I recall my dad putting the shunt in a Grand Prix we had cause my mom called him and said the new car wouldnt start. He was told at the dealer she was not. LOL great idea bad marketing.
 
#4 ·
I was just trying to get things back to "sorta original". I thought the buzzer just buzzed, but now that you mention it I remember seeing terminals in the diagram on the neutral safety switch that have a seatbelt tie-in.
 
#6 ·
The guy (butcher) that had the car before me had the wires hooked up to the terminals on the neutral safety switch and the buzzer. But the wire from the Fisher harness to this seat sensor was just cut off. I'm assuming that since the neutral safety switch didn't receive any signal from the seat sensor everything was ok.

Well, at least I've got the interior wiring done. Now I need to just about redo the two harnesses under the hood. That's going to be a nightmare because Mr Butcher hacked it all up.
 
#7 ·
Update

Further research (don't know why) disclosed that this seat sensor was only on the passenger seat. Thinking back I remember people having to connect the passenger belt when they put groceries on that seat.

Since I don't have the original seat, and don't intend to get one, it looks like Mr Buzzer will go unbuzzed.
 
#8 ·
Sensor

Doc here , :pimp:

Thinking back...as I remember, that Sensor was to detect the weight of a warm body in the car and worked as an interlock with the belt system..

I think it was only made for a 1/2 year or a year, before Nader's Raiders deemed it as distracting and unsafe, and was discontinued as well as the non~timed buzzer warnings..

It appeared to the the tree huggers I guess, the buzzing caused more accidents than not..go figure..???

I guess Ralph was not rich enough carving up corvairs and writing his novel.."Unsafe at any speed" (what a jerk..didn't do complete research...he never rode with my ex...)

Just having the plug there should satisfy originality requirements though.

Doc :pimp:
 
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