______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Re: More on MG seatbelt recall
Author: "W. R. Gibbons" <gibbons@northpole.med.uvm.edu> at BALT.SMTP
Date: 12/15/95 5:54 PM
On Fri, 15 Dec 1995, SCHLINING.M.W- wrote:
> There is a small gravity pawl in the seat belt reel that will stay
in the locked position if the reel isn't oriented properly.
On Fri, 15 Dec 95 Ray Gibbons wrote
(Ray Gibbons wrote)There is a little pendulum that swings forward under
deceleration, to lock the reel. The whole system can become sticky, so
that it is hard to pull the belt out even if the orientation is correct.
<Reply>If there is something preventing the pawl (pendulum) from working
properly the pawl would not work at all. What normally occurs is the
reel orientation causes the pawl to operate by gravity. The pawl assumes
that it is under constant deceleration and causes the seat belt to
lockup. This is most annoying when the seat belt is fully retracted and
you are trying to use the seat belt. A seatbelt only works if you are
using it.
(Ray Gibbons wrote) It seems possible that you might tilt the housing so as
to put a sticky pendulum in its rearmost position, which could allow you to
extend the belt more easily. However, the pendulum might not then lock the
belt during deceleration.
<Reply>This pawl is not the primary locking device. It is too fragile to
take the stress. However, the seat belt can be easily checked by jerking
at it to see if it locks. What needs to be done is have the reel in a
position that gravity doesn't cause it to lock constantly. If you have a
problem with the seatbelt locking and making it hard (or impossible) to
use, fix it by orienting it properly.
Marty Schlining
57 MGA Coupe
75 MGB
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