1yesfan

Fiddling around today (pulled heater box to replace core when it comes in) and was looking under the pass seat. I saw a small black unit/box/modual that was wired into a harness that went off to somewhere. What is this for? I have no power anything on the car other then the top, steering, that's it. It is hooked up appears to something that is working something in the car?????

Octania

1974 - no computers
probably added-on sound system or whatnot

1yesfan

I have an AM radio only with front add back speakers.

Charlie Jones

What you have was once part of a government mandated seat belt interlock system.
It would not allow the driver to start the car unless the seat belts were fastened.
It was highly unpopular, and finally the government rescinded the mandate.
Most of the cars built with this system were later recalled by dealers and the system was rendered ineffective.

1yesfan

Yea I can start my car with no seat belts on. The part under the seat is all connected still, I wonder where it got UNPLUGGED so to speak.

1yesfan

How did they render is deadsville???

Charlie Jones

There was a sensor at every seat that detected the presence of 50? lbs. or more in that seat. If the seat was occupied and the belt was not fastened, the car wouldn't crank.
This was 40 years ago, but I think I remember that it was tied to the neutral safety system.
As it was a recall, it was done in the simplest, least time consuming fashion . Probably by disconnecting, grounding, or splicing a wire somewhere.
If you can get them anywhere, one of the factory technical service bulletins for 74 or early 75 would tell you all about this.

redoldsman

It seems I remember most dealers disabled the stupid thing upon vehicle delivery if the customer requested. It was a one year only thing and was gone in 1975.

1yesfan

the box is under just the pass seat, nothing under drivers. Would be cool to reconnect it.

rocketraider

Then you'd have to get out and push the reset button underhood every time you wanted to start the car! The reset button and box is on LH firewall. Look underhood and I'll bet you'll find it there.

A 1975 Dealer Tech Bulletin outlined a specific procedure for dealers to use to disable the seat belt interlock. I think I posted it on here a while back (may have been 73-77olds.com); you may be able to search it. Look around your fuse block and you'll probably see some wires cut and taped and spliced to bypass the interlock.

Put it this way- my folks bought a new 74 Caprice with that interlock and my Mama got downright ugly with the salesman after about the tenth time she had to push that reset button to start her car. It was just one of several reasons she despised that car.

At first I thought you'd found an accessory litter container or tissue box. Those went under the seats starting around 1973.

Edit* it was 73-77. Here's copy and paste from that thread December 18 2010:



Yup- you have one of the few cars left that didn't get the factory authorized disablement of the seat belt interlock. I've never checked my Hurst to see if it has, but it's never given me any trouble starting so I assume it was done.

For the simple reason it's still intact and working, I'd be inclined to leave it alone, but if you really want to ditch it, here's how.




From Dealer Information Bulletin 75-I-14 dated 11/1/1974:

This modification renders the starter interlock feature and buzzer inactive, but will not affect operation of the seat belt warning light as required by NTMVS act.

1) Disconnect negative battery cable.

2) Locate interlock harness connector. On all 1974-75 styles except 1974 Vega, connector with orange, yellow and green leads is located under the left side of the instrument panel on or near the fuse block.

3) Cut and tape the green wire on the body harness side of the interlock connector.

(The bulletin has drawings which I can't reproduce here, but looks like the body side is the male part of the flat 4-port connector plug. The green wire is the interlock relay ground, orange is the hot lead and yellow is the warning light. Green wire should be in plug cavity "B", orange in "D", yellow in "C". It notes that rework must be performed on the body side of the interlock connector.)

4) Disconnect seat belt warning buzzer from installed position as follows:

A) Oldsmobile- Cutlass, 88, 98, Toronado

WITHOUT low coolant warning and heavy duty cooling
system, disconnect and remove buzzer/tone alarm from left side of
fuse panel.

WITH low coolant warning and HD cooling, cut yellow wire
behind the connector and tape ends. (This buzzer has two
terminals sticking out the top of it, I assume for the radiator probe.)


5) Reconnect negative battery cable and check system operation.


I would assume that means start the car with seat belts unbuckled and people in the seats. If car starts and warning LIGHT works, you should be golden.


Anyone wants a hardcopy of the Bulletin, PM me with mail address and I'll copy it for you. Don't own a scanner, and it's printed on blue paper which may not reproduce well electronically. The Bulletin covers all GM Divisions, and I'll give it to Olds. Theirs appears to be the simplest, and the easiest to access the affected components. Corvette especially seems like it would be a PITA.
__________________
58thndy- 1974 Y77 Pace Car replica

1yesfan

So it sounds like they didn't work a lot and you had to hit a reset button in the engine bay? Sounds like a crappy design. Well I still may look over what you posted and see if it is all there still. Just a neat thing as far as history of the car.

73aussie455

My '73 Delta still has this as well but under the pass seat only. If you are sitting in the seat the buzzer sounds/ seat belt light comes on for about 5 seconds. You can start the car regardless.

1yesfan

so this system only works of there is someone in the pass seat? That is where my box is located, under the pass seat.

jaunty75

1973 was different from 1974. I have a '73 as well, and, yes, there is a dash light and buzzer that sounds if someone is sitting in either of the front seats with the ignition on and their seat belts are not buckled. (73aussie, if your car's seat-belt buzzer doesn't sound if you're sitting in the driver's side front seat with the ignition on and your belt not buckled, then your driver's side system is not working properly.) But this system is not connected to the ignition switch at all, so it has no effect on whether or not you can start the car.

For 1974, the front seat belt system WAS interlocked with the ignition switch. It was a one-year-only thing, and, as has been noted, universally hated. It was gone by 1975.

I don't think the fact that the box is under the passenger seat means that the system was only connected to the passenger-side seat belt. They just had to put the box somewhere.

Octania

Wow
You guys are amazing. Somehow, this musterbluck of a system has escaped my attention until now. In retrospect, a REALLY bad idea. A lot to go wrong, and evidently that it did. Making buyers hate their car is not a good idea.

Back then, of course, wearing a seat belt was optional. Now it's a primary ticketable offense as far as I know. Reason enough to get pulled over. And I see a very high % compliance now. As little as 10-15 yrs ago, I noticed that only about 3/4 of the folks were wearing a seat belt. Black folks, maybe 10%. Just stating an observation.

Me, I have been to the boneyards and seen the face prints in the windshield, and been in a rollover. My belt is ALWAYS on. I trained the kids that way too.

Even though we can now start the car with or without.

73aussie455

Correct Jaunty, doesn't affect starting the car on the '73.
My belts have all been removed and replaced with ADR compliant belts (ADR=Australian Design Rules) and buckles.
This from my '73 owners manual;

73seatbeltwarning2_zps4420f3f2.jpg[/URL]