Mk1 HOW? Want my seatbelt dash light to come on if belt not fastened.

[Baron VonZeppelin]

Yeh, another HOW ? deal. lol

81 caddy truck.

My seatbelt receptacle wires are still intact/uncut.
The bulb in the cluster is verified good.

In the fuse box, there is a place that says seatbelt interlock - but there is no relay in that place. Next to that area it has what looks like a 'factory' jumper connecting two terminals.

Is that jumper an over-ride ?
Did it come factory with a relay in the interlock ?

Right now the seatbelt warning light in the dash never comes on.

=What i want is for the light to come on in the dash anytime the key switch is on or truck is running - and seatbelt isn't fastened=

=What i don't want - is to have to have seatbelt fastened before i can start the engine=

Any possibilities here ?

Thanks mucho grande' in advance.

I'm going to remove that jumper thing tomorrow and see what happens next.  

[8v-of-fury]

run your own circuit?

Shouldn't be too hard for a person with your size cranium

a small gauge wire from keyed 12v... how does the seat belt work.. you insert it and it takes contact away I'm assuming.. So yeah.. 12v to the light in dash, and it will come on anytime the seat belt is not disrupting the circuit.

that small of wire will be easy to hide among factory harnesses as well.

[Baron VonZeppelin]

lol, thanks for the vote of confidence 8V.

I despise electricals above installing a radio.
This Mk1 has put me out of my comfort zone repeatedly with electrical goofs and gaffs so far. But i ain't dead yet, so maybe its making me stronger. And its all gotten fixed.... so far. 

Yep, it has a contact switchy in the receptacle.
All the stuff is there already, i'm feeling certain.
I have no schematics on this booger.
The wiring is run under the carpet, but no idea where it hides when it comes out up front - or what color they might turn into in the process.

Hoping somebody says something like jump terminal #21145 and #31154 where the interlock relay would be. And posts a nice neat diagram that even a blind man could follow.

^5

[Baron VonZeppelin]

Curiosity got the better of me, and i wasn't getting sleepy yet, so i went out and pulled that factory looking jumper from the fuse panel.

It is an over-ride for the interlock.
Starter will not hit when jumper is removed.
(would be a mean practical joke to play on someone if you were the dastardly type)

Hoping one of you guys with the schematics can lay some light on this. "Should" be able to jump another set of these slots and have the seatbelt light to work ..... i hope.

[mystery3]

The wiring is run under the carpet, but no idea where it hides when it comes out up front - or what color they might turn into in the process.

I don't have any carpeting so I'll check the wires for color and location. I have an 81 as well so hopefully it should be consistent.

[Baron VonZeppelin]

Thanks mystery3.

See if yours uses that jumper strap in the upper right corner of fuse panel too.

And by chance does your seatbelt dash light work ?

[catlin_cava]

I have to ask...Why? I think the first mod I do to any VW is 1 remove the mexican doors chim, and then cut the Seatbelt wire lol.

[Baron VonZeppelin]

In my wonderful state of North Carolina, there is a $150 fine if you are caught driving without your seatbelt on. And they really are on the prowl about it. Real money maker for them.

In past 10+ years - I've never had a ticket for it yet, but have been pulled twice for "suspiscion" because they said it didn't look like i had it on.
But i did, i just have a clip that holds slack in the shoulder belt.
From behind, if they don't see the shoulder belt silhouette strapping across from the pillar - you get pulled.

If they think you made a fast move to put it on, or they see you fiddling with it, you get the ticket.

If they viewed you from oncoming and didn't see it strapping across your chest - you get the ticket - no matter what you wish to say about it or otherwise proclaim. Tell it to the judge. The judge takes the officers point of view as gospel. Pay the fine and have a good day. The third offense carries points on your license and insurance.
$$$

It also applies to front seat passengers - but i'll let passengers fly their own choice - they get the ticket, not the operator.

So.... even though i have not gotten caught yet, i do sometimes forget. The dashlight working would be good reminder. Since its there, might as well try to get it going.

I have not started driving this Truck regular yet.
Just a few test runs so far.
But its just about ready now.

[mystery3]

I have two black wires at the seat belt receptacle which run to a connector on the shifter side near the fore and aft seat adjustment; after the connector I have two wires both brown with white stripe which run straight to the fusebox which does indeed have a jumper in place in the seatbelt/immobilizer spot as well as the wash/wipe.

I reconnected the connector beneath the seat and no my seatbelt indicator does not work. I theorize that the switch inside of the receptacle itself may go bad after a few hundred thousand potential buckling and unbucklings of the seatbelt.

Good luck and please report your findings here.

[Baron VonZeppelin]

Thanks for checking that out mystery3.

I set aside a little time today to tinker with it some more.

Mine also has the 2 small black wires coming from the seatbelt receptacle - going under the seat - and into the carpet. I figured there would need to be a disconnect in case the seat needed to come out for something. Tugged the wires a little and the connector came to me. 2 Brown with White Stripe wires on other side past the connector.

But i made a little good progress to report.

Searched through some of my misc. fuse/relay bags from past boneyard trips and found a relay with same type blade config.
One of those that has vent slots on the end and looks like a tiny speaker inside.

Pushed it into the left side interlock slots (the jumper is still in its place on the right side).
Now the seatbelt light comes ON in the dash when key is turned on.
It only stays on about 5 seconds.
It comes on whether seatbelt is fastened, or not, and same amount of time either way.
This relay doesn't buzz or click - so that feature is probably bad on this relay.

The Brown with White Stripe wires are both grounds, neither has current while the light is ON in the dash (or any other time).
So the seatbelt receptacle switch probably completes a ground circuit when the seatbelt is latched. IF that switch still works (like you mention it could be dead by now).

I'm going to ohm the black wires tomorrow with and without the belt latched to see if that switch is good or not. If its no good anymore - then i've got about all i can get out of this system.
Which is more than i had, but not as much as had hoped for.

IF its still good - i "think" with 1-2-3 more tinkerings i "might" can get the result i'm looking for - with some more testing/tinkering.

But if anyone reads into this and has answers already - by all means, spill the beans !

I did a search on this before starting this thread.
Got nothing much. But did get a thread where a guy stated the other interlock relay (where we have jumpers) is NLA and was $140. His local dealer had one on shelf and he bought it.
That is the one that makes it where you HAVE to have the seatbelt latched for the engine to start.

It makes me think the seatbelt receptacle switch is probably only a part of that circuit that won't allow the car to start. But things can be modified by the ambitious. lol

Especially if someone with mad skills and the schematic diagram can point the ambitious towards the right terminals to run those brown/white wires into.

[79rabbit4dr]

I'll have to spend a couple minutes on my other computer to highlight the exact wires you'll need to look at (this is a crappy laptop web-cam pic) but I've got the diagram from the Bentley manual. If you can get a good picture of where the seat-belt relay should go and the factory jumper bar we may be able to get it figured out. According to the Bentley, the BR/W wires going to the seat-belt buckle are actually both the same power wire and clipping the buckle in opens the circuit and shuts off the light and or chime.

What do you have for testing, multimeter, test light?

If I can explain in words what I'll try to back up with a better picture later, the power supply is as follows;
Batt + > Ign Sw > Jumper bar (in fuse block) > Through seat-belt buckle > seat-belt relay (which closes a separate circuit for the seat-belt light/chime circuit) > Ground after relay
*Note: the seat belt relay is a solid state relay so it won't click like most electromagnetic relays do when the coil gets energized and sucks the armature open/closed completing the circuit*

[Baron VonZeppelin]

PM me your email addy and i'll send a pic by email.
My ISP is turtle-charged and doesn't do worth a hoot with pic host sites at all.

I have a test light, and a 2 lead multi-meter.
But not exactly well schooled with the multi-meter.

Here is what i have found so far:

On the 2 black wires coming from seatbelt receptacle-
- get no reading when testing ohms, with seatbelt Latched.
- get .001 reading with it Unlatched.
(so i guess that means the switch inside there is working - and its job is to interupt a circuit when Latched)

On the 2 Brown/Wht wires that come from up front and plug into the 2 Blk wires-
-no voltage readings at anytime (with test light)
-while seatbelt dash light is ON - i get an ohm reading of like 5.6-5.8
-any other time i get no ohm reading.

{in my clouded mind - i'm thinking the Br/Wht wires are ground circuit ? and IF so, if can determine which slots to jumper to make dash light power source to stay powered - where relay is now plugged - and jumper those.

then determine which slot(s) ground for the dash light - and feed the Br/Wht wires to that.}

Thats just a clouded thought - and all i have so far.
Absolutely remaining open-minded and welcoming any ideas you have.

[79rabbit4dr]

Ok, so i've been playing with MY 81 caddy and think i've got it figured out how to get it so the light will come on with ignition and stay on until the seat belt is clicked in. I'm trying to get pix and scan in my hand-drawn wiring diagram but it might take a couple days. Just wanted to let you know there's been progress 

[Baron VonZeppelin]

Thats great news to hear !
Looking forward to any developments.

The older i get - the more useful things like seatbelt reminders and daily checklists become. lol