Seatbelt Warning Light: Help Needed

[ringmeister81]

I've got a bit of a situation with my 88' iX... The seatbelt warning light on the overhead check panel randomly lights up whether I'm wearing my seatbelt or not. Bumpy surfaces, especially bumps on the drivers side, seem to trigger the light. However, it also happens under hard acceleration.

Here's what I've done so far to diagnose: I first checked the wires under the seat... The one coming from the seatbelt, and the other from under the carpet. Two wires and two white clips. I disconnected them, and it didn't fix the problem. After some more investigation, I saw that the wires running from under the carpet were the culprit. Only one was connected the the white clip (the white/brown one). The other wire (green/brown) was disconnected and looked like it had been shorted out. It had a lot of bumps and the copper was corroded and green. It literally disintegrated in my hands. So I followed the wires back as far as the carpet to try and find some good copper and short out the light. That didn't work either... The problem is past the carpet, and I don't know where the wires go.

My question is where do these wires go? I checked under the kick panel and couldn't find them... The ETM is hard to understand, and I'm at a loss.. I'm concerned that the wires are split somewhere under the carpet and that there could be a danger of fire if this keeps happening.. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[FLG]

My guess is theres no danger of fire. I haven't looked at the wiring but it probably works by you clipping in the belt it completes a ground, light turns off.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[treff-7]

There is no danger of fire. Worst case scenario it will blow a fuse. Actually the circuit opens when you buckle in. So I think the signal wire (not the brown one) shorts to the body somewhere. Most likely the insulation worn off somewhere. Maybe you could try to wiggle the wire and see if the light goes ob and off. It's definitely not a broken wire because that way the warning light wouln't go off.

[ringmeister81]

Thanks guys... I appreciate the input. My only thought is that the wire somehow got wet, then corroded, and shorted out. The wire really looked terrible... Bubbled up on the insulation, a few holes, and the copper had turned to green powder. The PO had it disconnected when I bought the car, and I only reconnected it this week to see if that would fix the issue. But, like I said, the wire was beyond saving. Hopefully, I cut enough back, and taping it off will stop the stupid light coming on while I'm driving. If I ever pull the carpet, I'm sure I can find where it goes and disconnect it at the source. I was just really worried about sparks, and fire. Guess that probably won't happen, right? Thanks again.

[AndrewBird]

A fuse will blow long before sparks can happen. I'd pull the bulb and not worry about it until you can pull the carpet.

[DaveSmed]

...The seatbelt warning light on the overhead check panel randomly lights up ... it also happens under hard acceleration...

First of all, thats pretty badass.


Second of all, no fire risk, its ground side switched. If both wires shorted on the body the worst that would happen is the light and the chime would come on.

If you want to keep it off, under the knee bolster there is a black module, it looks kinda like a big relay, has four terminals... Unplug it and check if your light is gone.