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Cadillac Repair/seatbelt wont retract

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Expert: - 12/16/2009


Question
the drivers side seatbelt wont retract back up into the headliner nothing will work any help or adivce would be great as i just acguired this car and am very happy whitit

Answer
Hello John,

What commonly happens is the belt twists when being retracted and binds up inside the assembly. The problem is that since the belt has not fully retracted, you can't pull it out far enough in order to straighten the binding.

I have run across many of these bad retractors. They get bound up inside and there is nothing you can do. They are not serviceable. Depending on the year of the vehicle, you may be able to get one in color from the dealer. The only other option is getting one from a junkyard.

There is not too much to replacing because they are attached by only one or two bolts.

Good luck!

Rob  

Cadillac Repair

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Rob Painter

Expertise

Alarm system questions cannot be answered on this forum. These systems are not what I can answer. Without being physically at the vehicle and not knowing what kind of electrical service has been done on the vehicle, there is no possible way to give an accurate answer over the internet. My expertise is in Ignition/key based anti-theft systems. These issues include GM VATS (resistor chip in key blade) PASSLOCK (MRD)-ignition lock rotation based, no special ignition key and the PKIII Transponder (computer chip in key) systems. These systems are not alarm based and are integral with the starting of the engine. This is why I cannot diagnose alarm problems without physically looking at the vehicle: Alarm systems are a completely different annimal than ignition key/lock based anti-theft system. Many alarm questions come from vehicles 10 years old, and since older, many hands that had been involved over the years.I am an expert in all GM factory (ignition/key based)systems. Alarm system questions pose to many situations beyond my knowledge as to what has been done to the vehicle over the years. Some guy may have actually wired the stereo into the alarm system. Who knows? Over my past 30 years in vehicle wiring repair, I have seen unbelievable wiring disaters done by guys that consider themselves "mechanics." I have seen stereos and alarms intalled using surgical tape. I have seen modules burn up, un-fused circuits, wiring jambed between the doors and even lamp cord used for a starter kill. To answer alarm questions over the internet without examining the vehicle is like asking; What does it take to remove a dent?

Experience

Education/Credentials-ASE certified. 11 years with a GM dealer and 17 years with a repair facility dealing with only the repair of theft recovered vehicles.

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