Faulty seat belt sensor
 

Light wont turn off even if the seat belt is plugged in. any suggestions on what can be done?

Remove the bulb..

Then the drivers airbag WON'T trigger in a smash.......

If the bulb has been removed? Really? So what about if the bulb shits itself, still no airbag trigger?

Mine does exactly the same on a cold day, seems once the car is warmed up thou the light goes off. Doesnt help you I know and probably useless information, but now you know your not alone

Couldnt give an answer but I would hazard a guess that there is likely shit in the contacts. I would try spraying some contact cleaner into the seatbelt buckle and see if it helps. It cant hurt...

[QUOTE=astralex;398834]If the bulb has been removed? Really? So what about if the bulb shits itself, still no airbag trigger?[/QUOTE]

Nah, Rossco is meaning if the seat isn't triggering that someone is sitting there (i.e. the light is on) the airbag may not deploy.

Better to find out why the light is off than just remove the warning.

Also the switch is inside the inertia retractor inside the 'B' pillar!

It's [U]NOT[/U] in the buckle......

[QUOTE=astralex;398834]If the bulb has been removed? Really? So what about if the bulb shits itself, still no airbag trigger?[/QUOTE]

If the bulb blows the airbag light will stay on (in a GC....not sure about others).

[QUOTE=Rossco;398842]Also the switch is inside the inertia retractor inside the 'B' pillar!

It's [U]NOT[/U] in the buckle......[/QUOTE]

100% certain on that?
On my 96 GX the drivers seat has the wire going to the buckle. This must be unclipped to remove drivers seat. This is also the case with MY98. Other models may be different.

Also check under your drivers seat that the wire I speak of is connected and not damaged. Cant remember how the subaru system works off top of my head, but some cars will leave light on if the wire is d/c'd others it will be permanently on.

My current car has a switch in the retractor (as you pull the belt out of the retractor the lamp goes out - before clipping in to the buckle - try it!).

There may be a switch in the buckle too (I've never taken one out of a wrx).

cool, will look into it

[QUOTE=Rossco;398849]My current car has a switch in the retractor (as you pull the belt out of the retractor the lamp goes out - before clipping in to the buckle - try it!).

There may be a switch in the buckle too (I've never taken one out of a wrx).[/QUOTE]

Yeh, Ross is right, replaced one on a MY00 and it's part of the retractor.

[QUOTE=astralex;398834]If the bulb has been removed? Really? So what about if the bulb shits itself, still no airbag trigger?[/QUOTE]


I think if the seatbelt lamp globe blows it causes the airbag warning lamp to illuminate.


[QUOTE=GX-REX;398847]100% certain on that?
On my 96 GX the drivers seat has the wire going to the buckle. This must be unclipped to remove drivers seat. This is also the case with MY98. Other models may be different.

[/QUOTE]

96 Gx doesn't have airbags does it, neither does the 98 wrx....hence the difference.

[QUOTE=Rossco;398912]96 Gx doesn't have airbags does it, neither does the 98 wrx....hence the difference.[/QUOTE]

Good point. Got me curious now as to if the models with air bags have the seatbelt warning light switch in the buckle or not. I would have thought that the inertia sensor in the retractor would be associated with the airbag system, and would have thought that they would still need the switch in the buckle to show that the belt is clipped in. I might have to investigate this somewhat now...

They also use a load (belt tension) sensor in the inertia reel...to time the triggering of the airbag so the airbag doesn't kill you......That's why there's an airbag control module and not just a pair of impact switches.

Remember that the later cars will also have a pyrotechnic pre-tensioner built into the buckle to lock the inertia reel instantly.

[QUOTE=Rossco;398912]
96 Gx doesn't have airbags does it, neither does the 98 wrx....hence the difference.[/QUOTE]
Some of the pre-99's had airbags as an option... wonder if these have the seat belt switch shifted over to the inertia reel?

Im pretty sure that the 99/00 wrx airbags dont have any seatbelt input, infact i know that a lot of cars dont. the drivers airbag deploys regardless. some even the passenger (cars without weight sensors)

The early imprezas did have the switch in the buckle, up to the my99/00 which has it on the belt reel.

There is also no load sensing with the airbag system in the 99/00 impreza's. very basic setup. with front crash sensors, and a g-force sensor in the control module.
cars that do have load sensing use a sensor to measure the seat rail position, again very rare.

I dont know why people are so scared of srs systems. they are very basic and there really isnt much to them. they only go off on the right type of crash anyway.

In regards to your light, what year is your car?