501-20A Safety Belt System 2014 Fiesta
Description and Operation Procedure revision date: 04/23/2013

Safety Belt System - System Operation and Component Description

System Operation

Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR)

All retractors have an Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR) mode, which is a vehicle-sensitive feature designed to activate and lock the safety belt webbing during hard braking, cornering, or an impact of approximately 24 km/h (14.9 mph). The Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR) feature helps reduce the forward movement of the driver and passengers. For testing, see Functional Test - Safety Belt Retractor, Road Test Inspection,
Refer to: Safety Belt System (501-20A Safety Belt System, Diagnosis and Testing).

Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR)

The Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR) mode is used when locking a child seat in any passenger seating position. The Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR) mode automatically activates when the safety belt webbing is fully extracted from the retractor and then allowed to retract. As the safety belt webbing retracts back onto the spool, an audible clicking sound is made, indicating the safety belt retractor is in Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR) mode and the safety belt webbing cannot pull back out of the safety belt retractor. The Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR) mode disengages when the webbing is allowed to fully retract back into the retractor. For testing, see Functional Test - Safety Belt Retractor, Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR) Mode,
Refer to: Safety Belt System (501-20A Safety Belt System, Diagnosis and Testing).

Safety Belt Warning Chime

The conditions of operation for the driver and/or front passenger safety belt warning indicator and chime operate as follows:

Belt-Minder®

The Belt-Minder® feature is a supplemental warning to the safety belt warning function. This feature provides an additional reminder that the driver and/or front passenger safety belt is unbuckled by intermittently sounding a chime and illuminating the safety belt warning indicator in the IPC .

Either the driver or front passenger safety belt systems may activate the Belt-Minder®. If the Belt-Minder® warnings have expired (warnings for approximately 5 minutes) for one occupant (driver or front passenger), the other occupant can still activate the Belt-Minder® feature.

The passenger Belt-Minder® feature is activated only when the OCS detects a passenger in the right front seat and the passenger weight exceeds a programmed limit. For information on the OCS ,
Refer to: Airbag and Safety Belt Pretensioner Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) - System Operation and Component Description (501-20B Supplemental Restraint System, Description and Operation).

When a MyKey® is in the ignition, the Belt-Minder® feature cannot be deactivated. Refer to the Owner's Literature for further information on MyKey® functionality.

To activate or deactivate the Belt-Minder® feature,
Refer to: Safety Belt Minder Deactivating/Activating (413-01 Instrumentation, Message Center and Warning Chimes, General Procedures).

The Belt-Minder® feature works as follows:




If... Then...
the driver and/or passenger safety belt is buckled before the ignition is turned ON or less than 1-2 minutes have elapsed since the ignition has been turned ON... the Belt-Minder® feature will not activate.
the driver and/or front passenger safety belt is not buckled before the vehicle has reached at least 9.7 km/h (6.0 mph) and 1-2 minutes have elapsed since the ignition has been turned ON... the Belt-Minder® feature is activated — the safety belt warning indicator illuminates and the warning chime sounds for 6 seconds every 30 seconds, repeating for approximately 5 minutes or until the safety belt(s) is buckled.
the driver or front passenger safety belt becomes unbuckled for approximately one minute while the vehicle is traveling at least 9.7 km/h (6.0 mph) and more than 1-2 minutes have elapsed since the ignition has been ON... the Belt-Minder® feature is activated — the safety belt warning indicator illuminates and the warning chime sounds for 6 seconds every 30 seconds, repeating for approximately 5 minutes or until the safety belt(s) is buckled.


Component Description

Child Safety Seat Tether Anchor

On 4-door sedans, serviceable child safety seat tether anchors are located at the rear seating positions, bolted to the parcel shelf sheet metal.

On 5-door hatchbacks, the child safety seat tether anchors are part of the second row seat back and are not serviced separately from the seat back.

Child Safety Seat Tether Anchor - Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH)

Non-serviceable Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) are welded to the floor pan.

If a child safety seat was in use during a collision, inspect the child safety seat mounting areas and restore the vehicle to the original production configuration.