Safe DIY seatbelt replacement? Difficulty level: pretensioner

May 3, 2015 10:43 PM

Dog chewed partway through the seat belts on a 2000 Toyota Corolla. I got original Toyota replacement seat belts shipped from a salvage yard across the country. I know I can replace the belt assembly, but I'm wondering about the pretensioner. The replacement belts came with an intact pretensioner, with the wires cut off. Can I safely swap out the pretensioner connection? (that photo is of my exact replacement part). It's a yellow connector that seems held in place. What is it connected to? Can I just pull it out and shove my car's existing connector in? I'm planning to disconnect the battery before doing this work, but I know the pretensioner is an explosive device and I want to be cautious.
posted by reeddavid to Travel & Transportation (5 answers total)

It looks as though the remains of the old car-end connector is still attached to the connector on the pretensioner. If that is the case, you should simply be able to unplug the clipped connector and plug in to your car's current connector.

My limited experience showed that the pretensioner has a simple metal clip that bridges the two pins that set off the charge when unplugged, shorting the detonation wires together and protecting from accidental discharge from, say, static electrical shock, etc. Interesting thing here is that with the old car-end connector left in place and the wires simply snipped, such a safety feature would have been defeated, if it was there at all. So the biggest potential of accidental firing exists with the old plug still attached and bare wires exposed and unconnected, as seems to be the case in the photo. Removing the old connector and plugging into your car may be the safest thing you can do to prevent it from going off on accident at this point.
posted by 2N2222 at 5:47 AM on May 4, 2015

Lots of scrapyards will just snip the wires rather than preserve the plug, because it can be such a pain to get those keepers disengaged and they won't need it. So just unplug the snipped end, disconnect your battery, and plug it in on your car. Easy peasy.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 6:55 AM on May 4, 2015

Can I just pull it out and shove my car's existing connector in?

Yes. The loom (car side) has been cut) because it is faster and easier than messing around and possibly breaking plugs on the components. Carefully remove the other connector and plug your own in with the battery disconnected.
posted by Brockles at 8:03 AM on May 4, 2015

Response by poster: Thanks all. One detail: the yellow connector seems to be a single piece held in with the metal clip. I believe I would have to completely remove the yellow plastic piece, which is what made me nervous.

But it sounds like as long as there is no power to the wires, I will not set off the explosive.
posted by reeddavid at 4:13 PM on May 4, 2015

Response by poster: Update: I replaced both the seat belts today with all your advice, and it was very straightforward. Several bolts, and the electrical connections, all underneath some easily moved panels. Success!
posted by reeddavid at 8:32 PM on July 19, 2015