Pre-Tensioners - Fiat 500 Manual

seat belt and stay on for about 65
seconds from the last seat belt status
change:
if the seat belt is fastened, the
corresponding warning light will be off;
if the seat belt is unfastened the
corresponding warning light will be
amber.
If the car is travelling at a speed
faster than 20 km/h and reverse is
not engaged, if a rear seat belt is
unbuckled, an acoustic warning is
sounded when the warning light
blinks for approximately 35 seconds.
Successively, the acoustic warning
is deactivated and the warning light
comes on with fixed light until the end
of the entire cycle.
Furthermore, the warning lights come
on to indicate that at least one belt has
been unfastened whenever one of the
front doors is opened or when a rear
seat belt is unfastened with the ignition
device in the MAR position.
WARNING As far as the rear seats
are concerned, the SBR system will
only indicate whether the seat belts
are unfastened or fastened, not the
presence of any passengers.
100

PRE-TENSIONERS

The car is equipped with front seat
belts pretensioners, that reduce slack
in the belts in the event of a severe
frontal collision. This guarantees the
perfect adherence of the seat belts
to the occupants' bodies before the
restraining action begins.
It is evident that the pretensioners have
operated when the belt withdraws
towards the retractor. The vehicle also
features a second pretensioning device
(fitted near the kick plate):
The activation of this device is indicated
by the shortening of the metal cable.
A slight discharge of smoke may be
produced during the activation of the
pretensioner which is not harmful and
does not involve any fire hazard. The
pretensioner does not require any
maintenance or lubrication:
any changes to its original conditions
will invalidate its efficiency.
If, due to unusual natural events
(floods, sea storms, etc.), the device
has been affected by water or mud,
have it replaced.
WARNING To obtain the highest
degree of protection from the action of
the pretensioner, wear the seat belt
tight to the chest and pelvis.
93) 94) 95) 37)
LOAD LIMITERS
To increase occupant safety, the
retractors of the safety belts contain a
load limiter to dose the force acting on
the chest and shoulders during the belt
restraining action in the case of frontal
collisions.
GENERAL
INSTRUCTIONS FOR
USING THE SEAT BELTS
96)
Seat belts are also to be worn by
pregnant women: the risk of injury in
the case of impact is greatly reduced
for them and the unborn child if they
are wearing a seat belt.
Pregnant women must position the
lower part of the belt very low down so
that it passes over the pelvis and under
the abdomen (see fig. 100).
While pregnancy increases, the driver
must adjust both seat and steering
wheel to have full control over the
vehicle (pedals and steering wheel
should be easily accessed).
The maximum clearance should be
kept between the abdomen and the
steering wheel.