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INT: Increasing Rewind Tension on 92-93 Retracting Seat/Shoulder Belt

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    INT: Increasing Rewind Tension on 92-93 Retracting Seat/Shoulder Belt

    The driver seat belt in my 92 EX didn't retract all the way and would tend to lay in the door opening unless I consciously placed it on the seat behind me or on the floor. I hate when the door closes on the buckle and dents and damaged the paint on the door opening. So I decided to see if I could increase the tension on the retracting spring.

    Needed:

    10 mm socket
    12 mm socket
    XX mm socket (I forgot to note the size of the bolt head that mounts the bottom of the seat belt retracter)
    Phillips screwdriver
    Small diameter awl

    I was working on a coupe. In order to gain access to the retractor; remove the rear seat upper and lower cushions, then remove the quarter panel lining.



    Remove the top bolt (10 mm). Undo the bottom bolt (XX mm), it will remain attached to the retractor.

    The spring assembly is located under the black cover (yes, the one that says "Caution Do Not Remove"). The cover is retained by small black clips with a pin in the middle similar to what is used to hold the bumper cover to the beam, the fender liners, and the bottoms of the side skirts. Using the awl, push the pins out (be careful, they let go suddenly and I had one shoot off into the trunk).



    I wound up taking the whole spring assembly off the side of the retracter; the spring completely retracted within the housing. Push in the two little white clips between the two round portions of the black cover to gain access to the spring.




    To rewind the spring, I wound as much of the seat belt onto the spool as I could, then installed the spring assembly (there is a rectangular hole in the back of the pink spool) on the retracter. I then pulled the belt out to wind the spring onto the pink spool. When I had all the belt out, there was still a fair amount of spring on the blue spool. Carefully grasp the spring assembly to prevent either spool from moving (an assistant would be helpful), then wind about half of the belt back onto the spool, leaving the rectangular drive in the correct orientation to match the pink spool. Reinstall the spring assembly. With the belt pulled all the way out again, I still had a few turns of the spring on the blue spool. Whatever you do, there should always be at least one turn of the spring still on the blue spool with the belt pulled all the way out.

    Assembly is the reverse of disassembly. Hold the spring assembly against the retracter bracket while putting the black cover over it. Push the three small black pins into their holes to retain the spring assembly and cover. Make sure the white barbs of the spring assembly engage slots of the cover.

    Re-install the retracter.

    Re-install the side panel and seat.

    UPDATE: April 27, 2015 Well, after going through all this, I have been driving the coupe the last couple days and it doesn't seem to have made much difference, the belt still doesn't want to retract well. I'll leave the DIY here in case someone needs to take one apart to replace a belt, untwist a belt, etc.
    Last edited by Fleetw00d; 09-14-2017, 08:17 PM.
    90 LX 4dr 5 spd 396,014 (sold 1/1/2022) - MRT: http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=201450
    08 Element LX FWD AT 229,000 - MRT: fleetw00d : 2008 Honda Element LX - CB7Tuner Forums

    #2
    Nice! I need to do this too. My belt is just limp.. I have to put it behind the headrest it's so slack. Great write up sir!

    Comment


      #3
      when the spring is unwound/removed, and the belt is loose, is there a way to separate the belt from the winder? Like can the actual fabric belt be switched into a different retractor?


      - 1993 Accord LX - White sedan (sold)
      - 1993 Accord EX - White sedan (wrecked)
      - 1991 Accord EX - White sedan (sold)
      - 1990 Accord EX - Grey sedan (sold)
      - 1993 Accord EX - White sedan (sold)
      - 1992 Accord EX - White coupe (sold)
      - 1993 Accord EX - Grey coupe (stolen)
      - 1993 Accord SE - Gold coupe (sold)
      Current cars:
      - 2005 Subaru Legacy GT Wagon - Daily driver
      - 2004 Chevrolet Express AWD - Camper conversion

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by cp[mike] View Post
        when the spring is unwound/removed, and the belt is loose, is there a way to separate the belt from the winder? Like can the actual fabric belt be switched into a different retractor?
        Rats! I had the belt almost completely unwound at one point, but I don't remember how it attached to the spool.
        90 LX 4dr 5 spd 396,014 (sold 1/1/2022) - MRT: http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=201450
        08 Element LX FWD AT 229,000 - MRT: fleetw00d : 2008 Honda Element LX - CB7Tuner Forums

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by fleetw00d View Post
          Rats! I had the belt almost completely unwound at one point, but I don't remember how it attached to the spool.
          I found that the belt is easily removable from the retractor/winder. If you let them unwind all the way, the front retractors should be wound up 16 full rotations before the belt is attached. The rear retractors are wound up 20 full rotations before the belt is attached. That is, at least from the factory. If you are having issues, adjusting it tighter (as per the DIY) may be necessary.


          - 1993 Accord LX - White sedan (sold)
          - 1993 Accord EX - White sedan (wrecked)
          - 1991 Accord EX - White sedan (sold)
          - 1990 Accord EX - Grey sedan (sold)
          - 1993 Accord EX - White sedan (sold)
          - 1992 Accord EX - White coupe (sold)
          - 1993 Accord EX - Grey coupe (stolen)
          - 1993 Accord SE - Gold coupe (sold)
          Current cars:
          - 2005 Subaru Legacy GT Wagon - Daily driver
          - 2004 Chevrolet Express AWD - Camper conversion

          Comment


            #6
            I really want to do this but I don't want to completely break any of em.

            I think I'll use my rear seats as guinea pigs.
            MRT
            37.5 MPG, AC on, cruising at 80.
            30.0 MPG, AC on, aggressively driving around 90.
            27.5 MPG, no AC, cruising at 90 with occasional gridlock. 40 degrees Fahrenheit

            Lots of DIY videos specifically for our car

            Get some awesome wipers! <-- It's a DIY
            Originally posted by Tippey764
            I think driving your car naked will cause the engine to overheat
            Originally posted by deevergote
            sneaky motherfucker

            Comment


              #7
              Great write up! I'll be doing this to both sides in the near future

              8 Accords so far:
              '81 SE Sedan(1st Gen), '83 SE Sedan(2nd Gen), '89 SE Sedan(3rd Gen)
              '89 DX Sedan(3rd Gen), '92 LX Coupe(4th Gen), '92 EX Wagon(4th Gen)
              (3rd gen parts car) I'm currently Driving a '14 Accord Sport 9th Gen

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