Safety Belt Tension Sensor

The safety belt tension sensor:

• is part of the front passenger safety belt and retractor assembly.
• is located at the safety belt anchor.
• is used in conjunction with the occupant classification sensor (OCS) system.
• is a 3-wire Hall-effect sensor that is part of the front passenger safety belt retractor.

The safety belt tension sensor is a variable output sensor used by the OCS system to identify the presence of a child safety seat on the front passenger seat. The safety belt tension sensor senses the tension on the safety belt assembly then provides an output to the occupant classification system module (OCSM), indicating that the safety belt assembly is cinched. After sensing the weight applied to the seat by the occupant and using the safety belt tension sensor input, the OCSM determines how the occupant should be classified and communicates this information to the restraints control module (RCM). If the occupant is classified to be a child, the RCM will then automatically deactivate the passenger air bag module.