Safety Belt Retractors

WARNING: This page is about a different car, the 2009 Mercury Grand Marquis and 2009 Ford Crown Victoria. However, it is still accessible from the selected car via links, so may be relevant.

The safety belt retractors consist of the following features:

Safety belt pretensioner (front only)
Dual locking mode
- Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR)
- Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR) (all except driver seat)

Safety Belt Retractor and Pretensioner

The front safety belt retractors are equipped with pretensioners that operate as part of the Supplemental Restraint System (SRS). The pretensioner is a pyrotechnic device that deploys when activated by the Restraints Control Module (RCM) to remove excess safety belt webbing from the shoulder and lap safety belt in the event of an impact. If a deployment of the safety belt retractor and pretensioners occurs, a new assembly must be installed. Refer to Safety Belt Retractor and Pretensioner .

For safety belt retractor and pretensioner diagnostic and disposal information, refer to SUPPLEMENTAL RESTRAINT SYSTEM article.

Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR)

Every safety belt retractor is a 3-point restraint with the ELR feature. The safety belt retractor is designed to allow the occupant freedom of movement in normal operation. The ELR is a vehicle sensitive feature designed to activate and lock the safety belt webbing when braking hard, cornering hard or in an impact of approximately 8 km/h (5 mph). The ELR feature helps to reduce the forward movement of the driver and passengers. Refer to the appropriate Functional Test procedure in Safety Belt System .

Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR)

The ALR mode is used when locking a child seat in an outboard seating position or when a tight belt fit is desired. The ALR mode is automatically activated when the safety belt webbing is fully extracted from the retractor and then allowed to retract. As the safety belt webbing is retracted back onto the spool, an audible clicking sound is made indicating the safety belt retractor is in ALR mode and the safety belt webbing will not pull back out of the safety belt retractor. To disengage the ALR mode, allow the safety belt webbing to fully retract back onto the spool. The ALR mode is disengaged when the webbing is free to extract and retract back into the retractor. Refer to the appropriate Functional Test procedure in Safety Belt System .