Safety Belt Buckle Switches

WARNING: This page is about a different car, the 2013 Ford Mustang. However, it is still accessible from the selected car via links, so may be relevant.

The safety belt buckles are comprised of integrated circuits called Hall-effect switches. The safety belt buckle switches indicate to the RCM whether the safety belts are buckled or unbuckled.

The RCM supplies current to the safety belt buckle switch. Current flows through the switch, buckled or unbuckled to ground. The RCM will sense the difference in this current draw, approximately 6 mA (unbuckled) or 15 mA (buckled), and use this information in determining the deployment rate of the dual-stage driver and passenger air bag modules. If the RCM detects current out of this range, it will set a DTC.

The RCM also communicates the driver safety belt buckle switch status to the IPC, which monitors the information to control the safety belt warning indicator. For information on the safety belt warning indicator, refer to INSTRUMENTATION, MESSAGE CENTER, AND WARNING CHIMES .