Seat belt retractor locked

Hi!
To get the shoulder belt in your 1984 Buick Riviera to retract into the retractor, you can follow these steps:

1. Locate the retractor: The retractor for the shoulder belt is typically located on the ceiling of the car, just above the door. It may be covered by a small plastic panel or trim piece.
2. Remove any covering: If there is a plastic panel or trim covering the retractor, carefully remove it using a trim removal tool or a flathead screwdriver. Be cautious not to damage the surrounding area or the trim piece itself.
3. Pull the shoulder belt out: Slowly and firmly pull the shoulder belt out from the retractor. Ensure that you have a good grip on the belt to prevent it from retracting back into the retractor.
4. Guide the belt back: Once you have pulled the belt out, guide it back into the retractor by applying gentle pressure. You may need to guide the belt back and forth, or use your other hand to assist the belt's movement into the retractor.
5. Test the retraction: After guiding the belt back into the retractor, give it a gentle tug to check if it retracts properly. If it doesn't fully retract or gets stuck, repeat the process of pulling the belt out and guiding it back into the retractor until it retracts smoothly.
6. Replace the covering: Once the belt is properly retracted, reattach any plastic panel or trim piece that you removed earlier. Make sure it is secured properly and fits flush with the surrounding area.

If you are unable to successfully retract the shoulder belt using these steps, it's recommended to consult the owner's manual of your Buick Riviera or contact a professional mechanic or automotive technician for further assistance. They will have the expertise and tools necessary to address the specific issue with the shoulder belt retraction in your vehicle.

Take the cover off the belt retractor and see if anything is lodged in the retractor, if not then the belt must be replaced, attempt no repair.

of course it possible to access this retractor , you just need to locate the small round circles in the lower part of trim and gently pry the covers off , screws will be evedent , you will need a 6 mm star (five sided) drive socket wrench to remove the retractor though

Please check if your seat belt has "Retractors" or "Automatic Retractor".

Follow these steps to determine if you have a retractor system that will hold car seat securely or your seat belt won't retract as should be:

A. Pull belt all the way out.

b. Allow belt to retract about 6 inches (15 cm).

c. Pull out on belt again.

If belt is locked and you cannot pull the belt out any further, you have an Automatic Locking;

If you pull the belt again all the way out and won't return to normal operation, then the mechanism is damaged, but try first the "retractor" lock to be sure. By Federal Law, nobody will sale a seat belt in a junk yard, try the dealer or order thru the dealer the whole seat belt or the mechanism. I hope that is just a matter of the automatic retractor; you can see this information in your car's manual. Try and we will see.

need to remove the plastic trim where belt retracts to slide up out of way and inspect seat belt retractor drum for debris jamming ratchet or against locking mechanism check belt is not twisted and last look for rust

2005 Towncar SRS Code 33 (3 flash + 3 flash, repeat this set for twice. then Beep 5 times pause x 5 = 25 beeps every 30min).

This means you have problem with left (Driver) side pretentioner (Seat belt retract system).
It doesn't mean physical belt or retract mechanism.It is just bomb wiring which is part of airbag system.
When airbag deploy, passenger must stay tight in seat otherwise body lean to front then slam back to seat by airbag.
if belt is loose or delay to lock, passenger's body rocks back and forth.So, system use small bomb (Fire power) to lock and retract seat belt when airbag deploy.There is small bomb and igniter in part of Seat belt retractor.
Code 33 is warning for this part on 2005 Towncar.(older model is different meaning in Ford/Lincoln, it's possibly passenger side airbag system for earlier model)
Before you work for any part of Airbag system and touch any "Yellow connector", * *Disconnect battery (negative side is good enough) and wait at least 5 min to clear all power in system**.(Airbag store back up power for few minutes to be able to deploy even in case if power disconnected)
by the way, you should move your driver seat most forwarded position before you disconnect battery to make it easy to work with seat belt.
locate driver side seat belt retractor (in center pillar between front and rear door, you may have to fight with weather strip)

Locate Yellow connector on bottom of Seat belt retractor (it's called "Pretensioner")it is located on very bottom of rear side of retractor.
only one yellow connector. (make sure your battery is disconnected)
Check its physical connection or looseness.if connection looks fine, you may have to replace whole seat belt ($180-$200 in Lincoln dealer)
You can check if pretensionor is good or bad by regular tester, but unless you know how, I won't tell (because I don't wan't you to blow out pretentionor).

Sometimes the belt is retracted with a twist in the fabric which will jam the roller inside the retractor assembly. It is necessary to pull hard on the belt to get this twist to pass out far enough to be untwisted. If unable to do so, then replace the retractor assembly as a unit. Good luck!

the seatbelt retractor unit will have to be replaced.

get a retractor from a salvage for half price, you need like a torx 50 or 55 to remove the retractor

you may have to remove the bolt that holds the buckle to the floor. Try to push the belt into the retractor and see if it frees up.

I assume you are saying it is in the locked mode. It has an automatic lock mode for holding a child seat. When the belt is pulled all the way out, it goes into locking mode. You will hear it ratchet when the belt starts going back in.



Section 01-20A: Restraints, Active 1999 Taurus, Sable Workshop Manual
DESCRIPTION AND OPERATION Safety Belt, Lap/Shoulder The dual locking mode retractor on the shoulder belt portion of the combination lap/shoulder safety belt for the front seat passenger and rear seat outboard passengers operates in two ways:

1. In the vehicle sensitive (emergency locking) mode, the shoulder belt retractor will allow the occupant freedom of movement, locking tight only on hard braking, hard cornering or impacts of approximately 8 km/h (5 mph) or more. The front and rear outboard seat belt retractors can also be made to lock by pulling/jerking on the belt.
   

1. In the automatic locking mode, the shoulder belt retractor will be automatically locked and remain locked when the combination lap/shoulder safety belt is buckled and does not allow the occupant freedom of movement. This mode provides tight lap/shoulder belt fit on the occupant and on a child safety seat or infant carrier installation restraint.
   

1. When the combination lap/shoulder belt is unbuckled and allowed to retract completely, the retractor will switch to the vehicle sensitive (emergency) locking mode.
   

WARNING: REAR-FACING INFANT SEATS SHOULD NEVER BE PLACED IN THE FRONT SEATS.
The automatic locking mode must be used when installing a child safety seat on the front passenger seat and rear outboard seats where dual locking retractors are provided