1979 Mark V Seat Belt Chime Inop

Hi Bill,
I’m trying to repair the seat belt chime in my Mark V. I removed the chime and cleaned the rod that hits the metal bar that makes the chime noise, also bench tested it with 12 volts and was unable to make it work. I looked in the 79 shop manual and read that the chime works through a thermal timer that gets ground from the left seat belt re-tractor switch. I assume that switch is located on the seat belt re-tractor that is mounted on the floor. I removed the floor mounted seat belt re-tractor and found a plug on the re-tractor with no wire going into it. The “fasten belts” light on the dash is also inoperative and I’m wondering if the seat belt re-tractor switch is the culprit or one of the culprits for the chime and “fasten belts” light not working. Also did i bench test the chime correctly or is there a different way to do that.
Thanks,
Matt
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Hi Matt –
Some of these electrical problems can be time consuming to diagnose and repair. You may need the correct wiring diagram to do this properly.
I cannot tell you if you have done the chime test correctly at this time because I do not know how you tested it. Please send me the page number from your 1979 FoMoCo manual that you used for this test.
During this era many owners had the chimes and buzzers on their vehicles disabled and some of the parts were subsequently discarded because they found the sound annoying and distracting.
If you wish we can offer to “check out” your chime unit here at Lincoln Land if you are unsure of it’s condition.
Sincerely,
Bill
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