Ford Excursion (2000 year). Manual — part 23

Safety belt warning light and indicator chime

The seat belt warning light illuminates in the instrument cluster and a
chime sounds to remind the occupants to fasten their safety belts.

Conditions of operation

If...

Then...

The driver’s safety belt is not
buckled before the ignition switch
is turned to the ON position...

The safety belt warning light
illuminates1-2 minutes and the
warning chime sounds 4-8 seconds.

The driver’s safety belt is buckled
while the indicator light is
illuminated and the warning chime
is sounding...

The safety belt warning light and
warning chime turn off.

The driver’s safety belt is buckled
before the ignition switch is turned
to the ON position...

The safety belt warning light and
indicator chime remain off.

Belt minder (if equipped)

The Belt Minder feature is a supplemental warning to the safety belt
warning function. This feature provides additional reminders to the
driver that the driver’s safety belt is unbuckled by intermittently
sounding a chime and illuminating the safety belt warning lamp in the
instrument cluster.

If...

Then...

The driver’s safety belt is not
buckled before the vehicle has
reached at least 5 km/h (3 mph)
and 1-2 minutes have elapsed
since the ignition switch has been
turned to ON...

The Belt Minder feature is
activated - the safety belt warning
light illuminates and the warning
chime sounds for 6 seconds every
30 seconds, repeating for
approximately 5 minutes or until
safety belt is buckled.

The driver’s safety belt is buckled
while the safety belt indicator light
is illuminated and the safety belt
warning chime is sounding...

The Belt Minder feature will not
activate.

The driver’s safety belt is buckled
before the ignition switch is turned
to the ON position...

The Belt Minder feature will not
activate.

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91

The purpose of the Belt Minder is to remind occasional wearers to wear
safety belts all of the time.

The following are reasons most often given for not wearing safety belts:
(All statistics based on U.S. data)

Reasons given...

Consider...

9Crashes are rare

events

9

36 700 crashes occur every day. The more we
drive, the more we are exposed to

9rare9 events,

even for good drivers. 1 in 4 of us will be
seriously injured in a crash during our
lifetime.

9I’m not going far9 3 of 4 fatal crashes occur within 25 miles of home.
9Belts are

uncomfortable

9

Ford designs its safety belts to enhance comfort. If
you are uncomfortable - try different positions for
the safety belt upper anchorage and seatback
which should be as upright as possible; this can
improve comfort.

9I was in a hurry9 Prime time for an accident. Belt Minder reminds

us to take a few seconds to buckle up.

9Seat belts don’t

work

9

Safety belts, when used properly, reduce risk of
death to front seat occupants by 45% in cars,
and by 60% in light trucks.

9Traffic is light9

Nearly 1 of 2 deaths occur in single-vehicle
crashes, many when no other vehicles are around.

9Belts wrinkle my

clothes

9

Possibly, but a serious crash can do much more
than wrinkle your clothes, particularly if you are
unbelted.

9The people I’m

with don’t wear
belts

9

Set the example, teen deaths occur 4 times more
often in vehicles with TWO or MORE people.
Children and younger brothers/sisters imitate
behavior they see.

9I have an air bag9 Air bags offer greater protection when used with

safety belts. Frontal airbags are not designed to
inflate in rear and side crashes or rollovers.

9I’d rather be

thrown clear

9

Not a good idea. People who are ejected are 40
times more likely to DIE. Safety belts help
prevent ejection, WE CAN’T

9PICK OUR CRASH9.

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92

Do not sit on top a buckled safety belt to avoid the Belt Minder
chime. Sitting on the safety belt will increase the risk of injury in

an accident. To disable (one-time) or deactivate the Belt Minder
feature please follow the directions stated below.

One time disable

Anytime the safety belt is buckled and then unbuckled during an ignition
ON cycle, Belt Minder will be disabled for that ignition cycle only.

Deactivating/activating the belt minder feature

Read steps 1 - 9 thoroughly before proceeding with the
deactivation/activation programming procedure.

The Belt Minder feature can be deactivated/activated by performing the
following procedure:

Before following the procedure, make sure that:
• the parking brake is set
• the gearshift is in P (Park) (automatic transmission).
• the ignition switch is in the OFF position
• all vehicle doors are closed
• the driver’s safety belt is unbuckled
• the parklamps/headlamps are in OFF position (If vehicle is equipped

with Autolamps, this will not affect the procedure.)

To reduce the risk of injury, do not deactivate/activate the Belt
Minder feature while driving the vehicle.

1. Turn the ignition switch to the RUN (or ON) position. (DO NOT
START THE ENGINE)

2. Wait until the safety belt warning light turns off. (Approximately 1–2
minutes)
• Steps 3–5 must be completed within 60 seconds or the procedure will

have to be repeated.

3. Buckle then unbuckle the safety belt three times, ending with the
safety belt unbuckled. This can be done before or during Belt Minder
warning activation.

4. Turn on the parklamps/headlamps, turn off the parklamps/headlamps.

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93

5. Buckle then unbuckle the safety belt three times, ending with the
safety belt unbuckled.
• After step 5 the safety belt warning light will be turned on for three

seconds.

6. Within seven seconds of the safety belt warning light turning off,
buckle then unbuckle the safety belt.
• This will disable Belt Minder if it is currently enabled, or enable Belt

Minder if it is currently disabled.

7. Confirmation of disabling Belt Minder is provided by flashing the
safety belt warning light four times per second for three seconds.

8. Confirmation of enabling Belt Minder is provided by flashing the safety
belt warning light four times per second for three seconds, followed by
three seconds with the safety belt warning light off, then followed by
flashing the safety belt warning light four times per second for three
seconds again.

9. After receiving confirmation, the deactivation/activation procedure is
complete.

Safety belt maintenance

Inspect the safety belt systems periodically to make sure they work
properly and are not damaged. Inspect the safety belts to make sure
there are no nicks, wears or cuts, replacing if necessary. All safety belt
assemblies, including retractors, buckles, front seat belt buckle
assemblies, buckle support assemblies (slide bar-if equipped), shoulder
belt height adjusters (if equipped), shoulder belt guide on seatback (if
equipped), child safety seat tether bracket assemblies (if equipped), and
attaching hardware, should be inspected after a collision. Ford
recommends that all safety belt assemblies used in vehicles involved in a
collision be replaced. However, if the collision was minor and a qualified
technician finds that the belts do not show damage and continue to
operate properly, they do not need to be replaced. Safety belt assemblies
not in use during a collision should also be inspected and replaced if
either damage or improper operation is noted.

Failure to inspect and if necessary replace the safety belt
assembly under the above conditions could result in severe

personal injuries in the event of a collision.

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