Passenger Side Seatbelt Signal Going Off

[Mass. Wine Guy]

Ah, the first snafu. Tonight when I started up to drive home from work, the red seatbelt dash light came on. The orange light indicating that the passenger side airbag was off wasn’t lit up.

What could be the reason and do I need to spend money to fix it?

UPDATE: Just started the car after removing my (what I was sure was a lightweight) day pack from the seat, as well as unplugged the phone charge cable. No seatbelt alarm.

That sensor is almost as sensitive as me.

 

[hskrdu]

There is a sensor in the seat. Weight and other things can/will trigger it.

 

[Mass. Wine Guy]

I figured a sensor in the seat. Didn’t realize it was so delicate.

 

[ARDailey]

….more an undocumented feature. My cell phone sets it off at times while a bag of groceries doesn’t.
Now, how long will it take until someone chastises us for not properly securing our cargo…..

 

[Mass. Wine Guy]

Guess I’ll just have to buckle my day pack in securely.

 

[740GLE]

it's a capacitive sensor, not a resistive strain gauge sensor, so a light weight of a phone or electronic device is enough to mess up the signals and cause the seat belt alarm.

But the seat belt alarm can also be coded away, as who needs to be reminded to wear a seatbelt?

What next, an alarm for reminding us to not forget your phone? or what about an alarm about the child in the back seat?