FORD ESCORT 1997 7.G Repair Manual

The short plastic boot on the front
safety belt at the passenger
inboard buckle location covers an
energy absorbing sew pattern on
the safety belt. In the event of a
collision, the sew pattern may
release, and the orange portion of
the warning label may become
visible. If this occurs, the safety
belt and buckle must be replaced.
Failure to follow these
instructions will affect the
performance of the safety belts
and increase the risk of personal
injury.
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61

SAFETY BELT INDICATOR
LIGHT AND WARNING CHIME
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 key is
turned to ON...The safety belt indicator
illuminates for one to two minutes
and the warning chime sounds for
4-8 seconds.
The driver's side safety belt is
buckled while the indicator light is
illuminated and the warning
chime is sounding...The safety belt indicator light and
the warning chime turn off.
The driver's safety belt is buckled
before the ignition key is turned
to ON...The safety belt indicator light and
warning chime remain off.
AIR BAG PRECAUTIONS
Your vehicle is equipped with an
air bag supplemental restraint
system (SRS) designed to work
with the safety belts to help
protect you and your right front
seat passenger in the event of a
collision.
All occupants of the
vehicle, including the
driver, should always wear their
safety belts, even when an air
bag SRS is provided.
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62

Do not place objects or
mount equipment on or
near the air bag cover on the
steering wheel or in front seat
areas that may come into contact
with a deploying air bag. Failure
to follow this instruction may
increase the risk of personal
injury in the event of a collision.
Do not attempt to service,
repair, or modify the air
bag SRS or its fuses. See your
Ford or Lincoln-Mercury dealer.
AIR BAG SYSTEM
DESCRIPTION
The air bags and their
corresponding warning and
information labels are found in the
following locations:
The air bag system activates in
collisions more severe than hitting
a parked vehicle (of similar size
and weight) head-on at
approximately 20 km/h (13 mph).
This activation speed may vary if
your vehicle is involved in a
collision with something that will
move or deform and according to
the angle of impact. The air bag is
not designed to inflate in rollovers,
side impacts, or rear impacts.
Air bags and air bag equipped
vehicles should be disposed of only
by qualified service personnel
using Ford approved procedures.
The system consists of two parts:
HI LOOFF*A/C*MAX
A/CTUNE
DISCS

SEEK
TUNE
SCAN
EJ REW FF
BAL BASSTREBFADE TAPE
CD AM
FM
–+1
SIDE 1-22
345
COMP1
SIDE 1-2VOL–
PUSH ONLMIRRORR00000000002030405060
70
80
90
10 0
11 020 40608010 0
12 0
16 0
18 0 140
200FUEL FILLCHEF1/22
13RPM x 1000RSM
SET
ACC
CST OFF ONOFFINT
1 OFF MIST
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63

²The driver air bag in the middle
of the steering wheel and the
passenger air bag above the
glove compartment.
²The electrical system, made up
of impact sensors, a diagnostic
module, and a backup power
supply.
The air bags inflate within a
fraction of a second after air bag
sensors detect a severe frontal
collision. Gas generators within the
air bags fill the air bags with a
non-toxic, non-flammable gas.
After the vehicle occupants have
impacted the air bags, the gas
empties through holes in the air
bags and the air bags deflate. You
may notice smoke and smell the
escaping gas after the air bags
deflate. This is normal.
You and your passengermustwear
your safety belts in order for the
air bag system to operate
effectively.
AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT AND
WARNING CHIME
When you turn the ignition key to
the ON position, the air bag system
performs a self-check of the:
²air bag sensors
²air bag module
²air bag inflators
²available battery power
²air bag warning light
Following a successful system
self-check, the
warning light
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64

in the instrument cluster
illuminates for approximately six
seconds to indicate that the
system is functional.
If you hear a group of five beeps,
or if the
warning light does
not illuminate, stays lit, or flashes,
the air bag system requires
immediate service. Have the
vehicle serviced by your dealer.
CHILD RESTRAINT
PRECAUTIONS
You are required by law to use
safety restraints for children in the
United States and Canada. If small
children ride in your vehicle
(generally children who are four
years of age or younger and who
weigh 18 kg [40 lb] or less), you
must put them in safety seats
made specially for children. Check
your local and state laws for
specific requirements regarding the
safety of your children.
Never let a passenger hold
a child on his or her lap
while the vehicle is moving. The
passenger cannot protect the
child from injury in a collision.
Always follow the instructions and
warnings that come with any infant
or child restraint you might use.
If possible, place children in the
rear seat of your vehicle. Accident
statistics suggest that children are
safer when properly restrained in
rear seating positions than when
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65

they are restrained in front seating
positions.
Rear-facing infant seats
should never be placed in
the front seat.
CHILDREN AND SAFETY BELTS
Children who are too large for
child safety seats (as specified by
the manufacturer of your child
safety seat) should always wear
safety belts.
Follow all the important safety
restraint and air bag precautions
that apply to adult passengers in
your vehicle.
If the shoulder belt portion of a
combination lap and shoulder belt
can be positioned so it does not
cross or rest in front of the child's
face or neck, the child should wear
the lap and shoulder belt. Moving
the child closer to the center of
the vehicle may help to provide a
good shoulder belt fit.
To improve the fit of lap and
shoulder belts on children who
have outgrown child safety seats,
Ford recommends use of a
belt-positioning booster seat that is
labelled as conforming to all
Federal motor vehicle safety
standards. Belt-positioning booster
seats raise the child and provide a
shorter, firmer seating cushion that
encourages safer seating posture
and better fit of lap and shoulder
belts on the child. A
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66

belt-positioning booster should be
used if the shoulder belt rests in
front of the child's face or neck, or
if the lap belt does not fit snugly
on both thighs, or if the thighs are
too short to let the child sit all the
way back on the seat cushion
when the lower legs hang over the
edge of the seat cushion. You may
wish to dicuss the specific needs of
your child with your pediatrician.
CHILDREN AND INFANT OR
CHILD SAFETY SEATS
Carefully follow all of the
manufacturer's instructions
included with the safety seat you
put in your vehicle. If you do not
install and use the safety seat
properly, the child may be
injured in a sudden stop or
collision.
When installing a child safety seat:
²use the correct safety belt
buckle for that seating position.
²make sure the tongue is
securely fastened in the buckle.
²keep the buckle release button
pointing up and away from the
safety seat, with the tongue
between the child seat and the
release button, to prevent
accidental unbuckling.
²place seatbacks in the upright
position.
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67

²put the safety belt in the
automatic locking mode. Refer
toUsing the automatic locking
modein this chapter.
Installing child safety seats in
combination lap and shoulder
belt seating positions
1. Position the child safety seat in
a seat with a combination lap and
shoulder belt.
If you choose to install a child
safety seat in the front passenger
seat, move the seat as far back as
possible.
2. Pull down on the shoulder belt
and then grasp the shoulder belt
and lap belt together.
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68

3. While holding the shoulder and
lap belt portions together, route
the tongue through the child seat
according to the child seat
manufacturer's instructions. Be
sure the belt webbing is not
twisted.
4. Insert the belt tongue into the
proper buckle until you hear and
feel the latch engage. Make sure
the tongue is latched securely by
pulling on it.
5. To put the retractor in the
automatic locking mode, grasp the
shoulder portion of the belt and
pull downward until all of the belt
is extracted.
6. Allow the belt to retract. The
belt will click as it retracts to
indicate it is in the automatic
locking mode.
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69

7. Pull the lap belt portion across
the child seat toward the buckle
and pull up on the shoulder belt
while pushing down on the child
seat to tighten the belt as much as
possible.
8. Allow the safety belt to retract
to remove any slack in the belt.
9. Before placing the child in the
seat, forcibly tilt the seat from side
to side and forward and back to
make sure the seat is securely held
in place.
10. Try to pull the belt out of the
retractor to make sure the
retractor is in the automatic
locking mode (you should not be
able to pull more belt out). If the
retractor is not locked, unbuckle
the belt and repeat steps two
through nine.
²Check to make sure the child
seat is properly secured before
each use.
Installing child safety seats in
the rear center seating position
1. Tip the tongue and pull to
lengthen the lap belt.
2. Place the child safety seat in the
center seating position.
3. Route the lap belt through the
child safety seat according to the
child seat manufacturer's
instructions.
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70