Excellent! I'd be tempted to buy the old mousetrack from you if the postage costs weren't so crazy (to Australia) just so I could pull it apart to see what makes it tick. I still think the microswitches in the mousetrack could be a problem (even more so now). Or it could be the motor and mechanicals playing up and not driving the mouse all the way to the ends of the tracks (where the microswitches would sense position to extinguish the light). If you have time, would you be able to take the cover off the old track and photograph what the wires are attached to? The old track will either be a write-off or a $10 fix. I could simply see no wiring attached to the lap belt... only to the back-up receptacle.
I will certainly photograph the guts of it. If we can find a cheap way to get the track to you I will certainly give it to you. I suspect something with the motor actually. In its last act of defiance, the mouse would run a short distance and stop. Then after a cycle or two of the ignition off / on and the door opening, it would work fine for a few cycles.
Did you check the connector under the seat. I mentioned it but never heard it was checked. My wires pull out of the plug real easy. In fact if I slide the passenger seat all the way back the seat belt light comes on and the belts do not operate. Slide the seat up one notch and it works, the connector is not long enough and sliding the seat back stretches the wire enough to break connection in the plug. In fact I can literally pull the end out, its on my list to do to lengthen the wires and put in a new connector.
That's awesome! And perseverance wins again. Maybe create a video for YT since very few people have seen a working mouse belt system?
Not only did I check it, I disconnected it and reconnected it with conductive grease. I pulled the wire back under the carpet with the seat out to check for breaks since the seat track had been sitting on it. There was a plastic sleeve over the two wires which was pretty squashed. I cut the sleeve away carefully in the squashed area and viewed the individual wires which appeared to be in good condition. At that point I yanked out the old track and installed the new used one I had just gotten. As I said, the replacement mouse is healthy.
P.S. I did check on shipping from Philadelphia to Australia for the dead mouse. I got a quote of $ 268.00 USD from IPS. Seems like a lot for just a post-mortem.
Thanks for checking Robin, but that does seem a little crazy (especially now that the Australian dollar is only US 69c). Even if I could fix it, that's another $268 to send it back to the states where someone could use it. Wondering if anyone in the US has an interest in resurrecting it?
Electrical problems would still be possible. The mousetrack assembly contains the motor, and 3 or 4 microswitches. Quality microswitches may cost less than $40 and motors can always be reconditioned. The gearbox and drive might be the only non-repairable part.
Interesting ok thought those were separate good to know! Sent from my LM-Q710(FGN) using FerrariChat.com mobile app
Well, I'm basing my comments on what seems be for sale on eBay (second hand). Ferrari were originally offering the forward end microswitch assembly as a separate-to-buy item, as well as the microswitch (and short harness) for the back-up buckle. The one or two internal micro switches would be included.... as would the motor. I'm wondering what bits were included in Robin's purchase.
I can't say for sure - mechanical or electrical - but the symptom was that the mouse would start to run and freeze a few inches from home base. Then after a few door open cycles and ignition on and off, it would start and work great for a half dozen full cycles - then repeat not running the full course. According to the date stamp on the old unit it was manufactured in 1996 which tells me it was a replacement since the car is 1994 model manufactured in 1993. The unit that I just installed was date stamped 1993 and most slightly different in the area of the home base micro switches. To expand on Qavion's musings, I would be willing to give the retired unit to a fellow Ferrari - ite if someone would like to fix / examine it. I would rather replace a clutch than chase electrons.
Oh, and to put a finer point on Ferrarium's question, I got a plug and play assembly. Take out about 4 screws, one large bolt and unplug and plug in two times and I was back in business. I was pleasantly surprised that the multi-conductor harness to unit plugs by the motor were compatible!
"By the motor"? Now I'm confused. Which plug is this? Is this the type of mousetrack you bought? (see link) GTB/GTS Mousetrack That's a photo I borrowed .... Hope it's not copyrighted.
The next mouse-cident I have, I am binning the whole system. These are too complicated, undocumented and finnicky to warrant this kind of maintenance attention. Moreover they do nothing to make the car safer despite the government mandate for the equipment. Glad you figured it out but what a hassle!
The connector I was referring to is the 9 pin. When installed in the car the motor and gearbox(?) etc. are all kind of scrunched in behind the bulkhead cover behind the seats. The assembly shown is very similar to the one I replaced.
With a few more problems like this, the system will be fully documented Knowing the wiring hookup in the centre part of the mousetrack will solve few operational mysteries. Also, if we can find a few manufacturer's names and part numbers on smaller components, that will be a bonus. Can the control units be interchanged for faultfinding purposes? Doesn't the driver's handbook have anything relating to the mousetrack?
Ian, The owner's manual offers little except how to use it. I will attempt to lay out the dead mouse on a work surface to get some decent pix of the detail and manufacturer's data this weekend.
If you have the time, Robin, would you be able to list the wire colours on the 9 pin plug as mentioned in post 17. I've looked at a dozen photos of this plug and I still can't figure out what the wire colours are on all the pins. https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/posts/146601497/ The other problem is figuring out how the 6 wires on the 9 pin plug become 10 on the mousetrack. I'm also trying to figure out what the microswitch on the backup receptacle does. If it doesn't inhibit the light, then it must be for stopping the motor running when the door is opened or closed. Now that you have a fully functioning system, this will be easy to confirm. Or are you still having problems with one side side? Maybe there's a clutch in the mousetrack? I'm wondering how the mouse locks in position with enough strength to hold up in crashes. Is it purely a gear ratio thing or is there a brake/clutch mechanism? The drive cable from the motor to the mousetrack looks quite flat. Are there two small steel cables inside?
A few more pieces of the jigsaw puzzle have been found, thanks to Robin ("flying butress"). He did some wiring checks on his old mousetrack at my "pleading". Here's a diagram based on Robin's initial tests. Image Unavailable, Please Login With the mouse at the forward end of the track (which is what the manual calls "Station A"), the microswitch at that position showed closed circuit, so when the mouse arrives, it closes a "normally open" (NO) microswitch. At the seat end of the mousetrack (which I call "homebase"), there are two microswitches which are accessed by a couple of phillips screws. The upper one appears to be normally open (until, presumably, the mouse arrives). The bottom one appears to be normally closed until the mouse arrives. Bear in mind that the mousetrack that Robin was working on is intermittently broken. He'd have to push each microswitch to make sure they changed state. The function of the microswitch on the backup receptacle still isn't making any sense to me. From photos it looks like a "normally closed" microswitch (until the belt is inserted). It appears to be in parallel with the upper homebase microswitch which is a "normally open" microswitch. As it stands, there will always be a closed circuit between pin 3 and pin 2 (earth) with the belt not plugged into the back-up (emergency) position. Perhaps the backup receptacle actually has a "normally open" microswitch? How accessible is the plug below the backup receptacle (at the side of the seat) to run wiring checks on the receptacle microswitch?
