User's Manual Part 1

Chapter 1 Using the MC3 System
About the Seat Belt Pretensioner
The seat belt pretensioner makes the modern three-point safety harness in your vehicle
function similarly to an old-fashioned lap seat belt. By using the pretensioner mechanism to
cinch the mounting hardware very firmly into the junction of the seat back and the seat pad,
the pretensioner and radio mount restricts potentially hazardous equipment movement
during impact.
Modern three-point harnesses are designed to be forgiving to occupants to lessen injury. By
preventing the pay-out of seat belt webbing designed to protect people and instead using the
pretensioner to immobilize equipment, a higher degree of protection is provided in the event
of a collision.
Through standardized crash testing of the Mobile Collection system, Itron has determined
that preventing extensive rotation of the Mobile Collection equipment in a driver's side
impact reduced the stress on mechanical systems to acceptable levels. Decreasing the
amount of equipment rotation towards the driver prevents the fasteners holding the GoBook
and its dock to the sled from separating in a crash.
The seat belt pretensioner can be used in vehicles equipped with single-pass and multiple-
pass seat-belt tongues.
To install the seat belt pretensioner
• Follow the procedures in the Mobile Collector Sled and Pretensioner Installation
Guide (TDC-0708-xxx)
. A DVD showing the installation is also included with your
kit. These materials are located in a plastic sleeve on the underside of the sled.
4 Hardware Installation Guide