button in engine bay

i've noticed on many 74 mavs they have a box in the engine bay with a button in the middle that is depressed when the hood is down.what is it for? does it have to do something with the yellow seatbelt box?

 

Hood light?
Dan

 

thats what i thought, but none of the cars(at the junkyard) had one...or if they did they were removed before i saw them

 

Seatbelt Interlock OVeride Switch ...

 

I got to pay more attention, I dont think I have ever seen one of those.
Dan

 

Only on 74's ... if you've never had a 74 you've probably never seen one ...

 

My old '74 had one too. Figured it was a broken underhood starter switch that didn't work or something. What exactly does this seat belt override switch do?

 

The over-ride switch does not come close to touching the hood.

 

i think it was somthing to do with : if your seat belt was not fasened the car wouldnot start and the red butten was to buypass the box if it wasnt working. if im wrong on this plz correct me

 

i tryed to remove the yellow box and mave wouldent work without it (dont remove box )

 

The owners manual and Chilton's has info about it ... basically it allowed a mechanic to start the engine while working under the hood even if there was nobody sitting in the car with the seatbelt buckled. Most peopled disconnected the harness under the seat long ago to bypass it. Chilton's also has directions on how to bypass the feature by rewiring the underhood switch.

 

cool, thanks Dan...i knew it had to do something with that yellow box