I have a 1996 Ranger, extended cab, and the drivers side seat belt, with the latch on it, will not lock the seat belt in place. (the button that you push must be missing the spring) I have removed the seat belt, but there is a wire attached to it. I am assuming it is for the seat belt light.
Where is the plug for that wire? It goes under the carpet so I can't figure out where to disconnect it. Any answers? Thanks

 

The hard shell connector on the seat belt wires is just under the carpet near the hole in the carpet that the wires go into. the harness is long enough to put the connector out from under the carpet so you can get to it and release the connector. You can also repair your seat belt buckle without removing it from your truck. Just stick a small flat blade screw driver under the back edge of the seat belt buckle bezel and pry it off. A replacement buckle spring is very easy to find in a wreaking yard because Ford used the same TRW seat belt buckles from the 70s-90s . 97 was the last year the were used in Ranger. 98 went to the plastic buckles.

 

I'm having the same exact problem. I figured there's a less expensive option than replacing the whole belt, thanks for the info XLTsplash,
about the buckle style being the same across years. I'll check the local wrecking yards.

 

I changed all of the seat belt buckle cover and release buttons with parts from older Fords because they looked better. My 97 Ranger had black buckle covers and a red release buttons with the word press on it. The older Fords had nickle color buckle covers with silver and black star burst release buttons. I was a cheap, easy upgrade.