Help. Took apart the Marathon to clean and not sure about placement of harness in back of seat

Hi,
Since I was moving my younger son to the Marathon and needed to lower the harness height, I decided to wash the seat. I went to put it back together and all seemed right until I got to the part where I connect the harness straps behind the seat. I connected them, but the straps were outside all the plastic parts behind the seat. It doesn't look right. I looked in the manual, but I can't tell if the harness connections behind the seat should be out, behind the plastic part that holds the manual or behind both bigger square plastic sections (so the harness connections would sit closest to the back of the seat with plastic between them and the car vs. the harness straps/connection sitting on the outside, furthest from the back of the Marathon seat and against the seat of the car). Does this make any sense? I can't believe I forgot to look before disconnecting it! I guess I just didn't think about it since I haven't had to switch the height of the harness in so long.

Does anyone have a picture of the way the back of the Marathon should look when assembled correctly? Or, does anyone understand what I described above?

No picture of the back of the Marathon, but the straps need to go between the shell of the child restraint and the black plastic cover on the outside back edge of the Marathon. The straps should *not* be touching the vehicle seat.

So there is the white plastic seat, then a black plastic part that moves up and down slightly and then a thicker black plastic section that the manual can snap into. Do I put the harness connection between the white plastic (seat) and both black plastic sections, or between the two black sections. It's seems like I put it between the white and both black sections so that the harness straps lay against the Marathon seat all the way down the back of the seat. Is this correct?

djh said:

It's seems like I put it between the white and both black sections so that the harness straps lay against the Marathon seat all the way down the back of the seat. Is this correct?

Click to expand...

Yes, this is correct.

Great! Thank you.

I also happened to notice that my Latch connectors were on the wrong side! We had a professional car seat installer put the seat in when we bought it and since it's always been a forward facing seat, I never checked it. Plus, I (like so many people) didn't even realize they had to be installed on a certain side that could be different than the way the factory put them in. Had I put the seat in I might have read the manual (like I just did looking for info about the harness connection) and noticed this information. I am just a bit shocked that a professional installer would not have installed it incorrectly.

At least now my younger son will benefit from my newfound safety knowledge.

I meant... I am surprised that a professional installer would have installed it incorrectly.

This is exactly why it is so important for parents to read the manual and try installing the seat *before* they go to an inspection.

A good tech will not only check your install, they will show any possible errors and teach you how to re-install your seat correctly.

Good for you for reading your manual and correcting errors.

ETA: In my experience, a 'professional installer' is normally just out looking for a way to make money *and* very prone to making mistakes. A good tech that teaches you how to install your seat can occasionally still slip up, but they will be teaching and referring to the manual and should be getting it right.

The installer worked for the store where we bought the seat and there was no additional cost for him installing it. He did show us how to install the seat for when we might need to take the seat out. I probably referred to the manual when I did re-install the seat, but never checked the position of the LATCH connectors since the seat was never used rear facing. I assumed (incorrectly) that they were put in properly by the "professional" the first time. My bad.

Thanks again!