Cruise control not working
 

The cruise control failure is often just an underused stalk control. They frequently spend years not being used, and they seem to corrode over slightly on the contacts.

You often find that if you simply slide the switch on top back and forwards for a minute with some vigour, and press the button in and out a good number of times, it will start working. If this fails, it may be time to change the stalk over.

On prefacelift cars, it could be a perished pipe as the cruise system is the older 'sucking' system where a pump sucks the throttle in as required to achieve the speed desired. (you can feel the throttle moving beneath your feet) There is a mechanical failsafe as the tube used for the throttle pulling is physically terminated at the brake pedal. When the brake pedal is pressed, a valve opens and the pressure in the pipe is lost preventing the cruise system from artificially accelerating the car.

If there are any leaks in this pipe system, it will never pressurise and cruise can never function.

This doesnt affect facelift cars as they have electronic throttles, and all the cruise system is built into the ECU - The cruise stalk and its wiring to the ECU is the only possible cause of failure.

The cruise in my 'facelift' car is u/s too!

I specifically asked the vendor if it was working and he assured me it was. Are there any 'on' lights associated with it. It seems totally dead.:eek:

There are no lights, and on a facelift car, the stalk is the only component to cruise, so you've nothing to loose thrashing the buttons about vigourously trying to clean up the contacts. Alternative is a replacement stalk....

Not sure how it feels in the facelift, but in mine, you feel the pedal 'tighten' when you engage cruise.

Sometimes drops out when I try to increase the speed on the stalk, but a minor niggle.

The prefacelift had a mechnical cruise that physically moved the throttle cable, so you will feel the pedal move. This is normal.

Post facelift, its drive by wire, there is no throttle cable, so the pedal wont show any feedback. The cruise function is built into the engine ECU.

Its quite common for cruise to drop out when trying to increase speed, I've noticed it on a few cars, so you're not alone....

That's exactly what mine does...i just end up turning the cruise on, off but never using the increase speed function - when i do, it stops the cruise altogether.

I can't get the cruise to work again unless i turn of the ignition and restart the car again. It was never an issue though - it just meant you needed to avoid increasing the cruise speed! +++

-Oli

Ian

Thanks! I rattled the ON/OFF switch and prodded the SET button furiously and, after a while, it started working!:)

I'll never use it, but you know how annoying it is to have something you know is u/s.

The 97 one is still u/s tho.:(

Oh yeah! I'm going to abuse my cruise control switches! :)

It either fixes them, or they get replaced, so as noted, no loss either way..

I suppose I could develop carpel tunnel however if I cycle the switches too much...:tuttut:

I had a selection of those odd symptoms a while back; replacing the cruise stalk fixed them all. +++

Would be very interested to see how you get the stalk apart, as I haven't been brave enough to try yet...

Zip