Anyone fixed a cruise control before?

Nords said:
For $90, one of them tracked it down to a shorted bulb socket.  The left rear turn signal/parking light/brake light socket was shorting the circuit when activated by the turn signal, the light switch, or the brake pedal.
Click to expand...

Congratulations. Did the electrician tell you what method he used to locate the problem?
 
Sam said:
Congratulations.  Did the electrician tell you what method he used to locate the problem?
Click to expand...
Yeah, experience. He has far more of it than I do, and he was worth every penny.

He knew that a lot of circuits overlap in that one component, and he's seen the problem before. But now I have too!

Of course I'll be able to help him out the next time he needs to start up a nuclear reactor or launch a torpedo...
 
cute fuzzy bunny said:
Just a little note...Ford widened their cruise control recall today to cover a bunch more trucks due to the cruise control module catching fire, sometimes hours after the vehicles been parked.

As I mentioned above, its the SAME PART they've put in many, many vehicles. I would imagine the same risk exists in any ford product with that cruise control module. They just dont feel like paying for those to be replaced yet...
Click to expand...

FOXNews.com - Ford to Recall 3.6 Million Vehicles Due to Fire Risk - Business And Money | Business News | Financial News

It seems like they feel like it now.

There are still quite a few models that use the same switch, but still arent included even in this 3rd round of recalls.

Maybe if they hold out long enough, the affected cars will all be off the road.
 
cute fuzzy bunny said:
Maybe if they hold out long enough, the affected cars will all be off the road.
Click to expand...

Probably so since some of them burn up before they wear out...

I wonder what percentage of recalled vehicles still on the road actually respond to a recall. I have a 98 F150 that was recalled for this switch a couple of years ago and I haven't bothered to take it in. At least not yet. Too busy. ;)
 
cute fuzzy bunny said:
It seems like they feel like it now.
There are still quite a few models that use the same switch, but still arent included even in this 3rd round of recalls.
Maybe if they hold out long enough, the affected cars will all be off the road.
Click to expand...
Scumbags. They're right, our model turns 14 years old next month. Cruise control worked briefly for a couple months after my last post to this thread and then just quit again. I'm almost too disgusted to berate Ford over this recall.

Infrastructure rot is accelerating. We left the car in the airport's long-term lot for 10 days last month and the battery was dead as a doornail when we got out of baggage claim. After I got a jumper it recharged fine so I was afraid that we had a wiring ground somewhere.

A couple days later, driving at night, I realized that the glovebox was glowing through the dashboard. Turns out that the plastic light switch has crumbled and was leaving the glovebox light on all the time. So now I have another gizmo to add to my pile of plastic parts needing replacement. Guess I'll be visiting the local dealer for the right numbers and then eBay for the right prices.

UncleHoney said:
Maybe this will help. :D
Click to expand...
Excellent, thanks. These don't always make it into a Chilton's...
 
The cruise control on my 1941 Cad coupe (bought for $62.50 in 1966) was easy to work on. It was basically a pull cable like a manual choke cable. While it had it's limitations, it beat placing a stick between the throttle pedal and the seat (hard to adjust).
 
Nords said:
Yeah, experience. He has far more of it than I do, and he was worth every penny.
Click to expand...
Smart move........sometimes it pays to get an expert.....

Of course I'll be able to help him out the next time he needs to start up a nuclear reactor or launch a torpedo...
Click to expand...

I'll DEFINITELY keep that in mind.........:eek: Can you launch Poseidon or Trident missiles too?

And..what's the REAL top underwater speed of the Los Angeles class attack sub? Surely not 25 knots, I KNOW it's a lot faster than that.......;)
 
Haven't read whole thread, so apologies if this is redundant or
doesn't make sense here ...

My cruise control went out, and it turned out to be a little piece of
plastic on the clutch pedal arm, that pshes agaainst the switch that
disables the CC when you depress the clutch. (The brake pedal
has a similar switch). Fortunately I am a shade-tree mechanic
and repaired it myself. I WAS tempted to take it to a garage and
see what THEY wanted to do :-(
 
FinanceDude said:
Smart move........sometimes it pays to get an expert.....
Click to expand...
The problem is that the cruise control doesn't give an error code when it stops working (or when it's not working). So there's probably a mechanical issue, but again the car is nearly 14 years old.

I'll be at the dealer to find a bucket of plastic parts so I might as well ask about the recall.

FinanceDude said:
I'll DEFINITELY keep that in mind.........:eek: Can you launch Poseidon or Trident missiles too?
Click to expand...
As a matter of fact. But Trident missiles have been considerably dumbed down and it's just not what it used to be during the Cold War.

FinanceDude said:
And..what's the REAL top underwater speed of the Los Angeles class attack sub? Surely not 25 knots, I KNOW it's a lot faster than that.......;)
Click to expand...
My old LAFAYETTE-class boomer could do 21 knots going downhill with a tail current, and the shaking was so bad that cabinets would pop off their rivets.

A 688's "REAL" speed is "considerably in excess of 25 knots", although not as fast as Joe Buff's submarines. It depends on water temperature, hull cleanliness, operating depth, and [-]who's watching the reactor power gauge [/-]* the calibration of the reactor power meter.

I'm at least five years out of date. Ducted propulsors, VIRGINIA-class propulsion plants, better screw design... I might be way low and Soviet ALFA-class subs might not hold the speed record anymore.

*Whoops, all the old analog meters have been converted to digital gages now. Can't get away with viewer's parallax anymore...
 
the glovebox was glowing through the dashboard. Turns out that the plastic light switch has crumbled and was leaving the glovebox light on all the time. So now I have another gizmo to add to my pile of plastic parts needing replacement. Guess I'll be visiting the local dealer for the right numbers and then eBay for the right prices.
Click to expand...

I think you're forgetting something: you don't really need a glovebox light.
 
Just unscrew the bulb and put in a small flashlight from the dollar store.

Jeez man, you're slipping on the LBYM.
 
TromboneAl said:
I think you're forgetting something: you don't really need a glovebox light.
Click to expand...
cute fuzzy bunny said:
Just unscrew the bulb and put in a small flashlight from the dollar store.
Jeez man, you're slipping on the LBYM.
Click to expand...
Better still, I unplugged the electrical connector and taped it off.

As for the glovebox light, you guys are confusing LBYM with marital harmony...
 
I just checked, and neither of our cars has a glove compartment light. So I guess the Taurus is one of those fancy/schmancy cars.
 
Last edited:
Thats not what your other FA buddies are talking about when they mention "snorting coke"... ;)
 
cute fuzzy bunny said:
So whats your wife keeping in the glove compartment that requires lighting?
Click to expand...
Ah, but to gain that knowledge we must first seek enlightenment!

TromboneAl said:
I just checked, and neither of our cars has a glove compartment light. So I guess the Taurus is one of those fancy/schmancy cars.
Click to expand...
"Fancy", yeah, that's what I bet you were thinking when we were cruising Waikiki with its three delaminating tires... but we fixed that when one of them finally went flat.

I think an engineer decided that a glovebox light would let the passenger find their gloves without having to turn on a ceiling light and affect the driver's night vision.

Good point, though, all I'm doing is collecting plastic scraps of crumbling infrastructure that don't appear to impact the car's operation. Repairing/replacing them wouldn't exactly improve the car's resale value and would probably be more hassle to find, buy, & install than it's worth.
 
cute fuzzy bunny said:
Thats not what your other FA buddies are talking about when they mention "snorting coke"... ;)
Click to expand...

Who says I hang around with other advisors? I don't have a McMansion, a leased BMW, or an inground swimming pool, so I don't fit in..........:D
 
Nords said:
I think an engineer decided that a glovebox light would let the passenger find their gloves without having to turn on a ceiling light and affect the driver's night vision.
Click to expand...

So how often do you use gloves in hawaii?

(we're gonna get to the bottom of this mystery sooner or later)

FinanceDude said:
Who says I hang around with other advisors? I don't have a McMansion, a leased BMW, or an inground swimming pool, so I don't fit in..........:D
Click to expand...

So what you're saying is that you stink at this job? :duh:>:D:)
 
cute fuzzy bunny said:
So how often do you use gloves in hawaii?
(we're gonna get to the bottom of this mystery sooner or later)
Click to expand...
Eh, you're right.

Screw it. We're not gonna fix the glovebox latch. Or the broken headrest posts. Or the broken ventilation louvers. Or the cruise control recall. Or the rotting plastic on the airbag covers. Or the crumbled plastic pieces of interior trim. Or the dirt-etched headlight covers. Or replace the missing wheel cover.

Gosh, with over 100K miles on it I might not ever change the brake pads or the coolant or the brake fluid or the transmission fluid again either. And the "new" switch (eBay) for the rear wiper will last longer than the car. Heck, I spliced in the new brake-light sockets less than a year ago.

I'll probably scrape the surf wax off the upholstery and I'll ask our kid to vacuum out the ten pounds of sand she brings into it every month. I might epoxy a broken lock knob, but its electric button works just fine.

After all, it's not like I need this particular vehicle to be in perfect working order to answer flank bells or go to test depth. And I certainly have better uses for my time & money!

Anyone need parts from a lovingly-used 1993 Ford Taurus station wagon?
 
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