Cruise Doesn't Work - what to check?
 

Since i have gotten the car i don't think the cruise control has worked. Not sure why or where to start looking to fix it. First think i know i need to do is check fuses as I'm sure there is one for the cruise motor. However i have no lights on the dash, and no error codes thrown. So where do i go from there to try and get the cruise working again?

I assume this is an f-body? Three obvious things:

- Fuse
- Connection at the throttle body (plastic clip sometimes breaks)
- Electrical connector at the unit (mounted on the driver's side frame behind driver's side headlight....access through the plastic panel underneath)

What connection is at the throttle body for the curise? are you talking about the throttle cable connection?

I thought the cruise control unit is that black cylinder looking thing on the passenger side that the throttle cables run into, or is that for traction control? What are you talking about that will be under the headlight on the drivers side?

thank you for the help! I will be checking these things out this week.

I have the same issue.. subbed hoping to fix my cruise too! will check the other places like at the TB and under that panel he is speaking of.

Yes, if you have traction control (ASR), then the cruise cable goes into that first. The cruise control goed directly to the throttle body if you do not have traction control.

When I shift thru the gears real hard sometimes my cruise goes out. All I need to do is pull the fuse out for a moment then put back in. Like it resets it.

does it possibly have a tick adjustable master cylinder in it??? If so then the cruise switch that is up against the clutch pedal may need to be adjusted if the pedal is not at stock height

when my cruise stopped working I went to the junk yard and got a used control stick ya know the part the sticks out of the steering wheel controls the washer and the turn signals. Mine just wore out. For me it was that simple.

I checked the fuses. Turns out the cruise fuse is also for the a/c and it works, so fuse wasn't bad. Pulled it out and swapped it with another fuse just to make sure.

I traced the cable all the way back to the box on the drivers side. I did not know that thing was down there but the cable was pluged into it. Also looked at the throttle body but i believe everything was plugged into it correctly.

Is there a way to see if the cruise control box is any good? The stick on the column could be worn out I guess. There isn't many junk yards around here so its hard to find parts to swap with.

ebay all day long

i would check the switches in front of the pedals.

pretty easy to check and adjust.

what are the switches in front of the pedals? and how do you adjust them?

There is a switch mounted near the brake pedal that inactivates the cruise control when you touch the brakes. There is some adjustment with the switch. They are made out of plastic. You should be able to adjust it slightly and see if that is the issue.

There are two switches that touch the brake pedal, in my 1998 the cruise is the top one with the single plug in connecter.

Oh okay the brake switches. i was thinking you were talking about switches for the gas pedle.

I will check the brake switches and make sure they are adjusted and working properly. To eliminate them I might try zip tye that switch so it won't be kicking out cruise at all and go from there. thanks for the ideas i will check it out tonight and hopefully get it fixed.

Better way. Unhook the wire from the switch. Put a multimeter on the contacts and test resistance with the pedal up. Should be a low ohm number. Then you don't risk forgetting cruise is on and over-revving your engine.

Alright, so i checked the wires at the cruise control box and they were plugged in tight. Checked the switch on the brake pedal. It has continuity and then when i press the brake the circuit is broken so i assume it is working properly. Checked the throttle body but all the wires were plugged in. All it really has is tps and some other sensor, i'm guessing vaccum of some sort.

Is there anything else to really check? I hate to just start replacing parts. I have no codes or anything for the cruise, i know the vss is working as the speedo is and i can log it when driving....

If the car is an M6, there is also a kill switch on the clutch pedal arm. You can adjust it by screwing it in and out. If it's screwed too far out, the pedal is contacting it all the time and killing the cruise.

Its an auto. There are two switches on it. i only checked the top one as that's what people said was used for the cruise circuit. I could hear the other one click though as i moved the brake pedal so i assumed it was working.

Anyone have anything else to check that could be causing cruise to not work?