cruise control question

[lew]

On my way up to Penetang yesterday morning I drove thru all that snow, ice, slush & slop, then parked the truck all day, and I don't think the temps got above freezing. On the way home last night down the 400, I clicked on the cruise control but it wouldn't engage, infact I tried it a dozen times over the next hour, but nada.

 

I took the truck out earlier this morning and tried it again, and it worked fine, although I never got above 45 KPH

 

I can't imagine why, but is there ANY chance it could have somehow been affected by the slush up under the truck last night ?? I'm assuming the cruise is strictly an internal component, but now I'm not so sure.

 

I'm heading to Windsor this weekend and want the cruise working for the trip, and even though it's covered by warranty, I'm hoping to avoid a wasted day at the dealership.

 

It's a 2005 Safari....any thoughts ??

 

Oh and BTW, this thread is fishing related, because......umm...... I was coming home from a fish'n trip when the problem with my truck occurred.....yeah, that's it

[Greencoachdog]

That's a good question Lew and I really don't care if it's F/R or not. Could you have had the CC turned off?... probably not, but I just thought I'd ask. I'd wait for it to do it once more and then take it to the dealer.

[lew]

Thanks Glen, but it was definetely turned on, I even tried it in "tow haul" mode to see if that made any difference, but nuthin.

 

Maybe a loose fuse ??...... hmmmmm, I'll check that when it gets a bit brighter outside

Edited November 8, 2007 by lew

[Raf]

possibly electrical lew maybe some slush got in there.

 

btw, not a good idea to use cruise on slippery roads. you don't really want the car dictating when to apply more throttle in slippy conditions.

[lew]

Thanks Raf, it was on my way home last night that the problems occured, and the roads were in fine shape by then, definetely good advice though.

 

Hopefully it was just the slush

Edited November 9, 2007 by lew

[HTHM]

Another possibility is that you had a vacum line problem. Of course you could always use youe backup cruise control.......a brick.

[ecmilley]

2005 is an electronic unit lew, and will not work, if say you brake lights are on from a shorted harness or loose bulb, at least this is the simplest and easiest fix

[JohnF]

I had a Safari minivan years ago and if the windshield wipers were turned on the cruise kicked out. I believe it was a safety feature. I don't think I've had it happen on any vehicles in the last 10 years though. Took me a long time to realize what was going on. I thought the cruise was defective. I remember that a Buick I had before that did the same thing but I always thought it was a short.

 

JF

[bigfish1965]

Don't they rely on a transducer to judge speed and acceleration? If so would then slush on the transducer then affect it?

[ecmilley]

no rick the speed sensor isn't really affected it's in the back of the trans and if it was the cause of issues it would also effect the speedo,odo, transmission shift points and it would illuminate the check engine light

[snackpack5150]

I would check the fuse and then the relay which should be located in the engine compartment only problem with the relay is you will need to have it tested.

[OhioFisherman]

Lew mine is a 2000, my heater control wasn`t working right, no matter what position I put it heat would only come out the window defroster. That control also works off of vacuum, the plastic line was broken. Yours is still under warranty? I was having my plugs and plug wires changed and they fixed it at the same time for free, just cut out the bad part and slip a rubber tube over the ends.

 

Maybe just a leak, but probably a special tool to tell where. LOL or a computer!

[Garry2Rs]

Hi Lew;

I read that there are many crashes each year caused by using cruise control in slippery conditions. I also read that car companies were adjusting the CC so that it wouldn't work IF YOUR WIPERS ARE ON.

Garry2rs

Edited November 9, 2007 by garry2rs

[SBCregal]

my father has a 2000 safari, had the same problem and the fix was a brakelight switch...at the base of the brake pedal. I don't know what it cost to fix...a buddy had one in his toolbox

[lew]

The cruise appears to be working fine now, so I'll leave it as is and see how well it works on the long drive this weekend. If there's any more problems, I'll take it to the dealer next week.

 

Thanks all

[SlowPoke]

Hi Lew, I have an Astro as well. I have not had any cruise control problems on mine but I would suggest pulling back on the brake pedel with your toe. The brake switch that disengages the cruise might be a little touchy. To the best of my knowledge, the cruise is not linked with the wipers and vacuum line problems on these vans are limited to the heater control line running over top of the engine and disintigrating over time. I'm betting on the brake switch or the signal stalk.

-Brian