Got around to making a video on this common complaint finally. Usually very frustrating as it can be intermittent more often than just totally inoperative. The number one cause of the cruise not working is the brake pressure deactivator switch. In this video I show you a simple way to test it as it is the first thing I look at when a car comes in the shop with cruise control issues. Hope this helps.

 

Good stuff! Thanks for posting. The way you show how to test the switch makes it look easy.

You're probably aware of the Cruise Control "Self Test" that can be performed which supposedly would also confirm that the deactivation switch is defective.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...e-control.html

I actually prefer your way of testing for an open switch. It's straightforward and time proven.

 

Of course I know of the self test etc. That test is only used after I manually test the brake deactivator switch and the deactivator switch takes care of it so often that it has been years upon years since I have used that self test. Problem is more often than not there is a "intermittent cruise operation issue" So if you put the meter on the switch as shown and its ok the first or second time you hit the brake but the 3rd it fails 4th it fails then the 5th it passes. You will never see that in the self test it's too intermittent. My way you see live what the reading is and it should go from continuity to open and back just as fast as you press and release the pedal. This shows you visually and helps you catch that intermittent fault. This test is extremely easy to do on all except windstar and superduty which are upside down.

 

That's a great point. I would also add that the Self-Test can be tricky to perform. The test procedure you show in the video is the way to go.

P.S. I've viewed several of your other Ford repair videos and they also are excellent. One in particular, "Ford Superduty & Excursion No Start in Park Fix" shows how to repair another problem that is common to Rangers, which is the sloppy gear-shift lever caused by loose bolts holding that the L-bracket under the dash.

 

Thanks for the kind words, I try to make the most informative and clear/detailed videos possible if time allows. I didn't even know they had that same setup/issue. I have never had one come in all my years at ford for sloppy gear shift nor a no crank from it. Was this design on the older rangers? We don't see allot of rangers either unless under warranty, they are solid trucks.

 

I recently tightened up those same bolts on my '98, after I became aware of the fix reading through another thread. Check out:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...s-in-park.html

 

AH-HA, thanks for posting & waking me up & maybe confirming why my 94 Taurus cruise control randomly stops working!!!! I had forgotten about the master cyl mounted cruise control deactivation switch.

It suddenly woke up & began to work again, right after I just completed a tranny fluid pumpout with filter change & the wife & I were joking that to fix the cruise, maybe all one had to do was to change the tranny fluid & filter!!!! lol

Anyway next time it stops working maybe I can remember to test it to see if its stuck open, or give it a thump & see if it'll wake up & close.

This is the infamous TI made cruise control deactivation switch that was the subject of the all time record Ford recall, for its (Rust Red color) insulator cracking & leaking fluid into the hot side of the switch & starting fires!!!! The input side of this switch is hot even when the vehicle is turned off & for some reason was never fused, so if its insulator leaked brake fluid into the hot side of the switch, it could short out, heat up enough to flash fire the brake fluid.
Saw a video that a gararge security camera caught of one happening on a customers car with the hood up & in for repairs on something else. The master cyl began to froth & smoke & boil over & suddenly a flash fire just exploded, but the shop guys happened to be close by & saw it happen & got to it with fire extinguishers in time to prevent extinsive damage. I think that video & the law suits that were on going by folks whos houses burned down & some who were killed as a result of this switch insulator failing & causing a fire, finally convinced Ford to do something & issue a recall on the switch.

My 99 Ranger was recalled for this, but because its (Rust Red color) insulator wasn't weeping fluid, all Ford wanted to do was install the fused wiring harness, but I paid them to install the new switch with the Black color insulator too, as the danged cruise control deactivation switch with the Rust Red color insulator was the root cause of the problem in the first place & guess what, I just remembered the 94 Taurus cruise control deactivation switch is the rust red color & its not been recalled yet!!!! Think now that i'm remembering that, I'll just replace that puppy while i'm thinking about it!!!!

Kind of a long story, but its worth repeating, to clue folks to check All their Fords brake master cylinder cruise control deactivation switch insulator color & if its a Rust Red color, consider replacing that puppy, even if its dry & not weeping/leaking brake fluid. If you get the recall notice to replace the switch later, Ford will reimburse its cost if you keep the reciept.

 

Thanks for the post!

Mine just started acting up recently - it didn't start until after I moved over here to the coast so, I thought it was just corrosion, but the symptoms are the same so, now I know where to look

Edit: Now that I think about it, I probably blew it out somehow while dragging this trailer over here, LOL... I wasn't using the cruise during that trip, but there were a couple of hairy moments where I had to slam on the brakes and hope for the best (trailer brakes for the win)...

 

Yeah that fused jumper was hokey at best, if I was ford I would have just replaced the switch on all of them and be done. They have the adapter harness already for the old to new connector why not. The new style black ones can still fail electrically as the one in the video has, but the new style does not leak though at least. If I had and old style one I would just change it. Many of the cars weren't in the recall because they had switch power where as the ones recalled had a constant hot. That constant hot was actually fused but the brake fluid leaking would cause high resistance like a heater element and start a fire gradually not just a short and the fuse would pop. Brake fluid and wiring are not a good mix. Had a focus with brake fluid spillage on the main harness and the o2 sensors were all wacked out and such if you moved or squeezed the section of the harness with the brake fluid all over it, wild.

 

Just an update...

I discovered another way for the cruise to become inoperative or intermittent. I inadvertently fixed my cruise problem by fixing my brakes.

I had a leaking wheel cylinder on the right-rear. It wasn't completely blown-out but was leaking fluid and, by the looks of it, had been leaking for some time. It wasn't leaking bad enough to cause the brakes to stop working, though.

I replaced the wheel cylinder and went for a drive. Not only did I notice that the brakes worked better than they'd ever had before but, the cruise started working normally again. I chalked it up to being a fluke, but after several days of driving, the cruise is still working normally as if nothing was ever wrong.

The only thing I can figure was that the cruise deactivation switch at the master cylinder must have picked up on the change of brake fluid pressure from the leaky wheel cylinder and that's what kept shutting my cruise down, causing it to work intermittently... Touchy little thing, lol...

 

I can't think of what else the connection could be either, other than a fluid pressure issue. Very interesting indeed.

 

yes that is very odd as I have never seen that cause it but that certainly makes sense because that switch is all based on hydraulic pressure.