I have a 1999 f150xlt 5.4 4x4,the cruise control servo has been removed because it was causing the vehicle to continue to excelerate as the off or touching the brakes would not cancel . it(the cruise control). What is a servo? What is the expected length of time a servo for the cruise control lasts?At what maintenance check is this item checked to be sure it is working?Does removing this item control the use of my horn or was this a coincidence?Sorry for all the questions but I'm new to truck problems this is my first with this vehicle.Thanking you in advance for any and all help . Truck mama.

 

Hi truck mama and welcome to FTE

The speed control servo is basically an electric motor hooked to a cable that opens the throttle on the engine.
The servo usually lasts almost forever but they do sometimes have problems. There is no scheduled maintenance for them as they are a sealed unit and there is nothing that can be done to them.
Removing it shouldn't cause any problems with the horn but the original problem and the horn problem could be related. If there was an open circuit between the steering wheel and the rest of the wiring, particularly in the clockspring (connects the wiring in the steering wheel to the wiring in the steering column) you could have speed control problems. Most common thing though is that the speed control doesnt work at all.
There are actually 2 brake switches and for them to both be shot isnt very likely so chances are pretty good the servo was the problem and should have been replaced.