Mr. NumberDummy,

Please tell us about this: Ford F150 Cruise Speed Control Unit E2AZ9A818A F100 F250 F350 BRONCO RARE NOS



Thank you!

 

Name's not Bill, but what's to tell? Speed Control - ???Gary's Garagemahal

 

I recognize that blue box from the Taurii.

This is the 90s, Gary, Ford had begun integrating electronic modules that controlled more than the engine. By this time, there were several little modules plugged into the vehicles in all locations for things like the ABS, Air Bag, power windows & seats, cutesy, auto-dimming interior lights, power radio antennae connected to digital stereo, that sort of stuff.

Sometime later (10 years?) they condensed the modules into one, it has a common acronym name but I forget it, something like a GEM module.

But our 80s-era stuff is all analog, even the computerized carbs & EFI are all exceedingly basic and insanely simple to figure out (from a wiring & controls standpoint, not necessarily operational readiness).

 

So how is it controlled (tuned on/off and set)? Mine has the buttons on the steering wheel.

This item appears to be an "add on kit" (instructions mention gluing magnets to driveshaft). Why wouldn't they just just the Ford adapter that goes into the speedo cable?

 

I believe that's a dealer-added speed control, and it is from Dana. I added the same unit to one of our cars at about this time and loved it. The controls mounted on the turn signal arm. And you did glue magnets to the driveshaft to pick up the vehicle's speed when used on most vehicles, but if you look at the entry for it in the catalog it says to use the speed pickup for the factory units.

It had controls for sensitivity, and you could turn that down such that it didn't try to keep you exactly on the set-point, as today's cruise controls do. So, when you hit a hill it would let it drop down a bit, and when you started down the other side it would let it roll - which greatly helps MPG.

 

My Taurii have the factory-installed cruise/speed controls in the steering wheel someplace but I forget exactly where.

I didn't read the eBay description nor did I investigate this kit much, it could very well be a dealer-install kit since you mention gluing magnets... looking up the ID or part numbers in the books would help but that'd take way too long in my case to do (hours, long story).

To be honest, CB, I don't remember any sort of adapter that goes into the speedometer cable like our 80s vintage stuff has, things were lots more organized & integrated by this point; in my case with the Taurus SHO, the speed control box is located behind the glove box right near the power antenna controller (another little module box) and there are others nearby for the interval/delay wipers, the sun roof, and maybe a few other things.

ALL of these little comfort features had their own electronic control modules someplace in the wiring, there are lots of them scattered about.

IIRC all Taurii SHO models have an electronic speed sensor where the mechanical speedometer drive cable (still ancient technology, even back then) connects into the 5-spd stick shift transmission (no idea about automatics, I've never looked at one) that is used by things in addition to the speed control but I forget the details since it's been a few years at this point... possibly/probably part of the drivetrain control module that handles the engine (and automatic transmission on cars equipped with such) - the ECU or PCM or whatever acronym is appropriate for that module's functions.

This period in time is also when Ford started using the VIN numbers to identify exactly what equipment was installed on any particular vehicle, it is LOTS LOTS LOTS easier to find information that way rather than manually looking through pre-computer, parchment paper scripts.

 

Chris - Why look up part numbers? They are on my web site. As for "This is the 90's", the part has an E2 engineering number.

 

Correct, it's an E2 design vintage, but everything had evolved light years by this point.

Even in our 80s analog stuff we had the same thing - little electronic boxes to handle things such as interval/delay wipers, headlights-are-on buzzer, seat belt buzzer (both of which became electronic chimes by the 90s and not mechanical buzzers), stuff like that.

I guess my point is... the Taurus SHO had all this stuff installed at the factory but was optional on the other Taurii models. The trucks were modernized after the sedans were as I remember it but I could be wrong.

I have a handful of those blue boxes around here someplace, they aren't all exactly alike but all function similarly.