When driving up into the mountains with an '03 B2300 2.3l 5-speed, an odd problem was noticed. Situation: 65mph, 5th gear, cruise on. When it started getting steep and the engine was starting to have difficulty I tried to downshift only to watch the tac peg for several seconds. When the same situation arose further down the road I confirmed the 'speed control' lamp went out when I pushed the clutch. Result was the same however with the tac again pegged. The next time I decided to turn the cruise off before trying to downshift. When I did, I was surprised that the truck continued to struggle on for about 4 seconds before finally starting to decelerate. When I downshifted, no problem. Has anyone else had a similar issue with the 2.3l/5-speed?

When I brought this to the attention of the selling dealer I was immediately blown off with "You need to turn the cruise off before you downshift." When I pointed out that 1) it doesn't say that in the manual and, 2) I had tried that and was certain the over-rev would still happen if I did not wait the four seconds, and 3) what the manual does say is the cruise will drop out if the speed decrease exceeds 10mph. They gave in and contacted the Maza engineer who also started jacking me around telling them I was "over-loading it" and that "I needed to turn off the cruise control before attempting to downshift."

Since this is really a Ford Ranger with a different grill I don't expect a Mazda engineer is going to be doing much more than keeping his desk company so what happened doesn't surprise me much. While I've no axe to grind it sounds like there is a real issue here that needs to be taken seriously and investigated. Does it have to wait for the laywers to haggle over who pays for blown engines or is there a way to short-cut this and ask Ford engineers to check it out?

- Michael

 

I notice that if sometimes I forget to turn off the cruise control before I downshift, mine revs pretty high. The servo motor in the cruise control unit can't react quickly enough to the change. I just give my brake pedal a light tap to disengage the CC, that instantly kills the CC and keeps things from revving.

 

So you think there is a difference between the way the clutch disengages the cruise as opposed to the brake or the steering column switch? I wonder why that would be...

It's also been suggested by the service tech that I try tapping the brake pedal. I'll certainly do this when I'm headed into the passes on the 26th. I'll post the result.

Regards,

Michael

 

There is a switch to disable the cruise when you press in the clutch. It would seem odd that it would allow the engine to over rev. You might try putting the cruise on at say 55 on an open highway and try pressing the clutch to see if it does disengage the cruise and to see if it overrevs. I wouldn't think it would do either, but maybe another user can try it also.
Dave

 

The reason that it would over rev when pressing the clutch is because the servo in the CC has the throttle pulled open pretty far and when you hit the clutch, the engine is disengaged from the load of the truck, so it revs until it drops or you let off the clutch. When you hit the brake to turn off the CC, the engine remains connected to the load of the truck, and it can't over rev.

 

It makes more sense now. One of the service reps was also telling me about what happens if they were to put a car on the lift and set the cruise on. Since there was no load it would endlessly cycle, full throttle, no throttle, etc.

The only part still bugging me is why the truck continued trying to maintain speed for several seconds after I turned the cruise off on the steering wheel.

 

The servo motor in the CC unit needs a few second to let go of all the throttle cable it spooled up around it while operating the butterfly valve.

 

OK, thanks! I think I've got a grasp on how to deal with it properly now.

 

I thought the cc servo was vacuum operated. It should Just flip a valve. I know on mine when i tap the break the pedal pops back up instantly. I dont have a manual (transmission, not the book), but im sure they are the same cruise parts.

 

I just checked (neighbors must think I'm crazy, popping my hood and poking around with a flashlight at midnight) and I don't see any vacuum lines running to the CC unit. Now, it could be that the vacuum is generated internally, but that would be a waste and the top sure looks like an electric motor to me.

 

Ah, you cant pay any attention to them. My neighbors must hate me. I work during the day so all the work i do on my truck is late at night.

But you are right about the vacuum lines. Only 93-94 models are vacuum operated.

Maybe try shooting a little WD-40 pn the cable and move it back and forth. It might just be sticking a little.