2006 V-10 E-350 Class B+ Motorhome - Brand new

I have a cruise control problem that my Ford dealer says they can't fix. I wonder if anyone else has experienced this problem?

With the cruise control on and going down a very long but slight downgrade the engine surges like the cruise control suddenly gives it a spurt of fuel than stops again. The feeling is similar to an engine misfire. It is severe enough that a passenger can also feel it happening. The only way that I can stop it, is to push on the gas peddle slightly or turn off the cruise control. It doesn't happen on steeper downhills, uphills or level ground.

Problem is noticeable enough that the cruise control is really not useable when I'm in rolly hills.

 

Mine always has done a little of that. I notice it at slow speeds like 50 MPH on level, or slight downhill grades where the motor isn't required to work at keeping the vehical speed, and isn't engine braking either, just trying to run nutral with a little gas to maintain the very low power setting. I attribute it to the sensitivity of the TPS, as if you set the speed at say 60 MPH it levels out and runs quite nicely. I got used to it, just load it a little more and it works fine, or kick it off and run on manual throttle. I can say now as I have said before I HATE THE TPS CIRCUTRY. I'D MUCH RATHER HAVE A STAINLESS STEEL CABLE RUNNING MY ENGINE THROTTLE.

 

Thanks, However mine does it at my crusing speed of 60-65, and it is very irratating. Ya think Ford could design a cruise control that works all the time.

 

well, the old cruise controls which were a electrical/mechanical manual chain set up had a problem with holding speed on up hills and at high speeds. It reacted too slowly. So to me this is better to have the super accuracy that is in this TPS system when running hard, or pulling up hill, but that has a lot to do with the big powerful V-10 coming on. It just doesn't vary like the old one did., but like I said, mine is a bit quirky at low engine power requirements.

Maybe try a different dealer service dept and see if they have any ideas? It is under warranty, and all Ford dealers are supposed to honor that warranty regardless if they sold it or not, but I sometimes wonder if you don't get put off a bit if they didn't make the sale..

 

During the '00-'01 model years, Ford had a relatively wide-spread problem with surging cruise control. The source of the problem was the ABS controller. But, it seems that newer models have a much better system. Neither my '02 nor my '05 had/have a surge problem. So, you might want to have them check the ABS functions to be sure they are working properly... assuming class B chassis have ABS?

 

My 03 F250 does this also. It is very annoying. I just left it the way it was because I dont want the dealer to reflash and give me some crappy mileage or ?? The truck runs well otherwise so I am leaving it alone.

It does seem pretty sad that TPS or cable, Ford cannot make the cruise control work correctly. Never had this problem in any other vehicle. I recall one time driving a rented Chrysler and with the cruise set on a long and steep downgrade the car downshifted to maintain the speed, yes downhill speed.

 

NoMo I suspect his 2006 Class B on the E-350 chassis may have our old skool 310hp with 4R100 and all the associated grief of that versions cruise control. If it is indeed the 3v V10 and 5R110 TorqShift, then I suggest finding a better technician. This system doesn't do that unless something is wacko. I would also recommend retraining the trans with a battery disconnect and a I/M test driving set of cycles. (it's in the book)

My experience with the fire by wire system, empty or heavy, up or down hill, is that if I say 70 or 75 or 82mph (or any speed above 35) that the beast hold it right there solid with zero detectable surge. The best cruise control system I ever owned! In fact if the roads are dry I use it all the time and coast it down in 45-55mph towns, then accel it back up to 70-75mph on the other side and only kick it off when idiots impede my path and speed.

 

The E350 uses the 2 valve V10 rated at 305@4,250 and 420@3,250. The engine is backed by the TorqShift 5 Speed Auto.

 

Crippled motor, great trans and I am sure it is not the electronic throttle and stepper motor Throttle body so that would seem to suggest that the old method of cruise control is on them. Pity cuz the behavior of it sucked and many of us had similar complaints in the SuperDuty trucks also.

Got to do a little research of my own...it supprises me that they would do the 5R110W TorqShift adaption and NOT the 3v V10 on a Cutaway for Class B or C....in the E series.... I thought the F53s got the full Monty upgrades this year but that is an whole different animal...who knows what the hell Ford is thinking thees days... what a dumb move.

 

Sounds like the cruise control is calibrated for a not-so-steep rear gear, and it's slowing down too fast when the cruise control lets off the gas, and then nails it too much to speed back up (too much gear again).

My 2001 has a surge problem, but only noticed it in certain conditions when totally empty. Hasn't happened in years.

I chalk it up to the cruise control not being calibrated for all the low-end torque that the V10 puts out. It hits the throttle just a little too fast.

But, back to your problem.

If you take it out of overdrive, does it still do it?

I theorize that the cruise is really slamming the gas when it realizes it slowed down too far.

Either reduce the amount of engine braking somehow (crank open throttle stop without lighting CEL?) or reduce the amount of immediate power the cruise control punches in.

I think it's a combo of rear gearing, and sheer weight. Maybe they have it calibrated wrong, as in the RV manufacturer changed the rear gear without changing the cruise calibration?

Maybe you should pursue it that way. Go to the RV manufacturer and question the cruise control calibration. Maybe they have a quick fix to the problem. Like telling you "go to Ford, ask for this calibration code and have them flash it into the computer".

 

The F53 did get the full Monty. The 3 valver did not get into the E-Series due to packaging issues (so says Ford). Of course the E-Series is always the one that gets ripped ... Ford does not spend money on the E-Series. ~150K units a year is not enough for Ford to want to do anything extra. The only real competition is the GM Vans and they cannot be had with a diesel, so Ford jams in a detuned PSD. So sad.

Even still I love the 2 valve V10. I know it isn't the 3 valver but in my 03 F250 it pulls my toys around all day without issue and I love it. Seems that in the Van with the 5R110 trans it should be even better. The van has a little less HP and Torque because of airflow restrictions on the intake but I bet the 5R110 makes up for it.

I used to have a PSD E350 that would get 19 MPG on the highway with 3.55 gears. I then drove a V10 E350 (same year) to Reno and it got almost 17 MPG on the highway with the 3.73 ratio! Oh, and it was quieter and easier to live with. Long live the 10!!!!!

Back to the cruise control issue - The V10 does not have a lot of hill hold back and Ford had an issue with this in the motorhomes because it would cause the brakes to get hot and could potentialy end up with fluid boil issue. The later years (including the 4R100) in the motorhomes had a downshift logic to the trans to help with this. I know that they also messed around with the IAC valve to try to get more hold back from the V10. This is why on the very short lived E550 the GVWR was greater in the PSD than the V10, because of the brake issue. Ultamately the platform was cancelled because of frame issues but that is another story. I suspect that the cruise control has issues due to the IAC trying to get more hold back and the brake engineers not and engine calibrators having to trade one item for another. That is if the engine calibrators and the cruise control people even talked about it or perhaps even know each other

 

FastDew, I will defer to your advanced knowledge on this issue... I lost track of F53 and E series back in 01/02 when I decided to go truck as dual use tow vehicle. I owned a few versions of the Class B and C Fords from the 90s and really liked the F53 chassis much better then the van conversions. Weight distribution, steering, and braking issues.

I just have a hard time understanding why they stuck with the 2v V10 over the 3v Version if they had decided to mate the TorqShift... the beauty of the 3v V10 and 5R110w is all in the computers..all three of then talking on CAN... and of course the OBDII implications and further complication of the odd combination. I just don't get it.

Seems to me the 3v V10 with it's inherently better exhaust system and the adaptable intake snorkel could have just as easily been adapted to the tight E-series engine bay and not have to kluge together yet a different variation of PCM programing and what not.

ON the other hand... re-tooling the fire wall, entire new electrical harness (PCM in engine bay now) and other subtle changes to the E-series may well have been costed out against the bottom line, like you suggest, in a relatively low volume product line...

However I wonder if there really was any analysis done to this magnitude... If you read the last 5 years worth of dealer F series "order guides" (with V10 option 99Y being usually under 15%) one would wonder why in hell they even ever did the R&D for the 3v V10! Much less complete redo of the computers and adaption to the 5R110...don't seem to make much sense

but I digress... the cruise control surging I had on the 2001 2v V10 was controlled by me with the stem mounted OverDrive lock out feature... whenever I went up or down a hill I locked out OD, accepted the slightly higher RPM and she seemed to work the way I expected her to. But if I forgot, then the Cruise function at 70 mph in OD was not fun to drive.

 

Can you fit that 3-valve intake inside an E-series engine compartment? The 2-valve is already detuned with a lower intake for the E-series, what's a 3-valve like in there? Whoooweeee...

Oh, Fred, thanks for reminding me... THAT'S how I solved the cruise surge on my '01 - go faster!

I still say go back to the RV manufacturer and see if they have a fix...

 

Fredvon,

I agree with your comments. If you look at the product mix though, I think you can figure out the cost vs. volume issues for the E-Series.

If the V10 is sold in 15% of the SD trucks and there are about 360,000 SD's sold each year than the total V10 3 valve sales would be about 54,000 units per year.

What needs to be changed for the 3 valve on the SD? Well, not much under the hood; wiring, control systems, etc. but the packaging would be easy. I am not sure on the base engine, but much of the engineering from the 5.4 3 valve could probably be applied to the 6.8 and that makes the cost lower for the engine design.

So, we are taking the lowest cost route to the 3 valve 6.8 and amortizing the cost by 54,000 trucks per year not counting the F53 or other possible applications.

The E-Series though is a different animal. Out of the ~150,000 E-Series built each year the 5.4 is the most common by far. This is for the E150 through the E350 SRW for the 15 passenger vans. But just for discussion, lets say the 6.8 is still 15% of the total. That would only be 22,500 units which is less than half of the SD line. Then you have added engineering costs to deal with on packaging, wiring, etc and less overall margin on the vehicle before you start. The economics make less cents (pun intended) on the E-Series for the 3-Valve. The 5R110 trans makes good sense since there is less involved for packaging, not too much added calibration work and the 4R100 was going away. Why produce the 4R100 for the E-Series when it is dropped from all other vehicles moving forward. The 6.8 3-valve may eventualy make it into the E-Series but Ford could defer the costs on this since the competitive vehicle is already less capable than the E-Series. The 2-valve still meets all of the OBD and emission standards for the weight class so it can hang around for some time.

OK, the thread was hijacked, but the cruise control issues are probably not easily solved since the base 2-valve engine in the E-series is the same as the 04 and earlier F-Series and the issue was wide spread. I just kick my cruise off if it is bothering me, but it is no that fequent.

 

I would like to regress back to 1992 and my F53 motor home chassis and then pick you guys brains with my cruise control problem...115,000 miles on the 460 and E4OD....
A while back I installed a Tekonsha Prodigy brake controller (Connected to the proper point at the steering column). Trailer brakes worked fine, BUT NO CRUISE CONTROL !
Super Dave guy at Tekonsha couldn't believe it. Tried second controller, same thing... Disconnected controller, cruise worked OK FOR A WHILE... Now controller disconected and cruise is very intermitant. Sometimes it takes several attempts for it to engage, sometimes it won't engage at all. Sometimes it engages but will not increase speed setting with the SET button. Sometimes after it sets (Highway speeds) it will not hold setting and drops off and sometimes catches at a much lower speed, other times it will drop out completely. Occasionally it will set and hold at 65mph and stay there until I brake.... I thought about taking the cruise box out of my 88 Bronco II and trying it, thinking a may have buggered up the one in the MH, but I CAN'T FIND THE $*&*@$ THING ! I'm also thinking that it is a vaccum leak, but can't find one.... If anything strange can happen, it will happen to me.....Thanks for reading here...