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Cruise Control Fix

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Old Dec 19, 2006 | 12:58 PM
  #1  
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Cruise Control Fix

My '91 F350 has cruise control but it hasn't worked right in years. It would "hunt" (speed up and slow down) too much for comfort. So I stopped using it. Then my anti-lock brakes gave a warning light and I traced that to the rear axle sensor. After replacing that (cheap and easy fix) the ABS worked fine.

That was a couple of years ago. The other day I was driving on the freeway and just for grins I punched the Cruise Control "ON" and "SET SPEED". Lo and behold it WORKED! No hunting at all, steady as a rock.

I conclude that the Cruise Control must also use the ABS speed sensor in the rear diff. As the sensor was going bad but hadn't actually failed, the CC would get confused and "hunt".

Note: I didn't look up the CC circuit in the shop manual (too lazy). If I'm wrong about this, I'm still happy it works again.
-otf
 
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Old Dec 19, 2006 | 02:02 PM
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Sweet thats a good tidbit of info
 
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Old Dec 19, 2006 | 04:06 PM
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i hope you know about the recall on cruise switch.

i think it covers 91 also.

call ford with your vin number and they would know.
 
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Old Dec 19, 2006 | 04:55 PM
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Originally Posted by quicklook2
i hope you know about the recall on cruise switch.

i think it covers 91 also.

call ford with your vin number and they would know.
It has had several recall fixes but I don't think there was one for the cruise control. Do you remember what it was all about?

-otf
 
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Old Dec 19, 2006 | 05:03 PM
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the fluid leaked on to the switch by the brake master cyl. and started a fire.
 
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Old Dec 19, 2006 | 05:59 PM
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Originally Posted by onetonfan
That was a couple of years ago. The other day I was driving on the freeway and just for grins I punched the Cruise Control "ON" and "SET SPEED". Lo and behold it WORKED! No hunting at all, steady as a rock.
I conclude that the Cruise Control must also use the ABS speed sensor in the rear diff. As the sensor was going bad but hadn't actually failed, the CC would get confused and "hunt".
Note: I didn't look up the CC circuit in the shop manual (too lazy). If I'm wrong about this, I'm still happy it works again.
Yes you are wrong, the speed sensor for your CC is on the tail shaft of the transmission or transfer case.
 
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Old Dec 19, 2006 | 06:22 PM
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I just had the speed control recall taken care of and it takes about 5 min. They just basically put a fuse inbetween the switch and the cc wiring harness. The tech at the dealership said that it was like a one in a billion chance of anything happening. Apparently the only case of fire he knew about was more caused by a modified cc system than a actual defect but the media got a hold of the info and blew it out of proportion. Still probably a good idea to get it fixed it is free afterall.
 
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Old Dec 19, 2006 | 06:34 PM
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This post was about a 91 and I do not think they have this pressure switch on the MC, I think they had a vacuum switch on the brake pedal.
 
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Old Dec 19, 2006 | 06:36 PM
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i remember reports of fire from forum members.

in one case it burned down the garage.
 
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Old Dec 19, 2006 | 06:40 PM
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Yeah ... I don't think one in a billion is the odds there .... maybe one in a million but more likely 1 in 50,000 would be closer.
 
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Old Dec 19, 2006 | 10:43 PM
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yeah, I kind of exagerated a little bit but he did make it sound like a pretty rare event. I still thought it was strange that it took ford so long to figure out how to fix it. Especially when I saw how reasonably simple the fix was. I was kind of expecting to end up with a new cruise servo or something mean like that. I really don't care, as long as it works and my truck is not 1:whatever.
 
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Old Dec 20, 2006 | 10:58 AM
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The cruise control recall was for 93 or 94-up trucks...
 
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Old Dec 20, 2006 | 11:04 AM
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i was not sure what years and that is why i suggested calling ford.
 
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Old Dec 20, 2006 | 11:23 AM
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is it 4 wd or 2 wd?
 
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Old Dec 20, 2006 | 01:29 PM
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Originally Posted by hillbilly44
is it 4 wd or 2 wd?
My '91 is 2WD. Ford didn't offer a 4WD F350 back then, at least not with DRW. If they had, I would have bought that option.

subford,
If the CC has nothing to do with the ABS sensor, then I wonder why it is working again. Arrrgh, I hate mysteries, I may never know what happened. Maybe it's a Christmas present from Santa. LOL

-otf
 
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