Surging in Cruise...
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Surging in Cruise...
There was a thread some weeks ago where we discussed my 2006 E-350 "surging" when in cruise control. Well, actually it was more like a slight quiver when beginning to gain speed on a slight downgrade.
Well, I figured it out. This '06 has trailer tow on the 5-speed and that was what someone suggested.
To test this I took the van down a steep hill in cruise at, say 35 mph. What it is doing is, once the speed actually climbs, the torque converter unlocks, then, if needed, the trans. downshifts in an attempt to maintain speed. It will actually downshift itself at least twice (not including converter unlock). And it does a very nice job holding the speed. Now I want to try it with a load behing it.
A word of caution: I would never use the cruise and allow it to do this with any kind of compromised traction without supplementing heavily with the service brakes. The second downshift was quite abrupt and would certainly break traction in snowy weather.
Well, I figured it out. This '06 has trailer tow on the 5-speed and that was what someone suggested.
To test this I took the van down a steep hill in cruise at, say 35 mph. What it is doing is, once the speed actually climbs, the torque converter unlocks, then, if needed, the trans. downshifts in an attempt to maintain speed. It will actually downshift itself at least twice (not including converter unlock). And it does a very nice job holding the speed. Now I want to try it with a load behing it.
A word of caution: I would never use the cruise and allow it to do this with any kind of compromised traction without supplementing heavily with the service brakes. The second downshift was quite abrupt and would certainly break traction in snowy weather.
