Uggh, another problem after a clutch replacement. Anyway, my cruise control is not engaging. Not sure if it is related but here is a link to my Extended Crank then Start Thread LINK

For my cruise, the "CRUISE" light on the dash DOES come on when i press the "SET" button on the steering wheel so I can rule out the little stopper things on the brake and clutch pedal. The cruise cable is hooked up correctly under the hood and the vacuum connection that that line leads to is also plugged in. I have no popped fuses. All gauges in the cluster are working properly. The cruise worked perfectly before the clutch job so I am sure it's related to something with that job. Any insight?

 

The cruise control has no connections/wires to the transmission (or clutch). The only thing transmission related is the disengage switch on the clutch pedal. I would check the disengage switches on both the clutch pedal and the brake pedal. When you are not stepping on the pedals, the switches have closed contacts. Check the switches for continuity as well as make sure that the plastic bumpers that the switches come in contact with are there.

As far as the cruise coming on, it still will if you have a pedal switch problem.

 

Hey Dennis. Yeah, I checked the pedal switches and they are being pressed in/closed contact when not stepping on the pedals and the plastic bumpers are in tact. I did not check continuity on them. It does not make sense to me that they all of the sudden would be bad after a tranny pull though. Guess its possible. I'll see if i can check continuity tomorrow but I am not hopeful that is my issue.

 

Another thought... You didn't recently put LED lamps in your brake lights, did you? No brake lights (or the low current draw of LEDs) keeps the cruise control from working.

 

Not insulting your intelligence with this answer, but maybe the cable got disconnected somewhere between the TB and CC system?

 

Nope no leds Dennis. I have to think that it not working is related to the clutch job somehow since it worked before that job and it does not work now.

No insult at all. If you mean the cc cable, it is all hooked up properly as far as I can tell.

 

When driving past 30 mph, press the Cruise Control Power Switch and the Cruise Set Button at the same time. You should see "Cruise" on the dash blinking. This will confirm that your Cruise Set Button is working.

Do/Did you see plastic/rubber pieces under your steering wheel near your feet?

 

I have the "Cruise control Always On" mod so I never have to push the button behind the steering wheel. When I do press the cruise "ON" button, the "CRUISE" light in the dash comes on and stays on solid until i hit the "CANCEL" button on the wheel, push the clutch in or push the brake in. Yes, all plastic/rubber pieces on the pedals are present.

 

I just remembered this. I used to habe trouble with my cruise control and it would always act up or mess up. I never had the vac hose on it so i got one of those and it still didnt work. I decided to replace the steering wheel switch with one from the JY and my cruise worked perfectly after that

 

The VSS plays a part in cruise control. Could you have damaged the wires somehow?

 

If you have a manual car then welcome to the brotherhood )). If it's auto this does not apply.
If you changed the master cilinder on your car and you did not make sure that the rods are equal lenght when you installed the new one, that's yoir bug.
To fix it you only need to disconect the clutch pedal from the master cilinder and unscrew the connection to the pedal to make the pedal stay a bit higher. Just touching the switch will make the cruise control not work. Or bleed your cluch proper.
That's what I di and after it worked fine.

 

The speedo works properly so if vss wires were damaged, wouldn't the speedo not work?

 

The clutch master was not changed. You say the clutch pedal touching the switch will make he cruise not work...care to elaborate which switch? If you mean the switch at the clutch pedal, the pedal HAS to touch the switch or it will not work. I am pretty sure the clutch is bled properly as I dont feel any play at all in it.

 

Would the fact that the transmission/engine mating surfaces were not sanded down have anything to do with the cruise not working? It is going back to the shop thursday so he can fix the fact that he did not sand down my tranny before he put it back in...thus probably causing my extended crank issue. But would the cruise not work because of this as well?

I'm not even sure where to look now cause the light in the dash comes on but the damn thing just wont engage.

 

I think I read somewhere that the speedometer can still work even though the VSS went bad. There is a secondary signal that the speedometer can use. But thinking more on this, if the VSS were bad or the wire damaged, you should get a check engine light, P0500.

The brake and clutch pedals are supposed to touch the switches and push the plunger in when your foot is not on the pedal. This position has the contacts in the switch closed. In catalinvint's post, he was talking about the brake master cylinder and brake pedal which would have nothing to do with a clutch job as far as I know. But the idea/concept of what he said could apply to the clutch pedal. If the clutch pedal isn't coming back up all the way like it did before, it may not be operating the switch. The pedal could touch the switch but not push the plunger in far enough to make it operate. Get you head down by the clutch pedal and press the pedal with your hand and you should be able to hear the switch click as you press and release the pedal. Otherwise you could check continuity with a meter, which really is the best way.

As far as sanding the engine-transmission mating surfaces, I seriously doubt that that would make any difference, there are no electrical connections/components on the engine. You could check the cruise control air pump that is behind the left strut tower to see if it is plugged in, no damaged wires, etc. It shouldn't have been messed with during the clutch job, but who knows. About the only other thing I can say would be to follow the trouble shooting section in the FSM.

 

Thanks dennis. I looked at the plungers and they are making contact with the pedal. I will double check them though and maybe back them out so that the clutch pedal would have to be pushed further in to disengage. When I try to pull up on the clutch pedal, it does not come up any further either. I'll try looking thru the fsm...any idea what section in case you get this before I find it? Thanks again, you are a wealth of electrical knowledge.

EDIT: Found the section in the FSM...reading it now. Read it, like i figure, it's all like a foreign language to me I've never been good at electrical stuff. As far as I can tell though, like you said, the VSS is the only thing that has anything to do with the tranny pulll. I'll have to take a look at that since I have not checked it yet due to the speedo working...but then again, I should have a code if it is not working.

Also, thinking as i type, since the light illuminates in the cluster...then shuts off when I tap the brakes or tap the clutch, it's probably fair to say that the clutch and brake pedal plungers are working??

 

Without the mod you did, a person would press the cruise ON switch in the dash and a light in the instrument cluster comes on - CRUISE. With the mod, you don't have to press the switch in the dash, the CRUISE light comes on when the ignition switch is turned on. Once the CRUISE light is on, you press the SET button in the steering wheel and the SET light in the dash comes on if everything is working and you are moving in the speed range for cruise control.

When you press the pedals, you say that the light will go off. While the light going off sure seems to say the switches on the pedals do work, I'm offically confused. Which light is going off, the CRUISE or the SET? Are you driving and pressing the SET button and the SET light comes on? My understanding of how the cruise control works says that the SET light won't come on if the system isn't working and the CRUISE light does not turn off because you stepped on the brake or clutch pedal

Other than clarifying this light question, I still can't say what is wrong. I've looked at the info in the FSM and cruise control is the most convoluted, confusing thing in the FSM. Why can the cruise control beep the horn? None of my cars have ever done it, though. And the brake light switch goes to the cruise control module. Assuming this would cancel cruise mode, why then the second switch on the brake pedal?

So many questions, so little information, so little knowledge.

 

Dennis, I'll shoot a video on my way to work tonight

 

I tried this today...i put the relay back in under the hood and "un-did" the criuse always on mod. The "cruise" light in the dash DID NOT flash. Here is a video of what it is doing.

 

Is the light in the video the dash switch, or a dedicated light. Looks like its functioning properly to me. turns on with the switch, turns back off with a pedal press.
On my 96 with the always on mod, the dash switch stays lit, when i press SET the speedo icon in the cluster lights and cruise is active. Pressing either pedal cancels it and turns off the speedo icon.
I think your system is active, but the actuator is not getting signal, or not mechanically connected.

 

The light you see is the one in the cluster, just below the fuel gauge, that says "cruise". With my always on mod, you are correct, the button on the dash behind the steering wheel does stay on but I pulled the bulb out so I forgot that it does stay on when there is a bulb in it with the always on mod. What do I need to look at as far as the actuator goes?

 

Three things;
1 does it have a good vacuum source?
2 is it plugged in electrically and getting a signal?
3 is the cable correctly attached to the throttle body?

 

I had myself confused about the lights in the dash, mainly because I was merging the 4th and 5th gens. Your video slapped me upside the head and woke me up. Thanks.

As for the actuator, remove the vacuum hose and put a test hose on it. When you suck on the hose, you should see the arm on the throttle valve moving. If this works, then you could check to see if the vacuum pump for the actuator is working. The pump hides between the left strut tower and the firewall, but you can easily trace the vacuum hose from the actuator to the pump. Testing it could be difficult as you would have to be driving the car with the cruise control engaged. If you look at the wiring diagram on the bottom of page EL-154, power comes to the pump on pin 1, a blue/white stripe wire. Pin 4, a white/red stripe wire gets grounded to make the pump motor run. I doubt that the motor runs all the time, I'm guessing that it only runs when needed. Pins 2 an 3 get grounded to operate solenoids the control the amount of vacuum. I don't know what to look for on pins 2 and 3 in terms of voltage readings. Maybe if you had a vacuum gauge that you could hook up and monitor while driving would be easier.

If you had access to a spare control module and vacuum pump, it would be so nice to be able to swap them.

 

1 Dunno - Going to have to check
2 Not sure if it is plugged in...guess i didnt realize it had an electrical connection...I'll have to see if I can find the electrical aspect of it...talking about the actuator, yes?
3 Yes - was the first thing i Checked...and it's not too loose.

I always wondered how that cruise arm moved...now I know. I'll try giving it a "suck test" (no homo) and see if the arm moves at all. I tried following the hose from the actuator (which is the part on the firewall, yes) to see where it went but I didn't see anything, but then again, it was 20 degrees out this morning so i didn't look too long. I still can't help but think it cant be too severe since this only happened after the tranny pull so it, in my mind, has to be something that didn't get hooked back up properly. Maybe that pump isn't hooked back up and since it is in the same area as the tranny, it may be possible. I don't feel that it is electrical since all the switches and lights are working as they should be. Thanks for the help again!!

 

Well, I gave a suck on the actuator and saw the cable move so that's all good there. The hose is hooked up to the pump but I had no test light to test it. I forgot to take a look at the vss while I was out there. Guess all I have left is to test the pump with a meter and check the vss wires, correct? What the hell else could it be?

 

My thinking is similiar to yours in that it must be something that happened when the clutch was changed. So that would mean the actuator and vacuum pump under the hood and the clutch pedal switch. But it could be unfortunate coincidental timing and some other part has failed.

I almost hate to say this and take the chance of insulting you, but are you sure the fuses are good? Fuse # 10 (15 amp, left most column, 2nd from top) fuse # 12 (7.5 amp, middle column, bottom most), fuse #13 (10 amp, middle column right above fuse 12) and fuse # 64 (10 amp, under hood, if horn beeps it's good). Maybe swap # 10 and 12 for sanity's sake. Fuse 13 is for the instrument cluster, so if that was blown, I'm sure you would know. And Fuse 64 is for the horn, a beep test checks that. I just can't understand why the horn relay is in the cruise control circuitry.

Time for a GT-R

 

Sorry for the long delay. Yes, the fuses you mentioned are all good. It went back to the garage saturday to have the tranny pulled again and cleaned up. My starting issues are now solved but the non working cruise still persists.

 

At this point, you will have to check signals on the cruise control control module to see if you have input signals and output signals. You will have to access to the cruise control module under the dash and check voltages on some pins. Use FSM page EL-150 as reference. I want to say up front that I have not checked these myself. I'm thinking of fixing the cruise control on my 97 so I can verify this as accurate.

The wire harness connectors are plugged in for checking.

pin 1 - green/orange stripe - 12 volts from steering wheel RESUME switch when pressed.

pin 2 - green/yellow stripe - 12 volts from steering wheel SET switch when pressed.

pin 4 - green/white stripe - 12 volts from dash switch when in the on position or you have the relay jumper.

Pin 5 - green/red stripe - 12 volts from the clutch & brake pedal switches, pedal not depressed, dash switch on.

pin 11 - red/green stripe - 0 volts from brake light switch, pedal not depressed.

The above pins can be checked while the car is sitting still. The engine does not have to be running, but the ignition switch has to be ON. After watching your video, I think they are working as they should be, but check them anyway.

The following pins, you would have to be driving the car at a speed where the cruise can operate, 30-90 mph.

pin 7 - pink/blue stripe - VSS signal from speedometer. Most likely a variable voltage depending on speed.

pin 8 - blue/white stripe - 12 volts to the vacuum pump motor, probably constant when the dashboard ON button has been pressed.

pin 9 - white/red stripe - 0 volts to make the make the vacuum pump motor run. This signal probably changes between 0 volts (motor runs) and 12 volts (motor not running) as the vacuum pump probably runs only when needed.

pin 10 - blue/yellow stripe - sends pump vacuum to actuator.
pin 14 - blue/red stripe - releases vacuum from actuator.

pins 10 and 14 control the amount of vacuum sent to the actuator. 0 volts when being used, 12 volts otherwise. the 0 volt reading is probably a short pulse and you may not see it with a voltmeter or a test light.

 

Thanks dennis! When I get some time, I will give all those a test. Not quite sure how I'm going to test the second set that needs to be tested when moving but I'll figure something out.

 

Without a CONSULT, this is a real pita. You will have to hook up the voltmeter to a pin then drive the car, stop and change the connection. The way I would try it would be to hook up to all the five wires at once and then go driving.

What I use for monitoring a wire while the connector is plugged in is to put a straight pin into the backside of the connector and then use a ball clip to hook on to the pin. The challenge will be to insulate the straight pins so they don't short out against each other. The wire from the ball clip would go to another clip that then connects onto the voltmeter probe. You would want to put a label on the free end of each wire to keep track of what pin it is connected to.



Here are some links for these ball clips at Radio Shack. I was surprised at how expensive these things have gotten.

this one is a pair wires with a clip on each end of a 20" wire
http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...tent=CT2032235

this is just a pair of clips. You have to add your own wire.
http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...tent=CT2032235

 

Here are links to some clips on e-bay. They are just the clips, so you would have to also get some wire, thin stuff 18 - 20 gauge.

10 red colored clips - no wire - ships from Hong Kong
http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-Pcs-Red-E...item1e73d1d007

10 green colored clips - no wire - ships from Hong Kong
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Green-Electr...item3f1e90b052

10 white colored clips - no wire - ships from Hong Kong
http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-Pcs-White...item43b4fb29c9

10 yellow colored clips - no wire - ships from Hong Kong
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Yellow-Elect...item5d3571b78b

10 yellow colored clips - no wire - ships from USA
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Yellow-Elect...item416dff3657

 

Well I can't find my multimeter so I need to get one at some point. But I did find this out, when I hit "set" the light in the dash comes on but does not engage (as has been happening throughout this thread) but does this next part mean anything?

When the cruise light in the dash is on but does not engage the cruise, if I coast to 10mph below what I tried to set the cruise at, the light shuts off. For instance, if I press "set" at 50mph, as soon as I get to 40mph, the cruise light shuts off. Does this no matter what speed I try to set it at.

Just a little new info and didn't know if it meant anything to anyone before I go testing all the electrical aspects.

 

I don't know if that light turning off is a problem of sorts or normal as in a fail safe thing. Back when I had my 3rd gen, the actuators tended to develop leaks and the car wouldn't hold a steady speed and if it got bad enough, I think the cruise shut itself off.

Since you posted the video, my thinking has been leaning towards the vacuum pump not running. With the dash light indicating the cruise is supposedly working, my thinking keeps going back to the clutch job and did the wire harness to the vacuum pump get damaged. I have the most interest in seeing if pin 8 (12 volts to the vacuum pump) is coming from the control unit. The harness runs along the firewall and is out of the way, but anything is possible.

You might want to consider checking the continuity of the 4 wires between the control unit and the vacuum pump before trying to drive and monitor voltages.

 

My thought too was that it is some sort of safety shut off. Like you said, it is trying to engage but when it wont, it shuts off. But if I keep steady speed, it'll stay on until I drop the 10mph. I'll try to find a multimeter this weekend and see what I can figure out.

 

could it be something as simple as a bad relay?

 

Is there another relay other than the one under the hood (the ASCD one) that I pulled to do the cruise always on mod?

 

I think that's the only one

 

Then i guess the relay is good since I only have a jumper wire in there

 

oh yeah, I forgot you did the always on lazyman's mod

 

Is the cruise module that I need to check the same harness as where you would plug the computer into...IE right beside the fuse panel? Or is it somewhere else?