On multiple threads here people have complained of lost cruise control. The medicine for them has been resoldering the cruise ctrl PCB printed circuit board. After PCB re-solder, all is ? well. Nissan subcontrctors seem to have used some poor (chinese jail?) workers in PCB soldering... Huh! That kind workmanShip may produce anythin. Now I read that this very same ctrl board MAY cause sudden FULL THROTTLE, ANY TIME!!!

One problem in stopping -if this happens- seems to be that the enable switch connects to that PCB logic - it is NOT a real cutoff switch. So if the logic goes haywire, nothing can stop FULL THROTTLE. Now I am already planning to change that in my Max! ...and will connect the cruise enable switch so that cruise can in no circumstances be on acciDentally... After installation I will document and post pics here. Before that, I'll take the actuator connector off... (no timetable yet on documentation)


See for the connector I'll plug off, under hood, at left beside ABS (VGE):






----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NISSAN
* ARMSTRONG V. NISSAN (Case 94-038828, District Court Harris County Texas) Nissan Mistakenly Reveals Documents that Unlock Sudden Acceleration Mystery
Strategic Safety News, Vol. 1, Issue 3, Sept./Oct. 1998.http://www.strategicsafety.com/library/n010309.htm
See also: http://www.click2houston.com/automot...51/detail.html


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Very comprehensive web site on this single issue, I recommend u read this carefully through: http://www.antony-anderson.com/cruise/cruise.htm

 

I've NEVER heard of any maxima having a stuck cruise control on here or any other maxima board in the last 6 years or so. It may have happened, but it's not something I'd worry about.
Cruise control not working is a fairly common problem either due to the actuator not working or often the cancel switches on the brake/clutch pedal not being correctly adjusted.

 

i haven't heard of it either..

and please correct if i misinterpreted your statement wiking, but you implied you have something against chinese people by relating poor workmanship with chinese institutional labour? is that what you're saying?

 

i dont think he's saying that! ha! ... and as far as japanese-chinese relations go... history speaks for itself. or maybe that monument in Japan thats a hill of actual severed ears of chinese and koreans says enough. anyway it's not an insult to the chinese!

 

I am against slave labour. And sweatshops where rural people come and are kept working say four weeks straight 12hrs a day, locked in; thats not connected to any one nation. This is how cheaPies are built. But that is beside .org scope...

The issue here is that all car manufactures use 'same' poor quality components and these may cause shorting cruise on, any time. ANY TIME is the great concern - and all these have no connection into me, anybodys nationality or what I think. Please. Dont mix issues with persons representing them.

No errors, ever?
Maxima people here on dicussions solder these boards to get them working. This is related to poorly manufactured PCB's. As for the actual accidents on any cars, read... Sorry for all enthuasists, Maxima is still a car.

Maxzilla: "i haven't heard of it either.."
I think here IS the danger. Mirroring from the texts, this is as old as cruise ctrl industry. The whole deSign is a trap: no independent safety feature! And car industry seems to have got off with this so far. 'All' previous accidents have been projected to grazy drivers. And NTHSA windowsing on this issue...

But think uself on a sunny morning, moving your car one foot to get more space to pass by: and then all of the sudden 200horses jump on raving mad as R is engaged. Who is prepared to kill that beast? The car has traveled ten yards FULL THROTTLE before one figures out what is going on... That is what the doctor basically implies here - Very possible on any vehicle, though one in millions shot. (Just read this story on another forum from J30 user. He is about to sell his car, because of this... he actually found that great link )

Summarum:
Anyways, I Dont like the cruise SAFETY like it is [=NOSAFETY], I will install safety relay (to brake pedal) to cut pwr supply off from it. (If relay comes with 1s timer, one push will not reset cruise memory.) I will document, present, that later on.

 

I have had two Maximas (both VE 5-speeds) and I use the cruise control a lot. Sometimes for hours at a time. I drove my first one over 100k miles and this one has been in my family for about 100k miles. That's about 200k (much of it highway driving) and I have never had a single incident of the cruise control getting stuck.

My current car, the cruise unit went out, but I replaced the whole assembly and now it's fine.

 

I dont see this as "maxima problem", although it sits inside... Its cruise ctrl system level design fault. The design should be such a 'foolproof' wiring that the actuator & pump would not ever get pwr when N, P, R, 1 or 2 gear (or clutch, break pressed).

deTails: I would think that the operating amplifier -level fault [see how dr anderson digs that out] might be exxaggerated by NON use.
Non use =no heat for long periods =possiblity for condesation =op amp gets berserk...

Alas, Glob All Car Barons have so far saved 5$ with every car: how much i$ that? See how they get filthy rich with full graveyards:
http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosins...A01-134889.htm
(follow the links and see how this has been going on for decades)

 

you on adderall man? tell us if it works

you gettin the rain over there chris?

 

I guess, he just used a country as an example, that has never exported any vehicle into North America or Europe, for the contrary to Japan, because even Yugoslavia and Russia (the most 'famous' countries in automarket) have exported at least one: Yugo and Lada.

 

The parts do come from far east. Anybody interested can learn how things go there...

The issue here now continues as always: non-issue. As narrow minds cannot comprehend message, they start mudslinging against messenger who has nothing to do with the msg. And mud is the plentiest resource on the globe...

 

Wiking is exciteable, that's for sure. Sometimes things just break or fall apart. It happens.


We had one day (Tuesday) where it rained pretty bad (I think we got about half an inch), but nothing like the inch or two you guys got and the two feet up on Mount Hood in the last few days.

 

Kids need only mud to be happy: hilarious to throw, no beans needed to figure the issues - not to speak adding some value...

 

Im sure there is a slim chance of that happening with a maxima since you have to press the main switch first and then set it on your steering wheel to engage the cruise control also it doesn't work if your doing less than 50kph or in R,2,1.
And why would it suddenly kick in full throttle? the cc accelerates/decelerates at a set rate, the brake pedel disengages it also.. Many things can disengage it, and many wires/solders whatever would have to short out/fail at ounce for IT ("IT" meaning the cruize control gone mad) to happen.
I just think it's a slim chance, like.... a plane crashing while your in it.
Thats life... Risks you gotta take... am i going anywhere with this?

 

BUT, I have seen a cruise control system get stuck on acceleration before... but that was on a "american" made car...

 

To clarify he's probably talking about people loosing cruise control while doing a 5 speed swap.

 

Audi had the sudden acceleration problem

 

my old jeep had a messed up cruise control.....you would be cruising and all the sudden it would floor it.......one time i tested it to see where it was going to, but i got to 90 mph and i hit the brake.....

 

You're speaking of the sunny day when all works. The whole issue: when that is NOT the case: ASCD PCB malfunction, short circuit or whatever.

When ASCD microprocessor outputs command to set PCB pins 9 &14 up and pin 8 stays down, ACTUATOR pump starts and keeps on, valve closed. T here is no checkup for "50kph or in R,2,1" if this is caused by faulty circuits.

Pump starts, keeps on. Four seconds later, throttle IS STUCK AT 3/4. No set rate, MAXIMUM. IT STAYS, WILL NOT RECEDE whatever u do. Brake, does not cut throttle off, nothing helps, but turning key, losing engine. How many seconds does it take from blondie to figure out? Where is the car, what is the speed when all dawns to driver? Read the arTicles...

Again: no independent checkup, dead mans -valve exists in the ASCD SYSTEM. This is pure stupidity as ONE 1$ relay could be used to cut INDEPENDENTLY power FROM ACTUATOR. Now no such basic safety is NOT t here when zero or 50kph or in R,2,1 ...N or D

Is one dollar too much? Yes, if only hundreds people would be saved, says globall auto inDustry...


-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Info: free for mudslingerbabes; intended for real men:


Found just out -93 ASCD has 8 pin connector - contrast that to -94 schema with 10pin connector... Here the PCB takem from under dash (driver/right s). Btw, my PCB was in excellent condition; no needs for resolder. High Quality!

 

Here is the 10pin safety relay schema for -94. For older Maxes like mine (8pin), u may add the relay (under the hood) to pump/valve assy by cutting common wire (1) from cabin ASCD box ...or by finding out what is that wire at ASCD box. (Red in the schema means new add on wiring)

Relay activation must be on brake light wire. This will cut pump power always when brake is pressed, does not matter what ASCD is doing. This does not correct any possible ASCD problems. There are many other ways to do this even better, will someday return into this issue. (One better more laborious way is to use this relay, or install also second relay to always keep this pump power wire cut off, except on D.

 

My parent's van was so messed up, the second you hit set... it would take off on acceleration. And they never did let it go to see how far it was set... needless to say they didn't keep it that long.

 

I'd guess its easier to plug actuator off than sell car...

 

Well there was a lot more wrong with that van than just the cruise control.... It burn 2 quarts of oil for every tank of gas... had this great wobble at 60+ MPH. And look like total ****... A 92? Ford Aerostar... Not my parent's best choices for a vehicle. Don't ask my why they got it, I have no clue either. I'm just thankful my taste in cars and trucks is a lot better.

 

Ive got a jeep. Its actually made by ford; your gvmt donated europe lots of them in the 40's... We owe Americans more than compliments. One history q.: why lots ended in Stalins gulag garage? Dirty criminal play, as today. .... Every bolt has this "Ford" text. Nice, necessary in victory? Dunno. Maintenance period: five miles... Well, its somewhat old, but still. Ford.

What do we learn from this? Nothing. But ASCD will never break in that jeep... so statistically jeep-43 is better than Maxima.

 

I hate cruise control, at least for any extended amount of time anyway. Useful if I have adjust my sack on a long trip, but otherwise I find it actually requires more mental effort than not. Using my feet is a natural instinct, and as such, I find I'm truly more relaxed driving the old fashioned way compared to when I occasionally use crusise control and try to convince myself this is truly relaxed driving. Because I rarely use it, I'm rarely relaxed when I do.
I'm on my own autopilot anyway half the time lol.
How the hell did I get here again?

 

my cruise still works fine. i've got 215xxx under the hood. the only thing that doesn't work is the abs.

 

Whats the abs probl?

 

It happened to me six months ago. I have since disconnected my cruise cable and no more problems.

 

How'd you manage to survive?

 

Who dug this up? It's a great thread, but you had me thinking Wiking had come back... damn you.

 

still better than the probelms ford had. remember the f-150's and expeditions that were shorting out with the car off?! creating fires and i guess leading to explosions. Apparently some people lost houses due to cars being parked in the garages. But then again one should expect spontaneous explosions while owning a ford.

 

I know of this problem all too well. If I have cruise control on and hit the gas to pass a car and hit "Resume" after I am passed the car, it seems to want to go back up to the speed I was doing when passing the car instead of what speed I was doing when I hit "Set". The first time it done this it freaked me out. On another occassion, I was driving with cruise control on and it would "cycle." It would shut its self off then on, then off again, and back on, and so on. Sometimes I think it has a mind of it's own.

 

Can anyone help with diagnosing a cruise control system that doesn't work? When I turn it on, the green light on the switch works, and if I hit set, the dash light comes on, but it's not actually working. Is this usually something electrical/electronic (control module etc.) or is it likely the actuator?

 

haha I was thinking the same thing

Are you waiting to hit 'SET' once you get up to cruise control speed? Not trying to be a smart ***, just that some people don't realize you need to be doing a certain speed before it will engage - I think it's 40mph or thereabouts? Someone correct me if I'm wrong. I've used it - but rarely.

 

I have heard of this problem but it was because some guy on another board had heard of the problem and decided to be pre emptive and "fix" it himself and that caused more problems than anything

 

35mph. and if you set it above 35 and then press coast so you slow down, it goes off at 35. I don't know the upper limit, but on my 240 you couldn't set it above 90. However, if you set it below 90, you could accelerate up past that and the cruise would stay on.

 

I drive strictly in the city.

 

Actually guys, there was a case reported on the BBC website, I think it was, last week in England. It was a Beemer and the motor suddenly went full-on. The idiot was doing about 60 at the time and tried to stop it with the brakes. I call him an idiot because according to the BBC he commented that if he had turned the ignition off he'd have 'lost the power steering'. People like that shouldn't be allowed to have cars.... so he ended up burning the brakes out and with them gone, terrorised the motorways at 135 mph before finally crashing after sliding across a roundabout.
Now I don't know what caused the full-on situation but it sounds a bit suspicious, re. cruise, right?

 

I guess he never heard of neutrall

 

Actually, I would not be that critical of him after what happened to me.

I took my '93 Max into a repair shop to have them replace a blown high pressure hose that connected to my power steering pump. When I picked up my car after work, and drove it onto the highway, it would not steer at all! It took all the strength I could muster to turn the wheel enough to head back to the repair shop!

Granted, I was not going 60mph where I might have had more control due to inertia, I now believe that there can be a major loss of steering with the engine off and the power steering pump immobilized.

In response to another comment here, I would NOT want to put it a racing car into neutral because one only has the brakes to slow the car down (instead of the drag caused by the engine ) which, if boost-assisted, are not going to work very well with the engine off, either.

Coincidentally, today is March 28th, the first anniversary of my uncontrolled acceleration incident in my 1998 I30!

Briefly, I was backing into a space in a garage. I was letting the car roll backwards powered only by the idling engine. My foot was resting on the brake. All of a sudden. the throttle went from 800rpm to 4000rpm in a split second and I was headed straight for the wall.

It took having me put both feet onto the brake to slow the car down until I could put it into N and turn the ignition off. I did hit the wall, but only at a speed of about 2mph, and the car was literally pushing against the wall until I slammed the shifter into N and turned off the engine.

When the car was put in neutral, it was still racing wildly before I cut the ignition.

It was the scariest moment of my life, and thank God for the wall I hit. Without it, I would have been flying backwards into other parked vehicles -- or worse, run somebody over.

I took it to both the Infinity and Maxima dealerships, and none could find any problems.

By the way, at the time of the incident, my cruise control switch was turned OFF!

After reading a great book on the subject of sudden acceleration that talked about cruise control failures, I decided to disconnect the cruise control cable.

I have never had a problem like this again.

 

only had 1 sudden acceleration incident myself and it was unrelated to the cruise.
An ignition wire got wrapped around the accelerator cable