Help! cruise control went out

[Expo4.0]

hey everybody
I'm new to this site but have been reading the forums for about a year. Here's my problem. Yesterday I was on the highway and cruise control wouldn't work. If I pressed the "set" button the light would blink on the dash. I checked the fuse which is still good. any help would be great. I hope this is in the right forum. thank you

 

[Blastingcaps]

cruise control

It could be a vacume line fell off or it could be a conector at the modual under the hood .. if not there i would say pcm unit .. it controls many iof the optional features..pcm is located behind panel on the passenger side ..Blastingcaps

 

[Expo4.0]

Blastingcaps
Where would the vacume line be that might have fallen off? I somehow lost my shop manual so any help where the modual is located would help. how would i know if the pcm unit is bad or not? thanks for the reply
truck goes in the shop tomarrow to have it looked at. PLEASE help!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Blastingcaps]

vacume lines

I am not sure on a 96 but on my 92 the lines are on a canister that is on the driver side fender well.. you can find it easily by tracing the cable fron the throttle linkage at tthe throttle body.. there are 2 cables there one is the cable from your gas peddle and the other is from the cruise.. mine looks like a spider is on it from the vacume lines they are about the size of fuel line and connet in several points .. one may have split or fallen off .. is worth looking , might save a mechanic bill.. if any of them are cracked looking i would replace them and see if it don't take care of it... Blastingcaps

 

[Blastingcaps]

another thought ..

you might want to check the cable from the cruise and make sure it is not sticking a little wd40 can help. it could also be related to the switches in the steering wheel coming loose .. you can take the wheel cover off with 2 screws( i think they are torx) on the bottomside of the steering wheel .. mine had the counter balance broke loose when i bought it and it was wandering around inside the steering wheel.. it just made an awful clunk and made it feel like i had steering columb problems but it hadn't knocked the connector loose for the cruise. if that has happened you would know it im sure .. not something you would forget LOL.. Hope this helps .. Blastingcaps

 

[Expo4.0]

Blastingcaps,
thanks for the quick reply. i dont have internet at my house so sorry for the delay. the info sounds good. ill take a look at the expo after my class.i 'll keep you posted. thank a million.!!!!!!!!!!

 

[rocco123]

My cruise computer was bad when I had that problem on my '94. It's located in the dash above the glove box.

Got a used computer ( green box) from an old f-150 & it worked. This was after verifying the vac lines were ok , ops checking the servo, & checking to make sure the switches in the dash worked (using the pins at the computer).

 

[oldwrench]

Cruise control

I used to do these types of repairs at the dealer. The 96 does not use vacuum to operate the cruise control, it is all electric. The good thing is it is easy to diagnose, the bad thing is that without a shop manual to tell you the voltge you are suppose to get you end up shooting in the dark. You can test all the switces right there at the cruise control servo, but not knowing which wire is which keeps you from fixing it. If I may make one suggestion, I have seen the brake pedal switch keep the cruise from engaging on several occasions, an easy test is to hold your foot under the pedal pulling up slightly on the brake and see if the cruise will now engage. Sorry I couldnt be of much use.

 

[Expo4.0]

Oldwrench
should i use a voltmeter to test the voltage at the switches. wheres the servo at. is it in the switch?Im a broke college student so a cheap fix would be awesome. thanks for all the help guys

taking a 10 hour drive to go home for spring break with no cruise. leave tomarrow