F53 Chassis 1996 Bounder - another Cruise Control issue - Ford Diagnostic anyone

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Captron

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Am new to the forum, have a 97 Bounder and found more interesting stuff here than most anywhere.

Wondering if anyone has a real diagnostic procedure for the F35 460 chassis cruise control.  Surely someone out there has a proper diagnostics procedure for testing these for serviceability?

Have seen the same issue listed here on this list but no real resolution or procedures.
I am beginning to feel it may be a block-connector issue having found a few where the pins had not been seated correctly.

Did all the normal stuff including checking for recall being done, brake switches, fuses, concentric ring contacts in the steering wheel (Tested). 

Worked for a while again on a 10,000km trip then failed 50km from home.  ::)

& How irritating is it that Ford has decided no outward indication the CC is on. Seems very dangerous to me. I may add a couple of low impedance LED's for CC being on and active.

Cheers everyone for your help.
 
Welcome to The RV Forum!

The cruise control disengages when it sees voltage on the brake light line, i.e. when you step on the brakes and engage the brake light switch.  Part of the failsafe is the CC applying a low current source to the brake light line when it's engaged and letting continuity through the brake lights pull the voltage to ground.

If someone replaced the brake lights with LEDs, or there's a bad connection between the brake switch and the bulbs or between the the bulbs and chassis ground, the CC signal won't pull low and the CC will disengage just as if you pressed on the brake pedal.

Put a voltmeter on the brake light line after the pedal switch and see if it's staying at ground when the cruise control is turned on.
 
I have a 97 F53 chassis Fleetwood (Southwind) and I too had CC issues, and frustrated me as well there s no indication it is on.  My issue traced to the connector block and some dirty connections, and solutionn was ID-ing the wires for cruise and bypassing the block connector, it was time consuming but CC works flawlessly now.
 
Sorry for the misdirection.  I remembered that an old motorhome of mine gave me trouble with the cruise control because of a vacuum line issue.

Guess I am just too old.
 
Not a ford but a Chevy (And last month a peterbuilt driven by a Truck driver friend of mine)

After a transmission repair the CC would work, or not, as it saw fit.. Poor dealer's technician was swiftly going bald tearing his hair out.

They had unplugged a connector. and when they plugged it back in bent a couple pins. Once we found it all was good for a week. then some idiot in a caddy decided to play freeway billiards and put the red ball (My Chevy was red) in the side pocket. Troopers were amazed I kept it wheels down but I did.. Got to work by tow truck and dropped the remain at the body shop diagonally across the intersection.

The Peterbuilt with the same (Bent pins) issue it was the ECC He had MAJOR issues.
 
Lou: Great ideas. I am sure I have LED brake lights from prev owner, but the Bounder put on 10,000km with no issues. I will try the other things.

Pancake Bill: Your assessment sounds much as I fear. Can you ID the block connection you discovered.  Close would be nice as I don't fit well upside down under the dash any more, hunting and pecking with my head going red.

I still think Ford must have a diagnostic proper procedure for hunting down issues on a device that by its very nature can?t function while you do the testing. I will let you know if I decide to add a couple of LED?s for power and engaged.

Thanks everyone for trying.
 
House Husband said:
Bill, just so you know, the F53 Ford chassis has used totally electronic cruse control since the first F53 in 1988.
Not to nit pick, but my 1992 Bounder on ?91 F53 chassis had vacuum controlled cruise control. Tomato can vacuum reservoir rusting out and vacuum lines failing caused problems. I know for a fact that ?95 was electronic and possibly ?94.
 
Yes it's all electric in the latter part of the 90's
Strikes me that in this RV class A size, you spend a lot of time with very low vacuum on the road, and that a vacuum CC would be a detriment with very little vacuum to activate correctly. On the good side they are almost always hyper mechanical and rarely subject to wiring issues.

Tracking the wiring now I am resorting to unplugging all connections for inspection. This can cause more problems though if not put back right.

Cheers
 
Captron said:
Lou: Great ideas. I am sure I have LED brake lights from prev owner, but the Bounder put on 10,000km with no issues. I will try the other things.

Pancake Bill: Your assessment sounds much as I fear. Can you ID the block connection you discovered.  Close would be nice as I don't fit well upside down under the dash any more, hunting and pecking with my head going red.

I still think Ford must have a diagnostic proper procedure for hunting down issues on a device that by its very nature can?t function while you do the testing. I will let you know if I decide to add a couple of LED?s for power and engaged.

Thanks everyone for trying.

Your '96 F53 has a pressure activated normally closed switch on the master cylinder that disengages the CC when the brakes are activated.  The switch was the subject of several recalls some years back due to brake fluid leaking into the switch section and starting a fire. The fix for a leaking switch was replacement, but the fix for all others that were not yet leaking was to add a short wire harness with a protective fuse. A faulty switch can disable the CC. The recalls ultimately involved about 15 million vehicles including F53's from 1995 to 2002 (Recall #07V-336). The master cylinder on your '96 is located on the frame rail behind the left front wheel.
 
Sorry, hadn't seen your question, but the connector on Southwind was left of steering column along firewall/floorboard.  On Southwnd the drivers door helped.
 
On older vehicles the brake pedal rebound spring weakens with age. On an uneven road the pedal can bounce and turn off the cruise control.
 
I have a 99 class A w/A Ford 53 frame and my cc stopped working because the linkage on the on the intake manifold came loose. Just a thought.
 
Virgie & Fred said:
I have a 99 class A w/A Ford 53 frame and my cc stopped working because the linkage on the on the intake manifold came loose. Just a thought.

thanks i'll check on that, cause a got a exhaust leak on my F53 1992 just trying to find the cc problem i try a lot of thing brake switch adjustment, vacuum switch adjustment, changing pressure switch on master cylinder, and the other problem that i got is i always have 4.5 volt on my brake light  :) like they say one day (problem) at a time  8)
 
Brainstorm said:
the other problem that i got is i always have 4.5 volt on my brake light

That will keep the cruise control from engaging, and it's typical of an LED replacement bulb.  The solution is a $1.50 power resistor to pull the voltage to ground like an incandescent bulb does.
 
Brainstorm said:
thanks i'll check on that, cause a got a exhaust leak on my F53 1992 just trying to find the cc problem i try a lot of thing brake switch adjustment, vacuum switch adjustment, changing pressure switch on master cylinder, and the other problem that i got is i always have 4.5 volt on my brake light  :) like they say one day (problem) at a time  8)

That 4.5 volts is imposed by the EEC-IV computer and must be pulled to ground by a resistance device such as an incandescent bulb or resistance added when using LEDs. I elected to add a 193 bulb and socket to both stop light wires.

Richard
 
Thanks  Lou Schneider and  House Husband

you were right those resistor just solve my problem

really appreciate  the help  :)) :)) :))
 
Hey guys, new here and was reading this. Was the disengagement issue you guys have intermittent or constant? Reason I ask is my sister in law is out w/ our 95 southwind right now and is reporting intermittent disengagement. In my case I feel it's something in the the turn signal stalk as sometimes turn signals and brights will disengage it. Just want to get some more details from you guys before I go try to dig up some schematics for this thing. We have LEDS throughout the entire RV and I did end up using a few 1/4W 380ohm resistors at my trailer harness to ground on each tail light for a different issue (opposite light slightly illuminating when no parking lights were on and signal was activated). It was not a grounding issue FYI,

thanks
Dave
 

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