Author Topic: Cruise control will not turn on  (Read 26502 times)

Jerry Emert

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Re: Cruise control will not turn on
« Reply #15 on: April 23, 2014, 11:52:36 PM »
So...with the jake brake in the middle its off?  Cruise may or may not come on with the brake on?  Now I'm confused, I think?  In any case I can't get the cruise to come on and I can't figure how to get it in high idle.  Any thoughts?
Jerry, Chief USN Retired
2003 Patriot Thunder Lexington 40' 3 Slides
C-12 Ser#  2KS89983
4000MH

Tom and Pam Brown

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Re: Cruise control will not turn on
« Reply #16 on: April 24, 2014, 01:32:30 AM »
Jeremy, on mine middle is off, and to raise idle just rev engine a bit a set cruise.  Not sure how yours works.

Norm Green

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Re: Cruise control will not turn on
« Reply #17 on: April 24, 2014, 04:24:51 AM »
On my '08 Thunder, I can drive with the couch on cruise control on only with the engine brake in the off position.  As soon as I turn the engine brake on to either position, the cruise control no longer functions.  If the engine brake switch is turned on, I can not set the cruise control to on.
Norm & Cynthia Green
Franklin, TN
2018 Entegra Cornerstone 45W
Previous, four different Beaver coaches

Dennis Crawford

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Re: Cruise control will not turn on
« Reply #18 on: April 25, 2014, 02:00:51 PM »
Just a quick note here.  Make sure the foot brake switch is not sticking.  If so,  cruise will not engage.

Dennis

Jerry Emert

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Re: Cruise control will not turn on
« Reply #19 on: April 26, 2014, 04:22:05 PM »
Quote from: Dennis Crawford
Just a quick note here.  Make sure the foot brake switch is not sticking.  If so,  cruise will not engage.

Dennis

would the brake lights be on all the time if the switch was sticking?  Thinking yes.
Jerry, Chief USN Retired
2003 Patriot Thunder Lexington 40' 3 Slides
C-12 Ser#  2KS89983
4000MH

Jerry Emert

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Re: Cruise control will not turn on
« Reply #20 on: April 26, 2014, 04:23:19 PM »
Anybody know where fuses, if any, are located for the cruise control?  Other functions of the smart wheel work still.
Jerry, Chief USN Retired
2003 Patriot Thunder Lexington 40' 3 Slides
C-12 Ser#  2KS89983
4000MH

Jerry Emert

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Re: Cruise control will not turn on
« Reply #21 on: April 26, 2014, 06:56:05 PM »
Quote from: neil omalley
On my '05 Thunder when you  turn the engine off, it resets the cruise to off.When you start the engine the cruise will STILL be off. When you then push the "ON' button, nothing will happen - no indications , no constant speed - nothing. UNTIL you push the set button THEN the Alladin will indicate cruise on. If while you are waiting for the Cruise on light you get anxious (as I have) and push the off button hoping to reset, when you push the on button nothing happens again until you push the set button.  and sometimes that will not allow the cruise to come on.Because you have turned the cruise off via the wheel button, sometimes I have found you have to turn off the engine and restart to reprogram the cruise.  ?? Sometimes these things have a mind of their own :)

Didn't work for mine.  Alladin indicated cruise "ïnactive" but showed a set speed of 60.5 mph.  It would not set no matter what I did.  I even tried to go to fast idle before we left.  No go!  Any idea where fuse is?
Jerry, Chief USN Retired
2003 Patriot Thunder Lexington 40' 3 Slides
C-12 Ser#  2KS89983
4000MH

Joel Ashley

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Re: Cruise control will not turn on
« Reply #22 on: April 26, 2014, 09:56:17 PM »
If the brake lights work okay and the cruise control does show that it's set on the Alladin but it doesn't engage, on my coach that would make me suspicious of Relay K4, the Cruise Control Cancel relay.  I see no diagrammed fuses or circuit breakers that would likely be involved, nor is there such an animal listed on my electrical bay legend.  That said, there are two circuit breakers for the entire VIP ECU - on mine they are CB 2 and CB 25;  if one of them was out, I'd not expect anything on your Smart Wheel to work, and you say that they do.

Your model rig could easily be configured differently, especially with regard to assigned relay numbers.  The glitch could also be in the Smart Wheel switchpad or the VIP electronic control module (which has 4 of its own internal relays) as others here may attest.  I and others can also vouch that relays can go belly up.  At least I'd check that all my relay connections in the electrical bay were clean and solid.

Joel
Joel and Lee Rae Ashley
Clackamas, Oregon
36.9 ft. 2006 Monterey Ventura IV, aka"Monty Rae"
C9 400HP Cat

Jerry Emert

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Re: Cruise control will not turn on
« Reply #23 on: April 26, 2014, 10:49:41 PM »
Quote from: Joel Ashley
If the brake lights work okay and the cruise control does show that it's set on the Alladin but it doesn't engage, on my coach that would make me suspicious of Relay K4, the Cruise Control Cancel relay.  I see no diagrammed fuses or circuit breakers that would likely be involved, nor is there such an animal listed on my electrical bay legend.  That said, there are two circuit breakers for the entire VIP ECU - on mine they are CB 2 and CB 25;  if one of them was out, I'd not expect anything on your Smart Wheel to work, and you say that they do.

Your model rig could easily be configured differently, especially with regard to assigned relay numbers.  The glitch could also be in the Smart Wheel switchpad or the VIP electronic control module (which has 4 of its own internal relays) as others here may attest.  I and others can also vouch that relays can go belly up.  At least I'd check that all my relay connections in the electrical bay were clean and solid.

Joel

Thanks Joel, I'll try to find the relays.  Still real new at this!
Jerry, Chief USN Retired
2003 Patriot Thunder Lexington 40' 3 Slides
C-12 Ser#  2KS89983
4000MH

Jerry Emert

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Re: Cruise control will not turn on
« Reply #24 on: April 27, 2014, 10:20:00 PM »
Update:  Our inaugural cruise was this weekend.  Short trip from Orlando to KOA St Augustine.  Tried every way I could think of to get the cruise to work on the way up...no way!  Had a good trip, learned a lot but no mishaps or broke stuff!  While coming home today, just for giggles, while watching the Aladdin, I activated the cruise.  Aladdin said "activated" and it was actually working!  Did it 3 or 4 times and it worked great even with the exhaust brake on.  Now I notice that I'm coming up on a car pretty quick so I touch the brake, then cram on the brake.  Cruise is not disengaging but trying to maintain speed in-spite of me pushing the brake for all I'm worth.  Luckily I thought of the off switch at this point and all is well and the beaver is not sporting a new 3000 lb hood ornament.  Anyway, brake pedal switch or relay sticking?  What do you think?  Thanks in advance.
Jerry
Jerry, Chief USN Retired
2003 Patriot Thunder Lexington 40' 3 Slides
C-12 Ser#  2KS89983
4000MH

Joel Ashley

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Re: Cruise control will not turn on
« Reply #25 on: April 27, 2014, 11:00:17 PM »
Still sounds like a bad Cancel Cruise relay, Jerry, but I'm far from an expert.  Since this has now seriously become a safety issue, I'd forgo turning the CC on at all until you get input by contacting 1) Vehicle Improvement Products    http://www.vipwheels.com/technical-support
 2) Monaco     or 3) Ken at Beaver Coach Sales  1-800-382-2597

In DC electrics, intermittent operation is commonly a sign of a bad connection, not a short circuit somewhere - in that case a breaker would have blown (like the fuse you were looking for).  That's why I suggested a corroded or sloppy relay connection, but in electronics like this where there are multiple control modules involved, like the engine, tranny, and the VIP ECU itself, there are numerous possibilities, not to mention one of the Smart Wheel switches or something.

Just after our marriage in 1980, my wife piled her two daughters into our month-old Honda and headed east on I-84 to visit relatives in Idaho.  When she opted for a break at Rufus and got on the downhill off-ramp, when she touched the brake the Cruise Control wouldn't shut off.  At the ramp bottom she could not stop, crossed the cross-street, swerved to avoid a crossing Class C motorhome so she couldn't go up the freeway on-ramp on the other side, and rammed nearly head-on into the guard rail on the other side of the cross-street.  I nearly lost my entire new family, and the car was totaled.  Tough little bugger though, that '80 Accord;  we replaced it with an '81 Accord since its impact system saved our family (the cruise control was the dealer's fault, not Honda's, although we didn't put CC on the second car).  Forgive me if I don't trust cruise controls, although they are much more sophisticated now.  Separating the engine from the transmission was not something that occurred to my wife in her panic, but we now know it probably would have saved the day - as it might have saved some of the Toyota fiascos in recent years.

So you see why I hope you simply stop using the cruise control until the pro's weigh in or fix it.  I do use the cruise on all our rigs now days, but with special due concern, perhaps some faith that modern ones are more reliable, and options in the back of my mind in case the system fails to shut off when it should.  Together with other practices, the CC prevents the relatively unsteady human foot from micro-wasting fuel over long hauls.  The wife rarely if ever uses the cruise control on any rig, but doesn't get nervous when I do.

Joel  
Joel and Lee Rae Ashley
Clackamas, Oregon
36.9 ft. 2006 Monterey Ventura IV, aka"Monty Rae"
C9 400HP Cat

Jerry Emert

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Re: Cruise control will not turn on
« Reply #26 on: April 28, 2014, 02:59:33 AM »
Joel, once I figured out what was happening I was done with it.  It's too dangerous to use.  The more I think about it the more I think its a sticky relay.  I worked in electronics in the Navy for 20 yrs so although a long time ago I do have some experience.  I am home now and I have the wiring diagrams of the smart wheel and the coach so I have a good chance of figuring it out.  The high idle function gives me the perfect way of testing it without actually having to drive it.  Thanks for your concern and your help.  I'll let you know what I find or if I decide to let the pros fix it.
Jerry
Jerry, Chief USN Retired
2003 Patriot Thunder Lexington 40' 3 Slides
C-12 Ser#  2KS89983
4000MH

Dan Murphy

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Re: Cruise control will not turn on
« Reply #27 on: April 28, 2014, 03:06:32 AM »
Jerry
We are having the same problem with our Contessa. It is really scary when the brake doesn't cancel the cruise control?
This happened to us on our way home from Florida in early April. I reported the problem here on the forum but I have yet to get it fixed.
Please keep me posted if you find the solution to the cruise problem.I will be following the forum as I have been unable to find any solution yet on mine. Thanks.

Dan

Gary Carver

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Re: Cruise control will not turn on
« Reply #28 on: May 19, 2014, 02:02:01 AM »
After talking to the service manager at BCS in Oregon he thinks it is a relay so we have an appointment in August and I will let everyone know the outcome so stay tuned.

Jerry Emert

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Re: Cruise control will not turn on
« Reply #29 on: May 19, 2014, 04:19:14 AM »
My navy experience is coming back to me after buying our new Beaver.  I was an Electronic Warfare Technician.  I've been trouble shooting electrical problems, with Gerald's help.  
The cruise control was not working so I put some good old Navy know how to work.  One of the things a navy tech learns early is that the vibrations of a ship at sea causes all kinds of things to vibrate loose even if held solidly in place.  I started banging"really tapping"on relays with my little hammer I use to work on guns.  Now my cruise control works fine in the high idle mode.  Still won't trust the cruise on the road but now at least I know that it was a sticking relay.  Now to figure out which one.
So Dan and Gary here's my update.  We'll see how long my Navy repair lasts.
Jerry, Chief USN Retired
2003 Patriot Thunder Lexington 40' 3 Slides
C-12 Ser#  2KS89983
4000MH