Cruise Control woes

[Okie34]

Here's an interesting one for you....

How about a CC that was working, hit a road bump and it stopped working. If the speedometer cable is disconnected and spun with a drill to speed (to fool the sensors) the CC works! It does not work when the bike is running though. Powers up OK, but will not set.

Swapped the front brake sensor with one off another voyager of unknown workability, still no joy. In testing the front brake sensor seemed untra sensitive and the slightest jar would dis-engage the CC.

We have a new sensor on order, but are there any other recommendations of suggestions anyone would care to offer? Other problem areas that I certain;y have over looked?

Thanks!

--JD

[David (N. Alabama)]

I would have to put negative pressure on the front brake lever to get the cruise to engage. If I hit a jarring bump it would usually disengage. I adjusted everything I could and then I finally just added a wad of electical tape to the part of the brake lever that holds the switch in. Been working fine this past 6 months.

[Okie34]

Am I looking at the wrong switch??? Small black plastic under the brake lever. 4 wires coming from it? Switch trigger goes in on squeezing of the brake handel. 2 triggers, one for CC disengage and the other activates the brake lights.

Correct?

[Mr Jensee]

Probably, I know all other bikes have the brake light switch there. You might want to pull the brake lever and make sure the mounting hole is not worn out enough to give free play there. If the bolt hole is out of round or has worn to a larger diameter, it doesn't have to be much, it could affect how the switch is set off. I'd replace that lever.

[David in NW Penna]

Okie34, you are correct. The switch on the right hand lever has 2 sets of contacts, 1 for the brake light, and one for the CC circuit. The brake light set should be Normally Open, and the CC circuit set should be Normally Closed. When you squeeze the lever, they reverse state. I had to replace mine a few years ago because the spades going into the plastic worked loose. There is also another microswitch on the clutch lever and the foot brake for the CC circuit, too, so be sure to check those. Again, the CC circuit switches should be Normally Closed.

[Rick near Kansas city]

There is also a switch on the carbs. I have had trouble with that switch before.

[The Masked Rider]

Have you slammed the throttle closed lately? The micro switch on the carbs is very seldom triggered and can get dirty with time. If the throttle is slammed closed (beyond just letting it go to idle), it will trigger the switch which is ment to shut off the cruise. If the switch is dirty, the switch may stick which will leave it in the 'open' position. To make sure the switch is not the problem, look at the pic below. Disconnect the blue wire connector you see in the pic. Get a small piece of wire and make a 'jumper' for the connector end that comes from the harness. This will close the circuit and bypass the switch in the system. You also need to check the other things that have been mentioned but this will remove that switch from the system and let you know if its the problem. Check one thing at a time so you can pin point the problem.

[The Masked Rider]

I forgot to mention. If you remove a possible problem from the system and find that it is not the problem, don't forget to hook that part back up before you remove another part from the system. Front brake switch, rear brake switch, clutch switch and carb switch. Don't remove all these from the system at once or you will really be surprise when you can't shut down the cruise. Talk about pucker power. If you want to remove the front brake switch from the system to see if that might be the problem, just remove the one screw holding it on and let the switch hang there while you take it for a ride to check the cruise function. You still have the other switches that will cancel the cruise function.

[Okie34]

Thank you for that information. That's kind of like "Why didn't I think of that"!

However, for the Carb Switch, I see two blue wires. One in the lower section of the pic that looks like it has a fuse, the other in the upper section of the pic that looks fairly short and going into a control module(?). Since I haven't looked real close at these particular sections of my bike, I'm having some difficulty identifying them.

-- JD

[Chris near Kansas City]

The lower blue wire in the picture that runs along the LH frame rail is what you're looking for.

[Okie34]

Just wanted to let everyone know, the Cruise Control is now working! All it took was $35 and a new switch. The switch on the front brake apparently was bad. We had switched with another voyager and that one was bad. I did the "Let it hang" thing and didn't help. So... Ordered the new switch put it on Saturday and works like a charm now.

-- JD

[Okie34]

Well, the problem is back. Thought we had it fixed as the CC worked for 2 runs. Partially on the second one. Now, once again, it powers up, but won't engage.

Now, here comes the kicker... We can hook the speedo cable to a drill and all the sensors seems to work properly. CC engages, and disengages once each one of the sensors are tripped.

Given that, is this looking more like an engine control issue, say the sensor at the carbs? Or, does it sound more like a CC brain (control box) issue?

Any advice would be appreciated before I loose all my hair to pulling. Believe me, I don't have that much to lose!

-- JD

[Chris near Kansas City]

Did you disconnect the carb switch and jump the two wires together?

[Okie34]

Havent bypassed the switches just yet. I'll probably do that in the next couple of days.

[Okie34]

The Front brake switch is a real pain! Turns out that was the culprit yet again. did some minor modification to the brake lever (superglued a small piece of plastic in the tab) to hold out out from the switch. I ran a short test for about a mile or so before rain and hunger (it was supper time) drove be back in. We'll see how this works in the coming days.

-- JD

[carl leo]

be very careful putting something under the brake lever, it could cause brake drag and a dangerous situation, i would just replace the lever.

[Okie34]

Carl,

I voiced my concerns with this also. However, the modification works and does not cause the drag. It is a thin piece of plastic placed on the inside of the tab that activates the switches. Actual travel of the lever was not affected, but activating the switch is delayed about 1/8 inch.

Seems to work so far. I'll know more this weekend when I get a chance to ride some more!

-- JD

[Okie34]

Has anyone had a control unit go bad? I've jumpered just about everything I can and made adjustments to those that can be adjusted. I simply can not keep the CC going for more than a day. Averages is about 80 miles on the OD before it no longer works. Powers up Ok according to the indicator. Will engage after adjustments. Will work properly fpor a period, then simply dis-engage and not re-engage.

No abnormal driving, no big bumps, no appreciable loss of speed, etc.

It's one of those things that will drive you battytrying to suse out!

-- JD

[Okie34]

Though it would be nice, I do believe I'm just about done with messing with the CC issue. Yeah, it got the better of me. I have checked, jumped, replaced, cleaned, just about everything I can. I have not replaced any more switches. I don't see the value in it. I am not going to replace the Control Unit or Actuator, again, I simply don't see the value in doing this. MaKaw wants $500 and $600 for the 2 units I suspect are lumpy. Switches run about $25 to $35 each.

The problem can not be duplicated by fooling the control. The problem doesn't show up immediately. In fact, the whole issue goes away once you start messing with things, then re-appears about the time Murphy decides it should. It's a true Gremlin.

I will be installing a Vista Cuise or similar device and that will work for what I intend it to do.

Thank you everyone for your help though. I learned a lot more about the bike and appreciate what a great family AVA is!

-- JD

[Chris near Kansas City]

I'm sure Carl could beat those prices by a mile (or two or three) on new or used.