Intermittant or No Cruise Control Especially After Adjustable Pedal Fix

[vegasmarauder]

Just an FYI if anyone else runs into this problem or just plain has an non-working cruise control.

There is a deactivator switch that is located on the brake pedal assembly. You remove it and reinstall it after doing the adjustable pedal fix. You may find the cruise control no longer works. This will also apply if your cruise control doesn't work either.

There is a metal lever that pushes against the deactivator switch (not the brake light switch by the way) and keeps the plunger retracted. The switch is closed with the plunger depressed and opens with the brake pedal pushed. It sends 12V to the cruise control unit under the hood.

If you remove the connector from the cruise unit under the hood and check the orange wire on the connector (second hole from the front of the car on the connector) it should read 12V all the time, even with the key off. This circuit runs from the brake light power feed wire to the deactivator switch and then to the underhood unit. The 12V feed is the same as the brake lights, so if you press the brake pedal and have brake lights the front half of the circuit is good. If you have no 12V to the cruise unit the switch is either bad or out of adjustment.

If you are driving the car you can take your toe and pull UP on the brake pedal like you are trying to release the brakes more. While holding the pedal up like this, press the cruise ON button and then SET. If the cruise works, the switch is out of adjustment.

You can take a test light and do the same thing at the deactivator switch. The green/red stripe wire should have 12V and then also the orange wire out of the switch with no brakes applied. If you pull up on the pedal and get 12V on the orange wire, it's the adjustment.

To fix, press on the brake pedal and then carefully bend the metal ear back up toward the switch slightly. You want to do it without damaging the deactivator switch. Recheck the orange wire until 12V is there with brakes off.

If you have the pedal assembly out of the car to change the broken gear, you can check the lever visually. It should be parallel to the pedal shaft (see picture).

Also, I noticed the lever has a cutout in the side of the pedal housing. I have found that the lever can hit the upper side of the cutout when the master cylinder rod is removed from the pedal assembly and the pedal goes all the way up. This may bend the lever. When the assembly is out of the car, make sure the lever does not catch on the side of the assembly through its full travel. If so, gently bend the housing outward until it clears the lever through full pedal travel.

I have done 9 adjustable pedal gears so far and found on 2 of them, the lever hit the side of the housing and was bent resulting in an inoperative cruise control.

The pictures should help explain what I am talking about and the side view shows the cutout that hits the metal lever. You can see in the first picture the lever hits the housing and is bent so it is no longer parallel to the pivot shaft. This cruise control would not have worked after the pedal was reinstalled in the car.

If you need a new switch, the part number is YF1Z-9F924-AB. List price is $26.00

Hope this helps..

[Marauderjack]

Easy fix......mine did it too!!:argue:

Remove the cruise disengage switch and squeeze the cut off tab (tab on the brake that holds the switch in) and the switch mounting point a little closer together with some Channel Locks, (1/8") or less!! Re-install the switch and test....may require a bit more squeezing but probably not!!:argue:

This happened when I installed a brand new pedal and when I did the repair!!:cool:

Good Luck!!:beer:

[Curless]

Good info to have...I was reading about Town cars last night that have had this issue as well. I went back thru the FORD instructions on how to remove and replace the pedal assembly and it never talks about this. I will have this added to the instructions ASAP!

[Marauderjack]

Yeah Chris.....they must set the clearance on the thin edge and the R&R process cuts enough plastic from the switch to move it back ever so slightly!!:cool:

BTW....my pedals are working GREAT....move them daily since I now....CAN!!!;)

[Curless]

Yeah Chris.....they must set the clearance on the thin edge and the R&R process cuts enough plastic from the switch to move it back ever so slightly!!:cool:

BTW....my pedals are working GREAT....move them daily since I now....CAN!!!;)

Glad to hear it! I hate that there is a possible other problem though...weird, I've had mine in and out three or four times and not ever had an issue. I did break the first switch I worked with though by not being careful...twisted it the wrong way and SNAP!

[Curless]

FYI, I have sent a message to a mod (not sure who it was, there was no name on the link) to add a step to check the switch out before and after you remove it.

[Marauderjack]

Glad to hear it! I hate that there is a possible other problem though...weird, I've had mine in and out three or four times and not ever had an issue. I did break the first switch I worked with though by not being careful...twisted it the wrong way and SNAP!

I expect some are setup very close to the edge......some not!?:confused:

[Curless]

I always set my brake switches and cruise switches so they are very tight. I like to be able to just whisper on the pedal and have a response. Its very easy to adjust it so its instant.

[Rockettman]

^^^ don't you want it instant?
Along with the idea of Cruise Contol; you're off the pedals. (of course).
If something should require you to turn off the Cruise - it's probably something you're going to need to slow down or stop for; right?

[Curless]

^^^ don't you want it instant?
Along with the idea of Cruise Contol; you're off the pedals. (of course).
If something should require you to turn off the Cruise - it's probably something you're going to need to slow down or stop for; right?


Thats what I mean, I want it to work instantly. You can bend the tabs so that it makes contact quicker.

[vegasmarauder]

Not to confuse the issue but some switches I pulled out of 2002's (same adj pedal assembly) and early 2003's have a plunger that is about 1/8" longer than the replacement switches and later production models. I am sure this is to kill the cruise at the slightest touch of the brake pedal. The closer tolerance means some will be out of range due to normal mass production demensional differences. I have noticed the issuse seems to come up in cars that have had the pedals replaced or the switch replaced. But I can see as the pedal assemblies get some wera on them the overall tolerance exceeding the demension needed to make the switch close.

And MarauderJack is correct in that anyway you can bend the contact tab back closer to the switch will fix the issue. It just needs to be bent slightly.

[martyo]

old thread, I know but does this switch issue keep the cruise from working at all?

[tbone]

I had this problem. I bought the gear but have not fixed it yet. I found that just pushing the adjuster switch back and forth until it hit the sweet spot fixed the problem until I take it all apart.

[martyo]

I had this problem. I bought the gear but have not fixed it yet. I found that just pushing the adjuster switch back and forth until it hit the sweet spot fixed the problem until I take it all apart.

Unfortunately that did not work for me.

[justbob]

Marty. When I did my pedal assembly my cruise no longer worked either. Of course it is completely 100% buried in the bracing I welded in to the point it makes scary cracking sounds just trying to twist to remove.. Anyways, I managed to get it out, seemed to work fine, re installed, been working since. All I can say is that is one seriously delicate switch it seems.


Self proclaimed Builder Of Badassery.

Buy it, Break it, Build it BETTER.
"Since 2004"

[vegasmarauder]

Yes, this switch out of adjustment will kill the cruise control.

By the way. Do not put the switch back in until AFTER you have connected the pedal rod to the master cylinder. Also do not push on the plunger manually. The plunger has a ratchet mechanism on it that cuases the plunger to retract in and will never come back out. The correct sequence is to install the entire thing and the pedal rod. The last thing is to slightly depress the brake pedal by hand and then install the deactivator switch. It just goes in the slots and turns about a 1/4 turn. If you try to do it without pressing the brake pedal slightly you may inadvertently move the plunger and the cruise won't work. In some cars even if the plunger moves one click in, it will open the switch. You can compensate for this by slightly bending the metal contact lever a little closer to the switch. Once you release the brake pedal it automatically sets the correct spacing for the plunger, that's the purpose for the ratcheting mechanism.

Sounds more confusing that it is reality.

[Coupe]

@vegasmarauder:
thank you for your DIY, it would be worth a mind!!!! :banana2:

[vegasmarauder]

Thanks. I've learned a tremendous amount from others on here so want to do my part.

[Ken]

Thanks for bringing up this old post. Can definitely be my problem, pedal gear was changed in parking lot of the Homewood Suite in Atlanta at MV11. Cruise didn't work on way home or since. I will check into this. Never connected the two issues.

[vegasmarauder]

Another quick way to check (and avoid having to crawl up under the dash) is to probe the solid Orange wire at the cruise control connector. It should be the second wire from the front of the car. It should have 12V all the time, even with key off. It's powered from the same feed for the brake lights, so if you have brake lights, but no 12V at the orange wire, 99.999% of the time, it's the deactivator switch. Then have someone pull up firmly on the brake pedal and see if the 12V shows up at the orange wire.

[Chi Stallion]

Big thanks to the op for this thread helped me figure out why my cruise control wasn't working.

[BAD MERC]

I did the pedal repair and have read and read and reread this thread trying to figure out what the pictures are showing. At the moment I have a repaired pedal and no cruise. The brake lights work with what I assume is the brake light switch mounted on the master cylinder pushrod. I am guessing the plastic plunger is for the cruise but seems to be depressed when the pedal is released. So far I have taken it apart and put it back together four times and still no cruise. What is it we are fixing/pinching/bending?

[MERCURY 2003LSE]

I did the pedal repair and have read and read and reread this thread trying to figure out what the pictures are showing. At the moment I have a repaired pedal and no cruise. The brake lights work with what I assume is the brake light switch mounted on the master cylinder pushrod. I am guessing the plastic plunger is for the cruise but seems to be depressed when the pedal is released. So far I have taken it apart and put it back together four times and still no cruise. What is it we are fixing/pinching/bending?

Did you figue his problem out yet with the cruise control ?

[BAD MERC]

It appears the metal tang (could not comprehend what I was looking at) might be bent out a tad. The plunger switch makes contact with it and presumably that is how it operates but I have yet to test continuity based on switch operation. I might bend the tang back and put eyeballs on it to see it it's depressed all the way. This is my first pedal repair and I'd like to offer this to other members just as I do LCM repair, HVAC O rings, and now pedal repair. Sending somebody back across the state with no cruise would mortify me.

[vegasmarauder]

_Some clarification. The deactivator switch has to be removed before disconnecting the master cylinder push rod. This is because the deactivator switch has a ratchet plunger in it. Once the pedal comes all the way up it sets the correct switch clearance so there is continuity with pedal released and open circuit with pedal pushed. If the pedal is allowed to go back released from the push rod it will push the deactivator plunger further back resulting in an open circuit with a depressed pedal. If you make that mistake, you either buy a new deactivator switch that has the plunger at the beginning of its travel or you may be able to bend the metal lever on the pedal and get the switch back in the correct location. The switch plunger can not be released once it pushes in and ratchets.
Also make sure you push the brake pedal down when re-installing the deactivator switch. If not, you can inadvertently push the switch ratchet plunger further in and end up with an open circuit with released pedal

[mm svt]

Lots of questions answered from reading older posts, thank you.