afriot

2011 F150 5.0 auto 2x2 47k

Cruise will not turn on at times. After driving when I want to use the cruise, I push the button to turn it on. Maybe 30% of the time it will not turn on. I can press the button a hundred times but it will not turn on. I can pull over, shut the truck off and restart it and still the cruise will not turn on. Then, for seemingly no doin' of mine, I can press the button after a random amount of time and it will turn on.

Anyone else have an issue with the cruise control like this?

Watt-maker

Sounds like a faulty switch.

Chris's FX4

My 2011 did this several times over the summer, especially when it was really hot out. Bought the truck used back in May. Pretty much the same situation as you described. Except I could sometimes come to a stop and put the truck in park, let sit like a minute, and then the cruise would work. Other times I could turn the wheel like 1/4-3/8 of a turn and then it work put then the buttons wouldn't work again when the wheel was straight. Then at a random time after trying to get it to work, it would then suddenly work. The issue with mine though has completely gone away once the temps started getting cold.

I'm hoping its just a bad switch.

afriot

Honestly, I was hoping for a faulty relay. I don't want to tear into the steering wheel. But I will! Hopefully, if it's not a membrane switch, I can just solder another tactile switch into place.

Have a great day!

afriot

OK, Update to the cruise issue.

The cruise stopped working completely. I checked internet for removal procedure and found nothing. I found a picture of the switch on a well-known auction website and see that there were locking nipples on the back so I figured that it would just pull out. I have removed the switch by carefully prying it from the back of the switch (not by pulling the buttons/levers) toward the driver's seat and out of the steering wheel one end at a time (I did top first), depressing the connector lock and removing the connector (Very short leads). After bringing the switch inside to the work area, I disassembled the switch by prying the locking tabs out on the side. Be careful of the white parts falling out and getting lost. There was a membrane with buttons on it to make contact with the circuit board. I checked the diode and resistors to be sure they were not open or shorted and nothing appeared suspicious. I checked the two sides of the switch for the power to be sure they had continuity with the connector pins. I after making sure I left no oils on the board or membrane button contacts I reassembled the switch and reversed the extraction procedure.

The cruise control does turn on now. While I don't know what I did to change the situation, it does appear to work now. Maybe the connector contacts were a bit corroded and needed a little friction to wear off the bad stuff to make a good connection.

Maybe if you have trouble with the cruise not turning on, just unplug and plug the switch in to see if it's the connection before tearing into the switch itself and risk damaging it or getting it dirty when the effort might not be warranted.

I hope the switch continues to work beyond the time we are in need of it.


Best wishes!

afriot

Sorry, after getting back on the highway yesterday, the cruise failed to turn on. I will have to get back to it to trace the problem down. Grrrrrr.

Chris's FX4

Darn. Guess I won't be trying that with mine then. I hope its something as simple as a new switch, but I'm second guessing that now since when mine acts up I can turn the wheel to the left and it will work.

afriot

I am hoping that it is not the computer in the truck. A month ago, I was driving through town and I heard a "DING", looked down and a message told me I had "Low Oil Pressure". I looked quickly at the gauge and sure enough, there was no oil pressure. I quickly came to a stop (Red traffic light) and shut off the truck. As the light went to green I hesitantly restarted the truck and watched the oil pressure needle rise to it's usual position. Was there a glitch in the computer code or hardware that led to the low oil pressure warning or was there something wrong with the oil pressure switch? It hasn't happened since. But the cruise control issue started with a once in a while issue too.

Does everything go through the ECM? I wouldn't think the cruise would, since all the same sensors are in use as when a regular driver controls the throttle.

kevin7898

check this video out for your cruise issue, id be willing to put money down that it is

Mlarv

I am going to have to test this on my Escape