Cruise control questions

[FundamentalyConfused]

When I bought this 90 MY Legacy I was happy that there was cruise control as a stock option but was disappointed to find out that it didn't work. I can hit the cruise button to turn it on and the light comes on and I hear the click on the passenger side kick panel telling me the CC unit is getting power. Trying to set the cruise is another story.

The horn didn't work on this car when I got it and in my research on how to fix the horn I took apart the steering wheel and cleaned out the ring connector in case there was a bad connection there. Still no horn or cruise. Then I found out that the CC, for whatever reason, runs thru the horn relay. I checked the horn relay and found out it was heavily corroded. I ran to the local salvage yard and managed to get a newer horn relay out of a 95 outback, for a dollar!! What a find that was, I was literally jumping up and down when my horn worked for the first time! After I put in the new relay I have my horn back but the cruise is still not setting.

When you set the cruise is it supposed to make a click? I have the service manual for the 1992 Liberty, it's supposed to be the closest thing right, and it doesn't have much information for trouble shooting the cruise without the SSM. I have the Haynes manual and that doesn't have much information in it other than check 3 things then take it to the shop.

Does anyone have any ideas? I'd rather not have to take it to the dealership, they're pretty far away from me.

[subaru_styles]

sending you a PM

[hallie]

My cruise was the same and it turned out to be a small lenght of vacuum hose between the two units in the engine bay that had split

[dscoobydoo]

The cruise goes through the clock spring in the steering column.

Sounds like that might be an issue possibly.

[Legacy777]

I'd suggest checking the vacuum lines and maybe performing some of the mechanical & electrical checks mentioned in the Liberty FSM. You may not be able see what the problem is from the select monitor, but by doing some basic testing, you may find your problem.

Here's the wiring diagrams for the 90 MY, since they are a little different from the later years.

http://www.surrealmirage.com/subaru/fil ... ntrol1.jpg
http://www.surrealmirage.com/subaru/fil ... ntrol2.jpg
http://www.surrealmirage.com/subaru/fil ... e_diag.jpg

[FundamentalyConfused]

So I started checking my CC today. I was going to start with pulling the main CC unit plugs to check voltage and after I got the glove box out of the way I found a blue 4 pin, I think, connector that I assumed was supposed to connect to whatever it was on the other side of the CC switch relay. I wasn't able to unscrew the anchor screw so I have no idea what this part looks like but it's mounted with the CC switch relay to a bracket attached to the main CC unit.

I did manage to plug it back in and I've been searching for what it could be, no luck on that front. I haven't been able to test if my CC works yet or not. If this doesn't fix it I still plan on checking voltages to see where my problem lies.

Does anyone know what that plug goes to?

Edit for more info: I looked at the wire harness plug layout in the Liberty service manual and I can't find this plug. I should have taken a pic of it but it's already plugged back in and I'm not going to try to unhook it.

[Legacy777]

Does it look like the B83 connector at the bottom left of this scan?

http://www.surrealmirage.com/subaru/fil ... ntrol2.jpg

Did you plug it into one of these relays on the cruise computer?

http://www.surrealmirage.com/subaru/ima ... ecomp2.jpg

[FundamentalyConfused]

Yeah from the pic you showed of the CC unit the part I put that connector to was the one under on the left.

I wasn't really able to get a good look at the plug but I would say that it's probably B53. The diagram you linked says the plug end is blue. That's the only blue plug in that area it's got to be the clutch relay.

This car has a salvage title and there's no real evidence of why it would be a salvage title other than on the passenger side the sprayed on chip resistant coating doesn't come above the curve of the rocker panel. I'm going to guess it was hit on the passenger side enough to total the car and someone pieced in new body parts and forgot to hook up this plug. It wasn't easy to get at this relay either so I can see why it wasn't hooked back up.

Taking her out for a drive in a few hours and going to see if the cruise will work. I really hope that was all it needed.

[FundamentalyConfused]

I have my cruise back!! That plug must have been the offender.

[FundamentalyConfused]

Ok so cruise is gone this morning. I have no idea why it wasn't working. I suspect it might have something to do with the 20 degree temperature difference this morning. Maybe it's too cold for the vacuum pump to work well?

It didn't hold speed at all this morning. I know everything works because it worked great yesterday in 60F degree temp. My gut was telling me before I tested yesterday that the vacuum pump might be suspect. With no idea how long it's been since it worked it might be having issues since it's been out of use for a while.

[Legacy777]

Just to clarify, I think you meant pin B83, not B53.

Glad to hear it was working. Yeah I'd give it another try once the temperature warms up.

It's possible that the previous owner disconnected that plug to keep the cruise from working because they knew "something" was wrong with one of the components. That's just a guess.

Let us know if it works when the temp warms up.

[subaru_styles]

i still have that NOS cruise setup if you're interested

[FundamentalyConfused]

It hit 55F degrees today and I got cruise back. I tried to set it at various RPM settings to get the accelerator cable guts freed up more. I have a feeling that it's in the actuator valve. With the colder temp that would make the rubber shrink, probably just enough to not seal. I'm sure there's crud in there too that is impeding the seal.

Has anyone taken apart an actuator valve?
Should I even try?

[FundamentalyConfused]

I took the actuator valve off and apart as much as I could without breaking it. The outside of it was filthy, lots of black grime. There's an electric motor in the round part of the case. I took out the center shaft and there was some grease type looking stuff on the recessed end of it, I didn't clean that off, I don't know what kind of grease to put in there. After I put it back in I spun it around quite a bit and there's some resistance in the spin, feels like there's a little sand in it.

What kind of grease or lube spray should I use. I think I have some regular front end part grease in a tube, spray can of Prolong or some uncompressed liquid wrench, it was a sample and it works wonderfully for squeaky bathroom door hinges.

Is it possible to take the cover of the valve part off without breaking it?

I think I'm going to take it apart again and link some pics. Those will come in a day or 2.

[FundamentalyConfused]

Here's the pics.

Here's the Valve assembly with support brackets removed and rubber boot pulled off.


Here's the inside of the round cylinder portion.


Here's the spinning shaft. The end at the top of the pic is the greased end. The grease looks to be a clear type but there's some grime in it. Most of the grease on it is closer to the copper wire.


Here's the bearings that I'll have to get at with Q-tips. It's a roller type bearing in there.


I still can't find a way to get the cover off of the valve portion.
I have an adjustable DC power supply that I rigged up to run it and see if it actually works. It does work, has vacuum and spins pretty good from what I can hear. I still need to put new grease in the bearings because there is a little bit of grinding that I can hear. Once I get the new grease in and put it back together my plan is to take and hook the vacuum line back up and rig up the power supply to see how the actuator is pulling the throttle.

The last time I got to use CC it was not working at 100%. I kept getting a constant feeling like it was surging or about to drop the setting just to pick it back up. The RPM's didn't seem to change while it was doing this.

[Legacy777]

I don't think you'll be able to disassemble the pump part. Just try and clean it up as much as you can. A lighter grease should be fine.

One thing you could try is put it back together and stick it in the freezer for a little while to get it nice and cold. Then try it on your power supply. If it works, I'd look at the actuator in the car.

[FundamentalyConfused]

The valve is all put back together and back on the car. I tested the cable part and the first test was an easy retraction in about 3 seconds. The 6 other tries were much slower and appeared to have resistance. I would still say that all of the tests were about 3s in and out. I have already taken the cable part off and plan on seeing if I can get it open to clean it inside.

[FundamentalyConfused]

The cable part does not come apart. Looks like I hit the end of this road. I'll just have to use the hell out of CC this summer to see if it's going to work in the cold.

[Legacy777]

So is it a cable issue or the pump?

You should be able to find used ones....try posting in the parts shed.

[Legacy777]

Talk to Kimo, he's removing his cruise control.

http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic. ... 28#p381328

[FundamentalyConfused]

Well to be honest my CC still works. After I got that plug back in it was working in warmer weather but it wasn't in the cold. We're past the cold season here in Michigan so I'll have to wait for winter to see if it will still have that problem.

[Legacy777]

If you can get the parts cheap, why not buy it so when you do have a problem, you've got the parts to swap out to see exactly what the problem is and fix it for good.

[FundamentalyConfused]

I wish I could Josh but there's some reasons behind that.

First, my wife is an anti-packrat. She wont let me hold onto things for very long.
Second, I don't have a place to store the parts. I don't even have a garage to work in!
Third, I can't spare the extra $ being unemployed right now.

Those reasons are what's holding me back from getting spare parts.

[Legacy777]

Understand. Well hopefully with the temps being warmer the cruise will continue to work.

[FundamentalyConfused]

I really wish I had a SSM to read the CC and tell me what the hell this thing is doing. Now it's not holding the setting. It feels like it get's the setting when I set it but then drops it immediately. I think it's time to borrow 2 more jack stands and get this thing up in the air to test the CC while the wheels are in motion.