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So I've been running all over creation this weekend. I ran up to Gainesville for the Subaru Challenge on Saturday (and got the opportunity to meet irishsetter there ), and then I ran to Tampa today for the Halloween event at Busch Gardens (only to find it cancelled thanks to Wilma )...

Anyway, I drove about 500 miles this weekend, and a lot of it was using cruise.

Everything was working fine, until tonight coming home from Tampa. I was sitting behind about 3 different semis, when I started to smell what smelled like diesel fumes. Thanks to my defunct A/C, the only ventilation we had was the Vent button for fresh air coming from outside. So I figured, okay, I'll just pass these trucks and all will be well. My friend with me in the car noticed the same thing. So we passed one semi and still smelled it, then we passed the other semi and still smelled it. We passed the final semi and continued to smell it. The only thing was, the smell was changing. It almost smelled... like... something... burning...

My friend and I both started to grow a little concerned. I said "Let's just keep going, we're only about 30mi from home, all my gauges seem fine."

I started to think about what it could be, and on a lark, I turned my cruise off. The smell slowly started to go away...

So, I guess something involved in my cruise doesn't want to operate anymore. Anyone have any ideas as to what it could be?

look for melted plastic.

Nothing really comes to mind... The cruise system is pretty simple. A little vacuum pump on the passenger side strut tower, a vacuum-controlled actuator on the driver side firewall, a cable...

I guess if the wiring to the pump is really bad it could heat up to the point of melting/burning the insulation... but that seems like a long shot, especially if cruise continued to function.

Didja try popping the hood to look for signs of the problem? Maybe scuzzy's right and somehow some plastic is touching something it shouldn't.

Does the vacuum pump run constantly under normal circumstances?

If it does not then a vacuum leak in the cruise hoses might cause the pump to stay on and overheat.

Just an idea.

Jess

That's a good thought, Jess... Normally the pump just runs long enough to move the actuator.

You can check out the condition of the rubber hoses on either end, and maybe see if the actuator can hold a vacuum.

I think it's supposed to throw a trouble code if it's unable to hold the throttle open, though.

I should also add that I wasn't using it when we started smelling it. I had tapped the brakes to turn it off because I had hit some traffic, and I just left it on without it working. It was on for quite a while like that... Could that have something to do with it?

It was working perfectly the whole time...

I dunno, I think the cruise control thing might be a red herring...

You think so? I've driven it all day today in-town and it has emanated no such smells.

I dunno.

Are you willing to risk using cruise again to see if you can make the smell come back?

I'm gonna try to find time to look under the hood and under the dash for anything obvious... once I get Granpa's wagon taken care of (his parts are coming in Thursday, getting painted on Friday, and I expect him to need the car back next Tuesday ).

If I can't find anything unusual, I just might have to.

Where is the cruise comp again?

Thanks as always for your help everybody, especially you Vikash. I owe you about three 12-packs of beers by now

Wow, that's a pretty tight schedule for your Granpa's car... It should work though.

The cruise computer is behind the passenger front footwell trim, kind of a mirror image of the vicinity of the interior fusebox. The relay is attached to it. Do you think maybe the smell was coming from there, from the interior rather than the engine bay?

Hehe, maybe I'll try to collect one day... but the only way I'll consume them is if I'm playing Beirut... =)

Could be a short in the electrical wires leading from that switch or running the vacuum pump? You could trace them under the dash and look for melted insulation.

I doubt that's the problem, though.