Bendix cruise control

[lostagain]

I finally got around to fixing the Bendix cruise control that came with my 5C.

I found the PO had the air pressure reducing valve plumbed backwards, so no air was coming out of it, and the cruise ctrl was not working at all.

Now it works too well: it pushes the pedal to the floor, giving the engine full fuel, with black smoke out the tail pipe. Then backs off to no fuel, then full fuel, etc. Not good.

Is there a way to fine tune it so it is more subtle? Or is it the way it is?

I cannot see a solution in the manuals I have.

JC

[Midwilshire]

Is this what came stock?  I have cruise on my 5C, and fiddling with it on the drive home (the only drive I've had, so far), I couldn't get it to do anything.  This one looks like two silver toggle switches on a plate that says, "Cruise Control" on the left side of the dash, behind the steering wheel.  Same as yours, or no?

[Scott & Heather]

I do believe it is stock. Ours has it too. Doesn't work. And parts are hard to come by. Everyone here suggests king cruise as an excellent replacement. Something I want someday very badly. I absolutely detest not having cruise


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[lostagain]

It is not stock. The PO had it installed sometime. He told me it wasn't working when I got the bus from him. I drove the bus without it working for two summers before I got around to fixing it. The pedal is really easy to keep pressed down, so it wasn't a priority. Although it would be nice to have working properly if possible. I have the installation, and a troubleshooting manuals from Bendix. I'll have to look into it more closely to see if it couldn't be tweaked to operate more smoothly.

Wondering if someone has experience with it, and could advice on it...

J C

[TomC]

I know with the King Cruise Control, it required that you have something like 2.5" of pedal travel for it to work properly.  To me it sounds like there isn't enough travel in your linkage and your cruise control is reacting to quickly.  Maybe look up how much travel is necessary and remeasure where the cruise is hooked up.

I have my King Cruise working directly off my gas pedal-since I have both an automatic with air operated off the air throttle (you can't just accelerate the engine without moving the transmission throttle modulator-or you'll have weird shifting) and it works very well. Good Luck, TomC

[lostagain]

After looking into it some more, I found that the potentiometer wasn't working properly. It is mounted on the end of the air cylinder that pulls on the accelerator cable. After taking it off the cylinder, I found a little retaining clip on the end of the rod had fallen out. The potentiometer's rod is pushed in by the cylinder piston, and pulled out by a spring, as long as the clip is there to hold it to the end of the spring. So I put on a new clip, and am hoping that it will work smoothly as it should next time we go out on a trip. The potentiometer ohms out as per the manual, so my hopes are up...

Will let you know.

JC

[lostagain]

Back from a rtn trip to Calgary (300 km, 200 miles each way). The cruise works really well now, yee haa! What a pleasure!

Works great on a flat highway with moderate rises. I turn it off for more serious hills, because it wants to keep up to the preset speed and gives it too much fuel. But what a treat on the flats. I just about got up to go for a snooze on the couch, LOL. Oh, but you still have to steer the chariot, LOL.

That fix cost me nothing but time and some head scratching. How often does that happen?

JC

[Scott & Heather]

Nice to hear it was an easy fix :-) ill have cruise...someday.


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[lostagain]

FYI: Bendix cruise control is absolete and hasn't been made in years. Parts for it are not available either AFAIK. I am S.O.L. if anything brakes.

Today, you can get a King cruise control, for $595. It is all electric, as opposed to the Bendix  where the accelerator cable is pulled by an air cylinder.

Most electronic 4 stroke modern engines have cruise control built in.

JC