'94 Regal Custom Trunk Latch Problem & Cruise Control

Hi folks,
I am a newbie on this forum and have a puzzling problem that I hope someone can shed some light on. The subject of this thread sounds disconnected but ---
My '94 Regal Custom developed two problems about same time that may be related. The cruise control will not engage and also the trunk selonoid will not activate via the remote entry or the glove compartment button. The doors operate ok with the remote entry.
Thinking the trunk latch selonoid problem may be the easier one to solve, I went through the agonizing procedure to access the remote entry receiver under the rear hat shelf. When I apply 12v to the trunk selonoid lead (pin H) the selonoid activates ok. Tracing the receiver's relay wiring it appears that pin D should be the normal source for the 12v selonoid activation. A meter on that line (with or without the receiver plugged in) shows about 1.5v, but intermittently shows 12.3v. When the glove compartment button is pushed this voltage drops to 0. This baffles me since it would seem that 12v would be required all the time. Because of the low voltage and watching the relays activate corrrectly with the remote entry transmitter - I kind of think the receiver is ok and the problem is external to it. But what?
Is there a speed sensor that disables the trunk from unlatching when moving? I noticed that the door locks seem to take longer to activate from what I previously remember when the car starts moving. And - if so - could this also be keeping the cruise control from activating? Both these problems occurred on a long trip. If there is a speed sensor, where is it located? There is no performance problem so it seems that any sensor must be separate from the engine controls.

What would be a good resource for a wiring diagram?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

John Mc.

Obviously, check your fuses if you haven't already. It sounds like you probably did even though you didn't say so. According to the glovebox owners manual, you can only pop the trunk with the Remote Trunk Release button with the car in Park. You can get wiring diagrams from a repair manual such as a Chilton or Haynes Repair Manual. These manuals usually only have the powertrain wiring diagrams though and not the accessories. Your best bet would be to go to www.alldatadiy.com and get a subscription for your car. A one week subscription costs $5.99 per car and a one year subsciption costs $24.95 for the first vehicle and $14.95 for any additional vehicle. Anything you want to know about your car (VIN specific) can be found there.

Well I guess my two problems are not related after all. I performed the soldering procedure described at: http://www.w-body.com/service/keyless-entry.html
Since then the keyless system has been working. I am not totally convinced that this was the whole problem -but since it is working I guess I better not fix it anymore :) After the hassle of removing the backseat, 1/4 panel, and hat shelf I decided to relocate the remote receiver to the trunk. It receives the signals just fine and if there is a future problem it will be real easy to access. I wonder why they didn't put it in the trunk or easier place to begin with?

Something must still be a little haywire since I can pop the trunk in any gear or while the car is moving - not just in park like the owner's manual says. I guess the "fix" for that is - don't do it :)

My cruise control is still out but I think that is probably the switch on the steering post (gut feel). I am a little wary about pulling apart things around the airbag system.

Thanks for the pointer towards alldatadiy - might use it.

John Mc.

The problem may be the Park-neutral switch (on top of the driver side of transmission), you'll have to be in Park or Neutral to open the trunk, you'll have to be in Drive to use cruise control.

Since our '94 has a solid steering column, you will have to use a steering wheel puller to remove the cruise stalk. I had to do this when my horn ring went bad. Not too tough. Be sure to mark or sketch the orientation of the ring it may to too touchy while driving.

Thanks for the input on this.
You were right on the mark, Millennium. The problem was the switch on the transaxle. I posted the problem and solution in the thread '94 Regal Cruise Control & VSS'.

"The Reverse/Neutral Safety Switch mount on the transaxle was the problem. This affected four 'problems' - cc, door locks, backup lights and trunk release.
The cruise control module had been wrongly diagnosed because the scan of data from the main ECM indicated that the cc was enabled when it really was disabled - that could be a problem in the ECM but with no other symptoms becomes a non-problem now."