Cruise Control Help

[virgamanda]

The cruise control on my 03 explorer works intermittently. It will work one day then not the next. what could be the cause of this?

[shorod]

Does your speedometer work reliably? Have you noticed the ABS light coming on randomly?

-Rod

[virgamanda]

Originally Posted by shorod

Does your speedometer work reliably? Have you noticed the ABS light coming on randomly?

-Rod

The speedometer works fine and yes ABS light comes on every now and then. I noticed when ABS light is on, cruise does not work at all. The cruise will work randomly otherwise.

[shorod]

I suspect you have a wheel speed sensor that is failing. The vehicle speed for the cruise is sourced from the ABS system. If your Explorer only has ABS and not traction control there is only a single rear wheel speed sensor, that's probably the culprit. A professional scan tool or one of the recently available consumer ABS scan tools would likely tell you which sensor is the problem area.

-Rod

[virgamanda]

i replaced the cruise deactivation switch on the master cylinder, everything works perfectly now. NO ABS light and the cruise works every time now.

[shorod]

I'm glad to hear that you got the cruise fixed and thank you for posting what you found. Are you sure the light that was coming on was the yellow/amber ABS light rather than the red "Brake" light? I don't see how the switch on the master cylinder would be in any way tied to the ABS light.

-Rod