'99 24v cruise control

[road_rascal]

The cruise on my '99 24v is not working. According to the Ford Service DVD I have I did the following-

While holding the cruise 'OFF' button I turned the ignition switch to 'ON', released the 'OFF' button, hit the 'ON' cruise button, 'RESUME', 'COAST', and 'SET/ACCEL'. This caused the cruise servo to activate (dynamic throttle pull). I'm only getting one cruise light flash after I release the 'SET/ACCEL' button which shows the switches are working. It then says to check the circuit between the cruise module and the vehicle speed sensor for 5 ohm resistance. I cannot for the life of me locate the VSS or the connector it shows on the DVD or my Chilton's manual (gray wire with black tracer- yes I did do a forum search). Even so, wouldn't a faulty VSS cause other problems? The speedo works and the trans shifts normally. The MIL is not on, and I scanned the PCM anyways for codes. Unless I find the VSS connector I'm stumped. Any clues? Thanks.

[shorod]

The VSS should have two wires to it, the gray/black and an pink/orange. It will be mounted on the transaxle, probably towards the upper rear center of the transaxle near the firewall. I too would expect that if the VSS is bad, the speedometer would not read properly.

-Rod

[road_rascal]

Originally Posted by shorod

I too would expect that if the VSS is bad, the speedometer would not read properly.

-Rod

That's what I thought too. I read through 24 pages of posts on the Taurus Car Club forum (and also posted the same question there). It looks like I may have a bad deactivator switch or brake on/off (BOO) switch. Although all brake lights work, including the center high mounted, which I also read that if those bulbs are burned out the cruise won't work (weird).

[road_rascal]

Is this the VSS? Looking up at bottom of car with the front of the car facing the bottom of the pic.

[Colt Hero]

Well, I've got a '97 with the 12v engine (3.0), but it might be similar. I had to change my VSS, by the way, 8 years ago after it failed with just two years of road use from brand new (I didn't put the car on the road until mid-2008). The Autozone replacement (~$35) has been in there ever since (~ 120k miles) with no problems. The symptoms on my car was very clear: erratic tranny shifting, wacky speedo behavior (dropped to ZERO at highway speed), and P0500 CHECK ENGINE LIGHT code. Doesn't sound to me like you have a VSS problem, but who knows ...? I'd like to know myself what the problem turns out to be.

Anyway, I don't have my manuals in front of me, but if my memory is right, I had to lay underneath the car on the passenger side and reach straight up into a narrow channel, then over the top of the tranny case such that my wrist was bent at a 90-degree angle and my fingers were facing the fire-wall. I couldn't see the VSS from the topside (I think it was underneath some shielding) or from below (without using a small telescoping mirror), but I could see the wire/plug going to it. I think I had to unbolt and remove the sensor in order to unplug the wire - and I remember the wire being about the exact length to the sensor such that even after the sensor was removed, it still dangled well up inside the narrow channel (making it a little harder to unplug the wire). By the way, the lock clip on my plug ended up cracking off and so I put a nylon tie around the barrel of the sensor to keep the plug from "walking off" over time (it sits horizontally). The sensor itself was held in with a single (10mm?) hex bolt, which was (blindly) reachable with the correct combination of extensions (a mid and a small? - couldn't be too long or too short inside that space). The use of a flexible socket head might be handy because I seem to remember the curvature of the tranny case getting in the way a little bit without one. I remember putting the bolt back in using a piece of clear plastic tubing with the bolt head shoved snug inside of it (the tubing was pretty thick-walled). I turned this in by hand to get the bolt started. Since the tubing had a natural bend in it (from the roll it came off), I stuck a solid metal nail punch inside of it to keep it mostly straight.

The sensor itself is about 4" long and probably less than 1" in diameter. It has a nylon gear on the end of it that goes into the tranny (how that survives inside there is beyond me). I remember there were TWO different sensors for my car depending on which transmission the car had. My car has the AXOD tranny, which was (IIRC) the same as the AX4S tranny, but I was originally sold the AX4N sensor. The 4N sensor came with the plastic gear, but the 4S did not. After removing my sensor, it was clear I had the wrong replacement because the 4N sensor was larger and so was the gear (plus it had a different number of teeth on it). I ended up popping off the old gear and putting it on the new sensor (even though it had a small chip in one of the "fins"/teeth. I concluded it came like that from the factory and wouldn't be a problem, plus ...they wanted $10 for a new plastic gear! What a rip-off!).

[road_rascal]

I'm beginning to think it's not the VSS as the only thing wrong with the car is the cruise not working. I'm not sure why the DVD manual shows to check the VSS if everything with the vehicle is OK (speedo working, trans shifting properly). I see that Autozone lists only one VSS ($20), while Napa and Parts America show a bunch. Oh- what's the difference between a mechanical and electronic instrument cluster (yeah, dumb question- just trying to figure out what Parts America means).

[shorod]

That doesn't quite look to me like the VSS, but it's hard to tell from the picture. What the arrow is pointing at appears to have some heat insulation on it which I wouldn't expect to be covering the VSS. However, the service manual does make reference to a VSS shield. It also suggests dropping the exhaust y-pipe to get to the VSS which would put it in about the same location your photo shows.

I suspect the difference between the mechanical and electronic instrument cluster is whether or not your speedometer has a cable or not. However, there may have been digital electronic instrument clusters available in that year Sable, I'm not sure.

-Rod

[Colt Hero]

I agree that doesn't look like a VSS in the picture. I think on my 3.0, it was plugged into the tranny case at the end opposite the "bell" (passenger side). I'm guessing that about half the sensor went inside the case and half stuck out (with the incoming male plug slipping into the female riding on top of the sensor body).

Silly question (maybe this car is new to you?), but you've got the cruise control ON/OFF switch turned ON, right? On my Taurus, it's the small switch on the blinker wiper control. Recently I was cleaning my car and I accidentally happened to hit this switch to the OFF position with the vacuum cleaner nozzle (I always leave this switch ON). Next time I went to use the cruise my heart dropped when it failed to engage. But then I noticed the switch was OFF and I felt much better...

Maybe this master switch is not engaging for some reason. I'd try slowing moving it from OFF to ON and back while driving to see it starts working. Maybe there is an in-line fuse that you can test to see if it's OK?

[road_rascal]

No- I have had the car now for about 8 years. The cruise buttons are on the steering wheel (like my Windstar), and the cruise did work at one time before. The cruise light flashes once when I try to engage the cruise. I've checked all the fuses, all the brake lamps work (post on the TCCA board mentioned that the high center stoplamp can cause problems with the cruise if the bulbs are burned out). The pic I posted showing what I thought was the VSS connector is porbably the EVAP Canister Purge Valve (wiring diagrams show that as having a gray with yellow tracer wire and a red wire).

[road_rascal]

Got a call from the wife this morning saying the car is now shifting strange (no warning lights on dash). Looks like it may be the VSS after all. Guy from local Ford dealership sent me this diagram. The part # 9E731 is the VSS, and it looks like it's in the same place I took the photo of where I thought the VSS may be on my car (diagram on the bottom right).

[road_rascal]

I replaced the VSS and the car runs/ shifts fine. The cruise worked for about 10 minutes while I drove to the parts store for a cabin air cleaner and some plastic trim screws. Cruise didn't work driving back home. I cleaned the grounds for the cruise servo, checked the fuses again, brake lights work, so now I'm completely stumped. It's either one of the two (or both) brake switches sending a bad signal or the sliding contact in the steering wheel has a dead spot.

[shorod]

I believe the clockspring in the steering column is a solid wire resembling, go figure, a clockspring, rather than a sliding contact like they used before the days of airbags. So, I don't think it would be a "dead spot" in the clockspring.

That is a puzzler....

-Rod

[road_rascal]

The DVD manual I have calls it a sliding contact. The Ford parts guy told me to check the connector on the BPP/BOO switch, not the switch itself. He said there may be a loose connection in there.

[shorod]

Originally Posted by road_rascal

The DVD manual I have calls it a sliding contact.

Interesting, and that's a Ford DVD manual, or an aftermarket (Haynes, Chilton, etc.)? I didn't think they continued to use sliding contacts with air bags for reliability reasons.

-Rod

[road_rascal]

No- it's a Ford DVD. I also have an older CD manual and they still call it a sliding contact. I still can't get the cruise to work. I'm going to try a different cruise servo unit and see if that works. Otherwise I have no idea what to look for next.