Anyone know if there is an easy way to disable the 25 MPH minimum on cruise control systems? Particularly for my Saturn, but if I can learn how it is done on other vehicles, maybe I can figure it out on my Saturn myself.
Yes... I know it is there for a reason. Yes... I have a good reason to un-do it. :)
Joe in Northern, NJ - V#8013-R
Currently Riding The "Mother Ship"
Ride a motorcycle in or near NJ?
Joe, rec.autos.tech is a very good auto ng, some extraordinarily knowledgeable people over there.
Joe, I hope you learn of a way. I *hate* 25mph zones on hills since my Saturn sl1 kicks out. Then there is those 15 Mph playground areas where you REALLY need cruise control.
The 25 MPH limit with digital systems makes no sense at all to me.
Wes S
I think the lower limit does make sense.
Most driver's natural inclination is to establish a "safe distance" between their vehicle and the one in front of them in proportion to the speed they are traveling at.
I know that on the rare occasions I turn on the cruise control in my Lincoln (which IIRC has a minimum operating speed of 40 MPH) I have a tendency to hold off tapping the brake and disengaging it as I approach a car in front of me, hoping that the driver of that car will decide to speed up a bit so I won't have to. I know I let my car get closer to the one in front of me at those times that if I was in "constant control" of my car's speed and backed off on the accelerator a bit.
I've got a feeling that if the same thing holds true at 25 mph, most folk's reaction time just won't be fast enough to avoid rear ending the car in front of them if they let the cruise control lure them into getting a little too close to that car.
Frankly, I'd be just as happy if cruise control never got "invented". I don't need another reason to "zone out" while driving, or decide to move my feet away from the pedals to unkink them at just the wrong time.
Jeff [Whose first car had a manual throttle sticking off the hub of the steering wheel, a crude early form of cruise control :) ]
I many cases, it does.
I'm an avid motorcycle rider so for me, driving or riding is NEVER something I just zone out and do... Scanning all my mirrors and checking for speed and spacing is a matter of life and death for a rider. Thankfully, those habits have transferred over to my driving habits.
This would (probably) not be as big of an issue for me as it could be for most. I use my cruise control as much as possible - even at 25 MPH but even the slightest incline shuts it off. Very annoying and since I can't use it in the 20 and 15 MPH zones, I tend to speed a bit from time to time.
My first car was an Opel GT... It had no throttle to speak of and the headlights often "spun" closed at speed because the locking mechanism sucked. BUT I loved that car and wound up having 4 in my life so far. They were will better than the Fiat X/19 that I had... At least I only took three of them to the grave... er... jukyard.
Regards, Joe Agro, Jr. (800) 871-5022 (908) 542-0244 Automatic / Pneumatic Drills:
Yeah you can. You've just got to have a good editor. LOL
What happens if you shift to "L"?
Thanks, Rich
Yes Jeff. So did mine, a 1942 Plymouth (have a hand throtle) it was on the dash, as I remember it was above the choke knob. And the starter was a foot push on the firewall above the gas pedal. They can keep those "good old days" :-) ...lew...
Some aftermarket cruise controls use a magnet to trigger a switch which the control uses for speed sensing. It seems like most of the new ones use a signal derived from the ignition system. Some connect to the tach wire, others to the coil. I wonder if a factory one might work the same way. If so, maybe a timer could be used that is triggered by the ignition and sends twice as many pulses to the cruise control. ERS
Virtually all now use the VSS signal (Vehicle speed sensor) On some ECUs it is apparently possible to reprogram the cruise settings - I cannot tell you which ones.
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Are you telling us that your first car was a Ford? As in a Model T? Giving away your age there!
Steve R.
What is "L"?
Oh... I think you mean low gear on an automatic transmission... I drive a stick.
It's hilly and curvy so idle speed doesn't work. Mostly uphill (one way anyhow) so cruise works perfectly until I get into the area below 25 MPH.
Besides all of this, I'm sick of it turning off when it hits 24.9 MPH in a
25 zone... So if for no other reason, that is why I'd like to see it changed.
Maybe this is a function of manual trans vehicles? My 1995 GMC auto trans pickup won't allow settings below 25mph also BUT if I set it at 25 & road conditions slow the truck down slightly it still accelerates back up to the 25mph target.
What's the reason you "know" it's there for?
Accord> Anyone know if there is an easy way to disable the 25 MPH minimum on cruise
On those, you could add extra magnets - double what came with it - and double the resolution for low speeds. I was able to get an old Dana add-on down to 20 mph, still worked fine at 80.
No, it was a bit later. My first car was 1/2 of a Model A convertible, with roll up glass windows and a rumble seat too. My high school buddy Pete owned the other half. I was about 16 years old then, so it must have been around 1952, and that car was probably 25 years old at the time. Cars lasted longer back then and it was far from being the only Model A still rolling around on the streets of San Francisco back then.
You could fix just about anything on that car with little more than a screwdriver, hammer an adjustable crescent wrench, and scoot underneath it with it's tires on the ground without getting claustrophobic feelings.
FWIW, Pete and I are currently very much alive and well and still working with our hands at the things we enjoy doing, though we're now on opposite coasts of the USA and don't see each other as often as we'd like.
Pete:
Jeff
I took my test in a 1931 model A Gerry :-)} London, Canada
I'm not that old, but I've owned a '28 Chevy, a 35 Chevy, a '38 Hudson Terraplane, a '49 VW, 53 Dodge, '57 Fargo, '57 Chevy, 61 Mini and so on ----
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Umm, I'm over half way there, just another 55 years to go!
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