Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site prime.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!bonnie!akgua!whuxlm!harpo!decvax!ucbvax!ucdavis!lll-crg!seismo!harvard!prime!doug From: doug@prime.UUCP (Douglas Hamilton) Newsgroups: net.auto Subject: Re: Cruise controls: non factory-instal Message-ID: <135@prime.UUCP> Date: Fri, 13-Sep-85 18:43:35 EDT Article-I.D.: prime.135 Posted: Fri Sep 13 18:43:35 1985 Date-Received: Mon, 16-Sep-85 00:21:37 EDT References: <8100010@ada-uts.UUCP> <689@rduxb.UUCP> Organization: Prime Computer, Inc., Framingham, MA Lines: 60 > > > > Does anybody have any experience with non factory-installed > > cruise controls? > > > > Yes, I installed a Sears (made by Dana) unit several years ago in my > then car, a 79 Honda Accord. > The installation wasn't difficult, but it was time consuming. It took > about 8 hours, if I remember correctly. > The unit performed flawlessly for the 30 odd thou miles I had the car. I had a similar (but not quite as good) experience with the Sears unit on an 81 Accord. Installation time was roughly the same (despite the claim by Sears that it should be around an hour or two,) but I did run into some trouble "debugging" the thing. You have to mount a cable thingie (technical term (-:) onto the carburator; in doing so, I had somehow bent or otherwise affected the adjustments such that the car would no longer idle at all. (It'd immediately die as soon as you let your foot off the gas.) Being far from a real auto mechanic, it was a lot of trouble to find out what was wrong especially since there were only skimpy debug instructions. (To fix it turned out be a simple adjustment of idle screw on the carb.) My experience with the unit since then has also been good but not outstanding. I'm now on my third "control box," the little panel with the set & resume/accelerate buttons, because the first two failed at 15,000 miles (give or take) due to cheaply-made switches. (Perhaps coincidentally or perhaps because of the cold, both failed in the middle of winter.) Also, I'm not all that happy with the linkage to the clutch & brake pedals. You have to mount a little pulley on wall behind these pedals with a chain running to each. On one pedal, you mount a switch assembly such that if you step on either pedal, the switch causes the cruise control to turn off and the same time, releases the vacuum from the solenoid pulling via the cable on the carburator. The bottom line is that with all this junk down by the pedals (all of designed to mount on anybody's however-odd-shaped pedals) it can be rather crowded. If you have either big feet or a pension for wing tips, figure to get a few gouges in your shoes now & then. Also, it can be easy to kick the wires loose. Finally, I notice floor mats have a tendancy to ride up against the pulley & chain. I've never had it prevent the unit from disengaging (thank God!) but I have had to reach down and pull the mat back to get the unit to turn on. All in all, would I do it over again? You bet! Cruise control is the greatest thing going for avoiding fatigue on a long drive, avoiding tickets due to your speed accidentally creeping up and generally making the drive more pleasant. (Incidentally, I find 55 to 60 mph very tolerable with a cruise cntl given that the drive is so much easier that I am less hell bent to get where I'm going so I can be done with it!) -- Douglas Hamilton Prime Computer,Inc. 617-626-1700 x3956 Video Products Group 492 Old Connecticut Path Framingham, MA 10701 {seismo,ihnp4,allegra,ut-sally}!harvard!prime!doug Brought to you by Super Global Mega Corp .com