Cruise Control not working - Mk4.5 Mondeo
Discussion
Cruise Control (CC) has stopped working - 2014 Mk4.5 Mondeo 1.6 diesel. When I press the CC button nothing at all happens.
The Speed Limiter (SL) function works fine - button under the CC button. So I suspected the CC button may be the cause...
... however pressing CC when SL is active temporarily suspends SL. I've never noticed that before, however assuming that is normal then it indicates that the CC button is working.
All fuses seem OK. No warning lights. No error codes showing on my basic OBD2 reader.
And having done some research, no amount of pressing CC, +, - in pairs or for several seconds makes any difference.
Disconnecting and reconnecting the battery has made no difference.
I've not checked brake or clutch switches - however no indications that anything is wrong. And I'm not sure what I'm looking for.
I very rarely use CC (although I do periodically activate it just to ensure it all works fine and exercise the button so that it doesn't fail through lack of use - that plan worked well!) However it would be nice to have the functionality back.
Any thoughts welcomed- cheers.
The Speed Limiter (SL) function works fine - button under the CC button. So I suspected the CC button may be the cause...
... however pressing CC when SL is active temporarily suspends SL. I've never noticed that before, however assuming that is normal then it indicates that the CC button is working.
All fuses seem OK. No warning lights. No error codes showing on my basic OBD2 reader.
And having done some research, no amount of pressing CC, +, - in pairs or for several seconds makes any difference.
Disconnecting and reconnecting the battery has made no difference.
I've not checked brake or clutch switches - however no indications that anything is wrong. And I'm not sure what I'm looking for.
I very rarely use CC (although I do periodically activate it just to ensure it all works fine and exercise the button so that it doesn't fail through lack of use - that plan worked well!) However it would be nice to have the functionality back.
Any thoughts welcomed- cheers.
I suspect you may be doing the right thing as you will know your car but here are my thoughts anyway in case it helps.
It sounds like you have proved the switch works as it suspends the limiter.
On my 2 x Volvos, (which are Focuses underneath and likely use versions of the same hardware/software) what I need to to to activate CC is to switch it on (this registers & shows on the instruments) then set the speed by operating the (-) button when up to speed.
Perhaps worth a try.
It sounds like you have proved the switch works as it suspends the limiter.
On my 2 x Volvos, (which are Focuses underneath and likely use versions of the same hardware/software) what I need to to to activate CC is to switch it on (this registers & shows on the instruments) then set the speed by operating the (-) button when up to speed.
Perhaps worth a try.
I think you've got a p0096 fault code on your car - your basic OBD may not pick that up. Essentially one of the IAT's is out of range, check for an eggy smell whenst driving.
You may also have a blocked EGR and/or full or near full DPF.
I say this because a faulty IAT would be difficult to spot until it's too late, so I believe the car throws another fault ( i.e. cruise control failure) to try and get the driver to recognise something is wrong and fix it.
this is 100% the case for the Nissan Xtrail I have where I got the same ( non working cruise) fault. However as you car is the same age, I suspect this failure is a consistent standard across all makes.
but I could be wrong.
You may also have a blocked EGR and/or full or near full DPF.
I say this because a faulty IAT would be difficult to spot until it's too late, so I believe the car throws another fault ( i.e. cruise control failure) to try and get the driver to recognise something is wrong and fix it.
this is 100% the case for the Nissan Xtrail I have where I got the same ( non working cruise) fault. However as you car is the same age, I suspect this failure is a consistent standard across all makes.
but I could be wrong.
cheers for the suggestions folks - much appreciated.
when playing with the cc yesterday I realsied that whilst pressing the CC button does do something when SL is activated, what it actually does is exactly the same as the Cancel (CAN) button below - i.e. both suspend SL temporarily. So I'm thinking that there might be a dirty connection/bridge between CC and CAN.
And that what I'm seeing with CC button during SL use is not normal - however at least suggests that the button still has some functionality!
Is it bad form to just squirt a bit of electrical cleaner in and see what happens? Or guess I might have to disassemble and see if anything needs cleaning?
when playing with the cc yesterday I realsied that whilst pressing the CC button does do something when SL is activated, what it actually does is exactly the same as the Cancel (CAN) button below - i.e. both suspend SL temporarily. So I'm thinking that there might be a dirty connection/bridge between CC and CAN.
And that what I'm seeing with CC button during SL use is not normal - however at least suggests that the button still has some functionality!
Is it bad form to just squirt a bit of electrical cleaner in and see what happens? Or guess I might have to disassemble and see if anything needs cleaning?
No, electrical cleaner won't do any harm, but I highly doubt that's the root cause of the issue as it's affecting the SL when pressed.
What kind of diagnostic kit have you got? Will it show the CC module and its relevant codes? I suspect something like a brake switch or other sensor is disabling it. Had the same issue on a couple of cars, one of which had a separate brake sensor which went wrong.
What kind of diagnostic kit have you got? Will it show the CC module and its relevant codes? I suspect something like a brake switch or other sensor is disabling it. Had the same issue on a couple of cars, one of which had a separate brake sensor which went wrong.
If you follow Allan Howatt on old youtube, he maintains a fleet of Mk5 mondeo taxis - I recall him saying that the buttons did stop working - I cannot recall if it was a case of they stopped responding, or they picked up mixed signals.
If yours is doing the equivalent of the cancel button I would look at an error that is not showing on the standard OBD reader - maybe try Forscan or or twist the arm of a garage with an expensive code reader.
If yours is doing the equivalent of the cancel button I would look at an error that is not showing on the standard OBD reader - maybe try Forscan or or twist the arm of a garage with an expensive code reader.
Again, thanks for the ideas all.
Searching Alan Howatt came up with this - very similar sounding symptoms which seemed to be resolved with a replacement clock spring "or Steering Angle Sensor Module as ford call it" - something else to consider!
https://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/129146...
I recognised Alan so must have seen some clips of his before - great presentation style and clear video.
Searching Alan Howatt came up with this - very similar sounding symptoms which seemed to be resolved with a replacement clock spring "or Steering Angle Sensor Module as ford call it" - something else to consider!
https://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/129146...
I recognised Alan so must have seen some clips of his before - great presentation style and clear video.
Thanks for all the ideas folks - you deserve an update...
So I looked into on the web all the different suggestions raised to prioritise which to try - and CC is currently working!
So which ones did I try you may ask - well, non of them! I just read into them - and CC started working. (I'm now very worried that some of the other stuff that I search for on the internet may come true!).
What actually happened was that, after CC had failed to work at all on any of the previous 5 days upto and incl Tues morning despite multiple attempts throughout different points of short and long journeys, on Tues afternoon I set off to give it a blast in case it was DPF related - although I'd done long trips in the previous few days, all were economical cruising - however before the blast started and whilst stationary at a roundabout (steering wheel turned approx 45 deg) I accidentally hit CC - and it came on!
It then worked absolutely fine, including me switching it on/off, braking/reactivating etc all afternoon Tues, all day Wed and for the last 45 mins of my 1 hour journey today (Fri). Clearly something is wrong still as it didn't work on either of 2 short journeys on Thurs, or the first part of Friday.
I can't work out why it goes from 100% not working, to 100% working. If connectivity/short/wiring related I'd have guessed it would be more intermittent - maybe it depends on the component? (switch v's clock spring etc). I guess I'll monitor to see if temperature related or some other pattern that might indicate IAT or similar as mentioned above. I did wiggle both clutch & brake switches this week which may have helped - and if something is sticking it could explain the deterioration Thurs/into Fri. Or it could be something else.
The only learning I have so far is to spend more time on the internet!
I'll see if my occasionally friendly garage can help with their code reader - the guy is often as temperamental as my CC!
So I looked into on the web all the different suggestions raised to prioritise which to try - and CC is currently working!
So which ones did I try you may ask - well, non of them! I just read into them - and CC started working. (I'm now very worried that some of the other stuff that I search for on the internet may come true!).
What actually happened was that, after CC had failed to work at all on any of the previous 5 days upto and incl Tues morning despite multiple attempts throughout different points of short and long journeys, on Tues afternoon I set off to give it a blast in case it was DPF related - although I'd done long trips in the previous few days, all were economical cruising - however before the blast started and whilst stationary at a roundabout (steering wheel turned approx 45 deg) I accidentally hit CC - and it came on!
It then worked absolutely fine, including me switching it on/off, braking/reactivating etc all afternoon Tues, all day Wed and for the last 45 mins of my 1 hour journey today (Fri). Clearly something is wrong still as it didn't work on either of 2 short journeys on Thurs, or the first part of Friday.
I can't work out why it goes from 100% not working, to 100% working. If connectivity/short/wiring related I'd have guessed it would be more intermittent - maybe it depends on the component? (switch v's clock spring etc). I guess I'll monitor to see if temperature related or some other pattern that might indicate IAT or similar as mentioned above. I did wiggle both clutch & brake switches this week which may have helped - and if something is sticking it could explain the deterioration Thurs/into Fri. Or it could be something else.
The only learning I have so far is to spend more time on the internet!
I'll see if my occasionally friendly garage can help with their code reader - the guy is often as temperamental as my CC!
Forscan was mentioned by someone earlier - however I hadn't realised that it was DIY accessible.
However, if I've understood correctly, the only home IT that I can put it on would be my smart phone (samsung), and Forscan is no longer on Android play store.
Is downloading from Forscan considered safe?
Asking as when I started to download then security warnings came up saying to disable some settings. It is beyond my knowledge as to whether that is safe (due to banking apps, email etc in phone) - so thought best to check with helpful strangers on the Internet?!!!
However, if I've understood correctly, the only home IT that I can put it on would be my smart phone (samsung), and Forscan is no longer on Android play store.
Is downloading from Forscan considered safe?
Asking as when I started to download then security warnings came up saying to disable some settings. It is beyond my knowledge as to whether that is safe (due to banking apps, email etc in phone) - so thought best to check with helpful strangers on the Internet?!!!
It would generally be safer to download from the official App/Play Store, but it seems there's been some longstanding issues with Google and Forscan for some reason. Link to the discussion on their own forum: https://forscan.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=...
I've used it on both Apple and Android devices in the past, and it's very good, but tends to be limited by the speed/quality of the adapter, so I tend to use it on a laptop, which I appreciate might not be an option for everyone.
I've used it on both Apple and Android devices in the past, and it's very good, but tends to be limited by the speed/quality of the adapter, so I tend to use it on a laptop, which I appreciate might not be an option for everyone.
Not sure how closely related it is to your particular Mondeo, but on my old Galaxy (2010 car, same platform and largely same components as the Mk4 Mondeo) I had an intermittent cruise control issue that was solved by replacing a resettable thermal fuse on the circuit board behind the wiper stalk.
Fiddly and awkward job to do in situ but in my case at least it solved the problem.
Link is to the guide that I followed...
https://www.talkford.com/attachments/cruise-contro...
Fiddly and awkward job to do in situ but in my case at least it solved the problem.
Link is to the guide that I followed...
https://www.talkford.com/attachments/cruise-contro...
Again, thanks for the additional ideas.
I'd like to have Forscan access - but rather not take the risk of an unknown download (although possible that my IT ignorance is greater than the risk!).
I've only driven the car every 3-4 days recently - however each time CC works perfectly currently, from first start-up to end of journey, and multiple tries in-between. Therefore I'm reluctant to play until I can see a pattern of where is does and doesn't work. Got a few days trips so will monitor then.
One thing that I didn't mention previously, partly as I didn't think related and partly to not confuse, was that around the time of the issues the aircon was not working. A new condenser and regas has fixed that. However as I knew that it wasn't working then A/C was off - and the sometimes working, sometimes not working spanned the whole time including 24hrs after repair. So looks unrelated - unless a fault-code is stored for a few start cycles until cleared.
Os probably unrelated, and no idea how any signals from in a switched off A/C system would affect - but it is the closest thing that I have to a pattern currently. And mentioning as one of the early posters did flag curious ways that faults are sometimes flagged.
I'd like to have Forscan access - but rather not take the risk of an unknown download (although possible that my IT ignorance is greater than the risk!).
I've only driven the car every 3-4 days recently - however each time CC works perfectly currently, from first start-up to end of journey, and multiple tries in-between. Therefore I'm reluctant to play until I can see a pattern of where is does and doesn't work. Got a few days trips so will monitor then.
One thing that I didn't mention previously, partly as I didn't think related and partly to not confuse, was that around the time of the issues the aircon was not working. A new condenser and regas has fixed that. However as I knew that it wasn't working then A/C was off - and the sometimes working, sometimes not working spanned the whole time including 24hrs after repair. So looks unrelated - unless a fault-code is stored for a few start cycles until cleared.
Os probably unrelated, and no idea how any signals from in a switched off A/C system would affect - but it is the closest thing that I have to a pattern currently. And mentioning as one of the early posters did flag curious ways that faults are sometimes flagged.
I did 7 long day trips during July and both SL and CC worked fine 100% every day. Excellent news as all looking good for a 10 day Euro-trip.
2 days later, set-off for Europe - zero response from either during the first 4 days. I did eventually find one thing that got the SL to work...
...by driving on roads in Luxembourg, however that is a long way to go in future just to get some functionality!
SL worked 90% of the time on return trip; CC nothing for 3 weeks.
It seemed that I had to press the SL button harder to make it work, and sometimes it was only on the second press that it activated. Therefore wondering if that points to the clock-spring-steering-wheel-spinny-thingy being where the issue is - weak/intermittent connection.
2 days later, set-off for Europe - zero response from either during the first 4 days. I did eventually find one thing that got the SL to work...
...by driving on roads in Luxembourg, however that is a long way to go in future just to get some functionality!
SL worked 90% of the time on return trip; CC nothing for 3 weeks.
It seemed that I had to press the SL button harder to make it work, and sometimes it was only on the second press that it activated. Therefore wondering if that points to the clock-spring-steering-wheel-spinny-thingy being where the issue is - weak/intermittent connection.
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