How to trouble shoot flakey cruise control

deus_pater

Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2002
Location
San Jose, CA
TDI
Golf, 2000, Indigo
Thanks again, Wingnut. I'm having the same symptom (cruise turns off when using left turn signal) and thanks to your diagnostic tips and some fruitless disassembly of the turn/cruise stalk, I figured out that I could jiggle the ribbon cable just right to make the cruise (theoretically) stay on while signalling. Not exactly comforting, but any further diagnosis seems to require the disassembly of the steering column, which I'm not up for at the moment :)
 

aberson

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 9, 2006
Location
Hoboken NJ
TDI
2001 Golf TDI 4d Black/Tan
Thanks for the post wingnut. I suspect my issue is related: When I try to resume or accelarate by sliding the cruise control switch towards on, it only works about half the time. The other half of the time, trying to accelarate will actually cancel the cruise. [Therefore I doubt it's the brake or clutch switch here, since the cruise would otherwise cancel at other times too]

I suspected a short or dirty contacts in the switch/stalk and was planning to soak it with contact cleaner, but your picture showing the removal of the switch's cover will make it a lot easier to get the cleaner where it needs to be. Hopefully that solves it.

score another one for tdi club, thanks again!
 

mkivbren

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 9, 2006
Location
Pa/Md
TDI
Golf
This worked for me; I had the left turn cc cut too. I've been having a problem with my left turn signal too, and I suspect I need to pull it out to clean it. I get either no rear flasher and a quick indicator flasher or a normal indicator flasher and a 3rd brake light/left brake light alternating flash. It's pretty weird and annoying!
 

greeny

Active member
Joined
Jan 6, 2009
Location
Cwood, Ontario
TDI
JETTA 97 GL
I really wish this helped my CC I got 1997 Jetta GL, I got the car in may and it worked once and a while then it just quit.. I tryed the contact cleaner on the signel/cc switch and no luck, I did read somewhere that there is a CC module somwhere up in the dash, however I don't know where to start. I'm not sure if theres a fuse to check or not. My manual is not much help... please help.

thank-you
greeny
 

rdkern

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 21, 2004
Location
Humboldt Co CA
TDI
Passat 1997 silver (sold after 11 years), Jetta 2000 atlantic blue
No module - it works through the ecu. Get a VCDS and check the brake switch, clutch switch, cc switches. Link up futher IIRC.
 

Diesel-Dan1

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2007
Location
Murphy, TX
TDI
2002 Jetta
VCDS ROCKS! Just figured out (Thanks to this thread) that my clutch switch is NG......aparently my car can drive with the pedal depressed all the time! haha......im SOOO going to love the CC if and when it starts to work!
 

Diesel-Dan1

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2007
Location
Murphy, TX
TDI
2002 Jetta
WELP...looked at the clutch switch a little closer......found out that the switch was not being fully engaged when the pedal was in the out position. SO....looked for an adjustment, didnt see one...BUT it was starting to rain....so i fixed it for only a penny.....literally!

I used a penny and some superglue to shim up the switch strike point and now i got cruise for the first time since i have owned the car. (Temp until i figure out a more long term option)...but if it works....eh....haha....see pics.....
 

rdkern

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 21, 2004
Location
Humboldt Co CA
TDI
Passat 1997 silver (sold after 11 years), Jetta 2000 atlantic blue
I love it. Superglue and a penny. Could be interesting taking the penny off when you get a new switch. Glad you know what the problem is.
 

nighthawk62

Veteran Member
Joined
May 22, 2008
Location
BANNED
TDI
BANNED
Diesel-Dan1 said:
WELP...looked at the clutch switch a little closer......found out that the switch was not being fully engaged when the pedal was in the out position. SO....looked for an adjustment, didnt see one...BUT it was starting to rain....so i fixed it for only a penny.....literally!

I used a penny and some superglue to shim up the switch strike point and now i got cruise for the first time since i have owned the car. (Temp until i figure out a more long term option)...but if it works....eh....haha....see pics.....
You've been hanging around with too many of us Canadians eh! :rolleyes:
 

deimos

Member
Joined
Jun 8, 2009
Location
Amherst, Massachusetts
TDI
2001 VW; 4 cyl; auto; 2.0L
Great post. My CC hasn't worked in a while. I'm don't have an OBD to test out the issue, but I'm going to try to touch up the CC contacts and see what happens.
 

smeagal

New member
Joined
Jun 16, 2009
Location
northyorkshire
TDI
gt tdi 2000
smeagal

hi folks, its a newbie. golf gt tdi 2000 and its got a lamp for the cc, that comes on, when switch to on. but have same prob. will have to look at it, and spray some switch cleaner in. thank to all:)
 

blizzard60

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2009
Location
Vancouver, BC
TDI
2004 Jetta Wagon
Diesel-Dan1 said:
WELP...looked at the clutch switch a little closer......found out that the switch was not being fully engaged when the pedal was in the out position. SO....looked for an adjustment, didnt see one...BUT it was starting to rain....so i fixed it for only a penny.....literally!

I used a penny and some superglue to shim up the switch strike point and now i got cruise for the first time since i have owned the car. (Temp until i figure out a more long term option)...but if it works....eh....haha....see pics.....
Hey Dan,

You know that your clutch switch is just stuck in, right? Take it right out of its holder and you should be able to "pop" out the pin so it is sticking WAY further out. The pin should be hitting the clutch pedal even when the pedal is pushed "to the floor". Does what I'm saying make sense to you? I'll take some pics if I'm not making sense!!

-Chris
 

LiLredTDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2008
Location
maryland
TDI
2004 jetta tdi pd-1989 Jetta IDI-1994 F-250 IDI Turbo
Hey fellas. My cruise does not work in my 04. I had Mr. Chill check it out with vagcom at IMPEXFEST and no codes appeared. Jeff from rocket chip told me you can jump it out on the steering column, but did not elaborate. I have tried also spraying the contacts to clean them, to no avail. Please help me get it fixed so i don't have to rely on my radar detector and can save some fuel. With no cc, my car only knows 80-90MPH........................HELP!!!
 

rdkern

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 21, 2004
Location
Humboldt Co CA
TDI
Passat 1997 silver (sold after 11 years), Jetta 2000 atlantic blue
LiLredTDI said:
Hey fellas. My cruise does not work in my 04. I had Mr. Chill check it out with vagcom at IMPEXFEST and no codes appeared. Jeff from rocket chip told me you can jump it out on the steering column, but did not elaborate. I have tried also spraying the contacts to clean them, to no avail. Please help me get it fixed so i don't have to rely on my radar detector and can save some fuel. With no cc, my car only knows 80-90MPH........................HELP!!!
No codes appeared? You should check to make sure that the clutch switch works (if stick), brake switch works, and the cc switches work. All can be checked with the VCDS. It won't throw a code.
 

blizzard60

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2009
Location
Vancouver, BC
TDI
2004 Jetta Wagon
LiLredTDI said:
Hey fellas. My cruise does not work in my 04. I had Mr. Chill check it out with vagcom at IMPEXFEST and no codes appeared. Jeff from rocket chip told me you can jump it out on the steering column, but did not elaborate. I have tried also spraying the contacts to clean them, to no avail. Please help me get it fixed so i don't have to rely on my radar detector and can save some fuel. With no cc, my car only knows 80-90MPH........................HELP!!!
Well, I believe you'll never get a "fault" code from a cruise control that's not working (as rdkern just said).

Did you check all the switch functions with VCDS, or what did you check? If you checked the functionality of the switch like posted earlier in this thread, and everything worked as it should, it is most likely either your clutch switch or your brake switch. Again, both of these could have been checked with VCDS in measuring block 006.

You can also visually check the clutch switch. If is looks like Diesel-Dan's pictures above, that's definitely the reason. The pin on the clutch switch should be sticking out WAY further than that.

Any way, start with that and post back...

-Chris
 

Diesel-Dan1

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2007
Location
Murphy, TX
TDI
2002 Jetta
Welp....i figure since my "one cent Fix" has held up all this while...might as well not mess with it....cruise still works like a champ....but i will look into the switch....but the way i see it....get stuck once....can do it again.....
 

LiLredTDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2008
Location
maryland
TDI
2004 jetta tdi pd-1989 Jetta IDI-1994 F-250 IDI Turbo
blizzard60 said:
Well, I believe you'll never get a "fault" code from a cruise control that's not working (as rdkern just said).

Did you check all the switch functions with VCDS, or what did you check? If you checked the functionality of the switch like posted earlier in this thread, and everything worked as it should, it is most likely either your clutch switch or your brake switch. Again, both of these could have been checked with VCDS in measuring block 006.

You can also visually check the clutch switch. If is looks like Diesel-Dan's pictures above, that's definitely the reason. The pin on the clutch switch should be sticking out WAY further than that.

Any way, start with that and post back...









-Chris
I do not have a Vag Com or know how to use one. I am visiting Jeff(Rocketchip) this wednesday and maybe he can help me sort it out. Whe n it was Vag Comed by Mr. Chill he could find no problems and he is one of the most competent people on TDI club. I don't want to just replace parts to figure the cause. I was layed off from work May 26th and DC government has my unemployment screwed up(go figure) and I have not had a cent of income since May26th. FYI the problem started after I was rearended last year, don't know if this was a factor, but it worked with no problems before that.
 

conate

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 5, 2003
Location
Norwich, CT
TDI
2000 Jetta TDI
2nd to last digit

The second to last digit in the cruise block never toggles to 1. All others work correctly.....does this mean I need a new cruise control switch?
 

rdkern

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 21, 2004
Location
Humboldt Co CA
TDI
Passat 1997 silver (sold after 11 years), Jetta 2000 atlantic blue
Are you driving at the time? One of them needs to be at about 30mph before it will set. Take it for a drive and record what it does.
 

SpacemanTDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 28, 2005
Location
Toronto
TDI
No TDI for me :(
Thanks for the write up Wingnut! Figuring this out has already helped pay for my Vag-Com cable :D

Like Diesel-Dan my clutch switch was the problem but because it was actually busted:


So i just pulled the connector part out and used a penny and a band-aid to permanently make the connection. I've tested it with the vag-com and it now reads that the pedal is in, so my cruise should work - it just won't ever turn off if I punch the clutch.

I'll get a new switch from the wreckers at home (instead of $32.01), I'm in Florida and have 2000km to drive back - now with Cruise and my band-aid solution :eek:



Wingnut, I'm buying you a beverage of your choice next time I see you!
 
Last edited:

jsarg419

Active member
Joined
Aug 17, 2009
Location
ALABAMA
TDI
2001 NB 5spd
Will the new green brake switch for $4.67 work as a clutch switch. They look very similar
 

Nixter57

New member
Joined
Feb 26, 2010
Location
California
TDI
1999 & 2000 Beetles
Thanks for you help. This switch was changed 18 months ago. The symptoms are what you described are what I experienced now it does not work at all.
 

VW_Factor

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 31, 2009
Location
Leesburg, Georgia
TDI
2003 Jetta, 2009 Jetta, 2020 Passat R-Line Gasser
I have no idea what happened to mine. Using VCDS, it appears my 5th digit (the cruise system on/memory) will not light a 1.
This happened when I took apart the entire dash to fix the blend door. I was careful, took my time and got everything plugged back in proper, etc. (in fact only had 2 left over screws after the entire operation).
Anyway, the cruise worked flawlessly to begin with. The switch is likely original, but when I had it out, the ribbon cable and all the connectors on it were in great shape. Just now, there is no joy. Everything else seems to work (minus my burned out "Cruise" light which I don't mind). The computer recognizes open/closed switches for clutch, brake, on/off/res and set. Just not that 5th memory digit.
What connectors should I be looking at? What did I miss?
 

blu_jet_92

Veteran Member
Joined
May 13, 2010
Location
Deer Creek, IL
TDI
all of them
I have no idea what happened to mine. Using VCDS, it appears my 5th digit (the cruise system on/memory) will not light a 1.
This happened when I took apart the entire dash to fix the blend door. I was careful, took my time and got everything plugged back in proper, etc. (in fact only had 2 left over screws after the entire operation).
Anyway, the cruise worked flawlessly to begin with. The switch is likely original, but when I had it out, the ribbon cable and all the connectors on it were in great shape. Just now, there is no joy. Everything else seems to work (minus my burned out "Cruise" light which I don't mind). The computer recognizes open/closed switches for clutch, brake, on/off/res and set. Just not that 5th memory digit.
What connectors should I be looking at? What did I miss?
are you driving while looking at this block??
 
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