Adding Cruise Control

[Mikeyworks]

I am interested in adding cruise control to my 1.6TD as I do TONS of highway driving, and that would be a very nice feature.

I know that some 1.6TD's came from the factory with the cruise bulb (some MKII TD's) and I was wondering what else is required to put cruise in the Caddy.  I don't mind adding the MKII stalk as I am considering adding a MFA cluster as well.

Thanks in advance.

Mikey

[Justin]

check out this website, it has lots of good information on the VW'sedu


http://www.4crawler.com/Diesel/CheapTricks/CruiseControl.shtml
this should be allyou need
later
justin

[Otis2]

There was an earlier discussion here, including addressing such issues as best retail price for the Audiovox unit, correct positions for the DIP switches, and what to do about the coil/tach signal if you don't want to build a W - coil output converter.

http://www.vwdiesel.net/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=101

I eventually hooked mine up the way DieselsRCool suggested (ie. skip connecting the coil signal wire, skip wiring up a clutch switch, and I just push the "off" button when I downshift without braking).  Works just great, although, oddly, on my diesel Vanagon (using the magnets for the VSS input), the cruise won't engage below 85 km/h (53 mph).  With my larger-than-stock tires, I expect the axles are turning more slowly at any given speed than in any FWD car, thus bumping up the "minimum speed" threshhold in the cruise control's logic.  I think it's supposed to engage at a minimum of about 60 km/h or 40 mph in most cars.

[BlackTieTD]

:?: the cruise in my corrado would work at like 40km/h..... could have just been one of those corrado 'quirks' though  :lol:

if it were up to me i'd try to adapt a factory cruise system, although i'm a sucker for sticking oem when there is a better aftermarket solution... don't ask me why!

[DieselsRcool]

Maybe you could try adding additional evenly spaced magnets to fool the system into thinking it is going twice as fast.

[VWRacer]

Mikey, I installed one of those generic $75 cruise control kits from AutoZone. It works great!

If you want it to look OEM, I'm sure you can do it, for 10 times the hours invested and 5 times the cost... :lol:  :roll:  :wink:

[Otis2]

Maybe you could try adding additional evenly spaced magnets to fool the system into thinking it is going twice as fast.

You know, I actually considered that!  But it's low on the priority list for car projects.  As a marginally higher priority, I'd probably wire the clutch switch in if I was feeling that motivated.

I figure that if I have to be driving anything less than 85 km/h, the traffic is probably so heavy or the road so curvy that I shouldn't be using the cruise control anyway.  

Audiovox tech support tells me I should take one of the two magnets off the halfshaft, and leave the dip switches where they are.  He was adamant that RWD needs this (even though the Vanagon has halfshafts like a FWD, and has no "driveshaft" between the differential and transmission).  My instinct is that's BS advice, but I may get around to trying that just for the hell of it.

[Mikeyworks]

thanks for the responses gang...I will have to look into one of the aftermarket systems to add to my Caddy!!!!!

Mikey

[Zeitgeist]

I've thought about this in the past.  If you take the time to examine the factory cruise control diagrams in the Bentley manual, I think you'll see that they're really a rather simple and robust system.  If you can find a speedometer with a speed pick-up, and a donor vehicle (any VAG vehicle should suffice), you could have the look and reliability of the stock setup.  In my experience, the aftermarket systems don't hold up over time.  I had an old Vanagon with a fried aftermarket CC wiring harness and had lost most of its magnetic CV joint speed sensors, and thus was rendered hopelessly  inoperative.  YMMV