Cruise control is not working on my 1998 Honda Accord LX 4-door with a 2.3L VTEC engine (163K miles), automatic transmission, A/C.


This car has a cruise control master on/off switch on the dashboard to the left of the steering wheel and a separate set of controls (RESUME/accel, CANCEL, SET/decel) mounted on the right hand side of the steering wheel. When the cruise control master on/off button is pressed, the light on the button turns on. When the car is being driven above 30 MPH (and master on/off is on), pressing the SET button does nothing. It should cause the speed to be set and cause an indicator on the dashboard instrument panel to be lit.

I have a Haynes manual for this car, and have tried to isolate the problem with the cruise control. I have located and checked the fuse. The original fuse is good and it is clean. The brake switch appears to work based on the fact that the brake lights work. The control cable between the servo/amplifier and the throttle appears to be adjusted properly. The vehicle speed sensor on the countershaft measures 475 ohms, and the Haynes manual indicates that it should be between 400 and 600 ohms, so that appears to be good. I was unable to access the vehicle speed sensor on the mainshaft as it is located underneath the battery, and disconnecting the battery will lead to other problems (radio anti-theft device). I could pursue that, but the fact that the speedometer works suggest that this sensor is also working. The Haynes manual did not have any other suggestions.

A Honda dealer wanted $100 just to connect their computer to the onboard diagnostics. I declined that for now, but did buy an Actron CP9180 AutoScanner. I am still learning that tool (and OBDII), but did get it to tell me that all the diagnostics passed, and there were no codes to be checked out.

Are there any known failure modes or diagnostics that can be tried? Any suggestions on how to get the cruise control to work will be appreciated!

 

Your VSS should be OK becuase (like you said) your speedometer works. And it would throw a check-engine light for a bad VSS.

So look for loose/dirty/corroded wiring harness connections out at the cruise-control unit. Old & cracked vacuum hoses over to that unit?

 

You will probably have to disconnect the 14 pin connector at the cruise control unit, and test each wire as described in the shop manual.

The spooner link I posted in the Online Manuals thread in the DIY section, has a 98-02 shop manual that you can download. It is an iso file, so you will have to burn it to a CD to get it to work.

You will need a volt meter to do the proper tests in the cruise control input.

 

[QUOTE

[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]A Honda dealer wanted $100 just to connect their computer to the onboard diagnostics.
[/QUOTE]

there is no such a thing to diagnose the cruise ,,,,,,does the horn work??

there are 3 fuses that yo8u need to chk..driver/s under dash fuse box..........fuses # 6 , 15 amp and fuse # 9 . 7.5 amp under hood fuse box fuse # 47 , 20 amps

if fuses are ok, dive the car , set the main cruise button, with you foot lift up on the brake pedal toward you and try to set the cruise SET button see if it works
.chk those out and get back to us..

 

Thanks for all the helpful replies.

My next attempt to diagnose/fix will be when the weekend comes.

For now I will download the "Accord 1998-2000 ESM CD ISO" from (http://www.spoonertuner.com/manuals) and burn a CD.

When I get back to it, I will also check the fuses and wire harnesses. I did check one vacuum hose connected to the servo/amplifier and it seemed to be working well.

If/when I get this figured out, I will post the findings.
Thanks again!

 

As indicated above, the cruise control is not functioning on my 98 Honda Accord 2.3L Automatic.

It turns out that there are two circuits on the brake switch. One circuit operates the brakes when the pedal is pressed. The other circuit allows the cruise control to operate when the brake pedal is released.

To test the break switch, I disconnected the 4P connector and used an ohm meter to test continuity. With the brake pedal released, there was no continuity at all. With the brake pedal pressed, there was continuity between terminal 2 and 3. When I put a small flat shim between the released brake pedal and the switch, I did get continuity between 1 and 4.

I believe, my next step is to try to adjust the brake switch clearance. Please advise otherwise.

Thanks so much for your help.
Gordon

 

Adjusted the clearance on the brake switch and cruise control now works! Thanks!

Problem solved!

 

Hey guys I have the exact same problem 95 accord. Sry if this is a stupid question, where is the brake switch located? I checked everything else discussed earlier in the forum and it seems to be in good working condition. Thanks for the help

 

It is above the brake pedal. Near where the brake pivots.

 

Same issues here, checked fuses, brake light switch, but then, did the foot-lift trick and it worked. got under there and adjusted the switch a full three turns, and got nothing. had i been using better lighting, I might have noticed the hole in the plate. (lost these same two plugs on my Civic, so i should have known to look) Plugged the hole with a small bolt and washer and shazam! CC works again !!! Now, the light on the dash button still won't come on, but i guess that's far less of a problem than i had. Thanks to All !<br>