Runaway Cruise Control

[Dtwallace]

Had an interesting but irritating issue pop up on us as the DW and I were out for a day trip yesterday.

I use my cruise control very often and find it makes the drive much more comfortable for me, not having to watch the speed as and concentrate more on the traffic and scenery.

DW has this habit of reading out loud the speed limit signs if she thinks I'm driving a little too fast. The reminder isn't always welcomed but I'll check my speed anyway as I do tend to push the limit at times.

Our coach is a 2012 Providence 42P. It's very stable and seems to glide down the road better at higher but not always legal speeds.

Anyway, this time I hadn't noticed that my speed had really increased way above what I had set the cruise control for, and it was still climbing.

I tapped the brakes to kick off the cruise, then as I released the brake, the cruise came back on, and the coach took off at an alarming rate of speed.

After trying the brake only a few times to control the speed, I had to use the steering wheel control switch to turn the cruise control completely off.

During this event, we were in very light traffic so I had some time to experiment without letting the situation get completely out of control. Turning the cruise control back on at this point I found it would take the coach back up to an unacceptable speed, run a way.

I assumed it could have been a bad speed sensor, either on the engine, an ISX Cummins 450HP. Or on the transmission, Allison 3000 series.

I was able to pull off the road at one point where I reset the system by turning off the engine, and restarting. This seemed to work for a short period lending me to think maybe a computer problem was amiss.

Cruising at 60MPH for about 5 minutes, the problem came back. This time My wife and I could feel a short series of surges before the coach took off for higher speeds again.

On the return trip home, I had the opportunity to experiment/trouble shoot more.

I'm thinking a possible intermitted wire short past the steering wheel input button for (RES). I'm thinking this because that button is used to increase speed when the cruise is being used, and the (set) button decreases speed under the same conditions.

During the run a way events, the (SET) seems to hold off the on set of the run a way for a moment.

So I'll cut this short now and ask, has anyone else had an issue like this with the cruise control?

Does anyone have the cruise control wire schematic for the 2012 Providence 42P?

Thanks for your response.
DTW

[RV Wizard]

Do some homework on "Smart Wheel". I think it may be an intellitec design but not sure as memory is not the best.

[ecurb74]

Since that could be a very dangerous problem I believe I would call Fleetwood and Spartan and see if there are any recalls. That's an issue that they cannot just ignore.


Bruce & Teresa
40' 2000 Foretravel U320
Cummins M11 450hp
Allison HD4060R 6 Spd W/Retarder

[TLGPE]

I can't really help you with your coach, but I have a similar situation with our '05 Newmar KSDP. Mine is more manageable than yours, since turning off the CC with the stalk mounted slide DOES disengage it, and stopping the engine resets everything. Bad news is that often it recurs.


My plan is to go into the control stalk and clean everything and make sure the ground connection is solid. I have read here that the control stalks are readily available, so I may have to simply replace it.


Just a thought.


Tom

[jones47172]

I had a cruise control runaway once and the only way to shut it off was to use the OFF switch on the control. Braking would temporarily cancel the cruise control but as soon as the brake was released it would go to full throttle again. Studying wiring diagrams revealed this could happen if the ACC button is grounded. No short to ground on this wire could be found so I ran a new wire which eliminated the short and fixed the problem. However, this was on a motorcycle but I thought it might still have some relevance.

[BFlinn181]

I had an issue last spring bringing the RV from the storage yard. The cruise control not only tried to go at too high a rate but it also had the idle too high. After getting it parked at home, I unhooked the cable to the cruise actuator and then sat down and read the cruise control manual. Turns out repeated switching on/off is the way to calibrate the cruise. I had evidently accidentally reset the cruise control when I repeatedly toggled the dash control to raise the idle to air up the RV. Following the directions, I hooked the cable up again and was able to put it back the way it is supposed to work.

I wonder if Dan's issue might be the intermittent on/off of the switch might also be triggering his cruise control to 'recalibrate' in an unacceptable way.

[rsha]

Bad ground, IMO

[Dtwallace]

Thank you all for your input, I'm still working this issue out. So far the smart wheel switches seem to be working fine. That possible ground out along the wiring may be the problem.

Being a DP, all the controls and actuations are electronic, no cables to stick. I'll keep you all up to date.

DTW

[DeWat]

I remembered this thread after reading on the Tiffin forum about a Freightlliner recall for cruise control. I know the OP is on a Spartan, but I did find it interesting that a recall was recently issued by Freightliner due to a problem that could stop the cruise control from deactivating via the brake pedal.


http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs...2V552-5914.pdf

[BFlinn181]

Originally Posted by DeWat

I remembered this thread after reading on the Tiffin forum about a Freightlliner recall for cruise control. I know the OP is on a Spartan, but I did find it interesting that a recall was recently issued by Freightliner due to a problem that could stop the cruise control from deactivating via the brake pedal.


http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs...2V552-5914.pdf

The PDF does say 1156 chassis sent to Fleedwood potentially contained this error. I suggest the OP take a copy of the PDF to his service center to have it checked for possibility.

[Dtwallace]

Thanks for all the input guys. This is just an update for anyone who may benefit from my experience with this problem.
What I did was disconnect the wiring at the bottom of the steering column and checked the function of the smart wheel switches from the connection.
All checked out at that point. I reconnected everything and tried to duplicate the problem later.
The runaway issue never came back, however my camera will not change now when I use the turn signal to change lanes.
Had to leave it this way until I have time to take another look at what I could have disconnected by accident, or if its a bad connection at the same plug I first disconnected.

[wa8yxm]

Many cruise controls the RESUME switch or button also forces accelarate.. In fact if you move from a55 zone to a 65 and wish to increase you can simply hold resume to get up there then release it

Switch has failed closed.nor leads shorted

[Tarheel7472]

I just ran into same problem with a new to me 1997 Holiday Rambler 40 DP. Was able to disengage cruise control with switch and brake pedal. However, had similar problem with Mercedes diesel car years ago with one big difference: cruise control would not disengage with switch or brake pedal. Of course, I was reluctant to turn off while speeding down road since worried would lock steering wheel or otherwise lose control. So, I burned up brakes getting slowed down enough to put into neutral and pull over and turn off engine. If left in neutral, engine revved up! Ended up being vacuum hose problem. So, here's my question- what should I do if this happens with my Motorhome? Will steering and brakes work if I turn engine off and try to brake enough to safely pull off road

[Tarheel7472]

Had a similar problem with my "new to me" 1997 Holiday Rambler 40' DP. After pressing resume, I soon realized that I was Iran accelerate mode and was able to disengage by simply turning off steering wheel switch. Tried again and was able to turn off with brake pedal. So no emergency. However, had a problem with a Mercedes diesel auto several years ago that leaves me a bit apprehensive. In that case, nothing I could do would disengage the cruise control! I was reluctant to turn off motor since I didn't want to risk locking steering wheel at 70+MPH. So, I burned out the brakes bringing to stop and turning off engine. I had tried shifting to neutral too but only resulted in engine quickly revving to redline RPM! Amazingly, when I tried to restart, the cruise control re-engaged in both park and neutral and engine headed for redline RPM again. Ended up being vacuum hose leak so cheap fix there plus not cheap brake repair.
This brings me to current issue with my Motorhome. What should I do if happens again and can't disengage? If I turn off engine, will I be able to steer and brake in order to pull off road?