[Chippy01]

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Anyone have any idea on this problem?

We were out on a run the other day, and Steve was complaining about his cruise control not setting. I had noticed from time to time, that he appeared to be running with his brake lights alight, and thought that if he had his foot resting on the pedal activating the light (but not applying the brakes), that could be his problem.

When we stopped and talked about this, he maintained that his foot was well away from the pedal.

On checking the brake light activation, the rear brake would only light the brake lights intermittantly. OK then; faulty switch.
The front lever lit the lights every time.

Now, here's the problem.
When we set off again, we did some tests.
If he only used the rear pedal to brake and then ride on, the cruise would set instantly.
If he used the front lever, the cruise would not set and he had to 'flick' the lever a few times before it would lock on again.
I was behind him, and everytime he flicked the lever, the brakelights would flash.

So. What is the problem? And how can it be fixed?

Any pointers would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[Snorebaby]

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The switch has 2 contact points...one for the light and the other for the cruise...sounds like the cruise contact is sticking or the lever is not releasing all the way.

Shoot the switch with contact cleaner while working the lever.

 

[Wichita Scorpion]

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Sure is irritating when you don't knowif the cruise is going to engage or not.

You might be able to take the rear Brake switch off and clean it with (I use silicon spray) contact cleaner. While you are in there clean the micro switch for the Cruise cancel too.

As noted above, thebrake handlebar Cruise switch may need cleaning. There are two micro switches, one for Cruise cancel and one for Brake lights. Just a touch on the leaver should activate the brake lights and cancel the cruise. I'm thinking that the Cruise switch is the bottom switch. There is also a Cruise Cancel micro switch on the clutch side.

The cruise not setting part of the time is usually caused by the pivot screw too tight not letting the clutch or brake lever move freely, worn pivot point at the lever, or installing chrome aftermarket levers. If the lever moves freely, a fix can usually be made by building up the flat areawhere the lever touches the switches. With aftermarket levers, I used a small thin flat piece of metal glued on with J. B. Weld. This has been working on my 1989 GL 1500 for several years now.

 

[wexy]

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micro switch on the front lever ,, Could be a worn lever causing it .His bike is 89 if I remember ,.I should it once belonged to me

Where the pin goes through the lever it caaan get worn over time and cause a small bit of movement and this can cause the micro switch not to double click ,, Check it out ,Oh and dont forget to clean that rusty bolt on your VALK :cheeky1:

 

[Chippy01]

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Ok. Let's see if I got this right......

Brake lever has two switches, one for the brake light and one for the cruise cancel.

Clutch lever has a switch, for the cruise cancel.

Brake pedal has two switches, one for the brake light and one for the cruise cancel.

When I looked at the pedal switch, all I saw was a small black tube-shaped switch with a spring attached. As far as I am aware, that is for the brake light only; or is the cruise cancel incorporated in it as well? :baffled:

Itr's funny Wichita Scorpionmentioned the chrome levers. Steve got a little bit of bling from CycleMaxOhio a while back. Part of that shipment, was, in fact, new chrome levers!

Oh, and BTW wexy, while I am fixing Steve's switches, Wannabe said she will polish my nuts for me......:cheeky1::cheeky1::cheeky1:

 

[SHREK snr]

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Change the levers back to OEM and see if that fixes it.:waving::waving::waving:

 

[Kit Carson]

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The answer is in the flicking of the levers, works, then does not work. It is a common situation for aftermarket levers to create this problem.

Usually there is just enough play, by loosing it all up, including the switch and holding it all towards the center and re-securing it all.

When they mold the levers it seems they are a bit shy on the metal in that area and as it fulcrums around will not actuate the switch like it should.

Kit

 

[Wichita Scorpion]

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Not being able to set the cruise part of the time iscommon with the aftermarket chrome levers. My fix would bea thinbuild up of the flat area that contacts the switches on both the brake and clutch levers. This fix has been workingon my1989 GL 1500 for several years now.Try a piece of duck tape on the flat area for a test ride.

The foot brake pedal has two switches. The brake light one is the tube looking one with the spring on it. There is also a micro switch located near the tube type switch and cancels the cruise. Look for two wires connected to a very small switch.

On each handlebar side, the brake lever side and the clutch lever side, there are two micro switches.
Brake side micro switches: brake light switch and brake/cruise cancel switch.
Clutch side switches:clutch switch andclutch/cruse cancel switch.
If you listen closely, as you pull (small movement)either lever, you should hear two small click sounds.

Since we didn't seem to have a problem with the clutch side, my previous post just noted that there is'also' a cruise cancel switch on the clutch side.

Hope this helps clarify things.:baffled:

 

[GoWing]

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Snorebaby wrote:

The switch has 2 contact points...one for the light and the other for the cruise...sounds like the cruise contact is sticking or the lever is not releasing all the way.

Shoot the switch with contact cleaner while working the lever.

 

I'll second that.

 

[GoWing]

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Chippy01 wrote:

We were out on a run the other day, and Steve was complaining about his cruise control not setting....

I thought the wingnut had a GL1800?

 

[Silverfox]

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GoWing wrote:

Chippy01 wrote:

We were out on a run the other day, and Steve was complaining about his cruise control not setting....

I thought the wingnut had a GL1800?

Different Steve.

 

[Silverfox]

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My bet would be those aftermarket levers and as Shrek said change them back to OEM ones and see if they work it again.

Commonly known problem with after market levers.

 

[Chippy01]

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Update on the cruise setting glitch.
Problem fixed, people. :clapper:Thanks for all your pointers. :clapper:

It turned out to be the lever after all. Close inspection revealed that the extension on the lever that trips the microswitches wasn't closing tight enough.
Also, the lever had a tendency to twist slightly in the housing, which wasn't helping matters.
All I did to fix the problem was to build up the lever extension a bit with some double-sided adhesive strip and a thin shim of plastic. And I checked and cleaned the best I could, all the other switches I could find. :clapper:

Once finished, I waited for Steve to come over andtake her out for the obligatory road test. :action::action:

Steve was busy, so Wannabe said ''Why don't you take the ***** GoldWing out yourself?'' :shock: (Apparantly someone had said that thier 'Wing was purring like a *****-cat, and it stuck in her mind!!):cheeky1::cheeky1:

I went out and made sure it was setting and cancelling as it should. Yep, all was in order...:action::clapper:

Then I began to wonder what it's setting limits were. So I tested it out.

Minimum speed setting 30mph
Maximum speed setting 80mph
It will only set when either in fouth or fifth (top) gear

Is this the normal settings for the GL1500? Can it be expanded, both upwards and downwards in any way?
Just wondering.................:baffled:

 

[Wichita Scorpion]

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:clapper:Glad you found the problem and thanks for the post on your fix.:clapper:
My 1989 GL 1500 cruise will set about 28 mph.If I have cruise set and speed up above 80 mph, the speed will drop back to 80 and hold.

The double-sided adhesive probably won't hold up long. I used a thin piece of metal and J. B. Weld to build up my lever contact point. Been working since the 1990's.

 

[ronenz]

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Funny, I am working this issue right now with my 88 wing. Glad I found this site. Now I know what to look for. Thanks

 

[AZgl1800]

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The cruise max speeds you noticed on the gl1500 are correct.

There is a wiring mod that will change the max speed in 5th. You reverse the wires at a connector for the 4th gear and 5th gear sensors. That makes the cruise "think it is in 4th gear" even though it is in 5th gear. The computer uses engine RPM to set max cruise speed. Obviously engine RPM at 80 mph in 4th gear is higher than engine RPM at 80 mph in 5th gear.

Therefore, reversing the wires, gives a higher MPH limit for 5th gear.

EDIT: 2 of the links that were here are now dead...... I have removed them
6/3/2010


Cruise Control article #2
http://home.comcast.net/~rkekeis/wingcruisecontrol.html


A programmable Cruise Control for bikes w/o cruise
http://www.julianos.com/cruise_control.html


The last link is a vendor's product.

 

[pauljay]

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I don't use the cruise control very often but use it to check that it working ok on the odd accasion. The last time I used it I set it at 70mph, then, when I let it go it went to 60mph, so I set it again at 70mph, and it slowed back down back to 60mph again . Any thoughts ?

 

[AZgl1800]

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pauljay, I've not heard that one before.

But, I'm thinking that just maybe, the ECM has a bug in it. That one should be a good candidate for the wiring change. That way the RPMs limiter would be high enough for you to cruise at a respectable speed in 5th gear.

 

[vtxcandyred]

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pauljay wrote:

I don't use the cruise control very often but use it to check that it working ok on the odd accasion. The last time I used it I set it at 70mph, then, when I let it go it went to 60mph, so I set it again at 70mph, and it slowed back down back to 60mph again . Any thoughts ?

Thats a standard problem. One in which I'm trying to figure out now. I had rewired the cruise so I could set the cruise above seventy. It worked then suddenly it quit. I have posted the question and am waiting to get a reply on it. I can't rmemeber which and where the wires are. Its under the seat but can't find which ones.