SMOKE SWITCH

[Rockcruiser]

I work in a transmission shop and I love those switches....the create broken parts and make me lots of money.......these units are not designed to lockup at low speeds and kills the convertor over time ....early lockup= low line pressure....I don't care who builds the unit ..it is still ******* them and a very bad idea....Rod

 

[Agnem]

...I am firmly convinced that they are intentionally programed to be slugs for longevity reasons as well as fuel economy. ...

I'd buy that argument. I'd also through in the emissions factor. Don't want any lugging now do we?

It's also a good idea not to use cruise control on anything but flat ground when towing. It tries to kill itself otherwise. Nothing like going from 1800 RPM to 3300 in who knows what gear.

 

[david85]

It's also a good idea not to use cruise control on anything but flat ground when towing. It tries to kill itself otherwise. Nothing like going from 1800 RPM to 3300 in who knows what gear.

I adjusted my cruise control to give only about 20% power. That way it still gives good economy on the highway I drive. I would rather loose a few MPH on the crest of a hill than an extra gallon or two on the longer runs. There are many long shallow grades on vancouver island. Driving with my foot usually yields the same MPG results as the current cruise control setting. This was also to prevent lugging of the engine and transmission from the tall gearing on some of those steeper hills.

Never had the transmission slip with the TC locked and low RPMs (1s low as 1200), but I'm not going to tempt fate.

 

[LCAM-01XA]

Dave, about that 20% cruise mod, what does it consist of?

 

[david85]

Dave, about that 20% cruise mod, what does it consist of?

Adjusting the actuator cable on the injector pump end. Takes a few minutes on mine.


I'm not sure how it is on the 1990 model, but my 1986 has a steel clip that is used to lock the plastic adjuster in place on the part that snaps into the bracket of the injector pump.

Basically you slide the cable sleeve toward the injector pump accelerator lever to REDUCE the maximum amount of engine power that the cruise control can apply. It may take some trial and error to get it to where you want. Also be warned that when you first turn on the cruise control, it will be more sluggish respond, but the response time for hills is still acceptable once engaged. This assumes that they still used a vacuum servo actuator on the 1990 truck (I think they did )

I'll take a picture later when I have some more time.

 

[trackspeeder]

I'd buy that argument. I'd also through in the emissions factor. Don't want any lugging now do we?

It's also a good idea not to use cruise control on anything but flat ground when towing. It tries to kill itself otherwise. Nothing like going from 1800 RPM to 3300 in who knows what gear.

That would be 3rd with the TC unlocked. Stock tranny.

Throw a shift improver kit in it. Your tranny will be happy and you will like cruise control.

 

[david85]

Wow that sucks. Love my baumaun TCS though. I can program any shift profile I want with it (and I can switch between two programs at any time while driving). If I drop to 3rd gear on the freeway and am only at 50% power or less, the TC will unlock during the downshift and politely lock up again after about 2 seconds.

Unlocking it can help slightly with getting more power to the ground immediately, but overall I try and let it stay locked up as much as possible because it just responds better and burns less fuel. Only time 3rd gear and unlocked TC is good is at lower speeds around town, or if you are just letting rip on the open road and want the power, but I shudder to think of the kind of temps you rack up in the tranny like that.

 

[LCAM-01XA]

Dave, so you're basically loosening the cable for the cruise, so the cruise needs to pull on it more to achieve certain throttle, thus eventually running out of cable travel well before actually maxing out the IP?

 

[david85]

Dave, so you're basically loosening the cable for the cruise, so the cruise needs to pull on it more to achieve certain throttle, thus eventually running out of cable travel well before actually maxing out the IP?

You got it

I'm trying to get the pics off my cell phone, but it keeps freezing up on me

 

[david85]

Was ready to throw it out the window, but I got it.

If the parts in your truck look like this, than you should be able to do this mod. (sorry for hijack)

 

[LCAM-01XA]

Yeps, same stuff in my truck. I'll see about tweaking the cruise this Sunday after the Dream Cruise, I remember from my '88 Lincoln there is some sort of flexible connection inside the cruise unit so I gotta make sure it ain't gonna pop off when I loosen up the cable like you.