Weird cruise control issue with steering wheel buttons

[tchalikias]

I've used cruise control about 5 or 6 times in the last 10 years that I've owned my MK3 200, and during a recent trip I realized that there's something wrong with the steering wheel switches that set cruise control speeds.

Cruise control turns on normally via the switch next to the parking brake but when setting the speed, the + switch does absolutely nothing (if you press it for long enough cruise control disengages and an error saying 'CHECK CRUISE CONTROL' pops up) and the - switch instead of reducing speed, increases it.

I'm guessing there's something wrong with the steering wheel buttons themselves. Can the switch assembly be removed and cleaned with contact cleaner perhaps? I haven't been able to find the part separately from a whole used steering wheel.

 

[RSRowe]

Pretty common this - though i'm not sure of the fix. I guess you can always remove the airbag and give everything a clean in the switches.
It could be an issue with the squib too. They're an absolute fortune from Renault, and people ask strong money for them second hand. There is a seller from China on eBay who sells remanufactured ones for decent money. I've had one on mine for a while without issue.

Personally, I'd just be cheap and continue to use it by setting with speed with the '-'

 

[tchalikias]

Ah. The old clockspring switch.. I had replaced it at least twice on my older Megane under warranty, due to it making a horrible racket when turning the wheel.

The strange thing is, the horn works fine, and there's no airbag light, so these two cables apparently work still. But now that I think about it does seem like the squib is making a more pronounced sound lately during parking maneuvers.

Do you by any chance have a link for the chinese rebuilt squib on ebay?

 

[PITA]

Squib

 

[tcw]

It's worth plugging your car into CLIP and looking at the live data, I had some electrical gremlins recently and this specific issue appeared after resolving the others.

It turned out in my case the brake pedal switch was not "set" quite properly after removal/refitting, meaning that the reading was either ACTIVE or INDETERMINATE in CLIP with the brake pedal fully off.

This, in my case caused the same symptoms.

 

[tchalikias]

It's worth plugging your car into CLIP and looking at the live data, I had some electrical gremlins recently and this specific issue appeared after resolving the others.

It turned out in my case the brake pedal switch was not "set" quite properly after removal/refitting, meaning that the reading was either ACTIVE or INDETERMINATE in CLIP with the brake pedal fully off.

This, in my case caused the same symptoms.

That IS interesting. So with the problematic brake pedal switch, your cruise control behaved like I described? With the + speed button not doing anything, and the - button increasing instead of decreasing speed?

 

[tcw]

That IS interesting. So with the problematic brake pedal switch, your cruise control behaved like I described? With the + speed button not doing anything, and the - button increasing instead of decreasing speed?

I missed the latter detail about negative increasing speed, that does sound like more of a squib issue! My original advice of checking in CLIP stands though

 

[NickD]

Yes you can clean them, I have done it. You need to remove the air bag, which can be a pain in the arse as you have to faff about trying to locate a clip through a small hole in the back of the wheel. I took the switches completely apart and cleaned them. I may even have used some very fine "sand" paper on the terminals. I say may, as I did this on the window winder switches and can't remember if I did the steering wheel too, which may have been just standard industrial microswitches when all said and done. I could be catting confused with Iveco window switches! I Obviously you are not looking to remove material, just clean them.

Incidentally, using the speed limiter is a far better option than using cruse control. It means you are still thinking about your driving, where as cruse does not.

 

[turkie172]

Look here for info on the cruise control I put it in the How To sections for paid members

Cruise Control Buttons and Test