[Donalh]

Hi Folks
The Cruise control on my GT has always been a bit temperamental. However it's now given up the ghost completely since the clip on the clutch pedal went. I've read in another post that when the clutch pedal goes to the floor it can effect the cruise control switch that's linked to the clutch. I've had a look at the switch and it doesn't touch the pedal at any stage. Attached is a photo of the switch (sorry for the poor quality), does it look right? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Donal

 

[shiny_car]

the clutch switch needs to be suitable positioned so that the 'button' is pushed in when the clutch pedal is completely 'up' (ie: not changing gear). indeed, this is part of the cruise control circuit, to disengage the cruise when you go to change gear.

the switch seems to be the common fault if the cruise is not functioning properly.

can't tell from the photo alone whether the switch is working or not. but when you reinstall it, ensure the button is being pressed in appropriately, otherwise, it needs to be repositioned; alternatively, something is fouling the movement of the clutch pedal, preventing it from springing all the way back 'up'.

 

[swood5]

I have had exactly the same issue when the pin broke and the clutch pedal pushed the switch too far in just like in your photo. I pulled it back out with a pair of pliers (a fair amount of force was needed) so the switch was sticking out about 1cm. Put it back togther and its working fine now.

 

[C12MMO]

Think i will go give that a try in the morning. My split pin went on my clutch last weekend came to use the cruise control this weekend and it didnt work, decided to have a look on here and walah found the culprit i hope!

Love this website :lol: :cheese:

 

[rossolusso]

I had the same problem in my old 147,i couldnt get the switch to budge, so the easy fix was to cut a piece of fridge magnet the same shape as the lip on the pedal that presses the switch, to help it make. Stick it on
bingo..
:lol:

 

[MikeSki]

I guess the original poster already has the answer, but I had exactly the same problem after the split pin holding the clutch pedal to the push rod snapped causing the clutch pedal to drop to the floor!

The switch in the picture is the culprit, and there should be a lot more plunger showing. This switches have a "fail safe" so that when pushed in too far they break the circuit, causing the cruise control to be non-operative.

As I read in another post, the switch can still be saved by pulling the plunger out using a pair of needle nose pliers or similar. As long as the switch is slightly pushed in when the clutch is not pressed, and comes out when the the pedal is depressed, all should be well (thats my experience anyway!!)

 

[satanism]

You should know guys that that thing also leaves a static error in the ECU....when it's not working

 

[jasondainter]

Hey Guys.

Have an alfa 159 1.9 JDTM Lusso (2007)

Finally fitted my new clutch switch today. Bought a new one from Alfa Workshop (Alfa Romeo 159 Switch) and fitted it using a tutorial I dug out on here (took photos Alfa 159 Clutch Switch - Imgur).

The good news, this has nailed the warning lights that were showing for the VDC, and the hill holder not starting issues.

The bad news is my cruise control still doesn't work.

So now I'm back to the drawing board. No warning lights show up at all but the system fails to work, I wondered if someone would be so kind as to share experienced with crusie control on a working cars, and let me know some of the questions below...

1) I have yet to figure out how the little dashboard 'cruise control activated' light is supposed to work. Since my CC has always been broken Its hard to diagnose how this light should behave. When the car is stationary, and I switch the left cruise control level so it switches from O (off) to the pic of the CC (on), is the 'cruise control activated' dash light supposed to come on? I am unsure if this light is only supposed to come on when you have reached a certain speed and can actually use the CC, or whether it will always display on. Mine is off all the time and aside from coming on briefly during the light check when you start the car it goes off and stays off regardless of whether the switch is on or not. Can someone with a working CC shed some light on this?

2) I was almost certain fixing the clutch would nail this issue, since a lot of people have reported that the little safety mechanism can get stuck on these switches (the ribbed bit can get pushed too far in as photographed in Alfa 159 Clutch Switch - Imgur). However with a brand new switch since I still dont get any signs of life from the CC whether turned on or not, Im wondering what else it could be. The car has recently had a new clutch fitted so I'm still not 100% ruling out the fact the switch maybe not being pressed correctly, but now starting to think it may be unrelated and it could be something else. Any ideas on what else could go wrong on these? Fuses? The stick itself (ive heard people buying new sticks and fixing them onto the steering wheel). Any ideas?

3) Ive not yet got an OBD2 set up where I can read the error codes, but anyone here who has had this kind of grief (Satanism?) know if this issue would leave messages on the ECU and what I'd be looking for there as tempted to dosh out the 100 quid to get a proper OBD2 connector and the software to read whats going on if it will help.

4) When I put the brand new switch in, it naturally comes with the little white 'button' part of the switch poking out pretty far. To fit the switch I secured the clutch down but the first time I put the clutch down when fitted, after carefully lowering the clutch I always hear a clicking sound. If you see my album (Alfa 159 Clutch Switch - Imgur) its clear to see this noise is the little ribbed part of the plastic clip. Reading up on this, I believe this is actually normal, and that its supposed to basically click until its reached the natural 'resting place' for the clutch (when fully up) one time only, but I'm not 100% on this and wonder if perhaps because Ive had a new clutch fitted that the alignment is different to the original clutch and that perhaps its pushing the little rubbed thing too far. Can anyone comment on this?

I *really* want working cruise control, it was one of the main things that attracted me to this model and I simply refuse to take to a Swedish garage (where I live) where they will ask me to pull my pants down and cough up some bags of gold bullion just to take a look... so any help is gratefully received!...

 

[jasondainter]

Having looked at elearn its telling me the following, wondering if I should get an OBD connector on this and see what errors its spitting out, the list sounds a bit scary!...

-------------- from elearn ------------------

Diagnosis
The system turns off automatically when the signals used by the Cruise Control software are incorrect because they are due to component defects:

- vehicle speed sensor;

- accelerator pedal potentiometer;

- brake/brake light switch plausibility;

- clutch switch plausibility;

- lever position on automatic transmissions;

- Cruise control switch plausibility and Resume key;

- Cruise control switch plausibility and (+) (-) keys;

The Cruise Control system is also deactivated if errors occur in components that impair engine operation, namely:

- engine management control unit;

- engine rpm sensor;

- electronic throttle body sensors/actuators);

- Ignition coils (for petrol engines),

- injectors;

- hgh pressure system components (for diesel engines);


In this case, the engine control unit must be tested and repaired using diagnostic instruments during Service (Examiner).

 

[jwq]

obviously, practically all of those things can be ruled out, as the car runs....

You could however check the switch on the brake pedal ....

 

[jasondainter]

Hmm, would the brake switch not give me a warning if this was faulty? Im not getting any error messages (except for a temporamental parking sensor one i'm due to look at later)

Does anyone have any feedback on questions 1-4 above? Really keen to hear from someone who has got a working cruise control so I can diagnose this...

 

[mr-mac]

Read engine and abs/vdc codes

 

[AlfaClass]

@ jasondainter
have you sorted out your problem?
1) the green light should come on as you switch the knob to on also whit ht engine stalled.
2) and 3) error codes in the ECU need to be cleared to resume the Cruise Control. Mines is disabling itself every couple of days and need to clear the error codes regularly.

 

[Squadrone Rosso]

The cruise control on our GT won't activate since the clutch pedal pin snapped a few weeks back

The light on the dash comes on as normal when you turn it on but it doesn't set to maintain speed.

No warning lights, VDC errors or anything like that - car is running fine

Any suggestions please?

 

[David P]

Have you looked at the switch on the clutch, does the pedal touch the plunger when pressed ? If not pull out the plunger as previously stated in the posts above to see if that resolves it.

 

[pubsinger]

Look at the image in the first post, that's the switch that's mounted above the clutch pedal, 1/4 turn to release it if needed.

The switch has a pin/plunger (extreme right of the above image) that is pressed when the clutch pedal is at rest. When your clutch pin broke the pedal is free to travel higher so the pin on the switch gets pushed too far in, now that your clutch pin is fixed the switch isn't being operated.

Get your head down in the footwell, operate the clutch pedal with your hand and hold it down, then with some long nosed pliers pull the pin out as far as it will come, it'll self-adjust when you release the pedal.

Good luck

Pub.

 

[Jamie1985]

Cruise control clutch pedal switch

Hi I have recently just changed the cruise control switch on the clutch pedal of my GT but the cruise control still doesn't work. Does anybody know what else it could be please?

 

[BOG]

The brake switch? Essentially the same thing but attached to the brake pedal.

 

[5tuart]

Cruise Control fixed

Once again, this site has saved me a great deal of money and aggravation, would it be possible to link this thread to the clutch fix thread? so that anyone fixing the clutch pedal issue will also look at the cruise control switch at the same time?

 

[terrunt]

Hi Folks
The Cruise control on my GT has always been a bit temperamental. However it's now given up the ghost completely since the clip on the clutch pedal went. I've read in another post that when the clutch pedal goes to the floor it can effect the cruise control switch that's linked to the clutch. I've had a look at the switch and it doesn't touch the pedal at any stage. Attached is a photo of the switch (sorry for the poor quality), does it look right? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Donal

It looks to me that the switch is stuck in the pressed position... Someone more knowledgable may be along soon though