I just bought a 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis LS with 41k miles. Car is in great shape with one exception: the cruise control. When test driving the car, it took a few tries to get the cruise to work. I thought that I just wasn't used to the cruise set up. After clickingthe controls multiple times, the cruise came on and worked properly. Now the cruise won't work at all. Checked fuse, it is fine. Read owner's manual. Doing it correctly. BTW, this is my second GM. Never had a problem with the cruise in the old one. Does anyone know the obvious things to look for? Where to start?

 

May 06 had a bad switch at the brake pedal. I could not turn on the curse. It may serve as the brake light and cruse control release.

 

Thanks for the help. </>Not the cruise disconnect switch located on the brake pedal. Went to dealer and got switch ($38). Replaced in twenty minutes. Acting same. I think that it may be the On/Off switch on the steering wheel. The Off function does not work when the cruise is working. To get the cruise to activate, I press the On switch several times and try the cruise. Some times this works, some times I have to try several times, but it eventually works. Once the cruise works, everything works (res/accel/set/coast). How hard is it to replace the On/Off switch on the wheel? I have an steering wheel airbag. Any suggestions?Thanks in advance for theadvice.Edited by: jmbowman1

 

I wonder if there's any way to shoot some 'tuner cleaner' in the switches without damaging the steering wheel finish. It does just sound like dirty contacts. Maybe if you had a rag in one hand, and very carefully gave small shots of cleaner around the edges of the switch, you could get some cleaner worked in there and correct the problem without replacing anything.

Good luck-
Rich

 

Thanks for the suggestion. BTW, what is "tuner cleaner?"


It seemed to get a little better yesterday. The Off button worked also if I pressed it several times rapidly. Has anyone else had this problem?


I heard that the switch is not that expensive, but the labor is high. Does anyone know? My last two cars have been BMWs. Parts and labor for a Mercury don't even phase me. When you go from $90 oil changes to $30 oil changes, it's a good day. I think that the ride of the Merc is just as good as any BMW. The space is great! Plus I can work on a lot of the minor stuff on the car myself.

 

Tuner cleaner is a spray aerosol that is used to clean electrical contacts. You should be able to find it at Radio Shack. Not sure about places like Best Buy or Circuit City.

 

I doubt that you can get at it just by squirting from the outside. All you will do is make a mess...

Does your horn work? I know it sounds like a stupid question... but my 98 GM recently had a similar issue with the cruise. At first it was fine (30K), then at 100K it became fickle when it was cold, than at 125K it stopped working all together. My horn also no longer worked.

Took it in and spent $200 to get it fixed. They trouble shot it down to a bad power wire getting to the steering wheel which disabled the horn and cruise. Instead of replacing the wiring harness, they just ran a bypass wire and it's been fine since. $195 was labor/trouble shooting. $5 was for the parts.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. The horn works every time. I went for a short highway trip this weekend. If I pressed the cruise On button repeatedly, sooner or later, it worked. Seems like the contacts are dirty or not working properly. Anyone had this repair done at the dealer? How much does it cost?

 

Go to an auto parts store and have them read you trouble codes. That just may point to the failed component.

 

Already tried Advanced. They wouldn't do it without the engine/trouble light on. They said that I would have to go to the dealer or a shop. Dealer says almost $100 to read codes, but they'll apply it to the labor if they do the repair.