Cruise Control

[manga_blue]

I put an AP60 on my car last month, with vacuum actuator. It took 2 hours to fit after I spent about 6 hours figuring out how. I used the existing clutch and brake pedal switches and offtakes from the ECU harness. Actuator sits on the passenger side and curls gently around to thread through a small hole drilled in the existing throttle cable end bracket. It was basically pretty easy but there are a few learnings I need to write up to help show how it's done.

You can find them for $200-275. I ran this one over to Adelaide and back for Mallala. It didn't hunt, and this is a car which is bloody hard to hold at any steady speed. It kept within 1kmh of its setting all the way. It's very easy to use and as good or better than every other factory unit I've ever used.

[TieNN89]

manga_blue,
If you can take some pics of your install it would be very helpful

every bit helps

Thanks Heaps everyone
hopefully i can get a unit in for the weekend

The only thing that I wish it had was illumininated buttons. Currently there are indentations on the buttons so once familiar you sorta know which button is which. But illuminated buttons would have been far better. Obviously this is only an issue at night.

thats the remote I want

only problem with illuminated buttons is your batteries would drain real quick cause its runs off a battery

[Hammer]

manga_blue,
If you can take some pics of your install it would be very helpful

every bit helps

Thanks Heaps everyone
hopefully i can get a unit in for the weekend

The only thing that I wish it had was illumininated buttons. Currently there are indentations on the buttons so once familiar you sorta know which button is which. But illuminated buttons would have been far better. Obviously this is only an issue at night.

thats the remote I want

only problem with illuminated buttons is your batteries would drain real quick cause its runs off a battery

This one is not a remote. It's hardwired into the car. I had it fitted prior to taking delivery of the car new, so I never really saw how they fitted it. I've had the car since 2002, and I've never had problems.

[sliq]

hey.. this is really O/T.

does anyone know what the two little lights at the bottom in the tacho and speedo are? (for NB8B/C's, not sure about any other models)

[Hammer]

hey.. this is really O/T.

does anyone know what the two little lights at the bottom in the tacho and speedo are? (for NB8B/C's, not sure about any other models)

I know the left one out of the two within the speedo is for the fog light "on" indicator. Somehow Mazda didn't bother wiring this up for Australia.

But a forum member - Rob aka Techno - has a topic posted in Miata.net that shows how you can DIY the wiring.

Here's the link to Techno's pictorial instructions (They're awesome).

[Garry]

Hammer,

The steering wheel control isn't hard wired. It's fitted with a little battery and works in a similar way to your TV remote contol. There is a reciever box mounted under the dash that the steering wheel control talks to. The battery lasts forever though. I have the original battery in mine and it's almost 6 years old now.

As manga_blue pointed out, you can use the original factory clutch and brake switches so that will save some cost/installation time.

One of the secrets to stable speed control is to keep as little play as possible in the throttle cable to the servo. Of course there needs to be a little bit of play there to allow the throttle to close properly.

[sliq]

good call hammer. thanks for that link. (thanks to techno too)

the warning and indicator light next to the foggy is the ABS light which is supposed to be linked to the (!) light/brake system warning light next to the seatbelt light...

[Hammer]

Hammer,

The steering wheel control isn't hard wired. It's fitted with a little battery and works in a similar way to your TV remote contol. There is a reciever box mounted under the dash that the steering wheel control talks to. The battery lasts forever though. I have the original battery in mine and it's almost 6 years old now.

As manga_blue pointed out, you can use the original factory clutch and brake switches so that will save some cost/installation time.

One of the secrets to stable speed control is to keep as little play as possible in the throttle cable to the servo. Of course there needs to be a little bit of play there to allow the throttle to close properly.

What tha!!! I didn't know that.

My car will be 6yrs old in Oct, and I never knew it had batteries. I've always wondered how they wired it so well.

[sliq]

lol hammer, your SP is a libran like me

[sliq]

sorry, my mistake.

the little light that is next to \"ABS\" actually says \"HOLD\" why would you need hold on a car?

[AJ]

sorry, my mistake.

the little light that is next to "ABS" actually says "HOLD" why would you need hold on a car?

JDM cruise control lighting??

[Gazbo]

sorry, my mistake.

the little light that is next to "ABS" actually says "HOLD" why would you need hold on a car?

"Hold" mode for the austomatic transmission (if fitted) ?

[Casey]

Hammer,

The steering wheel control isn't hard wired. It's fitted with a little battery and works in a similar way to your TV remote contol. There is a reciever box mounted under the dash that the steering wheel control talks to. The battery lasts forever though. I have the original battery in mine and it's almost 6 years old now.

As manga_blue pointed out, you can use the original factory clutch and brake switches so that will save some cost/installation time.

One of the secrets to stable speed control is to keep as little play as possible in the throttle cable to the servo. Of course there needs to be a little bit of play there to allow the throttle to close properly.

What tha!!! I didn't know that.

My car will be 6yrs old in Oct, and I never knew it had batteries. I've always wondered how they wired it so well.

That wasn't my understanding either. We have the Auscruise installed on both our cars and for both of them the control buttons have wires disappearing into the steering column. The way it was explained to me by the installer was that the slip rings for the horn button are multiplexed* - same as steering wheel mounted audio controls for example, and thus a physical connection to the control module for the cruise - not RF. I hadn't thought how power goes the other way to light the indicator (on the on/off button), but its only an LED so it wouldn't draw much current.

* The horn relay requires pretty close to 12v to trigger, hence you can use lower voltages throught the same slip rings for the cruise control. ie - 0.5v might be for the on/off button, 1v might be for the set/acc button, and 1.5v for the res/dec buttons (note these are examples only plucked from thin air and may bear no resembalance to the actual voltages used).

[Garry]

I stand corrected then. My buttons look the same as Hammers but have no back lighting or \"on\" light and they are powered by a battery. The \"on\" light on my system is in the gauge cluster above the fuel gauge. There is an LED that glows behind the button when a button is pressed though. My CC was installed by CCS at Silverwater, I'm not sure of the brand.

[Casey]

I stand corrected then. My buttons look the same as Hammers but have no back lighting or "on" light and they are powered by a battery. The "on" light on my system is in the gauge cluster above the fuel gauge. There is an LED that glows behind the button when a button is pressed though. My CC was installed by CCS at Silverwater, I'm not sure of the brand.

If you have those buttons Garry its more then likely you have the same Auscruise system as in our cars.

I didn't explain things very well. As you described, the on/activated green/orange LED is separate to the control buttons and a little green LED on the on/off button glows when you push any of the control buttons. No backlighting.

6 years is an amazing life for a battery in an RF/IR application - mine is still going strong too