Cruise Control

[Jmicester24]

Hello Folks!

I have a 99 GL1500. I have owned it for just over a year. In that year the cruise control has not worked. While I'm riding, The CC on light goes on, the CC set button works but the Cruise Control never does.
Also When I am riding, if I hit the foot brake, hand brake, roll the throttle forward, etc, the CC set light goes away.
Step taken:
Cleaned the CC on/off
Cleaned the CC set button
Cleaned the Clutch and Hand brake contacts

What are the things I should check first? Any and all information is deeply appreciated! Thanks in advance!

Extra information:
Ive only tried to set it in 4/5 gear going about 55-65 mph
50k miles

[WingsandThings]

When I was driving my bike home the day I bought it I tried to use cruise control but it didn't seem to work,, buttons all worked and light was on but whenever I tried to set it, when I let off the throttle it wouldnt maintain the speed.
I tried it 2 or 3 times and thought it must not be working. I was on a four lane highway doing around 70 mph.
I tried it once more and my speed dropped as soon as I let off the throttle, but this time I just let it keep dropping. It dropped to just below 60 and then it held 60. It was working. It would drop 10 mph before it worked. So I sped up to 80 and set it again and then cruised along most of the way home at 70mph.

I just used it that way for a couple of weeks until one day I was tinkering around and decided to adjust the slack in my throttle cable. The throttle had way too much slack in it.
The next time I used cruise control it hardly dropped any speed before it would start cruising on its own.
Probably not what is going on with your bike but it could be.

[DenverWinger]

If you are actually getting the "CRUISE SET" light to come on I would suspect components in the Vacuum side of the equation.

Pinhole in cruise actuator, a pinched vacuum line to the actuator, or maybe faulty vacuum control valve.....

[Jmicester24]

If you are actually getting the "CRUISE SET" light to come on I would suspect components in the Vacuum side of the equation.

Pinhole in cruise actuator, a pinched vacuum line to the actuator, or maybe faulty vacuum control valve.....

What would be the best way to go upon checking those?

[blupupher]

If you are getting the Cruise light on when you hit set, try as above and let go of the throttle and see if the cruise eventually sets.
When I got my 1500, I would hit set, light comes on, let go of throttle, and it would drop 5-10 mph over a few seconds and then it would start to accelerate to the set speed.

It required adjustment to the cruise actuator cable (How to link here).
Once that was set, cruise set was almost instant and stayed at correct speed.

It could also be the throttle cable adjustment as @WingsandThings had to do.

[Crusty1]

If you’ve had the air box off it’s easy to pinch the actuator vacuum supply hose at the left rear corner. It will produce the symptom you described. Don’t ask me how I know this.

Chuck

[Jmicester24]

If you are getting the Cruise light on when you hit set, try as above and let go of the throttle and see if the cruise eventually sets.
When I got my 1500, I would hit set, light comes on, let go of throttle, and it would drop 5-10 mph over a few seconds and then it would start to accelerate to the set speed.

It required adjustment to the cruise actuator cable (How to link here).
Once that was set, cruise set was almost instant and stayed at correct speed.

It could also be the throttle cable adjustment as @WingsandThings had to do.

I will try it this afternoon.

[Jmicester24]

If you’ve had the air box off it’s easy to pinch the actuator vacuum supply hose at the left rear corner. It will produce the symptom you described. Don’t ask me how I know this.

Chuck

I have never had the airbox off but perhaps the previous owner did. I will check it this week.
Thanks

[Jmicester24]

If you are getting the Cruise light on when you hit set, try as above and let go of the throttle and see if the cruise eventually sets.
When I got my 1500, I would hit set, light comes on, let go of throttle, and it would drop 5-10 mph over a few seconds and then it would start to accelerate to the set speed.

It required adjustment to the cruise actuator cable (How to link here).
Once that was set, cruise set was almost instant and stayed at correct speed.

It could also be the throttle cable adjustment as @WingsandThings had to do.

I adjusted the cable throttle then went for a ride. I set the CC at 65 and let go if the throttle. The speed kept dropping all the way below 35mph before I took back control of the throttle.
Is there any other things I should check?

[landisr]

I had the same problem. It turned out that the 'cruise cutoff switch' by the clutch lever wasn't recognizing that the lever was released or all the way out. My clutch lever was worn. I wrapped the small end that pushes on the little switch with a few rounds of electrical tape, and things were good. That could be a simple test for you, and function while you're awaiting your new lever.

Ron in AZ

[Jmicester24]

I will try taping the clutch switch tomorrow and see how it goes. I will report back.

[MikeB]

If you do not have a service manual, you should probably invest in one. There are about 14 pages of info concerning the troubleshooting and repair of the cruise control in chapter 4 of the Electrical Troubleshooting Manual (ETM).

[Jmicester24]

If you do not have a service manual, you should probably invest in one. There are about 14 pages of info concerning the troubleshooting and repair of the cruise control in chapter 4 of the Electrical Troubleshooting Manual (ETM).

I have browsed the Cruise Control manual on Manualslib. Unfortunately, I am not a great studier and it is a bit confusing for me I am a much better hands on learner.

[Rambozo]

As was mentioned, if the set light is coming on, there is nothing wrong with any of the cancel switches, or most of the electronics. You need to look into the vacuum and mechanical portion. The actuator, solenoid, cables and such.

[Jmicester24]

As was mentioned, if the set light is coming on, there is nothing wrong with any of the cancel switches, or most of the electronics. You need to look into the vacuum and mechanical portion. The actuator, solenoid, cables and such.

Which one of those should check 1st. Are any of those more common than the others to fail?

[Jmicester24]

What is the best way to test the Actuator?

[Crusty1]

Not that it couldn’t fail but an acutuator failure is almost unheard of. You could use a hand vacuum pump on t he actuator to test to see if it holds vacuum. More likely is a pinch in the vacuum line from the control solenoid to the actuator. There is a tee and vacuum storage canister and a control valve. Very common to get a pinch in one of those. For most of this you will need to remove the left shelter though some might be accessible with the center cover (radio console) removed. Shop manual is very handy for this.

[Jmicester24]

Not that it couldn’t fail but an acutuator failure is almost unheard of. You could use a hand vacuum pump on t he actuator to test to see if it holds vacuum. More likely is a pinch in the vacuum line from the control solenoid to the actuator. There is a tee and vacuum storage canister and a control valve. Very common to get a pinch in one of those. For most of this you will need to remove the left shelter though some might be accessible with the center cover (radio console) removed. Shop manual is very handy for this.

I will definitely check that vacuum line. Yesterday, checked the vacuum line going into the Accumulator. When I pulled off the hose, it made a sound of pressure relieving. So I assume at least a little bit of vacuum is working, right??

[Crusty1]

The whoosh from the vacuum canister is a good sign as it has a check valve in line to hold vacuum. That check valve should be upstream of the tee. The other leg of the tee should supply vacuum to the cruise solenoid valve. It’s likely the hose from the cruise solenoid valve to the actuator is pinched.

[Jmicester24]

The whoosh from the vacuum canister is a good sign as it has a check valve in line to hold vacuum. That check valve should be upstream of the tee. The other leg of the tee should supply vacuum to the cruise solenoid valve. It’s likely the hose from the cruise solenoid valve to the actuator is pinched.

Is this the correct hose? I followed it down for as far as my fingers let me, it did not seem kinked. What is the best way to get to the Tee??

[Crusty1]

It’s the right area but you will likely need to remove the left shelter to get there. Near the left bottom corner of the air box is a bolt and grommet that holds the air box. It’s under that air box mount it can get pinched. You will need to remove the shelter to test the actuator as well. With the shelter removed you should be able to access all the cruise vacuum hoses, solenoid and actuator. If you disconnect the actuator hose and connect a hand vacuum pump to the hose it should NOT hold a vacuum. If it does there is a pinched hose or defective cruise solenoid.

[Jmicester24]

It’s the right area but you will likely need to remove the left shelter to get there. Near the left bottom corner of the air box is a bolt and grommet that holds the air box. It’s under that air box mount it can get pinched. You will need to remove the shelter to test the actuator as well. With the shelter removed you should be able to access all the cruise vacuum hoses, solenoid and actuator. If you disconnect the actuator hose and connect a hand vacuum pump to the hose it should NOT hold a vacuum. If it does there is a pinched hose or defective cruise solenoid.

I will take the shelter off tomorrow and inspect the hoses. I will report back.

[Jmicester24]

It’s the right area but you will likely need to remove the left shelter to get there. Near the left bottom corner of the air box is a bolt and grommet that holds the air box. It’s under that air box mount it can get pinched. You will need to remove the shelter to test the actuator as well. With the shelter removed you should be able to access all the cruise vacuum hoses, solenoid and actuator. If you disconnect the actuator hose and connect a hand vacuum pump to the hose it should NOT hold a vacuum. If it does there is a pinched hose or defective cruise solenoid.

Upon removing the shelter, I found 2 hoses unplugged. The red one, I am positive goes into the CC valve assembly. As for the other green hose, any idea where it could be from?

[Crusty1]

One of the hoses goes nearly strait up about 4 inches to the nipple on the air cleaner. The other vacuum hose should connect to the lower horizontal nipple on the control valve (right where the red hose is in the picture) And the other end of that vacuum hose should connect to the actuator. You mentioned green hose but these appear gray to me except the one that is gray with a green band. The one with the green (blue) band should have vacuum supplied by the accumulator with the engine running. Hope this helps. let me know if you have more questions.

[Rambozo]

The service manual has a complete vacuum diagram. Most of the hoses have colored bands to denote what circuit they go to. However, on an old bike you never know what's been swapped around so it's a good to trace the hoses to their sources. AFAIK the red braided lines are mostly for the fuel evap stuff.

My diagram shows the line into the valve has a blue band, like your picture, but the output line to the actuator is unmarked, so I can't say if it has a color or band. If you can't follow the hose, you could hook up a vacuum pump and see which one moves the actuator.