I just got a 1986 Camaro Z28. I'm so happy.
An issue I have with it at the moment is that It has cruise control but I cannot get it to work.
It is the one that is controled on the same place the wiper controls are.
It has the switch with OFF/On/Resume and I tried setting it to on and got the car going to the speed I wanted on the highway and then pressed the set button on the site for like 2 seconds and then let go of the button and then let go of the gas and it didn't work.
Is there a special trick to this or is there a problem I should be looking for.

Thank you for all your help. I'm new to the forum here but Looking forward to posting lots.

 

you should check your vaccum canister, you may have a broken vaccum line

 

I'll check that out.
Thanks.

 

no problem, i hope this will help you fix it or atleast send you in the right direction with tracking down the problem.

 

I will let you know how it turns out.

 

welcome to the boards and congrats on buying an fbody. now that you have joined the fun, you may want to go to www.helminc.com and purchse a reproduction factory service manual, i used the charts in there to diagnose mine. turned out to be a bad switch (it usualy is).

to test for vaccume, turn the car on and allow it to run for a few seconds, turn it off. open the hood and wait about a minute. now pull the smaller of the two vaccume lines from the cruse control diaphram... do you hear a hiss? if so you have vaccume, and no major leaks. yay! (inspecting the lines is still a good idea)

next i would test the servo/diaphram
turn car off. disconnect the connector going to the diaphram. manualy actuate the servo by conncting + to to pins A and E. connect C to ground. if the servo pulls in full stroke remove the wire from E. if it STAYS at full stroke it should be good.
NOTE: my connector had these positions labled on it
CAUTION: if you do this with the engine running (as the manual has you do) you will run your engine up realy high, that is why i do it with the car off.

Next is the switch... thats to complicated to type out here, you will hafta get the manual, or go to GM dealership and ask nicley for photocopys of pages 9B5 through 9b16.

 

Thanks for such great advice. I was having the same problem but my engine was running rough. After doing many changes such as plugs and wires...I found the small tubing from the cruise control unit no longer attached to the vaccum chamber below the battery. Changed it and car runns much better.

However still no cruise control. Also I hear a hissing noise coming from below the steering.... pedals.

I will follow your advice ASAP!

Vacuum leak affect milage? I only get like 11mpg on 305 tpi

 

Sure enough the canister has a big LEAK!!! . I could hear it hissing and when i pinched the rubber tubing going down tothe vacuum canister it stopped. So I deleted the canister for now.

Will that cause any problems? I have not noticed anything yet.

Cruise control still does not work?! Is their a fuse for the device?

Thanks,
Sam

 

well, the CC uses the vaccume in that reservoir, so without it the CC will not work (atleast not for long). you said you heard a vaccume leak at the pedals? check your brake pedal vaccume purge switch. on your brake pedal there is a thing that the brake pedal hits when NOT depressed, as soon as you hit the brakes it opens a vaccume line (the thicker of the two vaccume lines on your CC selinoid) and dumps the CC vaccume.

if that is not the problem, or if the other thing you fixed made the hissing go away, it is most probably the swithc on the column. there is NO relay for the CC system. there is a switch, and a CC control box.

i have attached an image of the control boxes location. though i bet it's not the issue. i have also attached images of the pages for testing the components of the CC system. now, a few things to keep in mind from somone who has done this:
1. if you have a 90+ camaro, or an 86+ firebird, or a digital dash berlinetta, your VSS is the "speed sensor" for your CC, and so if your speedo works, your "speed sensor" works.
2.the main dignostic section has you test the switch last. BS, test it first.

well damn! the pictures are too large to host on TGO... PM me your Email and i will shoot them over to you.

 

ok i'm having the same problem too,my cruise control does not work either,where is the vacume canister at 4 the cruise control anyone have a pic?