Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Aero 8, 2012< Plus 8, SuperSports, Coupe & Aeromax Cruise control

Hi everybody,
I have recently bought an Aero 8 which has needed some fettling to make everything work as it should. One thing that I have yet to find a solution to is the seemingly intermittent operation of the cruise control. I have been told it will not become functional until the engine has reached working temperature but this doesn't explain why it works sometimes but not all the time when it has. Considering this is a standard BMW cruise control, it does seem a bit odd to me as I have had many BMWs and not heard of this before.
It does seem that once I have managed to get the cruise to work it will stay working from high cruise speeds down to thirty mile an hour speed limits, accelerate and decelerate using the switch but as soon as I have stopped the engine, left the car for a few minutes, got back in and driven off, the cruise will not work again.
Any ideas?

John.

What series is your Aero?
My S4 has a random selection of electrical faults eg Engine management light/seat belt warning light/loss of electrics, that can (usually) be fixed by rebooting the ECU. Switch the ignition on and off 3 times and pop the cut out seems to work for me. The cruise control has an odd problem in that it works fine when first used, whether the engine is hot or cold, but if used on a long run and then disengaged, then when reset the gear box changes down one or two gears for no obvious reason. Turning it off usually resets it.
I appreciate that your problem is different, but is compatible with the quirky nature of the car!

The car is a 2008 series 3 with a manual box.
John

Thinking about it (it is one of the few things) I have never had a single worry about on the S2 (largely the same car as the S3) or the Coupe. It has done everything as advertised.

There was a problem on the BMW 5 series where the brake sensors which feed the cruise control brains caused problems. Does your anti-lock work correctly ? This might be a clue ?

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=618388

If you have a trapped cable or ground voltage leak around this mechanism it may lead to the issues you describe ?

Any help ?

Thanks Alistair, have just looked at your link and will look into your suggestions. The Aero is drive by wire so the actuators mentioned in the link won't apply but will look into wheel speed sensors too.

Many thanks,
John.

Hi John

I've just driven to/back from Austria in my 2007 S3 and I have exactly the same issue as you describe. I simply kept trying it until it worked. To be honest, I'm not too fussed as I just put it down to another one of those "Morgan" features.

The one thing I will say for the Morgan mind is that it covered the whole 2000 mile journey there and back effortlessly. Mechanically it's a strong car. So my view is simply so long as it starts and moves when and where I want to go, I'm happy.......the bonus features I can live without.

I got pulled for speeding in Germany (43mph in a 30mph.....would you believe it having come off the unrestricted autobahn). Spent 10 minutes talking the inquisitive police officer about the car..let me off with a 35 euro fine....fairest police officer I've met.

I don't know what you guys are on about. My cruise control works all the time!

Thanks Rob,
Haven't had time to do much exploring of the problem yet but went out in the car yesterday and kept trying the cruise until it suddenly started working. Once it does kick in, it works faultlessly until I turn the ignition off again. As you say, another Morgan special feature.
I am encouraged to hear about your Austria trip being fault free, I want to take the Aero down to Southern France in September and expect to cover about the same mileage. It would seem German policemen are more forgiving than French ones!

John

This is an issue I have lived with on the Max, quite irritating cruising along at 70mph on cruise and for no obvious reason the box changes down to 5th

Just as an update on my cruise control problems.....
I took the car out over the weekend and yesterday and found that, as long as I pressed the cruise control switch downwards to cancel any previous settings before using it for the first time, it would function perfectly!
I think I can safely say that the temperature of the engine and the working of the cruise control have no relation to each other as I suspected.

John