Need opinion on CC wiring re-do

[nikonhonda]

When I bought my 2004 ST1300, the Audiovox CC was not working so I tied up the wires and told myself it was for another time. The bike is at rest for three weeks so I decided to upgrade the headlamps and move the lights off the forks to the mirror area but that is for another post. I had all the plastic off and I looked at the CC and decided it was time.

Having experience in electro-mechanical assembly, I am meticulous in looming and routing wires in a tidy, flowing manner. In redoing the previous owner's attempt I was surprised to see poor soldering and crimp techniques, the mating of large gage wire to small gage, and wire taps too close to connectors.

Anyway, I separated the wire bundle and created three sub-harnesses: a harness out of the servo, a harness out of the control panel and one that ties the both together. All +12 volt signal wires have connectors installed and I went through a relay. I used a quick disconnect adapter set instead of the Y-harness to clean up the coil area. I tucked the noise suppressor on the blue wire in between the frame and coil. Next comes the electrical tests. In looking at the pictures does anyone have any opinion in what I did?

 

[Toaksy]

I have to say I like thequick diconect addaptors on the coil much better then the Y I have I will have to change that out the next time I have the plastic off.

 

[woodybelle]

Looks very professional, I'm jealous.

 

[Hound]

Looks good to me. Thumbs up from this Hound. :yes:

 

[Bigmak96]

If you ever come to the Twin Cities, will you re-wire my stuff? Looks good!

 

[crtlv]

looks good to me i dont see any issues that jump out the only one that i would have issue is the 4 terminals arent weather packed other than that its a great install

 

[nikonhonda]

Updated thumbnails of the install. Added schematic with kind permission from Dan Bergmen (www.bergmenengineering.com)

After looming and rerouting the wires, I test rode. Pressed "on,? green light lit up, push "set" and CC did not take.

Per the schematic troubleshooting guide, with ignition on, all switches operate as stated. Purple wire did not ground so I added a relay per the schematic. With the ignition on, continuity is now present when brake is released, verified w/ ohmmeter.

I tried setting the dip-switches two ways and both don?t work:
*1st: 1 on, 2 off, 3 off, 4 on, 5 off, 6 off, 7 on (as shown in the picture)
*2nd: 1 on, 2 off, 3 on, 4 off, 5 off, 6 off, 7 off

When CC is on, red LED on circuit board lights up when "set,? "res,? and "brake" is applied. With engine at idle, LED slowly blinks and speeds up with acceleration.

Is this still electrical or mechanical? The cable appears to be routed correctly with no binding. There is vacuum at the servo port but have no idea what constitutes enough vacuum. No vacuum canister was installed but did notice a large amount of hose used and coiled underneath the air-box.

Since everything appears to operate normal, could it be the motherboard? Diaphragm in the servo? Replace or repair the servo?

I really would like to make the CC work but I'm not going to spend much more time on this. Any thoughts would be helpful.

PS: found this link discussing problem (http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthre...-cruise-control-replacement-cant-do-4078.html)

 

[nikonhonda]

For those of you who are curious on what is inside the Audiovox. Pretty simple set up.

The diaphragm looked good, no cracks or tears. It appears to be of good material, one that will last through temperature and time. Will test to verify it is air tight

Will energize the solenoids to see if they operate. After everything I have done I am convinced it is something in the servo that is not working. Board seems to be fine with no damaged or burnt components.

 

[hoowasat]

Have you checked the control panel? Several have been permeated by water, and a lot of folks have attempted weather-proofing them. In addition to a schematic of the control in THIS thread, you can also see a couple options which do not use an Audiovox controller. One of them is mine where I used a small project box ... and it's been working perfectly.

 

[gchamp]

On my last bike I just filled the control panel with clear silicone & that kept the water out for 6 years of driving all year round in Ireland & it can rain a lot here in the winter, & spring & autumn & summer My point is it worked for me.

 

[nikonhonda]

Some things learned on CC wiring re-do

After re-verifying point-to-point wiring was OK, +12VDC signals was measured to the board connector, the diaphragm and chamber held vacuum, and the board showed no evidence of damage; energizing the solenoids indicated the vac solenoid was stuck. After several hits with 12VDC, it loosened itself up. A drop of light machine oil in each port, connect it back to the bike, lock the throttle at 3000 RPM, hit on and set, voila!, all valves actuated. This could work. Re-assemble the servo, reset dip switches to the default mode, hook everything up, test ride and... it's alive! The CC works; on, set, accelerate, coast, off when brake is applied, resume; it's all there. Yea!!! Sometimes it takes digging deeper to solve the problem.

Here is what I learned during this process:
* Be careful disassembling the servo, tabs are easily broken off, especially the diaphragm chamber. I used five small metal tabs to take the top off. Go slow.
* When mating the the lower and upper servo halves, place the three small o-rings into the solenoid ports and not to the chamber tubes. It makes for effortless seating and the tabs click together easier. Once again be careful and work slowly, you don't want to break any of those tabs.
* Take your time in routing the wires and don't be afraid to cut the excess off. Routing the harness out of harms way pays off big. Loom your wires to prevent exposed wires.
* When looming and using the cowl stay (frame) as a routing & anchor point, it is best to assemble the inner cowling. I had to re-position the wiring slightly and to the inside so it could slip past and meet with the main outer cowl. The convoluted tubing adds protection but also adds bulk.
* After all the plastic was on, I noticed the vent opening where the mirror meets the fairing and thought of all the dust, grime, water, and insect ingress that could potentially wreak havoc to the electrical connections and servo so I chose to block it off. A plastic folder bought at Staples provided the right thickness and was trimmed and placed between mirror and fairing.

Well that's it. Fabricate a bracket and it's time to ride; I want to test the CC on its staying power on a long trip.

 

[hoowasat]

Great! Your perseverance is impressive & worth applauding. Good job!

 

[JD2002]

Re: Some things learned on CC wiring re-do

nikonhonda, You may find the system without a vacuum canister will not hold the set speed when the engine is under higher loads, speed and hills. You may want to contact "Scooter" on this forum. I've seen him install 2 of the Audiovox CC on 1300s and they both had the vacuum canister. He also has one on his bike. His work is equally as nice as yours and that's a compliment for both of you. Good luck. Ride Safe. Jim

 

[Bigmak96]

Re: Some things learned on CC wiring re-do

You may find the system without a vacuum canister will not hold the set speed when the engine is under higher loads,

FWIW, I saw an installation that Sennister did, and he made a canister out of a length of PVC, caps, and nipples. I plan to find a place to put one when I get there with my 1100 install.

 

[nikonhonda]

Bracketing done, project finished!

Jim, I brought the bike up to 75mph and with the modest slopes and valleys of our N TX highway system, the speed has held remarkably steady. When, with future maintenance, it is required to remove the airbox I will look at adding a vacuum canister but for now I am incredibly happy that the unit functions at it should.

Ride safe.

 

[Bigmak96]

the speed has held remarkably steady.

Good to know, I don't have a lot of available space for a canister.

 

[nikonhonda]

Holding the ?accel? button down, the CC brought the bike to an indicated 95mph but would go no further due to a lack of vacuum volume. Still, not bad for only coiled hose as the main volume. I guess there is about 3-4 ft rolled up under the airbox.

 

[JimSTer]

Re: Some things learned on CC wiring re-do

After re-verifying point-to-point wiring was OK, +12VDC signals was measured to the board connector, the diaphragm and chamber held vacuum, and the board showed no evidence of damage; energizing the solenoids indicated the vac solenoid was stuck. After several hits with 12VDC, it loosened itself up. A drop of light machine oil in each port, connect it back to the bike, lock the throttle at 3000 RPM, hit on and set, voila!, all valves actuated. This could work. Re-assemble the servo, reset dip switches to the default mode, hook everything up, test ride and... it's alive! The CC works; on, set, accelerate, coast, off when brake is applied, resume; it's all there. Yea!!! Sometimes it takes digging deeper to solve the problem.

Here is what I learned during this process:
* Be careful disassembling the servo, tabs are easily broken off, especially the diaphragm chamber. I used five small metal tabs to take the top off. Go slow.
* When mating the the lower and upper servo halves, place the three small o-rings into the solenoid ports and not to the chamber tubes. It makes for effortless seating and the tabs click together easier. Once again be careful and work slowly, you don't want to break any of those tabs.
* Take your time in routing the wires and don't be afraid to cut the excess off. Routing the harness out of harms way pays off big. Loom your wires to prevent exposed wires.
* When looming and using the cowl stay (frame) as a routing & anchor point, it is best to assemble the inner cowling. I had to re-position the wiring slightly and to the inside so it could slip past and meet with the main outer cowl. The convoluted tubing adds protection but also adds bulk.
* After all the plastic was on, I noticed the vent opening where the mirror meets the fairing and thought of all the dust, grime, water, and insect ingress that could potentially wreak havoc to the electrical connections and servo so I chose to block it off. A plastic folder bought at Staples provided the right thickness and was trimmed and placed between mirror and fairing.

Well that's it. Fabricate a bracket and it's time to ride; I want to test the CC on its staying power on a long trip.

Thanks a million for this write up. This is one of the reasons that I love this group so much.

I had posted a thread on my Audiovox CC not working after working so well for so long.
George informed me of your thread and I'm going to try oiling the solenoids. The electrics and vacuum check out just fine.

Kevin56 bought an entirely new Audiovox CC just so he could replace the servo. (about $175.00) and I was thinking of the same route. I kind of figured that there had to be some sort of a mechanical cause that a little oil or grease could fix.
I wont get a chance to try it until tomorrow afternoon. Keep your fingers crossed.
And thanks again.

 

[JimSTer]

Re: Some things learned on CC wiring re-do

After following your example I now have a working cruise control.

Thanks for being brave enough to look inside the servo. I was already to buy a new one. But just maybe I can get along for several more years.

The best to you, Nikonhonda.

 

[nikonhonda]

Jim,
Happy to here that my experiences was able to help. I tinker by nature and open stuff up to see how they work. As always, not all things are successfull ("Failure is always an option" Adam Savage/MythBusters) but once sorted out, I document the process and share the knowledge.

Paul