Retrofit Cruise Control: please help me help Audi get it working!

Governa

Member
Hi guys,

I come to you with an unusual request, that you help me help my Audi dealer figure out how correctly retrofit a Cruise Control. The car has been with them for around 3 weeks now but no luck yet getting the Cruise Control to work.

So I own an Audi A2 1.4TDI from 2001. I do a lot of highway traveling so I got excited when I learned through Mike / Skipton01 posts that you could retrofit a Cruise Control. Unfortunately I live too far away from Mike to have him work on it so I’ve asked my local Audi dealership (I’ve been their customer for 14 years) how much would it cost to have them do the work. I was quoted an ok price so I thought “yeah let’s do it!”.

Well yesterday I’ve received a call apologising and explaining that they have done everything they can imagine but can’t get it working. They claim to have the full schematics, got all the new cabling done, activated the necessary parts, but when they take it to the road they can’t get it to work. :confused:

I’ve told them it’s ok to keep the car for a bit longer while they try to figure it out and also told them that in the meanwhile I would be trying to find out through this forum I know (you guys!) and a member in particular (Mike!) if I can get any valuable tips to give them. :cool:

So here I am, asking you all for your input to get an actual Audi dealership to figure out what's preventing a freshly retrofitted Cruise Control from working.

Thank you all.
 
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Hi Governa

First, Mike (Skipton) has other interests nowdays and rarely visits the site so is unlikely to see your request.

Second, with all the info the Audi dealer has available, the wiring and coding of cruise control should be very straight forward. There are no 'tricks of the trade' or complex procedures to catch you out so it's difficult for us to give any constructive advice on what may have gone wrong.

Only suggestions would be to check the cruise stalk is not faulty, run a diagnostic scan on the cruise system and have a read of this thread on cruise installation to see if any anomalies stand out - like the wiring diagram shows connections going to a white? connector block but the link wires from this to the ECU are not present - http://www.a2oc.net/forum/showthread.php?5372-Cruise-Control-retro-fit&highlight=cruise+wiring

Best of luck

Cheers Spike
 
As long as the stalk and loom is ok, it could either be miswired or not activated in the ECU. But since it's an Audi garage, they should know this. Remember that the wiring to the ECU is different on the petrol/diesel models.
 
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Have they enabled it in the ECU with VCDS?
Are your brake lights all working?
Is the brake switch functioning correctly?
 
I second Dan's comments, check brake switch is working correctly. They should also be able to see if the buttons are functioning on the stalk using their diagnostic tool. This is a sad day when a main dealer is hitting a brick wall. Inevitably it will probably be because the computer does not flag up any faults.
 
One other thing to check - that the clutch switch is working correctly and you have normal bulbs in the brake lights and not led? Cheers I hope it helps mike
 
Hi all, back with an update.

I've had a chat with the Audi engineer in charge of the Cruise Control fitting and I'll be forwarding this thread to his email so that he can browse through the tips.

I've been told the wiring looks ok, the brake lights/switch look ok (I'm not using LEDs btw), and the cruise control stalk is in working order. From what I've understood they suspect my ECU might be of a model/version that doesn't allow the activation of the corresponding module. Does this mean there might be a need to reprogram the ECU?

The engineer told me he's hoping for another A2 to come over for a service and he'll then have a chance to compare a couple of things. He confessed retrofitting a Cruise Control isn't officially endorsed by Audi so he can't really call the HQ for help. Also if I remember correctly my engine code is AMF.

That's all I could gather. If any of you guys have anything else that might point my Audi garage in the right direction I would be really grateful. It's been more than 3 weeks now, I miss my car.

Tom/Timmus is the guy to go to. FACT.

Thanks for the tip, I've dropped him a PM. :)
 
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Ok, so basically, they have to use the ECU diagnostics software they have at the Dealer (VCDS) to enable cruise control within the ECU. This will be via re-coding of certain parameters/numbers in the appropriate control module.
I don't have the coding as this is not my area of expertise, but I'm sure others on this forum who have done this work before will know the codes and can supply (e.g. Timmus).
 
Hi, I did this recently and found the same issue, took me a few days to work out what was wrong on mine too. The cruise control can be deactivated by 4 inputs, the main switch on the stalk, brake pedal switch position 1&2 and the one which caused my fault the clutch switch. You would know if the brake switches were not working but the clutch switch appears to be only used for cruise and mine was stuck in. A quick adjustment and lubrication and it has worked ever since. I will have a look to see if I can find the info I used to diagnose it and will repost
 
That's awesome guys, thanks a lot. I've forwarded this week's suggestions/tips to the engineer in charge. Timmus was also kind enough to send me a PM with more info.

I don't think there's anything more we can do at this point. Let's hope this will be enough to get it working. Fingers crossed, I'll keep you guys updated.
 
If they can't get it to work I suggest you drive up to see Timmus to get it fixed - surely worth a 2500mile round trip?!

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Dan.

I've sent Governa a PM with some info for the Audi dealership! If they fail to get it working, a 2500-mile trip may be the next best option. One thing I can guarantee is that the return leg could be done on cruise control. :)

Cheers,

Tom
 
They've just called me and it's good news, they seem to have got it working. yey! :)

I've been told they had to do a software upgrade (I assume to the ECU?) to a 2005 version (my A2 is from 2001).

They'll road test it and if everything's good I'll pick it up Friday. woohoo!
 
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My 2001 (actually built fall 2000) petrol was retrofitted with cruise control without any upgrade to the software.
 
Picked it up today. CC working perfectly. Happy days. :)

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1412968922.735849.jpg
 
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