5-Minute Cruise Control

timmus

A2OC Donor
As many will know, I am a self-confessed cruise control addict. Most of the cars I drive on a week-by-week basis have cruise control, as does my A2, of course. I've got so used to driving with cruise control that I really don't like having to keep my foot on the accelerator for hour after hour when motorway cruising. Not infrequently I'll have to drive an A2 other than my own from one area of the country to another, and there's no guarantee that it'll have cruise control. So, I've devised this neat little cable that allows me to add basic cruise control in 5 minutes!
5-Minute Cruise Cable.jpg

First of all, apologies for the poor image quality. The cable is powered from the cigarette lighter and is based around an old ASR switch. Three pins need to be inserted into the engine management unit under the passenger's foot well. Once plugged in, the light within the switch illuminates to indicate that the system is ready to be used. The switch hangs conveniently by the hand brake.
The single switch mimics the 'set' function of the full cruise control installation. So, once the car has been brought to the desired speed using the accelerator pedal, the button can be pressed to hold speed. Your foot can then be taken off the accelerator and the car will continue to drive along at that speed.
Cruise control can be cancelled by either tapping the brake or the clutch or by simply removing the plug from the cigarette lighter socket. Unlike the full installation, there is no resume function, meaning that cruise must be set again if cancelled.

The cable's internal wiring isn't overly complicated. I've drawn this diagram to demonstrate how it's been made.
5-Minute Cruise Diagram.jpg

The cable works with all A2s other than the 1.2TDI. It has made many a long journey much more comfortable. :)

Cheers,

Tom
 
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Ingenious! (It is really surprising to me that this hasn't been available commercially, before now?) So it's a shame that you can't "patent" your device, Tom. However, I have always thought of you as a purist to the Audi A2 specification, so this is a bit of a shock to me, An "add-on" kit and not the true system, Tom? ( but not for your own A2, of course) Well done for devising this clever gadget!

David
 
Ingenious! (It is really surprising to me that this hasn't been available commercially, before now?) So it's a shame that you can't "patent" your device, Tom. However, I have always thought of you as a purist to the Audi A2 specification, so this is a bit of a shock to me, An "add-on" kit and not the true system, Tom? ( but not for your own A2, of course) Well done for devising this clever gadget!

David

I think that we can expect more little gems like this from Tom.

I have asked him to investigate a kit that would allow you to use LED bulbs in the indicators and yet still have a normal flash rate.
I want LED bulbs in the indicators but the only way to have them flash correctly would be to add resistors, which to me defeats the object!.
Hopefully Tom might be able to come up with a gadget !!

Tom the builder, can he fix it, yes he can!!!!

Steve B
 
Ingenious! ... However, I have always thought of you as a purist to the Audi A2 specification, so this is a bit of a shock to me...

Thank you, David!

The thing is, it's not designed to be fitted permanently; it's simply used to move an A2 that doesn't have the full cruise control installation from one place to another. Once delivered, the cable is unplugged, ready to be used again in another A2 on another journey. :)

Cheers,

Tom
 
Well done Tom. this is an amazing device, you always amaze me with your posts. You are indeed a genius :cool:
 
Excellent problem solving Tom. I clicked the link the the thread expecting to see a brick wedged against the throttle pedal.

Now if you could fashion up a similar 5 minute active cruise control install for my '8 I'd be a happy chappy!'
 
5 minutes, my arts. I have absolutely no doubt that Tom can do this in 5 minutes, I can't. It is done though, ready for an unexpected road trip tomorrow. Thanks Tom, much quicker than a 'proper' cruise install. ?
 
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