The cruise control arrived and I installed it yesterday. The instructions leave a little for you to figure out yourself, but nothing too horrible.

Install took me all day, mainly due to searching for which wires I wanted to tap into and all.

I went to test drive it and I couldn't get it out of park. The parking solenoid was engaged which typically clicks when you step on the brake and moves a little lever allowing you to select your gear.

I thought I  botched up some wiring so removed the wires that I tapped into the brake system with. Still no luck. I lowered the steering column and removed the solenoid. I tested with the brake wire plug by jumping some leads from it, it's good. I figured maybe the brake switch was toast so I bought a new one and installed it this morning...still no solenoid action.

I hooked everything back up this morning and completely removed the parking solenoid.

I drove at 40, 45 and 50mph and the cruise control workds great. I'm just upset that I had to removed the parking solenoid, now I can throw it into gear without stepping on the brake first. Kinda unsafe if I'm in a parking lot idling and happen to bump the shifter.

I'm going to call Rostra tomorrow and see if there's something I did wrong (though their system works perfect) or if it's a common issue.  Oh, I checked all of the fuses. Not just the ones for the brake system because I wasn't sure what that solenoid was attached to. I checked ALL of them. No issues.

My traction control light blinked on the other day and now it's on permanently. I guess I need to check all of my wheel sensors.

For those of you looking for a cruise control system, Rostra makes a good product. It's a chore to put it in but worth it. 

Here's the lower cover beneath the steering wheel. Mounting options are limited for the switch, but I adjusted it so that my knee wouldn't hit it and break it.



The cruise control actuator. Its mounted on the rear passenger side of the engine compartment. I had to cut the metal mounting bracket it came with to make it work. That thing is solid, I couldn't really bend it. 





The manual said I'd need 3 of the little ball links, but I had to re-do it with 6, otherwise the cruise control was holding the throttle open.



Getting wires through the firewall. From the inside...



From the engine bay...(I removed the fuse box to gain access, then reinstalled it)



Switch from the inside




For reference, I bought a kit specifically listed for the Ranger. It was part number 250-1223. It came with the left mount column switch, part number 250-3742.

Last edited on Sun Apr 15th, 2018 11:43 am by RiggerWings