Cruise Control Repair New Source under $100

[RSBob]

There is another thread about CC repair but the Mercedes repair guy either retired or was kidnapped. I wasn't going to pay the guy on eBay $200 so I found Automotive Scientific Inc. Their reviews were shaky so I called them first and got some reassurance. They did the repair on my surge problem for $89 with a life time warranty. The unit now works great with no surging. My only issue was it was not shipped back insured so you may want to request that. Getting ahold of them by phone is no issue. No affiliation.

[Porsche 2]

Here is another option, CruiseControlRepair.com , quick turn around , good communications, good work product.

[Coastr]

Originally Posted by Porsche 2

Here is another option, CruiseControlRepair.com , quick turn around , good communications, good work product.

What was the specific repair you got? Inop? Surging?

[RSBob]

My issue was surging. I would set the speed and it would hold for a few secs and then drop about 5 mph and them rapidly accelerate back to the set speed, then drop off and repeat until I was so fed up I would disengage. Now it holds just fine.

[mysocal911]

Originally Posted by RSBob

There is another thread about CC repair but the Mercedes repair guy either retired or was kidnapped. I wasn't going to pay the guy on eBay $200 so I found Automotive Scientific Inc. Their reviews were shaky so I called them first and got some reassurance. They did the repair on my surge problem for $89 with a life time warranty. The unit now works great with no surging. My only issue was it was not shipped back insured so you may want to request that. Getting ahold of them by phone is no issue. No affiliation.

That seems kinda expensive for replacing 2 $.50 capacitors and doing some re-soldering.
Surely you can find us a cheaper "repair guy". The shipping is at least included, right?

[uwanna]

Originally Posted by mysocal911

That seems kinda expensive for replacing 2 $.50 capacitors and doing some re-soldering.
Surely you can find us a cheaper "repair guy". The shipping is at least included, right?

I sent two bad CC units to the Ebay guy before he raised his price from $80 to $190. When they came back I opened them up to see what repair was done. The ONLY thing done was to remove the "varnish" coating on the back of ckt board and a reflow of EVERY solder joint! Not a single component was replaced! They both work fine now.

I had several other bad CC units on hand and set out to repair them myself. Used acetone to remove the coating on the back of the ckt board (IMPORTANT). I then proceded to reflow all the solder joints using a somewhat low wattage pencil type soldering iron with a very fine point and some VERY fine diameter solder. It's also important to use a magnifing device so you can see what you are doing. It's very meticulous work and takes more than an hour if done carefully. I have since repaired three of the bad units I had by reflowing the solder joints.

I also had on hand some new components, the two different "suspect" capacitors as well as the IC modules for replacement, but never needed them and the three units I fixed are still completly operable today. I suspect in the majority of cases a reflow will fix a unit and very few
will have bad components, at least that is my experience.

All in all,I agree, it seems $89 is a little pricey but for someone without the expertise to precisely "reflow" ALL the solder connections on the circuit board, it's probably a bargain! After all we don't mind paying $100 an hour labor for mechanical work and it takes more than an hour to completely reflow the CC solder joints.
To sum it up,if you are somewhat competent with a soldering iron, have a great deal of patience and feel adventerous give it a try!

[Uwon]

uwanna, I've never opened the CC unit. How many capacitators are there and are they easily replaceable?
Johan

[uwanna]

Originally Posted by Uwon

uwanna, I've never opened the CC unit. How many capacitators are there and are they easily replaceable?
Johan

Check out this thread, it has some schematics and pics as well as operational description. I have replaced some of the caps but it never fixed anything. If the
electrolytic caps on the board aren't obviously burned looking, chances are they are not bad. The ONLY success I've had fixing these units is a complete reflow of ALL the solder joints!
Understanding the VDO Cruise Control Amp

[911tracker85]

my problem was the cable broke. forget what the cost for a new one, but fixed it using a $2 guitar string...