PennSilverTaco's "Perfect 5-Lug Regular Cab" Build, Aspergers, and General BS MegaThread!

I hit 151K yesterday and missed the moment; Over a thousand miles in 16 days!

 

Depends on what motor is in it. The 4 banger 2.5 wasn’t bad but the 2.8 v6 was garbage. The 4.3 was the best but only came in the 4x4 and no manual option. That one looks like a 2 wheel drive so I think it would be the 4 cylinder. I had one of those and one of the s blazers. The blazer was junk but the pick up was ok. Definitely would not want another one though.

 

Not true; I have numerous sales brochures for these. The 4.3L V6 debuted for the 1988 model year, and was in fact available with the manual transmission on the pickup; However, only the TBI version which had anywhere from 150hp to 165hp depending on what year it was, was available on the pickup. You could in fact get a 4.3L/5-speed manual in a 2WD, and I have seen 1st Gen S-10s with the 4.3L V6, three pedals, and 4WD.

From 1982 to 1987, the 2.8L V6 was the top engine in the S-10 pickup and the Blazer. For the first couple years of its production run (roughly 1988-1990), the S-10 Blazer was not available with the 4.3L V6 and the manual transmission. If you had to have a manual transmission, you had to settle for a 2.8L; I forget if you could get an S-10 pickup with a 4.3L and manual from 1988 to 1990, and I believe that 1991 was the first year you could get that combo in the S-10 Blazer.

Beginning in 1992, a 4.3L CPI making 200hp became available on the S-10 Blazer, but was not offered on the pickup until the 1994 redesign. The TBI version, by comparison, made 165hp. In 1992-1993, if you wanted an automatic transmission in an S-10 Blazer you had to pay extra for the "Enhanced Powertrain Package" which gave you the 4.3L CPI by default. The 4.3L TBI could be had with an automatic transmission at extra cost in 1991, but beginning in 1992 it was only available with the 5-speed stick.

Yes, I know a lot about S-10s!

 

Originally a thread called Cruise control turns on but won't engage; PLEASE HELP!...


Many of you know the saga of getting OEM-style aftermarket cruise control installed in my truck almost 15 months ago...

THE SHORT STORY: When I press the button for the cruise control, the green "CRUISE" light on my gauge cluster comes on, but the cruise control won't engage.



THE LONG STORY: For starters, the place that did the install totally butchered my truck to the tune of over $700; The clockspring and wheel positition sensor had to be replaced, and the place that did the install refused to pay for it, because the guy who did the job denied all resposibility (my dad and I heard the owner of the shop screaming at him in the workshop), and then when the owner came out he said that because I'd admitted to having my mechanic attempt to installed cruise control prior to leaving the truck with him, my mechanic must have done something. When I initially got the truck back after they had it the entire day, I was told that the cruise control wouldn't turn on and I would have to bring it to the dealer to get it programmed. I should have called bullshit and demanded compensation from the shop, especially when I discovered that the steering column and a couple of dashboard pieces hadn't been popped all the way back in.

The cruise control had been a birthday present from my dad and he felt so bad about the situation that he just paid my mechanic to fix what the stereo shop fucked up. My mechanic replaced the two parts listed above, and the cruise control worked immediately. Starting maybe a month, after the installed, I noticed that the green "CRUISE" light would come on when I pressed the button, but the cruise control wouldn't engage.

I was told by the service writer at my dealership who oversaw my frame replacement that the cruise control would not engage at speeds below like 35-40 miles per hour and if the engine was below a certain RPM. This is bullshit, because when the cruise was still working, I would set it to the posted speed limit in 25-45 MPH zones for the sole purpose of avoiding speed traps. It worked fine.

It used to be that it would only do this every few weeks and work when I actually needed it, like on trips out to Carlisle; As of right now, the green "CRUISE" light comes on, but the cruise control won't engage. An OBDII scan a couple months ago revealed a faulty wheel speed sensor. My mechanic replaced this, and it seemed to fix the problem, as the cruise control worked immediately afterword. A couple days later, the cruise control would not turn on.

Somebody here on TW suggested that the brake switch could be the problem, so I had that replaced a couple weeks ago, and it didn't solve the problem. The cruise control still does not work.

The system was manufactured by Rostra and is virtually identical to the system that has been used in Toyotas and even some Lexus models since the the early 1990s. It is under warranty for three years from the date of install (late March 2021), but I really do not want to bring it back to the shop that did the install for obvious reasons. The dealer refuses to touch it because it's not OEM, and if they did I don't wanted to pay their overinflated labor costs.

My mechanic doesn't know for sure what the problem is, but believes he can find the problem if I drop the truck off and leave it with for a day. I am incredibly busy between work, family, and the car shows I go to in my spare time. I am going to a huge car show in Syracuse, NY this July and would love to have working cruise control for that trip.

I am hoping that someone on here can give read the symptoms I've outlined and give a definitive suggestion, so I can reduce the amount of time my truck is at my mechanic's and not on the road; I also want to make sure my mechanic doesn't go on a wild goose chase.

THANKS!

 

Here is the stalk/switch; I have an OEM one from the dealer that I bought in late 2021 when I first embarked on this little misadventure. If the switch turns out to be the issue, I will have my mechanic put it in before I let the install shop touch my truck...

 

The light comes on, but nothing happens...

 

I would be suspicious of the clock spring/spiral cable. Were OEM parts used when it was replaced?

 

My mechanic got them from the dealer; Would Denso be the manufacturer if it came from the dealer?

 

Also, is "spiral cable" another name for "clockspring" or are those two different parts?

 

Yes Denso would be oem

yes they are synonymous

 

Even though you are busy maybe you can leave the truck with your mechanic. Sporadic problems are really hard to track down, but might be something as simple as a loose wire or connection.

 

I've given up on tracking down the source of the once-in-blue-moon misfire that sometimes occurs on startup and chalked that up to normal behavior for a 12-year old truck with over 150K miles, but the cruise control not working is fucking annoying!

 

Check the resistance for all the positions. I don't have the FSM here, but can check later if you need it. Many of the aftermarket guys have troubleshooting values either in ohms or volts for the various positions.

There is really only one 'signal' wire going to the ECM that both activates cruise and tells the ECM what to do (set, accelerate, decelerate, etc.). It is all controlled by various resistance depending on switch position.

If it's turning on, the signal is getting to the ECM to activate, but the signal to SET the speed may not be (ie. whatever the resistance value is for that setting). So it's likely NOT an issue with the clockspring, because a failure in the spring usually results in no signal (because of a break in the wire).

Also, if there is some other issue (ABS, speed sensor, clutch switch, etc.) the cruise won't even set because the ECM is smart enough to know that the cruise is not usable in such situations. For example, the cruise light in my wife's Prius will just blink and shut off (when it had a speed sensor problem, which was fixed when I replaced the harness).

I'm thinking the switch is likely faulty in the 'set' position (ie. down) at minimum. Just because it's new, doesn't mean it works out of the box. It MIGHT also be the wrong stalk - though I would think Toyota uses consistent resistance values across models, but I'm not sure.

 

My friend who used to be a mechanic (though the only time he's ever worked worked on a Toyota is when he replaced my alternator last December) thought they were two separate parts...?

 

So swapping out the switch with the other one I've got probably couldn't hurt?

 

If you have another one, try it. Of course there is a remote possibility that it's defective as well, but if you want to try it without testing the resistance, it's easy enough to do.

Either way you have to dig into the column anyway - though just measuring resistance wouldn't require taking the steering pad off since you could do it from the lower connector in the column.

 

How do I do that?

 

There's a pretty good post about it in the forum with all the steps to remove the steering wheel pad and getting to the control stalk. It's pretty easy - like maybe a half-beer job.

Just be careful about the airbag module for obvious reasons.

 

From the Rostra instructions - values in volts (instead of ohms), so measure with ignition on.