why did my cruise control stopped working?

735

Asked by Danny Nov 16, 2012 at 05:06 PM about the Pontiac Grand Am

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

i have been having trouble with my car which is a Pontiac Grand Am SE, to name some problems we have ABS
and BREAK light on, but the main thing that happened is that my CRUISE CONTROL wont work any more, im not
very familiar with how to fix a car or diagnose it, but ive heard that the sensors in the tires might be to blame, so
could it be that because the BREAK and ABS lights are on that the CRUISE CONTROL doesnt work?

14 Answers

8,205

Hi Danny, Thank you for your post. I'm sorry to hear you're having issues with your cruise control not functioning properly. Because I would recommend having your GM dealership to diagnosing your vehicle. If you would like private message me your last 8-digits of your VIN, I would be glad to research to see if there are any recalls or or special coverages related to the issue you're experiencing with your cruise control. You can contact me at socialmedia@gm.com Attn: Vanessa in the subject line. Vanessa GM Customer Service

5 people found this helpful.
175,835

You will have to get those ABS and Brake lights cleared up for the CC to work. I had one bad wheels sensor and my CC still worked. The other front sensor went out and CC stopped working. I replaced them with a pair of Raybestos units from RockAuto.com.

8 people found this helpful.
115

9 times out of 10, when you get simultaneous ABS and trac off lights, you need a wheel bearing. The abs sensors for Pontiac grand ams after 1999 are located inside the wheel bearing. Replacing the affected part should solve your problem. You may want to have it scanned at the dealer or auto parts store to pinpoint the problem.

2 people found this helpful.
175,835

A parts store scanner won't see it and the dealer will charge you for the scan. The brake system is monitored by the body control module (BCM) - parts stores scan the engine control module (ECM/ECU). ... You can find out which side is bad by buying a new hub, driving the car up on ramps, plugging it into both wheels and see which side turns off the lights.

3 people found this helpful.
115

That's actually a pretty solid idea. I never though of that. Abs computers are another option. You can get one for less than 100 bucks.

1 people found this helpful.
69,015

If the wheel bearing takes a dump then it prevents the wheel speed sensor from picking up the wheels speed because the gap has increased between the sensor and the ring. Just plugging in a new wheel bearing will do nothing because the car will still be sitting still. The light comes on because 3 tires are showing movement and one is showing it is sitting still. Parking the car will show all 4 tires sitting still whether the abs sensor is good, bad, or not even plugged in, it will give a sitting still reading. Outside of a scanner you have 2 and only 2 testing options. One is jack the car up, support it, and wiggle the tires to find the loose one. The second is to hook up a DC volt meter to the sensor and turn the wheel by hand. Whichever one doesnt put a reading on the meter is the bad one. Wheel speed sensors are nothing more than a magnet with copper wire wound around them. As a metal object passes it, it changes the magnets field causing the copper wire to receive an electrical charge. The faster the metal object passes the sensor, the more electricity it creates.

11 people found this helpful.
735

Thank You all again this is really helping me a lot. i really appretiate it, not really knowing a lot about cars this is a huge help. thank you again.

1 people found this helpful.
10

I have the same problem with my 1998 oldsmobile cutlass. any suggestions?

1 people found this helpful.
110

Hi, the light switch on the cruise control is not working.Could it be the fuse or the switch or wire.It is a 2005 Cruise control.Is there a recall on this car for cruise control.Thanks!

11 people found this helpful.
69,015

You will have to do electrical testing for this.

1 people found this helpful.

I have a 2003 grand am and had the same issues with the abs /track lights on light we replaced the bearings and found out it was a bad wiring cost me about 300.00 to fix that ussue

20

My 2004 Sunfire cruise control worked intermittently without abs/track lights being indicated. It worked more often in damp rainy weather and cleaning the front ABS sensors with a brass toothbrush seems to have solved the problem.

2 people found this helpful.
10

just bought a car grand prix 2002. trac light out will that mean ccurise controlwillnot work? If sohow much ruffly will that cost?

1 people found this helpful.
40

Cleaning the front anti lock sensors on my 2004 Sunfire seemed to help until the cruise control quit working entirely. Mechanic said it was the control unit after checking it for free when troubleshooting something else. Picked up another control unit at a junk yard off a 2005 and found both units contained a seized up white plug attached to a tape emanating from inside the module. After using a file to reduce the plug size ever so slightly, it freely slipped in and out of the cable housing where it attaches to the control unit. Cruise control has been working fine now for many months.

4 people found this helpful.

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