Town Car Cruise Control Diagnosis

This article was put together by ABE (LincolnsonLine) and is based upon posts and editing by Dereck (LincolnsonLine) to help
diagnose a cruise problem with a 1999 Town Car. It is believed this information will apply to model years 1998 through 2002, and may
also apply to the 2003 and 2004 models. The 2005 has “drive by wire” and uses a different cruise control system controlled through the
PCM.

Problem

Typically the cruise Control lights do not come on and cruise control does not engage.

Diagnostic steps

Step 1. (Horn testing) We will get started by checking the horn since the cruise control switches are powered through the horn relay, so
a bad horn relay/fuse 18 will disable the cruise. If the horn works then proceed to step 2. If the horn does not work then:

1. check fuse 18 (15A) in the BJB (Battery Junction Box) under the hood (see following location diagram). Replace if blown and
check horn operation again;

2. Check relay in the Relay Box under the hood (see location diagram following) by swapping the relay with a known good one for
the PCM or the air suspension (horn should work without the ignition switch on); if horn works then replace relay and go to step
2. If horn still does not work then,

3. Check for power on pins 30 & 86 (that the relay plugs into) as it could be a broken wire between the relay and fuse. Fix wire if a
problem and check horn and go to step 2 if ok, but if not:

4. Jumper pins 30 & 87 at the horn relay and if horn still does not work then disconnect the horn and use a voltmeter across the
horn terminals and a ground. If power at horn connector then replace the horn, but if no power:

5. At this point the likely suspect is the horn switch located in the steering wheel under the center cover with the air bag, but all we
are trying to do by checking that the horn works is to make sure the cruise control switches are powered. So we can bypass the
actual horn switch (rather than pull the air bag) in three ways:

a. check the clockspring horn switch connector halfway down the steering column to check if the horn works;

b. ground the Dark Blue wire from the clockspring horn switch to sound the horn;

c. jumper the Dark Blue and Dark Green/Orange wires at the clockspring connector, see if the horn works.
Step 2. (horn works and therefore the cruise control servo is getting power from the relay). Check fuse 32 and fuse 8 in the Central
Junction Box (CJB) in the cabin on the driver’s side for specific cruise control fuses (Note these fuse numbers may be different for some
model years so check your Owner’s Manual). Replace the fuses if blown.

Step 3. (Check for DTCs) Ideally a diagnostic scanner (capable of reading the Cruise Control module and Ford specific DTCs) should
be plugged into the Data Link Connector (DLC) to obtain any DTCs in the system. But we will pass on this.

Step 4. (Locate the wiring connection for the cruise control servo). To help you locate the Cruise Control Servo see the following
diagram which shows the engine compartment with the cruise control servo marked as the Speed Control Servo on the driver’s side
near the firewall.
Now that you have located the cruise control servo (Speed Control Servo in locator diagram), see the electrical connector that is
arrowed in the following diagram of the speed control servo:

Step 5. To test the electrical connections you will need a multi-meter. The steps are:

1. First unplug the cruise control servo/amplifier connector near the firewall and check for battery voltage on the Orange wire;

2. Then with the ignition on check for battery voltage on the White/Violet wire.

3. Next ignition on, multimeter set to volts, probe the Light Blue/Black and the Pink/Orange wires, have someone push the
 cruise on button and you should get battery voltage.

4. Next multimeter set to ohms probe the Light Blue/Black and the Dark Green/Orange wires have someone push the cruise off
button and you should get a closed circuit (less than 5 ohms)

5. Next same two wires (Light Blue/Black and the Dark Green/Orange ) multimeter set to ohms have someone push the
Resume, Set/Accel & Coast buttons you should get:

Resume = 1980 - 2420 ohms

Set/Accel = 612 - 748 ohms
Coast = 108 - 132 ohms

6. Without any button pressed you should show an open circuit (greater than 10K ohms)

7. Of course you can carry out all these tests via a suitable code scanner without disconnecting anything.

Step 6. These test results will show the following:

(A) If your system passes all the above tests it is most likely your Cruise Control Servo (Speed Control Servo) is toast,

(B) If it fails on the cruise switch button tests then it could be either a bad clockspring (air bag sliding contact) or bad switches but
most likely bad switches. See following electrical circuit diagram 31-2 (from a 2001 model) to help with these repairs:

(C) If it fails on the power supply test for the orange wire it is most likely a problem with the brake pedal switch see next step.
However, if it fails on the white/violet wire test (when the ignition is on) then it is a wiring, fuse or ignition switch problem and
see a later step. See following electrical circuit diagram 31-1 (from a 2001 model) to help you.
(D)
Step 7. (the orange wire has no power) In the above electrical diagram (31-1) the “deactivator switch” is the Brake Pressure Switch
(BPS) on the brake pedal which opens with brake pedal movement or as a failsafe 125 psi of brake pressure. Since testing the orange
wire for voltage at the cruise control servo/amplifier showed no power then continuity through the BPS needs to be checked. First
ensure there is power on the Light Green/Red wire to the BPS, if not repair the fuse or wire from the CJB in cabin on driver’s side).
Next, test the BPS itself by disconnecting the brake pressure switch and jumper the connector with a piece of wire and then check the
Orange wire at the cruise module for voltage, if you now have voltage it would appear the BPS is faulty, if you still have no voltage you
will have to play follow the orange wire looking for a break.

Step 8. (the white/violet wire has no power when ignition is on) In the above electrical diagram (31-1) the white/Violet wire connects
directly to the CJB. Check and test the fuse and the wiring and possibly the ignition switch.

Hopefully you now have a fully functioning cruise control system.