Hi All,

The contacts in my cruise control switch work intermittently and testing with my multimeter indicates the contacts are probably dirty or corroded.

Has anyone ever disassembled the stalk? Any tips on how it comes apart without breaking it!?

Thanks.


Not mine, but this type from an early C4:

 

Take apart I don't think so as far as I know there bonded shut one way trip no disassemble, the only thing for repair is tuner cleaner or replacement

 

Make sure your intermittent isn’t a broken wire between the stalk and the harness connector.. I just fixed my CC because of that. You can disassemble the switch out of the stalk to solder on new wire but I saw no way to take the switch itself apart without destroying it.

 

Thanks Tod. This week I'll remove the stalk and see what I can do with it.
I just remembered I have a whole spare column somewhere that has a stalk on it, so I can afford to break one for the benefit of research

 

Mine works, but it might take 15 presses on the 'Set' button. The multimeter indicates up to 30 ohms across this contact sometimes, so it needs some attention.
I am not fortunate to have a clutch pedal in my C4

 

Its not too far gone get some crc electric contact cleaner blast it through any opening you can work the switch repeatedly repeat two more times

 

Could you carefully (by hand) drill a hole sized for a tube from a spray can of contact cleaner? Dan

 

Ok so the switch can be disassembled and is serviceable to some extent.
I managed to fix this one

 

Hi Ben
I have a 1982 CFI and would like to chat to you. I live in Brisbane. Can you make contact please?
Thanks

 

Hi !
I also have a contact problem with my lever. I would like to open it.
Is it necessary to remove it from the column ? If so, how did you proceed ?
Thank you.

 

I found my answer: by simply pulling on it.

To dismantle the lever, we can go even further than @ben73 : we can reach the contacts.

We remove the SET button, with a small flat screw driver for example, by prying. It is just pushed in.
Then, we grab the sprocket at the bottom, by grabbing it with a small hook for example, or a small flat screw.



Push the small hood from below, at the level of the lugs, lever it from the outside, and pull on it.




Once the cover is removed, you can remove the OFF/ON switch by pulling it.
Then, we can pull the wires a bit to get the contactor out.



The aerosol to clean the contactors can be used for troubleshooting, but it is not the best solution. The metal contacts need to be deoxidized.
After cleaning with the aerosol, when i pushed on SET, I had 10 ohms, then 30 ohms, then 80 ohms... then 10 ohms... it was very random. The OFF/ON switch too, not reliable.
So we unjoin the 4 electrical wires, making sure to locate them !
Then, we cut the welded plastic points (surrounded in red), to be able to separate the pieces.





We get this :



The maximum amount of tin must be removed so that the connectors can leave their housing. We can use solder braiding (in copper).
Afterwards, we pull on the 4 contacts. One by one, preferably, so as not to get confused when reassembling.





And we sand all the contacts (the one in the center, the contact blades, the SET button contacts...).




We’re bringing everything up.



We weld the plastic (what we cut during dismantling).



We test, and by miracle, all the contacts are at 0.1 ohm for each pulse
We weld up the electrical wires, in the right place for each color, and reassemble everything.



We check the continuity of each of the 4 wires up to its flat connector "C280", under the steering column.
For my part, a wire was breaking continuity (broken near the lever, where there is movement). I had to resell this wire.

Hope this will help

 

Nice work getting it apart. Deoxit has kept my dead one working fine for the last year or so. If it dies again I'll pull it apart, but not till I have to lol...
The various versions of Deoxit are pretty good stuff, much more so than regular contact cleaner. fwiw

 

Thanks for sharing that information and for uploading photos, Tof.

This is on par with your very thorough ABS system teardown tutorial several years ago.

Good stuff to know...

 

Thank you Wolf & Natty so much !
I like to fix things and only change what is necessary, on principle.
Especially at the price of (new) parts of C4 sometimes, and with a shipment to France and customs who fill up on it...

I like looking for information here, so I try to put some when I can too
I did some work/improvements on my Corvette recently, there are still some topics that haven’t been specifically addressed and that I hope to present to you soon.

 

On my 89, I took my Cruise Control lever apart and checked continuity of the wires and found the pink wire had no continuity. Was going to just replace the wiring harness, but ended up just installing an 80's GM Cruise Control lever. I think it may be the version that is on the early 3rd Gen Camaros and Firebirds. I'll be creating a new post on this mod.

 

I go back on what Colter just said.
The levers are not the same, depending on the options (wiper, regulator...), but can probably be adapted.

On the other hand, I just wanted to add my opinion, if you have harness cut off.
New Corvette C4 levers cost (on eBay) between $200 and $375. Classic GM levers from the same years cost $20 to $30.
What you can do is just buy a GM lever for $20 and only get the wiring harness, it’s obviously 4 wires and the same connection under the column. You’ll just have to unsolder and solder the new wires at the lever.