Date: Sun, 14 May 2006 16:50:11 -0700
Reply-To: Loren Busch <starwagen@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Loren Busch <starwagen@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: I Love My New Cruise Control (Long)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
One of the features that prompted me to buy the Starwagen (my '90 Westy) was
the fact that it had a cruise control. Although it was an aftermarket add
on, not factory, I really wanted a cruise control. In the past, in my '85
Westy, I had made several long trips from Seattle to Big Bear in California
and back, mostly time constrained so I spent a lot of time on I-5 getting
there and back. Each time I swore I'd never make the trip again without air
conditioning and cruise control. Starwagen had both and both worked. Well,
kinda. The cruise control was flakey as hell, very slow to engage and
erratic in its so called control. I even added a vacuum accumulator in the
line to try to help it but no help. But when working it was great on the
long haul. About 18 months ago it finally gave up the ghost for good.
I had looked into the possibility of a complete new cruise control but
really didn't know what make or model to order. More important, I had no
one to put it in. Several times on the WetWesties list Julianna Theonnes
had mentioned that her brother Steve was an expert on putting cruise
controls into Vanagons. But he was in Albany Oregon, a long haul from my
home in Lynnwood, just North of Seattle. Then opportunity knocked. There
was a WetWesties event (Tax Relief Campout now know as the Mud Fest)
scheduled just outside of Corvalis (next to Albany) for one weekend and a
second event, the Stretch Party, scheduled in Albany the next weekend. I
was going to be traveling with Phil Zimmerman to both events, hanging around
in the area for the week, as we wound our way to Hollister California for
Syncro de Mayo. So I contacted Steve Hiltbrunn, Juianna's brother, at the
business where he is Shop Manager, Class A Audio, in Albany. He agreed to
look at my existing cruise control to determine if it could be fixed. After
replacing a missing magnet on the pickup, no joy. Then he carefully checked
all the wiring and switches, no problem there. Conclusion: the old servo
was toast. And no replacements available, to old a model. But wait,
there's more! Just up the street from Steve's shop, at the local Shucks, sat
two of the exact model Audiovox cruise control that we needed for a new
installation! I snatched one up (Schucks insisted that I pay for it) and
made an appointment for Steve to install it on Monday. Spent the weekend at
the Stretch Party (in the driveway of Steve's home) and delivered Starwagen
to Steve at his shop on Monday morning. Four hours later the old system was
pulled and the new in. Steve handed me the keys and I took it for a test
drive. Fantastic! Worked perfect, absolutely beautiful.
And it got a good workout over the next three weeks down to California and
back to Lynnwood. Not a hiccup, exactly what I had wanted.
The bottom line here is this. If you live in the NW, especially in Oregon,
and want to add a cruise control to your Vanagon, contact Steve Hiltbrunn at
Class A Audio in Albany, Or. Phone 541-928-2207. Be sure to talk to Steve
ahead of time. He will explain why you may be better off buying the cruise
control yourself and having him install it. The model number is Audiovox
CCS100 *http://tinyurl.com/ycbs *and may be available off the shelf at you
local FLAPS. If you want to spend more money, and complicate the
installation a little, Audiovox has a variety of options that can be used
with this setup including an RF module that mounts on the steering wheel and
eliminates the little box on the dash. I'm pleased to say I have not found
the controls on the dash to be no problem at all, in fact I like it better
there than the old stalk control that was on the steering column.
One last note. If you are having problems with your original VW cruise
control, Steve probably is not interested in seeing it. He has, from past
experience, formed a firm opinion on that piece of equipment.
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