Repairing Your Ford Ranger’s Cruise Control

Long road trips are not so great if anything mechanical goes wrong while you’re traveling. When driving your vehicle long distances, you count on having your cruise control working. Repairing your car helps you improve your mechanical skills as you learn new areas of your car to fix. If your Ford Ranger has a cruise control device that’s not working, review these repair steps. You will be cruising again before you know it.

Directions

1

Before You Replace the Cruise Control

Activation switches are part of the cruise control. These switches can corrode, so that an electrical contact is not made. Clean the switches with cleaner and see if the cruise control resumes working. Mechanics also check vacuum hoses and the sensor on the rear axle.

2

Deactivate the Airbags

You will need to wait 20 minutes after you’ve disconnected the negative side of the battery terminal. To deactivate the airbags, remove the restraints control module fuse from the fuse panel. This keeps the airbags from deploying while you work within the steering wheel housing.

3

Steering Wheel Cover

The cover needs to be removed. Two or more screws secure it to the steering wheel. Remove the screws and lift off the cover.

4

Locate the Left Cruise Control Switch

The cruise control assembly has switches mounted to both sides of the steering wheel on the Ford Ranger. Remove the screws that hold the left switch in place. Remove the old switch and the screw the new one into its place.

5

Locate the Right Cruise Control Switch

Repeat the same process as the previous step. This time you are working on the right side of the steering wheel.

6

Steering Wheel Cover

Now you will finish up the project by reattaching the steering wheel cover. You should have set aside the screws that go with the cover.

7

Reactivate the Airbags

Turn the ignition to the On position. Insert the fuse that you removed from the fuse panel. Turn the ignition off and then back on again. The airbag indicator should be working, which indicates that the airbags are activated.

8

Reconnect the Battery

Make sure to reconnect the negative battery terminal.

9

Close the Hood

While disconnecting the battery, you would have opened the hood. Make sure the hood is securely latched.

10

Test Drive

Now you are ready to make sure the cruise control is working again. If not, you will need to further troubleshoot the problem. A repair manual for the Ford Ranger you own will be helpful in any continued research you need.

Correct diagnosis of your car’s mechanical problems is a helpful start to auto repair. If you know for sure that your cruise control assembly needs replacing, then traveling to the auto parts store will take longer than the repair. The repair steps are straightforward. You will love the fact that you fixed your car without paying a huge labor fee. Now you and your Ford Ranger can get back to letting the cruise control keep your next road trip carefree.