- Banned
- #31
While this electronic switch/sensor system may not have been the best design, I would bet money that a spring loaded switch would have more failures over time from an engineering perspective so I can see why they would have changed it. Electronics can add complexity but there are compelling reasons to use them in systems such as this where we are talking about braking and acceleration cycles over long periods of time and the average MTBF of the parts.If memory serves, the fires were/are caused buy a faulty brake fluid pressure sensor/switch that sends a brake applied signal the the ECU which turns off the cruise function.
Fires are caused when the switch sticks in the "on" position after car is parked which causes the wire harness to overheat and melt down which causes some other easy to ignite objects to flame on.
Back in the good old days the brake applied signal (to the cruise controller) was a simple spring loaded switch mounted near the brake lite switch on the brake pedal arm or nearby bracket.
Some even used a fancy two terminal brake lite switch which did both, turn on the brake lights and shut off the cruise.
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