Cruise control doesn't engage all the time

Got a great '15 with about 12k on the clock. Last year the cruise control started acting up. The system will power on, but won't set the throttle. If I do a full motor-off shut down and restart, it will function properly. Then it never acted up for about 6 months. Today it did it again. Anybody else having this problem? Potential fix?

Clean around the foot brake area.

JamesW said:

Clean around the foot brake area.

Click to expand...

^^^Especially the pivot for the rear brake. Remove, clean and grease.

Mine gave a similar problem, I think it was the front brake pivot/switch sticking. Not fully investigated, but moving that around seems to have fixed mine for now. Rear brake pivot is the most likely, however.

Some sort of munge gets into one or the other switches (front brake, rear brake, clutch). My '13 is doing this intermittently these days. But the symptom is that when I go to arm it, it blinks a few times and the light goes out. I don't get to the point of setting it. A few years back this happened and the cure was to partially crack open the front brake switch and spray some contact cleaner within. This cleared it up until recently. Basically it seems it's failing a start-up test - sometimes . Being intermittent, the relevant diagnostics to tell me where the problem lies are not helpful. If it gets worse I'll blindly go though the exercise of cleaning out each of the three likely culprits.

I have a 2014 and sometimes when I hit the cruise control button it will blink and therefore not set the cruise. If I stop and turn off the engine and restart, it will usually work. Now I usually engage the cruise button right after I start the engine and take off from there. If I engage the set button soon during the ride and leave it on, using the brakes to disengage, it stays functional throughout the ride.

I've learned to live with it as I don't feel like taking it to the dealer to have it diagnosed. As described above, its likely due to something sticking, but the fact that it works also suggests some kind of gremlin in the electronics.

Already covered but check the front or rear brake pivots. My '15A started acting up and it turned out to be the front brake lever switch occasionally hanging up. Cleaned it up, lightly greased the pivot and CC has been solid ever since.

Good luck!

~G

On mine, the usual problem is the front brake pivot (tied to the microswitch) sticking slightly. You can tell if the problem is either the front brake or the clutch by bumping the ever forward. If you still have the problem, it is the rear brake.

I learned from Grayray this weekend that the first click on the clutch lever disables the cruise control. He had slack in his clutch lever which caused the cruise control not to work. This might or might not be helpful.

If you go in and read the codes it will lead you to the right switch.

I had similar problems on my '13 and eventually had the left switch quadrant replaced under warranty after i discovered a little piece of plastic broken off of the Cruise Control +/- switch

It was my front brake switch that caused issues.

Cleaned the switch and life was good again.

Canadian FJR

To everyone who answered, thank you. I played around with the rear brake and front brake and found if I push the front brake lever FORWARD, then push the engagement button, it engages perfectly every time.