I would suggest looking to get a set of replacement buttons on the off chance it doesn't work. I would also suggest if any other part of the car has any issues, might be worth pulling the fuse board out and resecuring all connections.

I have kept mine working fine with the occasional squirt of contact cleaner method as I described earlier. I guess at some point I will need to replace but holding off as long as possible. Anyone know how much a replacement set cost from a Ford main stealer?? I had the chance to buy a used set on EBay for 99p but forgot to bid (doh!!), but I've seen them elsewhere on eBay for £100-150 used. Not sure if I would 100% trust a used set in case of same problem (though I guess I should have had a punt for 99p)!!!!

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Gave the contact cleaner method a shot, just a 3.99 can from Halfords. Gave each of the four 'holes' mentioned a little squirt, pressed the buttons to try and work the stuff into the internals. Took it out on the motorway for a quick dash and didn't get any response initially (still had the little RES button flash ups, though), I continued to mash the buttons for another five minutes and it eventually sprung to life. Turned it on and off repeatedly and used each of the buttons in turn to try and identify a culprit but they all continued to work fine

Usually it would take a bit more coaxing than that to get the thing working, so it looks like the cleaner has made at least a little bit of improvement. I'm not sure if it was my button mashing or the cleaner that helped, or a bit of both perhaps. I'll take it for another sprint tomorrow or Tuesday and see if it has made a difference.

Contact cleaner will just lubricate the switch whilst removing dust and dirt from the circuitry which can affect functionality. Normally it takes both to work loose whatever is on there

Just checked with main dealer today. The part number for the Steering Wheel cruise control switches changed in early 2010. My car is a 60 reg so I guess getting 2nd hand ones off an earlier mk4 won't be compatible (despite them looking identical in photos)...... The switches are available separately for each side and the price ..... £95 per side!! Ouch!!

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Had intermittent cruise control problems on S-max - problem with steering wheel position sensor diagnosed and after expensive fix all works OK a year later. The same sensor is also part of the anti-skid system so had to be fixed for safety reasons !!

Hi,

I've had same problem as described above with my mk4 1.8 TDCi for a long time now. Cruise control sometimes works but most of times not, standby mode usually can be set on but when pressing + standby goes off, if CC goes on then - button usually turn's it off. Sometimes when driving with CC on it might just suddenly turn off by itself without pressing any buttons. 

I've used contact cleaner now several times and I've done cruise control reset but no help. I did the self diagnostic and following dtc codes was found: C40168, C41568 and C41668.

There's no other problems with the car, no warning lights on dashboard or anything. Contact cleaner seems to help a little but doesn't fix the problem (might be placebo). Any ideas? 

Thanks in advance.

Guys it will not be the switches, almost 99% it the resistor in clock spring not grounding the circuit fine. I had this problem and there are a few ways to fix it.

1. get a new clocksping - expensive.

2. resolder a resistor on top of old one. I had a link somewhere there the guy showed how it was done, ill try to find it. 

3. remove the indicator lever ( LHS) and spray some contact cleaner there). Thats what I did. It worked for quite long time. 3months or so. No it started again. Stripped down, cleaner again and fine. 

Its easy to check if you have ELM reader. Just connect it and check the buttons with forscan. If you press off button and it shows that 4 or 3 are On at the same time, thats the issue then. If it is not reacting at all - might be the switch 

I have a 58 plate Mk4 Mondeo which has (had) the intermittent cruise problem. After about 20 minutes cruising it would drop out for no reason and refuse to reset. Many people are suggesting that the buttons are to blame but I do not think this is the case. I stripped down the steering wheel to check the switches. Mint condition. They are gold plated and quite unlikely to get dirty or tarnish as they are well protected inside their housing. I should say I had tried spraying contact cleaner into the small holes, as recommended, prior to the strip down which did seem to fix the problem temporarily but I now think this was a coincidence for the reasons I will explain. At this point I must give all the credit to a guy called Sakos and here is a link to the answer that he has found.    http://www.talkford.com/community/index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_id=150217 . In case you have truoble finding his paper, the answer lies in a very small resettable SMD fuse that is mounted on a circuit board behind the LHS stalk which needs to be removed for access. This fuse is heat sensitive and when it it gets above a certain temperature it flips to open circuit thus dissabling the cruise control and will not reset until its cooled down. This explains why the contact cleaner appears to work. Because of the delay while the switches are being treated, the fuse also has time to cool and reset and hey presto it all works again, for a while. It also explains why the CC drops out for no apparent reason whilst cruising which clearly can have nothing to do with the switches. As Sakos recommends, I have shorted out the fuse and the CC has been 100% faultless ever since. It's quite a fiddly soldering job.

I hope this may be of help to anyone who is still puzzled by this vexing problem. I understand that Ford have solved the problem on later models by removing the fuse altogether from the circuit !

On 6/13/2016 at 11:38 PM, isobobi said:

Hi,

I've had same problem as described above with my mk4 1.8 TDCi for a long time now. Cruise control sometimes works but most of times not, standby mode usually can be set on but when pressing + standby goes off, if CC goes on then - button usually turn's it off. Sometimes when driving with CC on it might just suddenly turn off by itself without pressing any buttons. 

I've used contact cleaner now several times and I've done cruise control reset but no help. I did the self diagnostic and following dtc codes was found: C40168, C41568 and C41668.

There's no other problems with the car, no warning lights on dashboard or anything. Contact cleaner seems to help a little but doesn't fix the problem (might be placebo). Any ideas? 

Thanks in advance.

 

Hi @SodyltPaul,

I too have a 2008 which has intermittent cruise control issues, and I too have the DTC Error code: C41668 (which from Googling) has given the following information:

C41668 - "Invalid Data Received From Vehicle Dynamics Control Module"

Looking through my car history, it's had this fault before (I'll see how much it cost the previous owner to get done) but it wasn't expensive.
Typically (as is always the case) despite the car being under a used car dealership, they say that this isn't covered in the warranty they give (who would've thought it) 

Finally solved this problem!

 The cruise control would sometimes fall offline or just could not be engaged. It looked like it depended on the weather. When it was humid it usually worked fine.  Took me 5 years and trying lots of possible solutions of which none worked.  Ford dealer could not get it fixed under warranty. They tried the following:

-New steering wheel switches

-Reloading the software

-Modification issued by Ford concerning switches that cut off the cruise control when the steering wheel has it's  full deflection 

Other Ford dealer said it could be the PCB located in the steering wheel column that might have some minor cracks leading to bad circuits.

SOLLUTION: The solution came in to view when i replaced the 8 years old battery.  I discovered 4 grounding points underneath the airfilterbox. They looked fine with just a bit of rust but i took them off and thoroughly sanded them so they were absolutely without any rust. Reinstalled and gave them a Fluid Film anti rust coating/ treatment. Ever since the problems are gone. Tested it for 2 months in all kinds of weather,  different speeds, under any road condition i could think of. It still works like a charm. And the best part: it is the cheapest and best way to fix a faulty cruise control!

Wishing everybody luck on solving their cruise control problem!

Holy thread resurrection Batman!!

I mentioned the other week that my Cruise Control wasn't working properly.

Quick Google said whip the airbag off, remove the switches and clean.

Tried that, couldn't get the airbag to unclip - soo Google again...just tried the squirt method  (ooo....Matron!)

Roger me, it works!!  Less than a penny's worth of spray and about 20 seconds work - awesome!!

Hi all,

I recently bought a 2011 Mondeo.  140 diesel model.  The cruise control switches worked once, then didn't at all.

I've just had the cruise control switches replaced on the advice of Evans Halshaw.

The new switches don't work at all now.

Any thoughts?

 

 

Did they just rsay replace or did they do a diagnostic check, there is so much that effects the cruise control that just replacing the buttons is not enough, coould be bad earth connection, faulty steering sensor the list is huge and all guess work without a fault code to point a good technician in the right direction.

On 3/17/2017 at 8:54 PM, tripleT said:

Finally solved this problem!

 The cruise control would sometimes fall offline or just could not be engaged. It looked like it depended on the weather. When it was humid it usually worked fine.  Took me 5 years and trying lots of possible solutions of which none worked.  Ford dealer could not get it fixed under warranty. They tried the following:

-New steering wheel switches

-Reloading the software

-Modification issued by Ford concerning switches that cut off the cruise control when the steering wheel has it's  full deflection 

Other Ford dealer said it could be the PCB located in the steering wheel column that might have some minor cracks leading to bad circuits.

SOLLUTION: The solution came in to view when i replaced the 8 years old battery.  I discovered 4 grounding points underneath the airfilterbox. They looked fine with just a bit of rust but i took them off and thoroughly sanded them so they were absolutely without any rust. Reinstalled and gave them a Fluid Film anti rust coating/ treatment. Ever since the problems are gone. Tested it for 2 months in all kinds of weather,  different speeds, under any road condition i could think of. It still works like a charm. And the best part: it is the cheapest and best way to fix a faulty cruise control!

Wishing everybody luck on solving their cruise control problem!

I know you posted this a long time ago, I don't suppose you have any photos of the areas you worked on? What was the make of anti-rust treatment you used and did you ever have problems again?

I had a look in the area I think you are referring to. There are about six bolts.

Is it specifically these ones (one is hidden top mid-left) or the ones on the other side?

How on earth do you access these to sand them?

What was the make of anti-rust treatment you used and did you ever have problems again?

 

Also, I am getting the error codes:

DTC #01 C40168 - Indicates no information being received from a control unit.

DTC #02 C41668 - Indicates missing ABS information.ie- wheel sensor, wheel ring or control unit.

Could someone please reply and confirm how you access the ground points I took photos of?

Also, if attempting to override the resistor in the sakos method, how do you remove the circuit shown in their guide? https://www.talkford.com/community/index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_id=150217

 

 

 

Hello guys ,l have a UK model 2012 mondeo mk4 .l had a problem with cruise control, sometime it worked and sometimes not.I turned the cruise control on and pressed + or - and cruise control got deactivated. Don't let mechanics fool you telling you about CC module or brake and clutch sensors or buy new buttons  ,this is a very simple fix.

The photos above that someone posted with 4 holes and spray cleaner, it won't the fix the problem.

What l done removed 2 clips holding the airbag from behind the steering wheel.  Got the airbag out without disconnecting it . Removed the buttons on my right set+ and set-  unscrewing 3 screws torq, 1 in front 2 behind .Removed the whole unit carefully and open the + and - buttons .Here there are 2 pins on top and 2 holders on the bottom .l took it out and inside there is a plastic sheet type with 6 contacts .It looks exactly like contacts from calculator. l cleaned these with cotton and electronic spray .You can use even a tiny tiny amount of electronic grease . I put it back together and problem solved. My cruise control works as good as new. I was very careful not to break any clips or plastic so l took my time. 

I am sorry because l am new to this forum it won't let me download the photos ,on top there is my email address if you need further information. 

Cheers

 

Duplicate 

 

Edited June 29, 20196 yr by Artan
Duplicate

Interesting link for removing the steering wheel and reaching the buttons to be cleaned : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw2tI9zKEpo

I too have had the problem with the CC working intermittently and after trying the fixes shown here which only cured the problem short term I decided to buy a new switch. When it arrived I decided that I had nothing to lose by stripping the old switch down and cleaning the contacts. Once back together again I have tested it on a hot day on a 40 mile run including motorways and A roads and it seems to be fine. Here are some pictures;

http://imgur.com/a/FXsbBN0 

http://imgur.com/a/QZBQHAH

http://imgur.com/a/Xm2YxyX

http://imgur.com/a/imRVzQb

You can have a go yourself or if you're afraid of breaking the unit on disassembly I can let this go as it's now spare. If anyone wants it I can put it in the post for a tenner. As said earlier, I have tested it and it's been ok for me but there's no guarantees given.

Hi all,

I own ford mondeo 2011 turbo diesel and facing the same problem. Sometimes it works really fine even if you press button 100 times sometimes it doesn't.

 

I will try contact/swtich cleaner as following all the comments. I hope it will work.

Meanwhile my question is "Do smoking effects the car's computer system"? 

As i smoke a lot in my car and have had a bad experience of smoking with my pc system.

Thanks

I’ve tried the + and - switches at the same time for 10 seconds, just in case, and it worked like a charm.

Thank you!

Ford S-Max 2.2 diesel 2012