Disclaimer:
Some of this info may apply to your car, some may not. Follow the manufacturer's instructions - not mine! I will not be responsible for damage or injury caused by faulty installation.
This installation was performed on an '86 CRX DX with a B16 swap. The mechanical and electrical installation should be about the same for stock SI models - once you get the VSS thing resolved. DX's will require the VSS installation and more mechanical work on the throttle control cable. HF's have the VSS signal but the throttle control will take some work.
The cruise control kit was purchased from Bought4Less.com for $219.99 plus shipping.
This is the SCS/Frigette Model # 4342/4365. I ordered a cruise unit for a 1991 CRX SI, because the VSS in my car came from that model. However, the SCS/Frigette kit looks to be a universal model. It shouldn't matter what car you specify on the order form. Complete cruise control installation instructions are available on-line here: Cruise Control Installation Manual
What is VSS? Vehicle Speed Sensor. This is a low-tech device used by an on board computer to determine vehicle speed. An on/off switch is activated by a magnet that rotates around a wheel in the instrument cluster. Each time the magnet closes the switch, a ground pulse is sent to the computer. The rate of the ground pulses sent to the computer varies with the vehicle's speed. (Honda uses 4000 pulses to ground per mile) Only "HF" model CRX's have a usable VSS output from the instrument cluster. To get a VSS signal from the other models, install a VSS unit from an HF gauge cluster. Or, get an '88 to '91 (any model) CRX cluster and use the VSS parts from that. I used the later method. It wasn't hard to get the VSS to work, but I did have to buy 2 clusters to get the odometer working correctly. Seems there are different mechanical configurations of the 88-91 odometer assemblies. The first cluster I bought had parts that would not allow the use of the trip reset lever. The second cluster had odometer parts that fit perfectly in the 1st gen cluster. (I've heard that the 2nd gen Nippon CRX cluster is the correct one for our cars.) There is an alternative method for getting a VSS signal. Bought4less sells a speedometer cable VSS sender that might work on CRX's. I haven't tried it. You'd have to figure out what to do with that extra speedometer cable length. Search the forums at Redpepperracing.com for more info on VSS and gauge clusters.
Bought4less cable mounted VSS sender unit
Contents of the cruise
kit.
Wiring diagram for cruise installation in an '86 DX.
Wiring diagram for cruise installation in an '86 DX.
The wire
color codes should probably be the same for all models and all
years of
1st gens. As you can see, there really is not much wiring to
do! Verify the color codes for your car!
The clutch switch.
Install this
switch in place of the clutch pedal stopper bolt. Hint:
Measure
the height of the clutch pedal from the car floor before
removing the stopper bolt. (The thread size of the stopper bolt and
the clutch switch are the same.)
Bake light switch connector and the clutch switch wires
Bake light switch connector and the clutch switch wires
Disconnect the connector
from the back
of the brake light switch and splice on the wires to the computer and
the wires to the clutch switch. There are 2 white/green wires on the brake switch
connector, use either one. Just make sure the clutch switch wire goes
on the green/white wire.
+12 Volt Connection
I used the radio circuit for the +12 volts. That's the yellow / red wire on
the 8-pin connector on the fuse box. The cruise control only draws 1
amp maximum, so the radio circuit should work fine (unless a high power stereo is also on this line).
That leaves the blue VSS wire to connect. You're on your own there!
Cruise Control Switch Box
The cruise control switch box is nothing special. Since my rear window defroster hasn't worked in over 10 years, I mounted the control box on top of the rear defroster light. Two stick-on labels come with the control box so the box can be mounted horizontally or vertically. Column mounted controls are also available. You must specify column or dash control when ordering. The cruise control box connector that plugs into the main harness is not factory installed. This way, control wires can be fed through a small hole in the dash and then the connector gets installed. (The connector is an easy 2-minute job.) Since each switch is just a momentary contact to 12 volts, a custom switch box could easily be fabricated using lighted switches of different colors.
That's the next step
- getting the interior wires to the engine
compartment. The wiring harness comes in two parts: a short section
under
the hood and a longer section that goes under the dash and through the
firewall. You
might be able to get through an existing hole in your firewall or a new
hole may be needed. (I had room in a hole made for the B16 swap.) If
you make a new hole, use a grommet! Kit does not come with a grommet,
but is does come with sealer for the firewall hole. The cruise control switch box is nothing special. Since my rear window defroster hasn't worked in over 10 years, I mounted the control box on top of the rear defroster light. Two stick-on labels come with the control box so the box can be mounted horizontally or vertically. Column mounted controls are also available. You must specify column or dash control when ordering. The cruise control box connector that plugs into the main harness is not factory installed. This way, control wires can be fed through a small hole in the dash and then the connector gets installed. (The connector is an easy 2-minute job.) Since each switch is just a momentary contact to 12 volts, a custom switch box could easily be fabricated using lighted switches of different colors.
Always use a rubber grommet when routing wires through the firewall.
Now for the under hood stuff:
Two throttle body brackets come with the kit.
Throttle body end of cable
Finished cable assembly
The eyelet on the cable "floats" on the bracket because of
the plastic spacer washers. Cut the cable and cable jacket to the correct lengths and crimp on the eyelet.
Finished cable assembly
Here's
the finished cable
assembly. The
cable as shipped, is waaay too long and must be cut to fit. Get
this step right! I was afraid that I might cut the cable too short, so
I
did a temporary install as shown below.
Finished installation
Cable ties were used to hold the cable while testing.
When I was SURE everything was
right, I cut the cable and permanently crimped on the eyelet. Then, to
make sure the cable would not pull out, I soldered it. If you
choose to solder the
eyelet, use plenty of flux paste and heat. The wire does not like to
take solder. To cut the cable jacket, I recommend using a Dremel tool
with a
cut-off disk. I first tried cutting the cable jacket with a
hacksaw - what a mess!
Trust me, that outer cable housing is tough! A sharp diagonal cutter
will work for cutting the inner cable. In spite of my
temp
install, I got the final cable length wrong! The finished cable
was about 1/8" too short. The throttle would not quite close all the
way and it screwed up the idle. Fortunately, the servo control box is
all plastic and it was easy to slot the mounting holes so the box could
be moved closer to the engine. Everything works perfectly now!
Finished installation
There's only one wire to connect in the engine compartment (ground). Mounting the brain box is easy. Oops! Till now, I forgot
about all that vacuum equipment that was originally in the car. Working
around that stuff in a DX/HF could be a problem. But, as I mentioned,
the throttle control cable is very long and a few bends in the cable
shouldn't hurt performance. The servo seems to have enough power to
tolerate a sharp bend in the cable. The installation was done out on the driveway in about 3.5 hours on a cold (35 degree) Sunday afternoon. That install time includes taking the pictures and "domestic distractions".
Review:
The cruise control works as expected - just like a factory unit. The speed holds well, even on hills (no mountains around here). Disengaging the cruise is easy. No need to hit the brakes or the "off" button. Just tap the clutch pedal and the cruise drops out. Only takes about a 1/4" of clutch pedal travel to kick the cruise off. Nighttime lighting of the dash control unit is not impressive, but it is adequate. You could substitute a couple of blue led's for the miniature incandescent bulbs, but the lighting would still be uneven due to the construction of the control box. That's about the only complaint. Is it worth $219? You'd have to decide that. Personally, damn right it's worth the money! The CRX seating geometry is not all that great for people 6' and up. It's a real luxury to be able to wiggle the right leg while cruising down the freeway. On March 28th, I took a 200 mile trip and used the cruise function most of the way. It's nice to be able to get out of the car after driving 100 miles and not have to limp the first few feet while the leg muscles get normal. I'd like to mention that Bought4less.com correctly preset all of the "brain" internal switches for my installation and they shipped in a reasonable time (not r-e-a-l fast). Their price was the best I could find. I recommend Bought4less.com.
Review:
The cruise control works as expected - just like a factory unit. The speed holds well, even on hills (no mountains around here). Disengaging the cruise is easy. No need to hit the brakes or the "off" button. Just tap the clutch pedal and the cruise drops out. Only takes about a 1/4" of clutch pedal travel to kick the cruise off. Nighttime lighting of the dash control unit is not impressive, but it is adequate. You could substitute a couple of blue led's for the miniature incandescent bulbs, but the lighting would still be uneven due to the construction of the control box. That's about the only complaint. Is it worth $219? You'd have to decide that. Personally, damn right it's worth the money! The CRX seating geometry is not all that great for people 6' and up. It's a real luxury to be able to wiggle the right leg while cruising down the freeway. On March 28th, I took a 200 mile trip and used the cruise function most of the way. It's nice to be able to get out of the car after driving 100 miles and not have to limp the first few feet while the leg muscles get normal. I'd like to mention that Bought4less.com correctly preset all of the "brain" internal switches for my installation and they shipped in a reasonable time (not r-e-a-l fast). Their price was the best I could find. I recommend Bought4less.com.