MDC cruise control install

[cubefx]

Finally I got the CC. After some research I decided to go with the MDC from Smart Madness.

I printed instructions before the install. Everything is straight forward and instructions on the installation is very clear.
Took me about an hour from start to finish including time to solder extension wires to the external LED and mount it in the instrument cluster behind the factory CC legend. Extending wires is not neccessary, but help with installing the LED in to the cluster. Besides that CC is plug&play.

Will definitely look in to upgrading the LED to the brighter one. It is usable even in the full sun when installed in the cluster, but not nearly as bright as the other lights.


Took it for a ride to the store. Cruise control worked right away without any setup (Sprint Booster set to 0/off by default). Tested it in both Auto and Manual mode. It does not engage under 15MPH. CC keeping the speed pretty good with 3-4 MPH variations when driving over steep hills.

As mentioned before Stalk is slightly different shade of gray, but once installed I bet you anything that nobody will be able tell that it is aftermarket add-on.

So here is the fun part. After I left the store I decided to check Sprint Booster feature. Somehow I managed to set it to the highest level (5 blinks). So I decided to test it and see how it will feel. First impressions right of the parking lot "Ohhh..Sh#t!!!!" . Really did not expected it. Got to the red traffic light and I am the first car. Pushed the gas pedal as I usually do, next thing I look on the speedo and I am already over 50MPH, look in the mirror and all the cars way behind exept black Chevy Malibu. Two seconds later I see him turning red and blue lights and he pulled me over.

He clocked me 54MPH in the 40MPH zone. Lucky for me he just checked my Driver License and Rgistration and did not give me the ticket.

So once I got home I changed the setting on the Sprint Booster to 2.


Very happy with a purchase and will recommend it to anyone.

Big thanks to Rachel and Boris!!!! Keep up a good work!




CUBE

[John_H]

Originally Posted by cubefx

So once I got home I changed the setting on the Sprint Booster to 2.

Very funny, indeed! I love a good laugh.

[Kermit]

Wow, I don't know if I want one now.....speedy. Soon, I will hopefully get one. I figured it would be nice to have one of each but I keep going back and forth on that decision. Maybe if they had a free shipping promo that would send me over the edge to get one.

So your light is in the dash for the MDC?

[cubefx]

Originally Posted by Bum-bling-B

So your light is in the dash for the MDC?

Yep, it is fairly easy once you know how to take the speedo apart. You can see the colors and everything. In the evening it is just perfect, but during the sunny day you will need to know where to look on the dash to see it.

I just dremeled the channel in the white plastic so I can slip the wire thru. The led is about 1/2 away from the front face. I used small piece of foam to block the opening and keep the wire in place.

[Gilbert's]

Originally Posted by Bum-bling-B

Wow, I don't know if I want one now.....speedy. Soon, I will hopefully get one. I figured it would be nice to have one of each but I keep going back and forth on that decision. Maybe if they had a free shipping promo that would send me over the edge to get one.

So your light is in the dash for the MDC?

You can't make mistake when you got one.... even you do your sevice on your car warranty not affected like wise area 451 you need to plug something before you bring it in....

[Wdhitch]

Originally Posted by Gilbert's

You can't make mistake when you got one.... even you do your sevice on your car warranty not affected like wise area 451 you need to plug something before you bring it in....

Enjoy your MDC but don't throw out mis-information... You don't have to do anything to the 451 cruise and it has no effect on your warranty. Not sure where you were going with this...

[Kermit]

Originally Posted by cubefx

Yep, it is fairly easy once you know how to take the speedo apart. You can see the colors and everything. In the evening it is just perfect, but during the sunny day you will need to know where to look on the dash to see it.

I just dremeled the channel in the white plastic so I can slip the wire thru. The led is about 1/2 away from the front face. I used small piece of foam to block the opening and keep the wire in place.

I was curious how you had to splice into the wiring for the MDC or if they've incorporated it into the harness. I haven't kept up too much on the MDC as I have a Area451. Actually I do have a light on the dash for my Area451 cruise thanks to JohnH and it is very visible even on the sunniest of days and not too bright at night...it's just right.

[John_H]

The MDC unit has connectors to hook up to the various car parts. Included is a larger connector (larger than the other 3-wire connectors) on the left of the image below.



The already-cabled cruise LED plugs right in just as the MDC-supplied stalk plugs right in, too. The wiring that you spliced into for the Area451 cruise control LED kit is... Area451 cabling. [The MDC cabling is, of course, stuck to your instrument cluster at that point - there's no taking the cluster inside to do more custom graphics without taking along a whole bunch of cable or removing the LED.]

The MDC information suggests the 8-pin connector you see above can also be used for a trip-computer style interface (not yet available for the US) so there's more there than just a ground pin and a couple LED anode drives.

[cubefx]

Originally Posted by Bum-bling-B

I was curious how you had to splice into the wiring for the MDC or if they've incorporated it into the harness. I haven't kept up too much on the MDC as I have a Area451. Actually I do have a light on the dash for my Area451 cruise thanks to JohnH and it is very visible even on the sunniest of days and not too bright at night...it's just right.

The LED is included with the CC. It is designed to be installed in the dash (similar to the aftermarket alarm system LEDs)



It is plugs in the control module. So technically no splicing involved everything plug&play. You could still fit the led in the dash with the stock length cable, but it was easier for me to solder some extension wire. In the manual it is mentioned that you can plug optional "trip computer" in to the same socket.
I assuming that MDC talking about this one:


.


CUBE

[Kermit]

Ahhh, informative. So it looks like red? is the only color available for the factory MDC LED light unless I modded the light for an alternative color(I prefer green)?

Thanks Cube & John for the info and the SprintBooster does sound intriguing. I got cut off the other week and I'm still fuming about that. A little better throttle response would of avoided that as the "Army" guy in his truck cut in front of me and then slammed on his brakes. Gotta think if I would of kept up with the traffic better it would have eliminated that happening as he wouldn't have had the opportunity. I'm in a military town flowing over the brim with testosterone and Type A personalities so I could use it. I need to read up on it more as I have skipped SprintBooster threads in the past.