45 minutes to becoming a Cruise Control LED installation expert

[Wdhitch]

I tackled this over the weekend... only one hickup!! once I had hooked everything up it wasn't working... the cruise itself worked but not the LED... turns out the connector came loose while I was splicing the main wiring!!! A little tape to make sure it didn't come apart and it works great!!!

Thanks John!!!

[John_H]

I'm happy to hear the successes and the wide opinion on the brightness and color match for both the blue and green versions.

While I've shipped several "variable" colors, I don't know anyone who has tuned to a custom color (except the yellowish green I did for Suze in the video). Since those variable items are a little tough to tune (tiny phillips screwdriver without a pointy end is needed) and been disturbing to assemble at times, I'm glad to be shipping the green-only instead.

And for those who donated a few dollars more than the $20 suggestion, many additional thanks; every little bit helps.

- John

[Kermit]

This was great service by John - THANK YOU!!

I too installed mine this past weekend. One problem, and it was me. I installed the whole thing but had forgot to put it in the correct cruise control slot - I put it in the one directly above it.

Like John had said, almost all tools are included to do this - to include a small torx wrench.

MY CRUISE IS SOOOO MUCH BETTER NOW! I also got the variable and went through the variations of colors finally setting on green - it matches my interior.

EMERALD COAST SMARTIES! - if you want to check this out, I'll have it at the next meet and will only be charging $1 a ride to demonstrate the cruise and LED. (you know I'm kidding!)

[John_H]

I enjoyed including the battery hooked up with the wiring so the LED could be checked all along the way with the installation (plus who doesn't need an extra 9V battery laying around?). Using the twist-tie to affix the wire to the existing wiring harness outside the cluster should also keep the connectors from tugging loose, even at the "last point" where the battery is snipped loose, leaving the cruise control LED dark as the wires are trimmed for length and tapped in to the cruise control wires.

I'm happy there have been no issues beyond minor inconveniences. I think my dropping a screw into my own steering column cowl was the worst trouble reported so far; thank goodness I had a magnet with a hole that fit on the end of the aluminum wire!

Another reminder suggested by my Smart Center service guru: make sure you don't turn your car on when the instrument cluster is disconnected. Bad things might result! I don't know what, just don't go there.

[jediknight36]

Just got around to looking at this thread. You guys are welcome. John, I have been so busy lately, I forgot the mpg2. Do you still need a file to send out to customers on CD? Let me know.

If you guys need any video work, let me know.

[John_H]

Jedi (video) master - I think the audio is still mixed up in the two sized versions I've linked to (between the tap completely installed and the reassembly section). While I pointed out the raw .avi it came from (over 300MB file!) I don't have feedback on whether the original videos streamed well or not for most folks. The later attempt (visible in the same directory) was a problem for my ancient PC to stream so I didn't suggest that. The CD thought doesn't flow too well because it really wouldn't fit in the box.

So for those who have perused: Is the video sufficient despite the fun little bit of audio for those who have watched it? No trouble with skippy playback because it's an mp4?

Jediknight36 did a tremendous job of putting some polish on the raw video and compressing it to something a bit more bandwidth friendly. Kudos!

[jediknight36]

I didnt have an issue with the video that I sent, and I watched the whole thing. If there is an issue with the same part, then I have a fix. Something similar happened to us at work.

[mvaldes]

Video streaming for me was fine with both versions but the audio is still bad on both in the one section about tapping into the wires on the stalk.

[jediknight36]

Ok, I think I know what it is. John, the last file I sent you was working fine here. The reason it skips is a rendering issue, which I fixed. I think you may still be streaming the old file somehow. This weekend, I will send you the last export again, as a different file name.

[The Rigger]

Originally Posted by John_H

So for those who have perused: Is the video sufficient despite the fun little bit of audio for those who have watched it? No trouble with skippy playback because it's an mp4?

Nope; no trouble aside from the audio on the section about tapping into the cruise wires. Aside from that, the only niggling little thing I spotted was a couple of typos in a couple of the section header screens. FWIW, I downloaded the larger-format video and play it as a native Quicktime file on my MacBook Pro's hard drive with no hiccups at all. In general, it's a nicely done piece of work.