This is a post I made on the LSC Techboard outlining the installation of Mustang "stand alone" cruise control required when Mass-Air converting an LSC.

Subject: EZ Mustang Cruise Retrofit & A Story
Author: jim
Date: Saturday, 10/17/98 8:29 AM MDT

 

The first thing you want to do is print LSCMAN's post 09/04/98 "Mk VII Cruise with MAF conversion, How To". All I can add to LSCMAN's post are some specifics in terms of wiring and installation notes and other utterly useless color commentary.

From my research scrounging at the local salvage yard the interchange is even broader--virtually any mid "80's up servo assy. is essentially the same--your LSC accellerator cable & servo mounting bracket will transfer to most any late model FoMoCo servo. (F-series, Ranger, Aerostar and E-series, Taurus/Sable in addition to RWD cars) Amplifier/modules all will also interchange and essentially function the same with one caveat: put a 4 banger or V6 module on a modded 5.0 and you may encounter some surging and it'll throw you over the seat back (or at least spill your toddy)when you hit "resume" because it's gonna think it's yanking the throttle on a little motor. My reman. amplifier catalog at the store basically distills this down to two--4/6 cylinder & V8, with no differentiation between car or truck. If you can't find a used V8 one DON'T go to the parts store and buy one without first getting one at the junkyard....the clown behind the counter (like me) won't ever know the core is different if you don't tell him.


R & R Servo. Remove all fasteners securing RT inner fender liner. (6 phillips screws and 5 of those miserable little plastic rivets) Duh! Jack it up and remove the RF wheel first. This is the worst part of the job....grab the fenderwell and bend the rear half of the damn thing double and pull the rear section forward out of the way (kinda hook it over the spindle/rotor/upper control arm). Remove 2 servo bracket to cowl bolts, disconnect vac line with red stripe (supply) going to eng. compartment and the vac line that disappears through an oval grommet towards the dash (dump valve). Disconnect wiring to servo (harness plug between master cyl. and firewall) and throttle cable. Note throttle cable routing.....when you re-install you'll realize that Ford got kinda chintzy--there isn't ANY extra.  Transfer mounting bracket and cable if neccessary and reverse procedure installing new servo. Wiring harness from servo to amplifier is permanently attached....cut hole in oval grommet where dump valve vac hose comes out and push it through there (without stabbing yourself with the screwdriver or other non-authorized tool you're doing this with). Curse/kick/beat/force/mangle fender liner back into place and re-fasten.

Remove lower dash cover above driver's feet (2 screws) and section of lower dash directly below steering column (2 screws). Pull servo to amplifier wiring down toward fuse box and attach to amplifier. Mount amplifier (to something). Mine didn't have the official FoMoCo bracket that attaches to the column support.....I zip tied it to something under there (wiring harness??). I also didn't get the power/switch harness complete at the junkyard (more on that later), just the plug and about 6" of the wire loom. The power/switch side pigtail has 6 wires--I'll number them from inside (closest to servo harness) to outside, 1-6.

1) ckt 511 BOO input (yeah, I know it sounds stupid, but that's the proper name-BOO/brake on-off switch)-connect to load (switched/power OUT) side of stoplight (BOO!) switch with a scotchlock.

2) ckt 151 Cruise switch input. Find a three wire round grey plug directly under the steering column behind the little narrow pc. of the lower dash you removed. This should have a lt blue/blk tracer wire, yellow wire, and a third that is either blue or black. Cut the lt blue/blk (yes, I said cut....it takes a real man to cut up a nice car) and splice this wire to terminal 2 on the amplifier. This is your cruise switch actuator wire for on/off/set/resume etc. It does all this with one wire by way of some magic resistors and other voodoo shit that only LSCMAN can explain. Trust me.

3) ckt 296 12v power. Connect this to the + side of the stoplight (BOO!) switch--this way your new cruise will be on the same circuit/fuse that it was before the conversion. Pretty clever, huh?

4) ckt 150 VSS signal (Vehicle Speed Sensor). Remove instrument cluster.....no, it's not a bad job, and you can take it apart and get the dust and dead critters out of the bottom of the gauges while you're at it. Remove upper finish panel (3 screws) and disconnect wiring plugs for warning lamps (2) and hose for climate control sensor. Remove instrument binnacle (upper dash pod--6 (?) screws). Remove instrument cluster (4 screws) and disconnect wire harness connector. Attach wire from terminal 4 on cruise amplifier to instrument cluster harness terminal 6 (they're numbered). You can use a scotchlock here, too.  AN ADDENDUM 10/7/99.....if you're workin' on a "Bill Blass" model or one of the other morphodites with a digital instrument cluster the VSS signal wire at the cluster is terminal 12 or 14 (pick one...either will work), not terminal 6.....

Get a refreshment....another digression....I keep telling you to throw scotchlocks at your wiring harness....this is ok INSIDE the car on a cruise control....when it comes to EEC connections (ie: your MAF conversion) there ain't nothin' but solder & shrink tubing....no butt connectors....we're talking millivolts, milliamps, and little tiny ohms here....do it once and do it RIGHT.

5) ckt 57a ground

6) ckt 57 ground
These two are interchangeable--if you look carefully at the amplifier terminals they're siamesed. Connect one to a good chassis ground (steering column support, etc.). Connect the other to the to the wire in the three wire connector that IS NOT yellow (the yellow is the horn, for those of you with inquiring minds). This wire is the ground for both the horn switch and the cruise switches.

Now put the dash back together (screws left over? put 'em in the ashtray). Dust off the dash and the console where you put the screws and misc.....were you born in a barn? If you're working in my shop clean up all of your mess and don't forget to sweep up all that shit that fell out from behind the inner fender. Probably wouldn't be a bad idea to re-install the RF wheel before the test drive, too.

A couple of postscripts concerning the parts. My servo and amplifier came from Dave's Mustang Parts (http://www.daves-mustang-parts.com). He charged me $100, all the stuff was out of a V8 car, and the parts looked damned near new, so if you're not going to scrounge it yourself Dave's is highly reccomended. The six prong power/switch plug for my conversion came from my buddy Messy Marv at Carson City Auto Salvage . He's not so highly reccomended. Cheap (read: free) but kinda ornery. "Stay the hell away from the good cars....look back in the crush pile....if 'ya cut up a good harness I'll choke 'ya". I found the plug in a '92 Aerostar that appeared to have hit a brick wall at warp 6 moments before it went off the cliff (last words of a true hillbilly--"ya'all watch this"), but the driver had been thoughtful enough to raise the steering column about a foot and remove most of the lower dash with his knees, so the amplifier harness was real easy to get to. Incidentally, I looked at the servo on this vehicle--if it hadn't been broken, it would have worked on the Mark by switching the cable assy.

This conversion can be done easily in a couple of hours, give or take a few beers. Stay tuned....as soon as the rest of my stuff comes I can drivel on further on the MAF and KB blower conversion (and resulting expensive noises) if you want.


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