Cruise'n

Just a short Trev’s tip this month but it is one that is sure to save you a bundle of time and money should the problem ever arise in your Pajero (Sorry non Pajero owners,  there is not much here for you this month).  It has to do with what appears to be a reasonably common problem with the Pajero’s Cruise control (at least for pre 2000 models.  I’m not sure if it is still an issue in latter models).

Thankfully this time, the problem was in my Father’s Paj (NJ 2.8L Turbo Diesel) rather than my own car for a change.  It seemed that every time he hit the cruise control button on the dash to turn on the cruise control a fuse blew in the fuse box.  It had us both mystified for some time as everything appeared to be in good working order.  In a final act of desperation to identify the problem we began swapping parts out of my car and into his till things stated working as they should.  About 8 fuses latter it the cruise control lit up and started working just as it should.

So what was the problem?  It was the actual dash switch that had a short (should have tested this first).  From here it was off to Mitsubishi to source a new switch.  Well that was the initial plan till we were told that a new switch was $270 (think that made it worth more than pure gold on a weight by weight basis).  The obvious answer was to go to a wrecker and get the part from them.  Sounds easy but every Pajero we looked at already had this switch removed.  This is what makes me suspect that perhaps this may be a common problem.  Anyhow we eventually found one and purchased it for $40.  It is still working to this day.

The job of removing this switch is very easy and doesn’t require any dismantling of the dash.  Just slide a small flat head screw driver under the short side of the switch and apply a small amount of pressure.  This will compress a sprung retaining clip inside so then apply a small amount of upwards pressure and it should just pop out.  The wiring harness then just clips off the back and you’re ready to install the new switch.  No more than a 2min job all things going well (given the screw driver doesn’t slip piercing your upholstered dash or skewer your windscreen).

So there you have it.  If your cruise control does play up try this tip first.  You can always swap the switch with mine first before going to buy a new one just to be sure that is the root of all evil.  If it doesn’t work then it might be time to seek an auto electrician but it is worth trying to eliminate the problem yourself first.

Best of Luck

Trevor

Confucius Says:  Man who run behind car get exhausted.  Man who run in front of car get tyred.