What is this?

[USSkoval]

Originally Posted by hatzie

83 is a transitional year for the interior controls.
If it's Cruise III with a column mounted dimmer the stalk should look just like the later ones without the wiper controls.
I don't have the wiring diagrams in front of me and I don't remember if the 83 dimmer is on the column or on the floor.
If the dimmer is not on the column the switch stalk probably looks like the late 70s very very early 80s Berlinetta Camaro with the last of the cruisemaster systems that had resume.
A picture would be darned intresting.

'83 still had the floor dimmer for sure.

My '79 Camaro had cruise control, but the PO sold the turn signal stalk out of the car, so I don't know what that looks like either, lol.

[hatzie]

Originally Posted by USSkoval

'83 still had the floor dimmer for sure.

My '79 Camaro had cruise control, but the PO sold the turn signal stalk out of the car, so I don't know what that looks like either, lol.

Floor dimmer and dash wipers with Cruise III should likely look like Dakota Digital HND-3.
This is the stalk you use to do a clean retrofit of the T400 and 90's GM cars electromotor cruise control boxes or the better Rostra units into the 70's trucks and cars without multifunction turn stalks.

[tucsonjwt]

I will post a pic of the cruise control stalk for my 83 soon. (It has been very cold and raining for the past several weeks in the AZ desert and I have to work on my truck outside, so I have not been doing much on the truck lately. This is very unusual weather for my area, and I can no longer handle cold weather.)

Yes, 83 is apparently a one year only cruise control set up. If you look in the truck parts catalogs (LMC, Brothers, Classic Parts, etc.) you will find that there are cc parts through 82, then parts for 84 and up, but no 83 parts. I think my intermittent wiper module may also be a one year only part - I did find a NOS module but it was inoperable. The intermittent wiper control is on the dash - a small dial with an arrow on the switch.

The headlight dimmer is on the floor.

My cc setup has a push button on the end of the turn signal stalk to engage the cruise control, and the normal settings for resume, etc. I don't know why the 83 is different, but it may have to do with the wiper control on the turn signal stalk.

I am curious to see what happens when/if I get the VSS attached to the speedo head. As I mentioned above, the cruise will work when driving on a flat road with no a/c on, but will not work under other conditions. I have replaced the servo and the vacuum lines, but the circuit board in the red plastic box under the dash and the turn signal stalk are no longer available.

[hatzie]

That intermittent control you're describing is 78-83. Several outfits repop the controller. The controller uses common through hole discrete components so it's fairly easy to repair if its' not working... usually they need the electrolytic capacitors replaced. The switch isn't as easy to find but it's not impossible either.

I've had a minute to look at the 1983 GM CK Light Truck service manual.
Your Cruise III is a one year only stalk in the trucks. There's a line drawing of the turn/cruise stalk in the service manual. It looks just like the Dakota Digital HND-3 pictured above. I'd bet the HND-3 stalk will work on your rig.
Some of the CruiseMaster transducers had resume... they used the same switch. The 78-81 CK trucks with the 350 Oldsmobile Diesel had CruiseMaster with resume.

It is Cruise III tho. Not sure if it's an orphan early system like the 77 & 84 wiper delay modules or not. It sure looks like the same unit as the one on my 85.

1983 is Cruise III so the Cruise III textbook information will apply.
Download the 1983 Service manual and open PDF page 1462. Pg 1462 is the beginning of the 1983 Cruise Control service procedures.

[tucsonjwt]

I am attaching a pic of the cruise control/turn signal lever on my 83.

As I stated above, even without the VSS attached to the speedo head the cruise will work on a level road without the a/c on, and will disengage when the brake is depressed.

Regarding the cruise control circuit board in the red plastic box under the dash, several years ago I contacted Dorman (who makes aftermarket cruise control boards) and was told that they do not sell a board for my truck, but they offered to send it to their supplier and have them try to rebuild my board. That sounded iffy to me, so I declined their offer. Plus, I am sure that a one off custom board would not be cheap, especially without the OEM engineering available.

I did see a youtube video of a guy who replaced the capacitors on the small circuit board in the intermittent wiper module and he showed that the intermittent feature worked after he was done. I did not see any comments that the intermittent feature worked in the long term. I am not an electronic tech, so I would not attempt to rebuild it myself, and I would not spend $100+ to have someone do it. I would be more inclined to go back to a normal 2 speed wiper.

[tucsonjwt]

An interesting side note on my cruise - I have had a few different shops look at my malfunctioning cruise control over the years and they all have told me that it was working fine, even after I had explained the conditions under which it would not work.

[hatzie]

No reason it wouldn't work for several years after you recap it.
Replacing old dried out electrolytic caps is a time-honoured way to restore electronics back to operating condition. Since it's a through hole board it's bloody easy to do. Just don't use one of those 150 watt soldering guns and pipe solder