[Jim_Miller]

The Cruse control in my 1988 T-Bird hasn’t worked since before I bought it.
Nothing at all, not even attempt to work or work bad, nothing.
The car is totally stock 5.0 with an AOD.

Does anybody know anything about cruse and where I could start to look for a problem?

 

[cougarcragar]

The cruise control has several weak spots in those cars.
First, pull the collar off of the steering column. This is the piece that clips in just behind the steering wheel. Once you've done that, crank your head behind the wheel and examine the brass contact rings (3) on the back of the wheel. It's common to see the plastic deteriorate here, which makes the rings loose.

If that checks out, it could be an electrical glitch, a bad servo, or a vacuum leak. Make sure the fuse is good, then check for broken vacuum lines on the firewall.

I lost the cruise control in my '88 XR7, but I didn't know what went wrong. I replaced the servo (in driver's side fender) and it was as good as new.