Cruise Control Bar (WAS:why you don't go to the quick-lube place)

[Geordie]

I had this same problem with the cruise control bar on a 1984 Audi 5000s
Automatic when I was on a long trip with my friend (it was his car) a year
and a half ago.Big cross Canada trip. We just got to Wawa, Ontario. And that
was when we experienced it.

Earlier in that day, I assumed driving duty. As I was driving along, I was
trying to set the cruise control, when I felt a sudden snap in the system.
The cruise control just sorta quit. But I could still control it a bit. It
was a very odd feeling. The car would just start accelerating and then
decelerate if I goosed the throttle. Very, umm, uneasy driving. But hey, I'm
young, I was just going for it.

Then I got to Wawa. At that point my friend was driving, and that was when
we noticed a bigger problem. I suppose the bar got jammed farther across the
engine,and pulled the throttle open wider, thus making the engine rev up
higher. So we were in a line of traffic at a stop sign, trying to get back
on the highway and my friend has his foot on the brake, all the while the
engine is revving up, battling witht the transmission. Kinda funny actually.
We reached the front of the line, and when the road was clear, my friend let
his foot off the break causing the tires to spin and the car to accelerate
as fast as it could. Really funny, but also really frightening. I was
honoured to experience unintended accerlation first hand :). So we
immediatley pulled into a gas station and popped the hood. After a minute or
so of searching we discovered ther problem. Since we wanted cruise control,
I rolled on a few feet of electricians tape and called it a repair that
would never break. It didn't.

The transmission broke in Toronto though. But that's just another story of a
trip that had some funky car troubles. And a high speed rear-ending incident
that killed the car for good.


geordie
'82 Coupe

>He attributed the decline in sales to the ever unpopular rumor of
>the Audi Random Acceleration problem.
>Two weeks later, I accelerate onto a highway just south of the
>Gaspe in Quebec Canada and the car hits 140 kph and won't stop.  I thought
to
>myself "Murphy's law.  I was just talking about this, and now I'm gonna
>die."  I down shift and stomp on the brakes, then shut it off on the roll
>at he next exit.
> Problem:  The bar that connects the vacuum plunger of the Cruise
>Control to the trottle body came off of the ball joint and jammed itself
>between the throttle body and the stop while I was on hard acceleration.  I
>untangled it, thanked the real GOD for saving me from the various AUDI
>Gods, and finished my drive to Toronto, safe and sound.  Ironic?  nope, I
live by
>Murphy's law.  And now I own an AUDI.  I just handed the rest of my life
>over to whoever this Murphy is.  Maybe Unka Bart knows him ; )
>                                                                 RR