Don't have cruise control in your NC but would like to? Here's a complete guide that will walk you through the entire process!
What You'll Need
1. Check the brake switch
First, check how many wires connect to your brake switch. If there are only 2 instead of 4, you'll need:
- Dedicated cruise control wiring harness
- 4-pin brake switch
NC1 cruise control harness available in both LHD and RHD versions. The kit includes detailed installation instructions and a switch.
2. Control panel
You'll need the original cruise control panel + short wiring harness inside the steering wheel. You can source these from:
- another Mazda MX-5 mk3 NC
- Pre-facelift CX-7 (identical steering wheel, only differs in black decorative elements)
The decorative elements can be transferred - some people prefer the black ones as a more interesting styling option.
Radio and Cruise control panels with corresponding harness inside steering wheel (4 plugs). Black decorative elements mean they come from pre-facelift CX-7
if you have only Radio Control panel it will look like this (panel has decorative element removed so looks a little bit different than normal ;-) ). Steering wheel harness has only 3 plugs, missing part for Cruise Control
items shown above come from MT cars. AT cars have DIFFERENT panels. Transfer AT-MT seems NOT be possible
3. Options for sports steering wheels
For a sports steering wheel, installation is possible provided that:
- The car has an airbag retractor (clock spring)
- The hub allows for wire routing
Special panel available here: Cruise Control panel for aftermarket steering wheels NC
Note: at this moment installation is not possible with quick-release hubs.
4. ECU compatibility
- All 2.0 engine ECUs support cruise control without modification
- Pre-facelift 1.8 ECUs (L831xx) do not support cruise control (missing components)
We offer modified NC 1.8 ECUs with additional improvements:
- Better engine responsiveness
- Earlier fan activation (prevents overheating)
- More linear temperature gauge
5. Cruise control indicator light
Pre-facelift NCs typically (EU, UK) don't have a cruise control indicator light:
- Installation is possible but requires soldering LED diodes and resistors to the instrument cluster board
- Requires gauge face replacement
- you can drive without the indicator. Personally prefer that ;)
6. Post-facelift cars without cruise control
These usually already have the wiring (4 wires to the brake switch), but may have a 2-pin switch:
- Simply replace with a 4-pin switch (e.g., Facet 7.1272)
- Easy replacement without tools
Need additional help? Contact us through AlexEngineering.pl!