GDL (General Development Laboratories)
 

Just wondering how long those of you who have used GDL to repair cruise controls had to wait for the repair and return of the unit. Peter has had mine about a month now. Each week I call I'm told it's on the bench and should be done by the end of the week. He is a super nice sounding gentleman and knowledgeable for trouble shooting.

John

I did a ACC exchange with him so I didn't wait at all. I've never had him work on my unit.

cruise control
 

I used his service in 04 and was completley satisfied, I did experience trouble with the actuator on a return trip from Denver in 05 and it did take a bunch of e-mails and multiple test at home before he agreed to take back the unit for a bench test, which btw it passed until it went on a road test on a similiar vehical were it failed just as i described to him in my e-mails. He did a great service and sent me a new out of the box actuator and I have not had a problem what so ever with the new unit. Be persistant and i think you will get what you need hopefully in a timely manner. I hope this helps.

Peter
1984 300d turbo 271 k

He's pretty overloaded from what I hear.... Shows how many people are using him..........

That's who'll do mine when I get the $$$ for it.......

Thanks for the heads up on their backlog. I just ordered a new actuator (in stock) and a rebuilt amp (also in stock). I should have them by the end of the week. My amp just died (big surprise) and I considered having them bench test and/or rebuild my actuator at the same time, but I just ordered a new actuator instead. I should be able to install everything on saturday (leaving for chicago on sunday morning).

yes - they are very slow
 

But - I was happy with the result vs. using Programa. Sometimes you just need to call and "check in" with them on progress.

Big reason to use GDL in my opinion is that they can bench test the brain/controller AND the under hood actuator at the same time so you know first time what the problem is.... I hate chasing parts!

PS, you might mark your parts with a sharpie - I had a little parts mis-ship first time getting my stuff back. They fgured it out, and took care of the shipping.

Yup, when I talked to them yesterday they offered to do that, but it sounded a little time consuming. I opted to just replace both the amp and actuator (mine both have 400K miles AFAIK) so I would have all the parts in a couple of days before I go out of town.

I am tempted to send them the amp and actuator from my wife's 240D for testing. She never uses it, but it's a little flaky (overshoots, shuts off, etc.) and it annoys me when I drive that car.

My cruise control amplifier and actuator are finally due to arrive today. I ended up buying a new actuator from Peter at GDL. Should have them installed tonight.

John

Cool, it looks like I'll be installing mine on saturday. After talking to Peter, it does sound like a new actuator was the way to go if you want it to last longer. Let me know if you find any tricks or problems with the installation, but it looks pretty simple.

If you are sending in the amp, pull the actuator and send it at the same time...he rebuilt my amp. The actuator was in fact perfect.

But just think what a pi$$er it would be to have a good amp and then find out the actuator was bad! To me, with all the time I spend on the highway, GDL was worth every penny and the wait to get the work done.

BTW, these unit are not cruise controls. They are speed controls! Turn it on and the speedo needle just stays glued to the chosen speed...uphill or downhill. It is kind of a PITA when going down a big hill....it'll back off, back off, back off in like 1/4 MPH intervals...very precise to the point it drives you crazy.

Installed my reconditioned amplifier and new actuator this afternoon. Keeps the needle pegged to whatever speed I set it. The wait was worth it! Now if only "Putt" could accelerate a little quicker.

John :D

Cool, I just got my new actuator, the amp is due tomorrow (shipped from different locations). Unfortunately my car is still in pieces at my indy (he's replacing the IP advance unit (correct name?) because it's making ugly noises. Hopefully, I will have it back in one piece so I can do the cruise on saturday.

I installed my new amp and actuator this morning, works perfectly, now I'm all set for the next 400K miles. :D