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sd1209 · 03-14-2014, 03:38 PM

Another question of many more to come ref my new 2014 Dutch Star.....

I feel no difference when using the eng brake on either high or low....It may be that I need more miles under my belt but so far, about 800 miles, alternating between hi and low I feel/see no difference......

Others experience this or is there a notable difference??

Jeffreys · 03-14-2014, 03:56 PM

Steve

Your engine brake must not be working. When engaged, either hi or low, you would definitely feel it kick in after you let your foot off the gas. I would call Newmar and get a service appointment.

Steve Ownby · 03-14-2014, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sd1209

Another question of many more to come ref my new 2014 Dutch Star..... I feel no difference when using the eng brake on either high or low....It may be that I need more miles under my belt but so far, about 800 miles, alternating between hi and low I feel/see no difference...... Others experience this or is there a notable difference??

While you are descending a moderate grade at a speed that will allow a shift down to 4th, place the the compression brake in the high position. Lift you foot off the throttle. You should see the gear selected drop to 2 or 3 and then the effect of the brake will kick in. With out changing any thing else, click the rocker switch from the high to the low position. You should feel a reduction in the braking force. If a window is open on the side of the coach with the exhaust, you should be able to hear the brake and the change of the tone when it goes from 6 cylinder to 3.

britcon · 03-14-2014, 05:01 PM

Assuming you have same system as my '14 Ventana. I didn't get a lot of braking sensation on the low setting. On high, its great. On the highway, let off the gas on a downhill grade and it will slow all the way down to stop if you let it. In town, approaching a light, it makes a big difference in braking effort required.

sd1209 · 03-14-2014, 05:11 PM

Thx to all who posted.....

I do feel the engine brake working, just cannot see a diff between hi and low.....I will try what is suggested when I get it out again soon and see the results..

One more question------The engine brake is operated by a 3 position rocker switch, back is low, middle is off and forward is high......When in low there is a light behind the word low that lights......In the off position the light goes off.......When I put it in high, the low light is on, no "high" light.....

I called Freightliner and after quite a bit of time looking, the tech said that is the way it operates.....No "high" light, just the low one.........for those that have the same, is this the way your lighting of the switch operates???

Thx to all again.....

Dutch Star Don · 03-14-2014, 06:21 PM

Steve.....When I test drove mine near the dealer, I had the brake set on low doing about 25-30 mph and could tell that it was working, then I switched it to high and it REALLY slowed down. You should see a substantial difference.

I originally picked your coach and then changed to mine because my wife liked the red in the color....I'm glad I did...it sounds like yours has more issues.

Just kidding!

Route 66 · 03-15-2014, 04:43 AM

You should notice quite a difference between high and low.

On my DSDP, high would slow me down too much at times and I had to switch to low.

millerj · 03-15-2014, 05:27 AM

When I had my Ventana out west last summer I really noticed the difference between high and low when going down long steep grades. On some of the less steep grades low would keep you at the speed you wanted to maintain while on steeper grades you needed to be into high. Hope you get it sorted out if there is a problem.

Dutch Star Don · 03-15-2014, 11:21 AM

Steve.....since I'm new to a two speed engine brake and my other coach would kill the cruise when the exhaust brake switch was turned on, I was pleasantly surprised the other day. While coming down a grade with the cruise set at 60 mph and the engine brake on low, I saw a light come on the dash. I'm thinking....oh no....what's the light for. Well, the engine brake was being applied to maintain my cruise speed....how nice was that! This is probably not knew to others, but to us new owners who previously had exhaust brakes, this is SWEET.

exgman · 03-15-2014, 12:04 PM

I had the same problem with my last coach. I couldn't tell any difference between the high and low settings for the jake. I had a couple different shops check it out but they both told me it was working correctly. My new coach has a 3 position jake brake and I can feel the difference in all 3 positions. Now I know for sure the high and low wasn't working properly in my last coach.

sd1209 · 03-15-2014, 02:43 PM

Dutch Star Don-----

Since you have the exact same coach as mine-----ref the lights on the rocker switch-------As in my initial post when in low the low light is on.....Off no lights......High and the low light is on.......Freightliner says that is the way it is wired....Seems odd to me.....

Does yours, when in high, show a backlighted "high" light or does the backlighted low light come on, as in low????

Thanks as always......

Dutch Star Don · 03-16-2014, 01:24 AM

Mine is the same way.....I think it's designed to be just an indicator light telling you the brake....either high or low is on.

Steve......that's a switch that you want to get a feel for without looking so that in a panic stop you can find the high position without looking. My Monaco was in almost the identical position. After 8.5 years of driving it, I knew where it was by feel.