Community Forums

cbeierl · 02-19-2016, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FIRE UP

Well Gang,
We must have gotten lucky. Our coach, an '04 Itasca Horizon 36GD with the C-7 330HP CAT, will allow for the E/B and Cruise to be on at the same time. However, the E/B will not work if the cruise is SET. That is, if I've set the cruise to keep my speed at set amount, and then start going down a grade, even though the E/B is ON, it will not take effect due to the fact that the cruise is operating under the "SET" conditions.
Scott

Scott, just so you know you should be able to configure the ECM to allow the exhaust brake to work WITH the cruise SET. I had mine configured to do that. When the cruise control is active the exhaust brake is activated if the speed gets a few mph over the set speed, but the transmissions isn't commanded to downshift. If the speed continues to rise to 5 mph or more over the set speed then the transmission starts downshifting as well. Once the vehicle slows down to [near] the set speed the exhaust brake is cancelled. Cruise control remains active during the whole time. It works great!

Dr4Film · 02-19-2016, 02:39 PM

Chris,

Does the 2005 Winnebago Vectra have a CAT engine?

Otherwise it may not be the same for every engine since the ECM's are all different, CAT, Cummins and Detroit Diesel.

Dr4Film ----- Richard

cbeierl · 02-19-2016, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr4Film

Chris,

Does the 2005 Winnebago Vectra have a CAT engine?

Otherwise it may not be the same for every engine since the ECM's are all different, CAT, Cummins and Detroit Diesel.

Dr4Film ----- Richard

Yes, I've got a 350HP Cat C7.

Rich-n-Linda · 02-19-2016, 10:06 PM

In our coach I run with the Jake Brake switch on all the time. When using cruise, if the speed gets to 10 mph over the cruise set speed, the Jake Brake comes on until we get back to the set speed. If I start down a hill where I do not want the speed to increase that much, I just hit CANCEL on the cruise and the Jake engages, keeping the speed in check.

I really like it set this way.

FIRE UP · 02-19-2016, 10:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cbeierl

Scott, just so you know you should be able to configure the ECM to allow the exhaust brake to work WITH the cruise SET. I had mine configured to do that. When the cruise control is active the exhaust brake is activated if the speed gets a few mph over the set speed, but the transmissions isn't commanded to downshift. If the speed continues to rise to 5 mph or more over the set speed then the transmission starts downshifting as well. Once the vehicle slows down to [near] the set speed the exhaust brake is cancelled. Cruise control remains active during the whole time. It works great!

Hey Chis,
Outstanding information! Since I have no way of doing this myself, I'm presupposing that I must take our coach to either a Freightliner Service Center or, a CAT service center to make such changes to the Engine ECM to allow the Cruise to work WITH the cruise, correct? And, if I may ask, do you have any idea on what kind of cost is involved in this re-flash?
Scott

cbeierl · 02-20-2016, 12:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FIRE UP

Hey Chis,
Outstanding information! Since I have no way of doing this myself, I'm presupposing that I must take our coach to either a Freightliner Service Center or, a CAT service center to make such changes to the Engine ECM to allow the Cruise to work WITH the cruise, correct? And, if I may ask, do you have any idea on what kind of cost is involved in this re-flash?
Scott

I had the ECM parameters changed by my local Freightliner folks (who also service CAT, Cummins, Detroit, etc.). I don't have a record of the cost when I had it done back in 2006--it may have been free since they had to do a warranty ECM update at the same time. About 8 years ago they charged me $88 to hook up the computer and change the setting for the tire revolutions per mile to match the new tires I put on. At that time I got a before and and after printout of all of the ECM data/settings/etc.

My cruise control/exhaust brake parameters are set as follows:

Low Cruise Control Speed Set [20 MPH]
High Cruise Control Speed Set [85 MPH]
Exhaust Brake Mode [Manual]
Auto Retarder in Cruise (0=Off) [5 MPH]
SoftCruise Control [Yes]

Mr_D · 02-20-2016, 12:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich-n-Linda

In our coach I run with the Jake Brake switch on all the time. When using cruise, if the speed gets to 10 mph over the cruise set speed, the Jake Brake comes on until we get back to the set speed. If I start down a hill where I do not want the speed to increase that much, I just hit CANCEL on the cruise and the Jake engages, keeping the speed in check.

I really like it set this way.

I did that in CA and it cost me my first moving violation in 30+ years! Had the cruise set for just under 60 like the trucks were running, rig got up to 67 (12 over the 55 limit) as I went through a radar trap. $468 plus the mark on my record. Wish it could be set to come on at 5 over the cruise setting!

cbeierl · 02-20-2016, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr_D

I did that in CA and it cost me my first moving violation in 30+ years! Had the cruise set for just under 60 like the trucks were running, rig got up to 67 (12 over the 55 limit) as I went through a radar trap. $468 plus the mark on my record. Wish it could be set to come on at 5 over the cruise setting!

I set the cruise control at the posted limit. With SoftCruise enabled that keeps me in the range of about 5 mph under to 5 mph over the limit, which seems to work out pretty well.

Here's CAT's description of the SoftCruise feature:

The Caterpillar SoftCruise speed control feature
provides a small “soft” window centered around the
cruise set speed. With SoftCruise “On”, the ECM will
modulate fuel delivery for a more efficient, smoother
cruise control. SoftCruise reduces the abrupt on/off
fuel cycling that is common with some diesel engine
cruise controls. It allows the truck to increase speed
slightly above the cruise set speed while going down
hill (no-load) to “warm up” the turbocharger. This
provides quick boost and improved engine response
on the next hill.

Dutch Star Don · 02-20-2016, 10:43 AM

Scott....I would plan on about $150.00. Five years ago I had some parameters changed by Cummins. It was $100.00 to hook to their Insight computer. The tech allowed me to stand there as we went through all the programmable settings.

You need to now what you want done. At least on Cummins, you could change several things.

Leaving the exhaust brake switched on while the cruise was running is sometimes called Latching (DR4Film gave the correct term).

There is also another setting that I like. When not using cruise and the brake switch is on, most coaches will activate the exhaust brake as soon as you lift your foot off of the throttle. When going down a hill where you might want to coast some, you have to shut off the E/B to do so. They can change that so that it will coast until you tap/apply the foot brakes. Simply touching the throttle again will turn off the E/B.

Not all of these features are available. I know there are some year model cutoffs where anything before a certain year did not have the ability to change some features.

DaveKingston · 10-18-2017, 09:19 PM

I am trying to figure out why engaging the EB on my 2003 HR Endeavor cancels cruise control or having the EB switch engaged inhibits the activation of cruise control.

In the manual, there is a specific note stating that the EB will NOT disengage cruise but that is not what is happening in reality.

DaveKingston · 07-05-2018, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaveKingston

I am trying to figure out why engaging the EB on my 2003 HR Endeavor cancels cruise control or having the EB switch engaged inhibits the activation of cruise control.

In the manual, there is a specific note stating that the EB will NOT disengage cruise but that is not what is happening in reality.

Just reactivating this thread as I still haven't figured out why my exhaust brake operates differently than the manual says it should.

Any insight or pointers would be appreciated.

FL420 · 07-05-2018, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaveKingston

Just reactivating this thread as I still haven't figured out why my exhaust brake operates differently than the manual says it should.

Any insight or pointers would be appreciated.

Many times over the years I have encountered aircraft flight manuals and vehicle owner's manuals where the function of a system varied from the description of its operation in the manual. There are many reasons for this. One of the most common is that the manuals were written and distributed before the first article was delivered to a user and changes were made on subsequent articles on the production line based on the experiences and feedback from early customers.
The military and FAA closely monitor the currency and accuracy of aircraft flight manuals and update them. Vehicle manufacturers, probably not.