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Old 10-08-2021, 06:38 PM   #1
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Reprogramming Engine Brake - K3 Chassis or am I doing something wrong?

Anyone had their exhaust brake and transmission programming changed on the K3 ISX chassis? The standard programming is to activate the engine brake and downshift the transmission when you take your foot off of the accelerator. On my ISC, I had it changed so the engine brake would not kick in until I touched the brake pedal. That allowed me to coast at times and get some free mileage. What I have noticed, even if I turn the exhaust brake off, the transmission downshifts and my RPMs jump up to 2200 to 2300 rpm. I would think that is somewhat hard on the motor plus it obviously starts slowing you down. Or am I doing something wrong?
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Old 10-09-2021, 04:02 AM   #2
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When I make the statement reprogramming, this just means changing options within the ECM not actually making changes to the code.
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Old 10-09-2021, 05:21 AM   #3
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following, would like this option on mine.

how are you making the option change
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Old 10-09-2021, 05:26 AM   #4
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I believe that’s something an Allison shop does. Reprogram the Allison ecu so it will downshift to different gear.
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Old 10-09-2021, 06:14 AM   #5
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following, would like this option on mine.

how are you making the option change
Actually need some proprietary software called Insite to tap into the ECM so having an authorized shop make the changes. Had the Exhaust Brake done then, as tdrees mentioned above, took it to an Allison shop to make changes to the transmission. It just does not feel right and do not want to reinvent the wheel so to speak at $175 per hour.
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Old 10-13-2021, 08:28 AM   #6
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Quick update on this saga: After further testing the Engine Brake, it has been determined that the Low Medium High option is not working properly. The Engine Brake is either on 100% or off. Since this is a new to me coach, I do not know if it has ever worked properly. I wanted to rule out a switch issue so called for a pin configuration of the switch. Cummins states it is a chassis or Spartan issue. I called Spartan and they said they provide the harness and the programming, but the OEM installs the switch. Entegra looking into what information they may have on the switch and will call me back.
Update: Kudos for Kelley at Entegra. She got back with a schematic within about 15 minutes. Now I will pull the switch and check it out.
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Old 10-18-2021, 03:49 PM   #7
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Well the switch is fine. I went back to the Allison shop this morning to have the programming switched back. From what I have found out, the engine brake is more effective if the engine RPMs are up close to the governed speed. I am now thinking that the issue all along was that I was not able to change from low, medium, or high settings. Coach is back at the Spartan dealer.
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Old 10-18-2021, 06:13 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohio44718 View Post
Anyone had their exhaust brake and transmission programming changed on the K3 ISX chassis? The standard programming is to activate the engine brake and downshift the transmission when you take your foot off of the accelerator. On my ISC, I had it changed so the engine brake would not kick in until I touched the brake pedal. That allowed me to coast at times and get some free mileage. What I have noticed, even if I turn the exhaust brake off, the transmission downshifts and my RPMs jump up to 2200 to 2300 rpm. I would think that is somewhat hard on the motor plus it obviously starts slowing you down. Or am I doing something wrong?
I assume you were mistaken in your original post where you said you have an exhaust brake.


ISC engines never came with an engine brake, only the ISL and higher. They are completely different items and work totally different.
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Old 10-19-2021, 07:19 AM   #9
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I assume you were mistaken in your original post where you said you have an exhaust brake.


ISC engines never came with an engine brake, only the ISL and higher. They are completely different items and work totally different.
I will see if a moderator can change that. I fortunately got it right in the title but you are absolutely right. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
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Old 10-19-2021, 08:36 AM   #10
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Well, the shop just called about the engine brake. Somewhat simple fix. What he explained to me is that Spartan wiring harness provides connections for 3 different configurations. The 600 hp ISX engine offers Low/Med/Hi settings. There are other connectors available that all plug into the selector switch that would offer Low/Hi, and another only high. They all are physically the same size. When they built the coach, they plugged the wrong connector into the switch. Can not believe the previous owner never noticed.


At this point, I have changed all of the programming back. My reasoning is that normally low is only 2 cylinders, medium 4 cylinders, and high would be all 6 cylinders. All 6 cylinders were being applied all of the time thus why it always felt so aggressive.
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Old 10-19-2021, 08:31 PM   #11
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Thank you for posting the results.
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Old 10-22-2021, 12:16 PM   #12
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Just picked up the coach and drove it home. Now the low setting is what I would have expected. Could not be happier. Will detail below.


1. Had the ECM program mod done so engine brake would not activate until using brake pedal. Option available when Cummins Insite connected.

2. That was OK but the transmission would automatically downshift when removing foot from accelerator causing RPMs to jump to 2200-2300.

3. Had Allison transmission program changed so it would not attempt to downshift 2 or 3 gears. This was done at an Allison shop using their software.
4. Transmission would still automatically downshift, but RPM stayed down around 1800.

5. After additional investigation, the lower RPMs would also lower the effectiveness of the engine brake. Not good in mountains.
6. Changed transmission programming back to OEM. Engine brake back to normal, but it was determined the Low/Med/High selector was not working properly. Engine brake level was either off or on 100%.
7. Back to my normal shop. It was found that the factory plugged the incorrect connector into the selector switch. Returned ECM programming back to OEM engine brake on when removing throttle.


Summary: Everything now working as expected. Although I can not coast when removing foot from throttle, the engine brake is adjustable and not nearly as harsh. With the ISX set on high, there is some significant engine braking power. All of this time and expense because Entegra did not plug in the correct connector.
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Old 10-22-2021, 12:33 PM   #13
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Interesting.
Do you have the option to turn the engine brake off so that you can coast?
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Old 10-22-2021, 01:48 PM   #14
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Interesting.
Do you have the option to turn the engine brake off so that you can coast?
Yes. A separate switch and that always worked.
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