Jake Brake and why I love this forum
A few weeks ago I posted a couple questions about the Jake brake. I wanted to know how it worked and whether or not I should use it all the time. The discussion really became very detailed and we got in the weeds. I loved it and learned a lot about the Jake brake. But that's not where the fun ended.
Alert reader, "Pulsar" mentioned that Cummins had a feature where you could activate the Jake brake with a touch to the service brakes. This sounded like a brilliant solution to me. Then another alert reader, "DSDP Don" mentioned that his coach allowed his engine to cruise down hills and pickup speed but would apply the engine brakes once the speed went too high. Again, this sounded like a brilliant solution.
So I went about trying to figure out if my engine could do these tricks and how would I get it to do so. After a bit of research, I learned that these are simple parameter changes that could be made at a Cummins authorized service center or I could even make the changes myself if I purchased an adapter. I called Cummins in Chicago and they wanted $275 to make the change. Another Cummins wanted $150 for the same change. But I found an adapter on Ebay for $286.00 and figured It was about the same price and I could make as many tweaks as I wanted in the future.
I'm happy to report that the adapter worked great and I was able to connect to my computer through Cummin's free, factory authorized, software for owner / operators and make the parameter changes myself.
Wow, what a difference. I drove through some mountains on the way to Branson, MO yesterday and really loved how the engine brake performed. It was such a pleasure to set the cruise control and allow the coach to self regulate the speed without worrying about damaging the service brakes or getting distracted with settings while concentrating on the road. It was very smooth and controlled.
On the flats, the Jake brake worked great as well. Just a touch of the service brakes would activate them and usually slow me down to where I would hardly need to use the disc brakes at all. When I touch the throttle, the Jake brake releases immediately.
This is why I love this forum. Yes, there can be some heated discussions and not all posts are useful, but occasionally, you can get some real gems.
Alert reader, "Pulsar" mentioned that Cummins had a feature where you could activate the Jake brake with a touch to the service brakes. This sounded like a brilliant solution to me. Then another alert reader, "DSDP Don" mentioned that his coach allowed his engine to cruise down hills and pickup speed but would apply the engine brakes once the speed went too high. Again, this sounded like a brilliant solution.
So I went about trying to figure out if my engine could do these tricks and how would I get it to do so. After a bit of research, I learned that these are simple parameter changes that could be made at a Cummins authorized service center or I could even make the changes myself if I purchased an adapter. I called Cummins in Chicago and they wanted $275 to make the change. Another Cummins wanted $150 for the same change. But I found an adapter on Ebay for $286.00 and figured It was about the same price and I could make as many tweaks as I wanted in the future.
I'm happy to report that the adapter worked great and I was able to connect to my computer through Cummin's free, factory authorized, software for owner / operators and make the parameter changes myself.
Wow, what a difference. I drove through some mountains on the way to Branson, MO yesterday and really loved how the engine brake performed. It was such a pleasure to set the cruise control and allow the coach to self regulate the speed without worrying about damaging the service brakes or getting distracted with settings while concentrating on the road. It was very smooth and controlled.
On the flats, the Jake brake worked great as well. Just a touch of the service brakes would activate them and usually slow me down to where I would hardly need to use the disc brakes at all. When I touch the throttle, the Jake brake releases immediately.
This is why I love this forum. Yes, there can be some heated discussions and not all posts are useful, but occasionally, you can get some real gems.
