2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission BD Exhaust Brake Problem/Question

[Wiredawg]

Guys:







I have BD exhaust brake on my 02 3500. I'm trouble shooting it and need to ask a question: Does the butterfly lever go all the way to the lever stop on your brake when the butterfly is open? Mine doesn't.



Thursday while I was driving, I noticed my truck seemed sluggish, EGTs were high and there was about 15 lbs back pressure showing on the back pressure gauge. Acts like the exhaust is pushing the butterfly to partially close. The brake was not turned on. It's still doing it.



Today, I checked the vacuum lines and vacuum switch all are good.



Appreciate any advice before I pull the brake off tomorrow.



I did call BD, but the guy I talked to only suggested what I already know to do.



Thanks, Wiredawg

 

[WDaniels]

Question? Back pressure gauge? What, when, where and why???

WD

 

[Wiredawg]

Back Pressure Gauge

Yep, back pressure gauge!



A metal tube connects to one of the exhaust brake tapped fittings, converts to plastic tubing that feeds to a pressure (boost) gauge. It reads back pressure as represented in lbs. The gauge reads 0 to 60 lbs. The exhaust brake has an adjustable butterfly that should be set to 25 lbs max at idle. This prevents trashing the valve springs.



When braking, I will often hit 50 lbs with my 5th wheel.



Wiredawg

 

[pwr2tow]

I would call bd again and talk to someone else. Sometimes when we call manufacturers we don't get to talk to someone that's the sharpest tool in the shed. www.bd-power.com their 800 phone number is on their web site.



Ron

 

[WDaniels]

Does that come stock with the BD? The Pac brake doesn't adjust as far as I know. Does it??

WD

 

[Wiredawg]

Ron's Ram:



I thought of that too. Just have to ask to speak to their expert. I'm moving back to Texas sson and packed off my vacuum pump and vaccum gauge... that'd be helpfull. Interesting that this happened all of a sudden. Go figure.



WDaniels: The gauge is extra. It's on thier web page.



Wiredawg

 

[jelag]

The valve should be 100 % open..... On the PacBrake the vac cylinder holds the brake open... .



Take a vac gauge and see of you have 20-25" of vac to the cylinder.....



I've seen the soleniod valve stick and the cylinder wear out from dirt.....



We usually take the solenoid apart and clean it... .



Just my thoughts...



Jim

 

[Mad Bomber]

B-D brake

In talking to b-d when I bought mine they said that you SHOULD use ex brake alot other wise carbon will build up on internal parts and make it stick and not work right. Eric

 

[Wiredawg]

jelag:



Thanks for the input. I'm gonna borrow a vacuum gauge today and get some real numbers. I'm getting suspicious that the butterfly may not me opening all the way and there is a physical problem. Today, I'm also going to wire the butterfly as far open as it physically goes to see if I read back pressure. If I do see it, I believe there's a physical blockage or bind.



E Waagener: I should have mentioned that I use this brake constantly. It sounds cool, saves brakes and keeps itself operational (or is supposed to).



I appreciate all inputs. I will report what problem ends up being... may save other folks some pain.



Wiredawg

 

[Wiredawg]

Problem Resolved!

Fellow Rammers:



I isolated problem this morning with exhaust brake to the brake solenoid. A slip ring on the solenoid shaft had failed, come out of its groove and caused the piston to bind in the cylinder and kept the butterfly from coming completely open. The binding piston scarred the cylinder.



I reused the slip ring as and reassembled the solenoid. Works great now.



Thanks for all the inputs and help,



Wiredawg

 

[Mad Bomber]

B-D

wiredog, glad to hear everything working now. A good place to use a ex-brake is sitting at a stop light with a rice burner next to you with those to loud stereos they always shut there windows so I don't have to listen to that rap crap

 

[Ian]

BD Brake

I'm seriously considering an exhaust brake and BD is high on the list.

How do they perform, mostly trouble free or do they tend to give problems? Also, do they operate OK with and automatic? My lock up occurs in 3rd, what other mods are needed?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Wiredawg]

I like my BD Exhaust Brake

Ian:



I really like my exhaust brake. You can adjust the back pressure by adjusting the amount of closure of the butterfly. Taking the vacuum solenoid apart, I could see some great engineering in it's design.



I think the problem I had with the c-clip coming loose in the vacuum solenoid is rare. I've asked BD to replace the vacuum solenoid at no cost or to at least let me have another housing (cylinder) and c-clip. I've been out of warranty for about 5 months. There's a really nice lady (Anne) at BD processing my claim for approval.



Even if they don't give me anyhting, I still think it's a great product. It's a fact that nothing mechanical is can be flawless 100% of the time. I'm pretty much mechanically inclined and have some ideas about taking out the scars in the cylinder.



I recommend you go to BD, Pacbrake, Banks and Decelerator websites and see what you think.



Wiredawg

 

[Mad Bomber]

ex brake

In order to use with a auto you DO have to have the transmission upgraded. The B-D brake does work better at the lower rpm's also that is the reason I went with B-D. Thanx Eric

 

[rfcom]

BD brake

My choice for e-brake was also the BD even though DC and Cummins both recommend only the Jacobs unit. I like the fact that BD builds pressure at lower RPMs but don't really like the throttle micro-switch. Has anyone wired it to work with the ECM connector pin 20?

Jim

 

[jelag]

There seems to be some misleading informaton on this thread... .



If you limit the max pressure so that the valves don't float... ... than all pressures below that point are predetermined by the volume of air passing through the engine.....



Lets say that Brake A and Brake B both have 60 PSI of back pressure on a dyno at 2200 rpm... .



Under the laws of physics than both brakes would have to have the same back pressure at 1200 rpm... ... . within 1 or 2 lbs... .



Now if you fudge when you take the reading... in other words catch the back pressure on the way down... ... or catch the reading at 1275 on Brake A and 1200 on Brake B your going to have 2 different readings... .....



There is a lot of false information out there..... remember the new comers to this industry need some hype to sell their products after all their not the mainstays for the past 25 years... .



The guys that build engine brakes, PacBrake, Jacobs have a huge investment in engineering and manufacturing... ... both of these companies build for the OEM's and install at the factory... .



These 2 vendors should be the bench mark... ... that all others should meet.....



Have a great day... .



Jim