Archived Help! Kenworth Guru needed.

[awilliams]

Hello, well I may get scolded for being in this forum. But I need help in the worst way and somewhat in a pickle. Due to lack of Kenworth support I will need to once again rely on my Dodge bretheren to help. True this truck is not a Dodge, but it does have a Cummins. The truck is a 2011 Kenworth T800. The problem is that I need to find a place to splice into the left and right signals to get a solid 12volts. I need this voltage to trigger a relay on an onboard computer. Everything I have found in the dash is electronic In fact everything in the cab is electronic. There is a chassis load center somewhere, I know not where. I am thinking I should be able to pick them up there. I have been through all of the schematics that I can put my hands on, with no avail. I am going to finish this install up tomorrow morning and would like to have the answer before I get there. So if you are a KW guru or know one any help would be appriciated. Thanks Aaron

 

[HBarlow]

Try a pm to Mike Wilson (mwilson). He is parts manager at a large Freightliner dealer in Maine and is always a great information source on anything truck related. His dealership is not a dealer for KW as far as I know but they probably service and repair them.

 

[awilliams]

Thanks I will give him a shout.

AW

 

[mwilson]

Aaron,

The last late model KW I looked at appeared to have a SAM style system similar to our Cascadia model trucks.



Go looking for the trailer feed to the light cord, at that point there would have to be a clean 12 volt feed for the left and right trailer turn signals no matter what goes on in the cab dash or trucks buss system.

Might save you some grief if it is right at the rear of the cab.





They can do all the magic in the cab that they want, but in order to hook onto any semi-trailer a driver may encounter the feeds to the trailer have to remain old school.



If you are still in a mess in the morning I will gladly contact my local KW dealer and get more info.



Let me know.



Mike.

 

[mwilson]

Follow the feed for the trucks tail lights back up the frame. If I remember right a lot of the KW's wires junction behind the panel inside the cab by the clutch panel. Maybe you can catch the feed for the tail lights right there???



Mike.

 

[HHhuntitall]

Good suggestion from Mwilson. Were the truck 10 years older, I'd tell you to look under the hood, on the firewall, right in front of the steering wheel for the trailer wiring panel, but being newer, I can't tell you for certain. Knowing PACCAR, I'd wager it's still there, somewhere. I have seen the newer ones, and know the electical panel is still under the dash, on the firewall, behind the inching pedal (clutch). Worse case scenario, run two wires from your trailer plug feed on the frame at the pogo stick. That junction box should easily disassemble and give you access to the trailer feed wires. Also, you might could track a closer source from your front fender lights.



Those are nice trucks, by the way.

 

[awilliams]

Thanks for the help guys, I made it down here to be onsite when the roosters wake up tomorrow morning. I will put all the info to good use. I will let you know how it goes, for all the others that need to tap into some KW signals! Thanks Again!

AW

 

[awilliams]

Hello All,

I ended up pulling the signals off of a harness going to the rear, but It did not do the trick. The data system that I am installing depends on a ground to trigger the data recorder. On the older trucks, when the voltage was absent, it would pick up the ground through the bulbs. A truck with all LED's all the way around does not offer much ground. But I did discover with just a little line voltage looking for a ground, it is enough to light 2 of the 20 LED's on the trailer running lights. So back to the drawing board, more than likely, I will run a relay off of the signals to make and break the ground, or the solid state equivilant. On another note, anybody out there have any idea where to get a RS485 data feed line out of a ISX150. I have tried pulling the line off of the diagnostic plug, not much luck. Off to look for a data line.

Thanks

Aaron