I want a brake light triggered by the exhaust brake..

[troll3193]

Want to give some clue to the drivers behind that I am slowing down. . Have an idea/s but am looking for a sanity check. .





First the easy part. I want to mount a simple red light bar above the bumper, under the tailgate... something like this SLIMLINE 3RD Brake/ID Light - led truck lights, led trailer lights, led boat trailer lights, trailer lights



To extend this to my trailers, I plan to use the lead for the 7-pin the supplies backup lights. I want to cut into it before it goes into the female 7-pin plug . tape over the backup lead coming from the truck and supply the pin in the plug with my brake lead... Then I will run this to the back of my trailers with similar lights...



Now the question is how to trigger the light. .



One idea is to simply tap into the leads that actuate valve that controls the brake. Then use that signal to trigger a relay for the brake lights. .



the other would be to install a vacuum switch that would engage when the brake is...



Your thoughts are appreciated... anyone tried this mod before?



Bryan

 

[jelag]

There is a solenoid that controls the exhaust brake... . on both the pacbrake and jacobs unit..... tie a relay into the switch side (ground) and let it switch the relay on when the brake comes on..... this will turn on your light...

 

[troll3193]

Jim,

thanks for the quick reply. I am not an auto electronics guru, so I drew this picture so I can see if I understand you correctly...

The solenoid operated valve for the brakes has a purple and a black wire going to it... One I assume comes from the relay and the other leads to ground. . Would it work as I diagrammed below?

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Regards,

Bryan

 

[jelag]

This should work..... I'd install a fuse between the 12 v source and the relay... .

 

[J&LRam]

keep in mind with 15000 lb pushing you down Monarch pass in CO your not slowing down. Also the EB will come on if activated settin' still in cold temps.

I've had three Cummins with EBs and I gotta' ask, Why ??

jim

 

[troll3193]

keep in mind with 15000 lb pushing you down Monarch pass in CO your not slowing down. Also the EB will come on if activated settin' still in cold temps.

I've had three Cummins with EBs and I gotta' ask, Why ??

jim

I understand your point, but I do not live in the land of huge passes...





but I do us the brake a lot and want to let folks know I am slowing down...



I do plan to put a 12v fuse inline with the power...



Bryan

 

[TRLRTRSH]

Brake light

Bryan, I think that’s an excellent idea, towed many a mile pulling the 5’er using the exhaust brake to slow me down. I try to watch the traffic behind me to see their actions, most will come up to the trailer pretty close before backing off not realizing we are slowing (daydreaming?) I got in the habit of just touching the break pedal to activate the brake lights.

 

[Mhannink]

why not tap into the brake light system?



if it where me i would use a relay off the soleniod and wire it to the brake light switch and let it turn the lights on that way. i dont know just an idea seems like it would be simpler then installing lights and wiring for the lights. plus it would work on any trailer you hook to

 

[jelag]

For a long time there was some tests run on transit buses... .

When the driver had his foot on the gas pedal a green light was lit... when he took his foot off it changed to orange and when he braked it was red... .

It never went any where, but if you followed one of these buses it made your job some much easier... you knew what the driver was doing..... I hoped for a long time that all large trucks would have them. .

 

[troll3193]

why not tap into the brake light system?



if it where me i would use a relay off the soleniod and wire it to the brake light switch and let it turn the lights on that way. i dont know just an idea seems like it would be simpler then installing lights and wiring for the lights. plus it would work on any trailer you hook to

I had thought if that, but just too daunting for me considering how complicated the electrical systems on these beasts are.



Also I think the trailer brakes trigger off of the brake lights (eg the brake controller gets its signal from there "could be wrong") and I did not want to trigger the trailer brakes when the EB kicked in...



I need to find some lights and a suitable relay, if I end up doing it, I will post details...



Bryan

 

[Mhannink]

I had thought if that, but just too daunting for me considering how complicated the electrical systems on these beasts are.



Also I think the trailer brakes trigger off of the brake lights (eg the brake controller gets its signal from there "could be wrong") and I did not want to trigger the trailer brakes when the EB kicked in...



I need to find some lights and a suitable relay, if I end up doing it, I will post details...



Bryan

tap the brake lights at the switch on the pedal.



yeah the trailer lights will come on but really it wont hurt when your slowing down the more you tell the guy behing you the better off you both are

 

[JayWm]

If you tap into the factory brake light wiring you may cause a backfeed of the brake light circuit. This in turn will likely cause your trailer brake controller to engage if it receives it's signal from the brake light circuit. This caused me all kinds of problems installing my electric trailer brake controller in my diesel pusher motorhome since these motorhomes come from the factory this way. I wish Freightliner had never wired the brake lights into the exhaust brake circuit.



Keep in mind the numbers of commercial trucks on the roads with E brakes, none of them are wired to trigger the brake lights when the E brake is engaged.

 

[bighammer]

The thinking about the hazzards of following the occasional driver who rides the brakes-- Lights are mostly on, but then when they really push on the brake, there is no warning that they are actually stopping.

If it were me, I'd push the brake pedal just enough to put on the lights when there's a car behind when the brake is first engaged, then let it go.

 

[rashwor]

I do it like bighammer. Give'm a heads up.

 

[JTurk]

Holy Cow guys! Fun is watching someone realize the size of your hitch at the last minute when they weren't paying attention and then go into panic mode! I've often thought about the Orange light idea like the busses had, but since there's no law and everyone has insurance...

 

[MMeier]

I've often thought about the Orange light idea like the busses had, but since there's no law and everyone has insurance...

Maybe everyone has insurance where you're at, around these parts you're lucky if half the people do, and even then, if then if they have enough coverage in case something was to happen !