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Jake brake taillight relay
I know that a number of you have pulled the relay that turns on the brake lights when the Jake brake activates, any problems with doing this. Prevost FTW said that it will cause the ECM to start acting up and putting out fault codes, is this the case or as I suspect they are trying to cover there butts for liability issues. It just doesn’t make sense that pulling the relay that activates the lights will cause any major problems.
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15 Replies
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Pull the relay, no problem.
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Thanks Tom I thought as much, just wanted to make sure.
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Their advice is likely based on multiplex coaches built around 2007 or after.
Any electrical difference, even something as simple as changing a type of light bulb will be viewed as a fault.
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Thanks Jon, I knew that others had pulled the relay with no adverse affect and I didn’t think that it should be a deal, but hearing for yourself and Tom helps with the thought process.
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On the multiplex coaches, it is necessary to cut a wire and ground it to get rid of the signal. They did that for me when I picked up my 2011 from Liberty in Stuart, FL. Works great!
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Is the relay in the box over the engine in a 1999 XL shell? Washing the bus tomorrow haven’t seen it under drivers window will look elsewhere
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The relay is in the gray box over the engine. Use breaker/fuse/relay key on back door, but I think it’s #74. I’ll confirm tomorrow.
I was wrong!! (Don’t tell Karen!!) 😉 Pull R76 to eliminate your brake lights coming on when your jake engages.
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On the listing of relays it is identified. I can’t remember the number either but using the diagram and listing it is easy to identify.
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I’ve unplugged the relay on the last 2 coaches I’ve owned, and no problems whatsoever.
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It’s R76 on ours too.
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On my 99 XLV it’s in the grey box in the engine area at the very top toward the left of center, it is relay #76. My was behind a second panel that Marathon may have put in, It was held up by 4 screws which took about 1 minute to remove. Pulled #76 and it did the trick, easy job and now I should not have people to tell me to stop riding the breaks. Thanks for the information guys.
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Just curious… why pull the plug?
Pres
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As was mentioned, others we travel with complain of our brake lights being stuck on. Also our tow folly brakes are activated by brake light power. Coach Lights on, tow dolly brakes are on, even if we have them set at lightest setting.
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The reason for pulling the relay on coaches where that is possible is if you have the Jake or retarder on any time you let off the gas the brake lights come on.
If you pass someone you typically accelerate a little and when you pull back in the lane you either lift your foot or the cruise control lets off the gas to get the coach back to the set speed and the lights come on. Nothing irritates a driver more than having someone that just passed them appear to be putting on the brakes.
If you are running on cruise control every time you come over even the slightest rise in the interstate the cruise control or your foot lifts to offset the accelleration from now going down hill and the brake lights come on. You can avoid this by leaving the jake or retarder “off” but then you lose the immediate assistance on braking if you have to make a sudden and unplanned braking action.
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On our bus, inside the gray box over the engine, Marathon mounted a board directly infront of that specific relay. It’s been pulled two years with zero issues.
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