[Archived]

Ronald, I’m not sure if there is a right or wrong. I leave it on. Sure makes freeway and highway driving easier and don’t have to think about it or use the extra step of engaging it when you need it. Geo.

[Corey]

My habit is to leave it off and switch it when needed to maximize coasting (not in neutral) and contribute to mpgs. I have had to replace the switch one time so far probably due to the habit. It was popping the circuit breaker i.e. a lot of resistance in the switch. When I forget to turn it off and lift on the loud pedal, I get a quick rush wondering what is dragging me down.

[Dean]

But what happens though if you just want to ‘ease off the gas’ a little rather than apply any actual braking? Does the Jake still kick in?

[Jim/Chris]

The Jake brake activates when the pressure is completely off the pedal. If you want to decelerate, even when it’s on (all the time for me), just keep a very little pressure on the pedal and it will remain off. At least, that’s the way it’s supposed to work.

[Archived]

Mine is never off.

[Billy]

My brake lights are still hooked to the jake so I leave mine off, I don’t want the guy behind me cussing.

[Archived]

The only objection to having a Jake on all the time is when you are using cruise control. There are times when the cruise control takes its foot off the accelerator such as a slight downhill. That in turn engages the Jake which is fine if your objective is to never vary your speed.

Those small downhills are like getting free fuel and applying the retarder or the Jake negates the benefit.

The retarder has been described as more work intensive because it has so many settings and on some coaches it can heat the transmission fluid quickly, requiring attention. But there is one great feature of the retarder and that is as long as the “master” switch is on the retarder will only work with the application of the brakes and when it does work it is in direct proportion to how much effort you are putting into braking. Light braking and you get a little assist from the retarder. Do a panic stop and the retarder is giving you al the stopping force it can.

So I leave the retarder main switch on 100% of the time, but adjust the retarder using the stalk as needed when encountering steep hills.

[Archived]

On our previous coach, we had the two-stage Jake brake. On the new one, the 6 speed Retarder.

I never left the Jake in the ‘on’ position as I like to coast whenever possible. Also, the cruise control didn’t work if the Jake was activated. But, the Jake did work perfectly when needed.

The new coach is our first experience with a Retarder. It is AWESOME! The fact that it is ‘engaged’ (if you turn the switch on) even when you have the stalk set at zero, you get full use of the retarder when braking (as Jon mentioned).

I find myself rarely using the stalk unless I’m on that very steep downgrade.

Mark

[Corey]

Darrell, just pull the relay that activates the brake lights with the jake. Forgot the number, but someone will chime in with it. Takes about 15 seconds. Geo.

[Archived]

thanks but I want it to work the brake lights, even with my 2 liberty’s I ran them like Jon does

[Chas]

I’ve heard arguments from qualified people on both sides but have yet to see or hear about any severe damage or negative consequence for leaving it on. I was told the previous owner of my bus left it on all the time. That said, I had a failure of the Throttle Position Sensor which caused the jake to be intermittent. I needed to shut the bus off and restart it to make it work again. Fortunately I was headed to Marathon and had it replaced immediately; it has worked fine since.

For me, the jake is on 99% of the time. I too had heard there was a way to deactivates the brake lights, but since the TPS failure I decided I liked having a visual that it was operational and felt it safer. Maybe there’s an etiquette I don’t know about. I have been heckled about my brake lights glowing red all the way down the hill, but figure that’s a lot better than glowing red brakes.

[Archived]

My situation is this.

I normally pull a trailer and the trailer brakes are activated by the brake lights. I want the Jake brake on, but I don’t want the trailer brakes every thim that I let off the accelerator. I only want the trailer brakes when I apply the bus brakes. So, I need to know the relay that activates the brake lights with the Jake Brake to eleminate this situation. If anyone knows which relay or C/B, it would save me some time in researching further. Thanks.

[Archived]

If the only time the brake lights actuated was when descending a hill, everyone behind you would understand you are controlling your speed. They may not realize the jakes are doing it, but they understand the use when downhill.

But what really irritates those behind you is the constant and seemingly irrational operation of the brake lights on somewhat level ground. If you add some speed to the cruise setting to pass and then pull back in your lane the brake lights come on.. If you have been pulling a slight grade not noticeable from the driver’s seat, and then start a slight but also undetectible descent the jakes and lights come on to maintain speed. The point being that the brake lights are coming on when it does not seem to make sense, and in the case of when you pass someone and they come on as you complete the pass you can be sure you just irritated the driver behind you.

Jakes are not going to heat anything up or shorten the life of the engine so running them on all the time is strictly a matter of doing what you think is best for you.

[Mike]

Relay 76 in the rear run box.

[John]

On my previous coach and the one I have now I installed a foot switch to activate the Jake brake.

The switch I used on present coach is an electric trooling motor foot switch.

A Pac brake foot switch will work or Jacob Vechicle Systems have the one I used on my previous coach.

The switch has to activate both the high and low jake coils.