Exhaust Brake

[mr.mindless]

Took a used banks brake on trade for my clutch, I think it was, after the 13 speed swap. Finally getting it installed.

Made up my new down pipe and exhaust, got that all welded up last night. Brake is mounted and downpipe is mounted. Just need to hang the exhaust. Vacuum controls are hooked up, I still need to do the wiring.

The setup I got didn't have the accelerator pedal switch, I'll need to make something up for that. They don't sell the kit for the 12v trucks anymore but they do have the install manual posted, so I've got the right wires to tap for cruise and so forth.

Sadly there's no wiring diagram provided, just a "cut this, tap here" so everything is just done on faith.

Their 24v system has some additional inputs, one of which runs the brake when ECT is under 125˚. I'd rather like to enable something like that, I'd expect with a temp sensor from McMaster it should be pretty easy to give the 'on' side of the switch some power with cold coolant.

Wish I had a spare fog light switch, that'd be perfect for this, depending on its pinout.

--- Update to the previous post...

Just finished reading the 12v install manual.

Sadly, the cruise interaction of the banks setup is simply to kill cruise when the brake is activated. I was hoping it could be a "set it and forget it" in the hills, but no such luck. I can't think of a simple way to rework that.

I dont see any cheap thermal switches at McMaster, either.... Most things in the temp range I'm looking for are HVAC. Most things looking to engine coolant temp are a minimum of 160˚ and I think that's a little warm. This and similar parts look pretty promising - though more complicated than I was hoping for. <http://www.summitracing.com/parts/HDA-3653/>

--- Update to the previous post...

All right, this is the temp controller I'll be going with http://www.summitracing.com/parts/HDA-3653

But the issue that comes to mind is getting good coolant to that type of probe. The thermostat won't be open, so the radiator hoses stay cold until operating temp is reached. The probe is rather large and would block much of a heater hose. I could use some step-up couplings and run a section of larger heater hose. Can anyone think of anything more elegant?

I haven't been able to find a thread-in type sensor with an activation temp lower than 160˚

I'm chasing this idea pretty hard because I want the brake to be actuated every time I drive the truck, since it does tend to sit for days at a time and do short trips where I wouldn't otherwise use the brake.

[Mopar1973Man]

The cruise interaction was later in the Common Rail truck... don't ask which year but here was a year where the cruise would use the E Brake to slow down the truck.