I'm waiting for the class action lawsuits...

I tend to sympathize with the idea of holding lobbyist accountable for the damage they cause, but lobbying is considered free speech and you can't touch them.

 

All I know is that when I plugged in the JJ Keller ELD my truck went bananas. Engine oil pressure was reading zero, DEF light came on saying it was empty, trailer ABS light was on, check engine light was on, engine shut off light was on. As soon as I unplugged the device everything went back to normal I tried plugging it in again and the same thing happened.

 

Pretty hard to screw up an ECM. In 9 years of wrenching I've only ever seen 1 that had failed. Most people point fingers at an ECM when something's wonky because they don't understand how it works. I have seen some devices cause some wonky things on the datalink though but that was because the device itself was faulty. Unplug the device and everything's good.

 

We've had that happen too, but the engine kept running just fine. The ELD was causing problems on the bus, but not effecting the ECM at all.

 

This post is going to be a bit long, sorry....

Continental is the worlds largest automotive and commercial vehicle parts suppliers, the trucks you are driving have a lot of content from us, especially with the electrical system. Chances are, we even designed and supply a good amount of the components on the control systems on the truck you have right now. You cannot damage an ECM by attaching a device to the data port, plain and simple. You can, however, muck up the operation of the entire vehicle, if the supplier of the ELD has no idea on how a truck system works, and most of the ELD suppliers out there don't. They are mostly startups, map and GPS companies, paper log book companies, fleet management suppliers, you name it.
Most of the data required by the rule exists on recently built trucks, right off the J1939 bus. When you look at trucks built before 2007, then it gets a bit sketchy, as some of the data for J1708-based vehicles don't always transmit all the info needed. (A lot of our competitors still don't even know this....)

I was heavily involved with TMC (technology and Maintenance Council of the ATA) back in the 1999-2004 timeframe, and involved with the SAE J1939 Next Gen subcommittee, and one of the projects a small team of us tried kicking off was the concept of an FMS connector. (which they have had in Europe since about that time...) Unlike the diagnostic connector on your truck today, this connector is what is called "abstracted" from the main truck databus. In other words, if somebody connects up something that isn't talking correctly on the databus (like a number of these startup BYOD devices), then it doesn't effect the truck at all. There are a couple makes of trucks out now that have this connector, but it is not standard across all makes.

FMCSA from day one has used the "caveat emptor" principle (buyer beware) when it comes to ELD's. Under this principle, it should be evident that if you buy an ELD from a company that is a startup and has no clue how a heavy truck data system works, then you might end up with an ELD that doesn't meet the mandate rules, might muck up your truck from working properly, and might be out of business in a few months. So in the end, your only recourse is against the company you bought the ELD from.

 

Look out, the lawyers just might drag you into it as well, your name is out there for the whole world to see now

 

LOL! Our answer would be simple; don't pull us into this, should have bought an VDO RoadLog! We've been doing logging devices for 40 years, we plan to be around awhile longer....

 

That's why not only FMSCA but also engine manufactures should have their own approved ELD list. It would leave just a few on the market. I also think, there should be an extra port for an ELD, the why Keep Truckin wants you to cram their Y connector down there is not very elegant.

I mean, it is rather an ELD manufacturer that should obtain an engine manufacturer certificate, only then they can go ahead and sell with a list of engine models and years on the package.
Too many weeds there already.

 

and you would be waiting for all of eternity for the lawsuits to happen. class action suits do not start overnight, based on one or maybe 2 complaints. any manufacturer, will have a legal team that can forestall any court time.

testing would most likely have to be done as well.

frankly as i see it, it is KW that has an issue with the ports, NOT the logging devices. maybe KW ought to actually do something about it, instead of playing the blame game?

so in the meantime, what's an o/o or fleet to do? sit by and wait for the payouts, which by the way, it'll be disbursed in small amounts to all the respondents.

no, the o/o's and fleets will simply suck it up, pay for the damages and hope in the end, they get more than a check for $200.

they will recoup the costs of repairs by trading in the repaired trucks, since after all, they will be using FACTORY wiring harnesses, (and this crap will happen again and again) and buy different branded trucks.

 

I know this post is pretty old but that's what happened to me today 4/9/19 the eld got so hot that it spike my voltage or something my abs, hill assist, all my instruments cluster stopped working ac stopped working basically the truck went bunkers at fufir I thought it was wabco none sense on guard system I unpluged some codes clear but still same I unplugged eld restart the truck all went back to normal plug the eld when got cooled since then it's all good now I keep my eld away from firecd sun light