Freightliner auto transmission on steep down grade

Just bump the cruise setting up or down 1 and it will go off coast mode.
Tap the brake or throttle, same thing.

 

Yeah. Goes back to what I said about slip seating. We had this driver with anger issues. He hated the beeping sound that the radar made when you get too close to another vehicle so he ripped the unit out. That of course disabled the cruise and got him fired all in the same day. They never fixed it since we are getting new trucks in two weeks anyway.

 

Some people are born stupid, it seems.

 

It will just go back to Ecoast a moment later. For mine, I slide the manual selector onthe shift stalk to manual to cancel any chance of it going into stupid Ecoast mode.

 

Their is a Descent Mode for the D12 transmission !

When going downhill you use the service brakes to slow truck down to a speed you want. Keep your foot on the brakes. Then you turn on the engine brake. Then take you foot off the brakes and set the cruise control.

This will set the cruise control for the speed your going downhill. It also will turn on the engine brake and it will hold the truck back and automatically will switch from stage 1-3. Most time when you set the cruise control it won't come on till like 7 MPH over the set speed. In Descent Mode the engine brake will come on as soon at you set the cruise control.

 

That automatic stage switching will eff you She will take that stage one and run away on you. Granted 15 mph gained is not a run away but a prelude to a bigger downgrade problem.

I usually hold it with max jake balanced on one gear at about 1450 rpm loosely so that with no input or action she will get to the bottom without using the brakes or any of that, which I consider a ideal descent.

The engieeers are trying. That much is obvious. But I don't see a trucker among those engineers because you either have all the jake in the world or not enough. Nothing in between is adequate with stage one and two. Seriously... two or four pistons isnt going to generate sufficient horsepower effort to brake 40 ton intent on increasing speed.

 

In Descent Mode it will switch to any stage to hold truck at the speed you set it at.

 

Does it give you some sort of visual indication on the dash that it's in "descent mode"?

If you want to increase or decrease speed into the descent, can you just "bump" the cruise speed in the desired direction or do you have to cancel and start all over?

I'm studying freightliner autos for when I get demoted to one in the future.

 

Good grief what a F'n cluster. And this is a wonderful system? Shifting down hill? Doesn't sound very smart to me.

 

No Indicator

You can change the cruise speed while in decent mode and it will adjust accordingly. Changing the cruise will also turn on decent mode if the engine break is on. It's another way to turn it on, just turn on the engine break and bump the cruise up or down.

It likes to stay in the 1800-2300 rpm range so the breaking is quite strong, something to watch out for come winter.