HotHands On Ambient Air Temp Sensor

I drive a 2020 Volvo VNL. I don’t know which model it is. There are NO badges or ID stickers ANYWHERE on the tractor. Not on the doors…not under the hood…NOWHERE. It has the green Volvo engine though. Anyway, I often times need the truck to idle for more than a freakin minute to do things like cook or to recharge the batteries in order for the fridge to keep working after sitting for a day or two. I’m so sick of having to constantly push the pedal to keep it going. I even tried to wedge a stick between the gas pedal and the seat to bring the RPM’s up slightly. The freakin thing STILL shuts off on its own. Sooooo…my thought is to wrap a HotHands hand warmer around the ambient air temp sensor to keep it above the cutoff degree. Anyone tried this yet? Thoughts? And, where is this sensor? Thanks for y’all’s help.

 

You can chock your wheels and/or crank the landing gear down on the trailer, and set your trailer brakes while leaving tractor brakes released to bypass the idle shutdown on them

 

I used to drive volovos OTR... Set your trailer brakes, leave the tractor brakes released, bump it up to high idle. It shouldnt shut off if you do this.

 

If you own the truck then get it reprogrammed. If you don't own the truck then find a better company to work for.

 

Turn the cruise on whole idling. Wait for the shutdown alarm. Press and hold the resume button for five seconds. Whack the throttle quickly tu the floor and back. Release the resume button.

you should see “idle shutdown cancelled” on the display. Problem solved.

 

If bumping the accelerator allows the truck to idle I recommend using a cheap electric drill with an eccentric circle, like a camshaft lobe, on the shaft. Tie the trigger down on the drill and as eccentric cirle rotates the engine RPMs vary. RPM variation fools the ECM into thinking engine is driving, not parked.

BTW if your truck is a company truck and they have something like Qualcomm or PeopleNet installed it will track your idle time and report those to the company. You can probably get away with defeating the anti-idle devices & company policies for only a short time. Then you might get fired for tampering withe the truck.

I would just work for a company that treated me like a human and not a stray dog.

 

my last Volvo would shut off in traffic if the idle time limit of 3 minutes was exceeded.

 

Gotcha, my APU went out a couple days ago and that’s the bypass they have set up on our trucks. I guess they figured 99% of people would prefer an APU over released tractor brakes, so it was easier than hotel rooms when things go south

 

Thanks, I’ll give this a shot and see what happens. I’m a company driver so I can’t permanently screw with the truck. This is also my first trucking job. I’m a noob! Gotta get my 12 months of experience in before I can apply for a better company. The “just work for a better company” is a stupid reply. Of course…that’s the end goal. Just not possible yet. I do work for a company that does a pretty good job of taking care of their drivers. But yes, it’s a stepping stone. Thanks for the advice. Hope it works. And nobody’s tried sticking a hand warmer on the sensor? Maybe I’ll be the first.

 

The APU is going to be a prerequisite for the next company I apply with. Any company suggestions? I have 8 months to go until I hit my 1 year of experience. Loving it so far.