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ASSESS THE FEASffiiLITY OF A STANDARDIZED

ELECTRONIC DIAGNOSTIC DEVICE


FOR MAINTENANCE AND INSPECTION
OF COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLES

FINAL REPORT

Submitted to:

U.S. Department of Transportation


Federal Highway Administration

Contract No. DTFH61-92-C-00092

April1995
TECHNICAL REPORT STANDARD TITLE PAGE

1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No.


FHWA-RD-
4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date
ASSESS THE FEASIBILITY OF A STANDARDIZED - April1995
ELECTRONIC DIAGNOSTIC DEVICE FOR MAINTENANCE 6. Performing Organization Code
AND INSPECTION OF COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEffiCLES

7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Report No.


Dan Middleton, John Rowe, Vince Chlubiski, Tom Lalk, Debbie
Jasek, and Rodger Koppa
9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No.
Texas Transportation Institute 3A4A1092
The Texas A&M University System.-
College Station, Texas 77843 11. Contract or Grant No.
for the Trucking Research Institute Study No. DTFH61-92-C-00092
of the American Trucking Associations-
12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address _ 13. Type of Report and Period Covered
Federal Highway Administration Fl.nal - April 1993
400 Seventh St., S. W. April1995
Washington, D.C. 20590
14. Sponsoring Agenc_y Code

15. Supplementary Notes


FHWA Contracting Officer's Technical Representative: Robert E. L. Davis
16. Abstract
The overall purpose of this research effort was to assess the feasibility of a standardized electronic
device to be used during routine maintenance activities and during roadside safety and emissions
inspections of large commercial vehicles. The research involved interviews with government and industry
officials and a literature search to provide information on the feasibility of a standardized electronic
diagnostic device for use in maintenance activities and roadside inspections. Purposes of interviews and
the literature search were to determine the status of ongoing standardization efforts such as those
undertaken by the SAE and TMC, and to investigate the applicability of sensors currently being used in
automotive and non-automotive initiatives for on-board monitoring of safety and emissions parameters.
Sensors found to be useful formed the basis of conceptual designs for diagnostic systems. Interviews with
motor carriers revealed substantial opposition to roadside inspectors having full scale monitoring
capabilities. However, there is potential for utilizing a less powerful roadside diagnostic tool that accesses
only the subset of vehicle parameters necessary to identify a problem.

17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement


Trucks, maintenance, on-board diagnostics, No restrictions. This document is available
safety inspections, emissions inspections, sensors to the public through the National Technical
Information Service, 5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, Vir~inia 22161
19. Security Classif. (of this report) 20. Security Classif. (of this page) 21. No. ofPages 22. Price
Unclassified Unclassified 246
Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-69)
APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS TO Sl UNITS APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS FROM Sl UNITS
Symbol When You Know Multiply By To Find Symbol Symbol When You Know Multiply By To Find Symbol

LENGTH LENGTH
in inches 25.4 millimetres mm mm millimetres 0.039 inches in
ft feet 0.305 metres m m metres 3.28 feet ft
yd yards 0.914 metres m m metres 1.09 yards yd
mi miles 1.61 kilometres km km kilometres 0.621 miles mi

AREA AREA
inl square inches 645.2 millimetres squared mrn2 mrn2 millimetres squared 0.0016 square inches inl
ft2 square feet 0.093 metres squared rn2 m2 metres squared 10.764 square feet ft2
ycJ2 square yards 0.836 metres squared rn2 ha hectares 2.47 acres ac
ac acres 0.405 hectares ha km2 kilometres squared 0.386 square miles mi2
mP: square miles 2.59 kilometres squared km 2

VOLUME VOLUME
mL millilitres 0.034 fluid ounces fl oz
fl oz fluid ounces 29.57 r:"illilitres mL L litres 0.264 gallons gal
gal gallons 3.785 litres L m3 metres cubed 35.315 cubic feet ft3
3
ft cubic feet 0.028 metres cubed m3 m, metres cubed 1.308 cubic yards yd 3
yd3 cubic yards 0.765 metres cubed m3

NOTE: Volumes greater than 1000 L shall be shown in m3. Ill MASS
g grams 0.035 ounces oz
MASS Ill kg
Mg
kilograms
megagrams
2.205
1.102 .
pounds
short tons (2000 lb)
lb
T
oz ounces 28.35 grams g
lb pounds 0.454 kilograms kg
T short tons (2000 lb) 0.907 megagrams Mg Ill TEMPERATURE (exact)
oc Celcius 1.8C + 32 Fahrenheit F
TEMPERATURE (exact) I temperature temperature
Of
oF Fahrenheit 5(F-32)/9 Celcius oc _ :0
0
32 98 6
~ 12
~
0 40 80 120 160
temperature temperature 1 ( I I I 1 I I I l 1 I 1 I I I .J
- 40 - 20 0 20 40 60 80 100
~ ~ ~
TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
List of Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x
Summary . . 0 xi

1.0 IN'TRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ; . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

1.1 OVERVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 BACKGROUND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2.1 The Heavy Truck Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1. 2. 2 Carriers/Operators . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2.3 Manufacturers/Suppliers .. : . . . . . . . . . . ~ . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1. 3.1 Sub task A-1, Determine the Feasibility of Diagnostic
Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3.2 Subtask A-2, Identify and Evaluate Other Diagnostic Systems to
Monitor Heavy Truck Components for Maintenance and Inspection
Purposes . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .~ . . . .. .. . . -. . . . . . . . - . . - 5
1. 3. 3 Sub task A-3, Develop a Solicitation Plan to Determine Cost-Sharing
Opportunities for Developing On-Board Diagnostics 5 '! -

1.3.4 Subtask A-4, Conduct the Solicitation of Cost-Sharing


Opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.3.5 Subtask A-5, Write Final Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

2.0 METIIODOLOGY ..................... o 7

2.1 INTRODUCTION . ~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . o 7
2.2 DETERMINING THE FEASIBILITY OF DIAGNOSTIC
TECHNOLOGY, SUBTASK A.:.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
-2.2.1 Literature Review Concerning Diagnostic Technology o 7
2.2.2 Interviews of Industry and Government Officials
Concerning Diagnostic Technology . 0 9
2.3 METHODOLOGY FOR IDENTIFYING ALTERNATIVE
SENSOR TECHNOLOGIES, SUBTASK A~2 . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.3.1 Literature Survey to Identify Sensor Technologies . . . . . 10
2.3.2 Interviews of Industry Personnel to Identify Sensor
Technologies . . . _. . . . . . . . -. . -. . . . . 11
2.4 DEVELOP A METHOD FOR THE PLANNED SOLICITATIONS
OF COST-SHARING OPPORTUNITIES . . . . . . . . . . . ~ . . 11

v
TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued)

2.5 IDENTIFICATION OF POSSIBLE COST-SHARING


OPPORTUNITIES WITH NON-FEDERAL ENTITIES ......... -. 12
2.5 .1 Contact Identification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.5 .2 Telephone Interviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.5. 3 Site Interviews . . . . . -. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

2.6 FINAL REPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . o -. 14

3.0 THE HEAVY TRUCK OPERATING ENVIRONMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

3.1 LITERATURE FINDINGS . . . . . . . . . . 15 o

3.2 INTERVIEW FINDINGS . . . . . . . o 16

3. 2 .1 Vehicle Electronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3.2.2 Vehicle Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
3.2.3 Vehicle Regulatory Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 o o

3.2.4 Vehicle Diagnostic Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _. . 34


. 3.2.5 Vehicle Manufacturers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ 36
3.2.6 Vehicle Component Suppliers ....... ~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3.2. 7 Vehicle Users --the Motor Carriers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

4.0 COST SHARING POTENTIAL WITHIN THE INDUSTRY .. o e o 41

4.1 INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . o 0 41
4.2 METHODOLOGY . . . . . . . . o 41
4.2.1 Contact Identification . . . . . . . . . . . 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
4.2.2 Telephone Interviews . . . . . . . . . . . 0 43
4.203 Site Interviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
4.3 RESULTS .................... ~ ~ Cl a Cl 45
4.3.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ ....... e e 45
4.3.2 Motor Carrier Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
4.3.3 Vehicle OEM's Comments ................ e 49
4.3.4 Engine Manufacturers Comments ..... Q 49

4.3.5 Vehicle Component _Suppliers Comments . . . . . . . . . . . 49


4. 3. 6 Motor Carriers . . . . . . . . .. . 50
4.3. 7- Agencies . -........... .- _ : . .. 51

5.0 INVESTIGATION OF SENSORS FOR On-Board Diagnostics . ~ ...... _.. 53.,,_ .. -.

5.1 INTRODUCTION e Cl o e e e o e e .e .o o e e e 11 1t 53
5.Ll Overview . . " . . . . . . e . & o 53
5.1.2 Background 59

vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued)

5.1. 3 General Selection Criteria and Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61


5 .1. 4 Assumptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 61
5 .1.5 Methodology for Identifying Alternative Sensor
Technologies . . . . . __. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
5.2 BAAKE. STATUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
5.2.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .'. -. . . . . . . . . . . 62
5.2.2 Brake Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . _. . . . . . . . . . . ._.... . 63
5. 2. 3 Brake Lining Thickness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
5.2.4 Brake Lining Temperatures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
5.2.5 Braking Torque . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .- 70
5.2.6 Brake Line Air Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
5. 2. 7 Brake System Air Leak . . . : . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
5.2.8 Final Comments on Brake System Monitoring . . . . . . . . . _.. . 75
5.3 CHASSIS STATUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
5.3.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ ....-. . . . . . . . . . . . .- .. 75
5. 3. 2 Tire Operating Conditions and Tread Depth . . . . ... . . . . . . . 77
5. 3. 3 Loose Wheel and Cracked Wheel Detection . . . . . . . . . ... ~ . 78
5.3.4 On-~oard Weighing Systems (OBWS) : ....... . . . . . . . . . 78
5.3.5 Dynamic Suspension Control .- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
5.3.6 Other Chassis Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ . . . . . . . . . 81 -
5.4 ENGINE STATUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
5.4.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
5. 4. 2 Exhaust Emissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
5.4.3 Engine Coolants and Lubricants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
5.5 CONCEPTUAL DESIGNS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
5.5 .1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
5. 5. 2 Sub-System Conceptual Designs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

6.0 ANALYSIS OF IMPROVEMENT POTENTIAL ... ~ .............. 99

6.1 INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
6.1.1 Communication Requirements and Standards . . . . . . .. . . . . 99
6.1.2 Hardware Requirempnts and Standards . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 102
6.1.3 Diagnostic Device Operator Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
6.2 POTENTIAL IMPROVEMENTS POSSffiLE
WITH NEW SENSORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 .
6.3 OUTLOOK FOR IMPROVED DIAGNOSTICS BASED ON
MOTOR CARRIER INTERVIEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
6.3.1 Diagnostic Tool Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
6.3.2 Roadside Inspection Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
6.3.3 Cost-Sharing Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

vii !
TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued)

7.0 CONCLUSIONS . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . o ~ . o 117


7.1 INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . o 117
7.2 VEHICLE CONSIDERATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . o 117
7.2.1 Currently Available Sensors for Improving OBD . . . . . . . . . 117
7.2.2 Future Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics . . . . .. . . . . . 118
7.3 AGENCIES AND PRO~ESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS . . . . . . . 118
7.3.1 The Society of Automotive Engineers and
The Maintenance Council . . . . . . . . . . . o. . . 0 0 0 118
7o3.2 The Federal Highway Administration .. 0 0 0 120
7 .3.3 Agencies . 0 0 0 o ............... o o o .
0 -0 121
7.4 MANUFACTURING o . o ...... ~ .. o o ... o ..... o o 121
7.4.1 Vehicle OEM ....... o ...... o 121
7.4.2 Vehicle Component Suppliers . . . . . . o e 122
7.5 COST SHARING FOR ON-BOARD DIAGNOSTICS . . . . . . . . . . 122
7.5 .1 Proprietary Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 122
7.5 .2 Standardization of Roadside Inspections 0 0 --. 123
7.5 .3 Dealing with Carrier Opposition . . . . . . . . . . _. o o ..... . 124

REFEREN'CES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . o o o 125

APPENDIX ................. 0 o o 129

viii
-LIST OF FIGURES

Figure ~

1. Schematic Diagram of Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8


2. Potential Means for Improving Roadside Inspections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
3. Typical Diagnostic Device Schematic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
4. Representative Questions for Industry Personnel ........ _..-. . . . . . . . . . . 63
5. Determining Brake Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ; . . . . . . . .. . . . . 64
6. Determining Brake Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
7. Determining Brake Lining Thickness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
8. Determining Brake Lining Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
9. Determining Braking Torque . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
10. Determining Brake Line Pressures and Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
11. Detecting Air Leaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 74
12. Determining Chassis Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
13. Determining Engine Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _. -. . . . . . . . . . 84
14. Determining if Exhaust Emission Levels Are Within Specification ......... 86
15 Schematic of Networking Devices .........._... -........ -. . . . . . . . 103
16. Interview Matrix Form ........... -. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

ix
LIST OF TABLES

1. Current Status of Electronics on Heavy-Duty Trucks . . . ~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22


2. Analysis of Items of Safety Inspection for Heavy Commercial
vehicles . . . e 27
e e e -.

3~ Anti-lock Brake Diagnostic Codes .......................... ~ . . . 39


4. Summary of Owner Operator Comments ........... ." ............. 47
5. Summary of Larger For-Hire Motor Carrier Comments .................. 48
6 Summary of Private Motor Carrier Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ . . . . . . . . . 49
7. Summary of OEM Comments . . . . . . . . 50
0 0 o o

8. Summary of Engine Manufacturer Comments .. 50 0

9o Summary of Component Supplier Comments .. 51 0 _

10. Systems Initially Considered Suitable for Advanced Technology ....... 54 o

11. Potential Additional Parameters to be Measured on Heavy Trucks ..... -. . . 56


12. Nominal Requirements for a Brake Adjustment Sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
13. Nominal Requirements for a Brake Lining Thickness Sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
14. Nominal Requirements for a Brake Lining Temperature Sensor .... -....... 69
15. Nominal Requirements for a Brake Torque Sensor (Strain) . . . . . : . . . 72 0 -. _ -

16. Nominal Requirements for a Brake Line Pressure Sensor ... ~ . . . . . . . . . . 73


17. Nominal Requirements for a Tire Pressure Sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 77 0

18. Nominal Requirements for a Vehicle Weight Sensor ..... 79 o : 0

19. Nominal Requirements for an Exhaust Emission Sensor ........ 88 o

20. Nominal Requirements for a Cylinder Pressure Sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89


21. Nominal Requirements for a Cylinder Wall Temperature Sensor ....... 89 -0

22. Nominal Requirements for a Fuel Injector Sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90


23. Nominal Requirements for an Oil and Coolant Temperature Sensor. . . . . . . . 91
24. Summary of Conceptual Designs for Monitoring Vehicle Status ..... 93 o

25 Comparison of Diagnostic COdes by Component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100


26 Heavy-Duty Diagnostic Connectors Before Standardization . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
27. Heavy-Duty Diatnostic Connector Location ........ ~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
28. Time Required for Safety Inspection Items ... 110 0

29. Summary of Carrier Interviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112


30. Forecast of Heavy-Duty Truck Electronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
31. Comparison of SAE, Bosch, and I~O Heavy-Duty Vehicle Serial
Data Communications Standards . . . . . . . . . 150 0 o

32. STE/ICE Test Procedures . . . . . . . . . - . 153 o .. ..

X
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This study resulted froma directive by the U.S. Congress to the Federal Highway
Administration's (FHWA) Office of Motor Carriers "to submit a report on the costs, potential
benefits, and feasibility of developing and demonstrating a standardized electronic diagnostic
device and vehicle interface system for use by truck maintenance personnel and roadside safety
and emissions inspectors." Congress also directed that the study examine the acceptance of such
a device and the opportunities of cost sharing by non-Federal entities.

The rapid growth in the number of trucks on the nation's roadway network over the past
few years and the safety violation rates have created an urgency to improve inspections of heavy
trucks. Other important factors include the number of qualified inspection personnel, consistency
of inspections, and the difficulty of physically measuring some parameters that are critical to
heavy truck safety. The number of qualified inspection personnel is not expected to keep pace
with the growth in numbers of trucks, so techniques of improving the efficiency of existing
personnel must be found. Improvements need to occur in inspection techniques, in terms of
quality of measurement and consistency, as well as in the process of selecting vehicles to be
inspected. One solution being investigated to meet current inspection needs is on-board
electronics.

The research methodology utilized literature searches and telephone and office interviews -
to retrieve information pertaining to the standardization of on-board diagnostics. Interviews and
meetings were conducted with various government and industry organizations and with motor
carriers to determine the currently available technologies and diagnostic equipment that are
available and appropriate for this research. Motor carriers contacted represent three categories:
owner-operators, larger for hire carriers, and private carriers. Organizations included: the Federal
Highway Administration (FHWA), the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), the Society
of Automotive Engineers (SAE), the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) America
Commercial Vehicle Operations Technical Committee, the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA), and the American Trucking Associations (ATA).

Research findings indicate that electronics have made significant inroads onto the
heavy-duty commercial vehicle. As recently as 1986, there was almost a complete absence of
microelectronic technology on the heavy-duty vehicle. By contrast, today there are several
electronic systems and applications either on the vehicle or available from component suppliers or
under development. Electronics have offered the following advantages to the suppliers and
producers of the vehicle: competitive pricing, vehicular weight reductions from electronic versus
competing pneumatic and mechanical systetris, improved reliability over earlier versions, flexibility
by using a modular design concept, and improved effectiveness for highly technical applications.

Other findings indicate that on-board electronic diagnostic systems are already in use and
that there may be opportunities in the future to use standardized electronic diagnostics for
roadside safety and emissions inspections, as well as maintenance activities. Such systems would
provide for monitoring of on-board systems and components in real time as well as for the storage
and retrieval of data for future interpretation and action, and/or for establishing a permanent
maintenance and performance record over time. However, findings revealed that little had been

xi
documented to identify or evaluate specific sensor technologies or system conceptual designs to
satisfy needs and requirements pertinent to inspected components.

An investigation into current sensor technology sought information from the available
literature and industry representatives who are currently involved in sensor development.
Findings indicate that possibilities exist for improving on-board monitoring of safety and emission
parameters on Class 8 trucks. Perhaps the most promising of the systems that could benefit from
existing sensor technology are brake and tire systems. Both have considerable safety and cost
implications. Brakes and tires are critical safety items, and tires represent the second highest cost
item in motor vehicle fleet maintenance.

On-board monitoring systems for brakes could provide information to maintenance


personnel, roadside inspectors, and drivers when an out-of-tolerance situation occurs. The level
of detail available to carrier maintenance personnel could indicate the primary cause of the
malfunction such that repairs could be made in an expedient manner. Existing sensors offer
potential for monitoring parameters such as brake adjustment, air pressure supplied to the brake
chambers, brake torque, brake lining thickness, and differences in braking effectiveness among
braked wheels. Cost and benefit considerations include: life-cycle costs of new systems, potential
. reductions in carrier insurance, reduced delays during roadside inspections, and improved
diagnosis of brake problems in carrier maintenance operations.

. On-board tire management systems offer opportunities for keeping track of tire pressure, :
tread depth, and tire histocy. The history could include -the tire's manufacture date and location,
number of times retreaded, and excessive heat during use. Tires undergo irreparable damage
when exposed to prolonged extreme heat, which may be due to improper inflation pressures or
heat conducted from adjacent brake overuse or bearing problems. Heat-damaged tires often do
not exhibit visual evidence of overheating, and carriers waste money retreading tires when they
did not realize permanent casing damage had occurred.

Solicitation of information from motor carriers and other trucking industry representatives
revealed two major findings regarding opportunities for future initiatives of on-board diagnostic
devices. The first major finding was that a number of non-Federal entities are interested in
diagnostic evaluation tests, but many withheld final consent until additional details of cost-sharing
are available. Those who expressed interest in being contacted with a more detailed proposal
included: all but one of the vehicle original equipment manufacturers (OEM), one antilock
braking system (ABS) supplier, one diagnostic service tool supplier, several vehicle component
suppliers, and many motor carriers. When researchers contacted these non-Federal entities, they
asked each one what preferences they have in the type of support they would provide. Categories
used by the research team were: monetary contributions, technical contributions, equipment"
contributions, manpower participation, and data contributions (typically records kept by the non-
Federal entity during testing). Most of those desiring to participate stated that they would allow
their personnel and/or equipment.to be utilized, maintaining records ofevaluative data that -
indicate the effectiveness of innovative diagnostic devices. Based on the number of non-Federal
entities that expressed a willingness to be contacted with a detailed test proposal, it is
recommended that appropriate test scenarios be devised to demonstrate the effectiveness of new

xii
or innovative diagnostic systems. It should be noted that contingencies on the part of some
manufacturers may require proprietary rights to products or technologies developed.

The second major finding of the solicitation was that motor carriers have some misgivings
regarding the use of a standardized diagnostic device for use in roadside inspections. Several
motor carrier representatives expressed apprehensions regarding an inspector being able to
"browse" the truck's on-board data bus until they found something that could either result in a
citation or placing the truck out of service. Other criticisms surfaced, although fewer in number,
regarding the use of electronics in general and the inherent potential of electronics adding to,
rather than solving problems. Resolving these concerns will, no doubt, follow a path of success
similar to that of other electronic initiatives such as electronic engines. Until new diagnostic
systems demonstrate reliability, consistency, and accuracy superior to existing manual methods,
motor carriers will not anticipate a desirable cost incentive and therefore will not purchase them.

The authors envision a diagnostic tool designed specifically for inspectors with unique
software that "filters" the data being transmitted on the vehicle's data bus. The criteria for
developing such a device must be considered at the outset. Its programmed logic would simply
compare current parameters with preestablished limits, providing a "go/no go" result for use by .
inspectors. If such a device can be manufactured at a reasonable cost, if it can resolve at least
some of the concerns expressed by carriers related to existing roadside inspection techniques, and
ifi'when a substantial portion of roadside inspection parameters are susceptible to monitoring by
electroruc sensors, then the government should implement a program utilizing an inspector
diagnostic device.

It is conceivable that the heavy-duty Class 8 truck of the year 2000 and beyond could be
equipped With as many as 50 electronic systems. More likely, there will be between three and
seven "intelligently" controlled electronic devices to include: engine, transmission, brakes,
retarder, the instrument cluster, trip recorder, and an off-board communications device. Some
sort of network would be required to permit these electronically controlled devices to share
information. The benefits of this networked sharing of information include: -elimination of
redundant sensors, simplified wiring, coordinated driveline components (engine, transmission, and
~rakes) to improve safety and efficiency, and single-point data collection for diagnostics. Other
devices that may need to be linked into the network include proximity sensor devices, tire
pressure monitoring, and vehicle security devices.

It is recommended that free-market heavy truck standardization efforts be continued


through Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and The Maintenance Council (TMC) activities.
These efforts have resulted in and Will continue to develop standard data links, data protocols, a
standard diagnostic connector, and a common connector location. The Federal Highway
Administration should remain a facilitator in the process of accomplishing standardization to
ensure that roadside inspection needs are met, in addition to the needs of motor carrier .. : . . ..
maintenance personnel. This might result in a minimal set of public data standards and hardware
necessary to comply with governmental needs. However, because of the sensitivity expressed by
motor carriers to allowing access to the complete set of diagnostic codes on the vehicle,
component and vehicle manufacturers should be encouraged to secure those parameters not

xiii '
needed for safety and emissions inspections. The resulting open system would be less powerful
than existing systems, using only a limited subset of parameters.

xiv
Chapter 1: Introduction

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1.1 OVERVIEW

This study resulted from a directive by the U. S. Congress to the Federal Highway
Administration's (FHWA) Office of Motor Carriers "to submit a report on the costs, potential
benefits, and feasibility of developing and demonstrating a standardize~ electronic diagnostic
device and vehicle interface system for use by truck maintenance personnel and roadside safety
and emissions inspectors." Congress also directed that the study examine the acceptance of such
a device and the opportunities for cost sharing with non-Federal entities.

The importance of this topic to highway safety is evident from two sets of statistics: the
number of trucks on the highways and the number of out-of-service citations issued to a sample of
trucks recently inspected. There are over 3.6 million commercial trucks owned by 308,000
carriers that currently operate in the United States. In Fiscal Year 1993, there were 1.9 million
inspections conducted with 506,000 vehicles and 128,000 drivers placed out of service.
Roadcheck '94, a cooperative international safety check conducted for a 72-hour period, found
that 24.54 percent of all vehicles and 5.72 percent of all drivers inspected were placed out of
service due to significant safety violations. Of the total 48,715 inspections conducted dudng .this -_
72-hour period, 47,805 were trucks and 910 were motor coaches. <t> Safety inspections are -
important for all vehicles; however, this study focuses on heavy-duty trucks. Of the total3.6
million commercial trucks operating in the U.S., approximately 1.2 million of them are classified
as heavy-duty trucks.

"Inspections," as discussed in this report, refer generally to Level 1 inspections as defined


and adopted by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) and the Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA). The Levell inspection, sometimes referred to as the North American
Standard Driver-Vehicle Inspection procedure, is the most comprehensive of the inspection levels
-- focusing both on drivers and vehicles.

The rapid growth in the number of trucks on the nation's roadway network and the safety
violation rates increase the urgency of improving inspections of heavy trucks. But these are not
the only factors currently urging improvement. Consideration must also be given to the number
of qualified inspection personnel, consistency of inspections, and the difficulty to physically
measure some parameters that are critical t<? heavy truck safety.

The number of qualified inspection personnel is not expected to keep pace with the
growth in numbers oftrucks, so techniques of improving the efficiency of existing personnel must
be found. Improvement needs to occur both in inspection techniques, in terms of quality. of -
measurement and consistency, as well as in the process of selecting vehicles to be inspected.
Enforcement personnel do not have the resources at most inspection sites to inspect all trucks in
the traffic stream. Therefore, they must choose vehicles to inspect based on some rational method
that both fits their capabilities and ensures that significant violations are detected. For example, if
violations are not detected visually, a selection criterion might require choosing trucks with the

1
Chapter 1: Introduction

longest time lapse since their last inspection. Besides making a "more informed" decision in the
selection process, inspectors would like to 1) reduce the time required to complete a Level 1
inspection and 2) improve the accuracy and consistency of the measurements. Finally, some of
the inspection parameters on heavy trucks are physically difficult to measure. Current
measurements of safety parameters require the inspector to crawl underneath the vehicle to
measure, feel, and/or listen for problems. Given the increasing widespread use of aerodynamic
fairings in the large truck population, crawling underneath the tractor has become a problem.

1.2 BACKGROUND

1.2.1 The Heavy Truck Industry

Class 7 and Class 8 trucks are included in the category of heavy trucks. Class 7 units
range from 13,000 kg. to 16,500 kg. (26,001lb. to 33,000 lb) gross vehicle weight rating
(GVWR), whereas Class 8 trucks have GVWR ratings above 16,500 kg. (33,000 lb).

To assess the approximate importance of each of these segments, it is necessary to look at


annual vehicle sales. There are approximately 90,000 sales of Class 7 units annually, and
approximately 125,000 Class 8 sales. Further, the size of the market can be gauged by another
statistic: the existing total GVWR Class 8 truck population is approximately 1.2 millio~ vehicles.

Most of the vehicles in these market segments are diesel powered. Class 8 vehicles are
almost exclusively (99 percent) diesel powered. Class 7 exhibits about 75 percent diesel power
penetration. For purposes of this study, emphasis has been placed on the capabilities and
potentials for on-board standardized diagnosis for safety and emissions inspections for Class 8
diesel powered trucks.

1.2.2 Carriers/Operators

The users of heavy commercial vehicles can be stratified or segmented into several classes
based upon the number ofunits owned and/or operated. A brief description of each ofthese
segments follows.

The most visible segment of the heavy commercial truck market consists of the large
fleets. According to the FHWA's 1992 Motor Carrier Management Information System Motor
Carrier Safety Profile, <2>only 50 of some 308,000 fleets have over 2,000 vehicles. These users
are very cost-oriented, consisting of several large common carriers engaged in interstate
commerce together with a number of the large vehicle leasing companies. Approximately 35
percent of the annual new vehicle sales are represented by these leasing companies (3). This
segment is followed by a larger number of medium size fleets, which the authors believe tend to
follow the lead of the large fleets in terms of product selection criteria. -

The final segment consists of a much larger number of users, operating fewer vehicles
each, down to individual owner-operators who are generally less knowledgeable about the
technical aspects of the product. Sixty-two percent of the trucks over 13,000 kg. (26,001lbs.)
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) (Classes 7 and 8) are operated by fleets with less than 20

2
Chapter 1: Introduction

trucks. <4> These members of the last segment are apt to be more influenced than the larger
carriers by the image portrayed by the product. The leasing companies represent a significant
product source for vehicles within these last two segments. -

It has been relatively easy to introduce new electronic products into this segmented market
and thus increase the potential for digital microelectronic-based diagnostics, although it should be
recognized that regulatory requirements for reduced emissions initiated the trend toward
electronically controlled engines. Otherwise, our research shows that with the larger users, this
electronic product penetration into the market has happened due to th~ financial incentive,
whereas with smaller users it has occurred (to a much lesser degree) due to a diversity of
interests. However, the vehicle OEM's (Original Equipment Manufacturers) and major
component suppliers have found that, to be profitable in any segment, their products must either
show a substantial benefit-to-cost ratio or have a very substantial image appeal. Further,
introducing a defective product that is not immediately corrected in the large fleet segment is very
dangerous to the OEM or to the supplier because oft~e "close knit" relationship among the
various users.

The existing base of commercial for-hire and private carriers and operators represents a .
wide range of usage. They run the gamut from the classic over-the-highway tractor and trailer
units engaged in interstate commerce tQ the more lim!ted regional commerce of on-highway and
off-highway carriers of construction materials and raw mate~als for logging, agricultural, and
mining operations. This variety of usage has created the need for a widely divergent series of
vehicle designs and components. _

1.2.3 Manufacturers/Suppliers

The nature of the heavy commercial vehicle market is unique within the motor vehicle
industry. It is characterized by "pull" marketing through a series of independent and free-standing
component suppliers who independently design and produce as well as directly market their
products to the end-use buyer of the vehicle. Component suppliers run the gamut from several
suppliers of diesel engines to others who supply transmissions and axles and still others who
supply seats, brake systems and components, lighting, and so forth. Component suppliers include
Cummins, Caterpillar, Detroit Diesel, Eaton, Rockwell, and Bendix. This is contrasted to the
"push" type of supplier marketing solely and directly to the OEM that exercises the product
design control that is a characteristic of the U.S. automobile industry and the rest of the world
motor vehicle industry as a whole. Major domestic OEM's are Ford, Freightliner, Mack,
Navistar, PACCAR, and Volvo/GM.

The OEM truck producers generally function as systems integrators of supplier


components; in other words, as merchant assemblers of other companies' paris. Their sales data
books are voluminous compilations of lists of various options consisting of supplier components_
that the customer may specify on his/her sales order. Traditionally, it has been considered vital to
most of the major component suppliers to maintain a strong marketing effort to the truck user in
order to ensure that their components have been identified and requested upon the sales order by
the purchasing customer ordering from the OEM.

3
Chapter 1: Introduction

Historically, the component suppliers to the heavy commercial vehicle producers have
assumed ever increasing engineering and design responsibility for major areas of vehicle design.
In the first half of this century, the major OEM's manufactured and assembled their own complete
and proprietary vehicles, whereas in the latter half of the century they increasingly relinquished
use of their own components in favor of those produced by a multitude of others. These other
components included engines and transmissions, and this trend caused vehicles produced by the
various OEM' s to be more alike in many ways than they were during the first half of the century.

During the second half of the century, large increases in unit v9lumes of vehicle
production occurred as a result of the development of the interstate highway program, creating an
attractive large volume supplier market for components. The highway program also provided a
de facto vocation and application standard for the entire country in the form of a single
standardized driving environment. Before the interstate highway program, both State highway
design practice and individual State regulatory environments led to a more diverse oper3;ting
environment for motor carriers. With the interstate system and subsequent legislative changes
came increased uniformity in vehicle size and weight laws and standard design features such as
maximum grades, degree of curvature, lane widths, and sight distance. Thus, the significantly
different horsepower characteristics of power units, for example, previously necessary by region
and favoring one vehicle OEM over another, were a thing of the past.
. ~-~~~

Our research indicates that competitive pressures for truck components led the component
suppliers rather than the OEM's to make the majority ofthe new investments that became
necessary to match the burgeoning market. Another consideration was OEM's being willing to
allow component suppliers to make inroads into this market when the .alternative required
significant investment by OEM's to modify their existing competing component lines. Due to the
developing pull marketing atmosphere, component suppliers could aggressively seek the potential
sales volumes of the entire U.S. market, not just the volume share restricted to any one OEM.

The availability of widely usable components permitted the rapid growth of a series of
nationwide truck producers who previously had been restricted to regional markets. These
companies found it unnecessary to heavily invest in component production elements such as
engineering talent, foundries, and forging shops. Rather, they concentrated on marketing image
and the vehicle assembly manufacturing process.

Thus, the heavy commercial vehicle production industry is unique within the American
motor vehicle industry in that design control and specification of the product does not rest solely
within the bounds of any single organization.- A variety of often contradictory and conflicting
interests and enterprise objectives need to be addressed during the design and production stages
of the product life cycle as well as in the operation and maintenance phases of the product life.
These all have a significant impact on the application of advanced diagnostics to this pro~uct.
The authors anticipate that the competitive position and demand for innovative electrical and
electronics products, in the time frame of the next decade, at least, will continue to be a "pull
through" activity generated by the suppliers dealing directly with heavy truck and commercial
vehicle customers.

4
Chapter 1: Introduction

1.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

1.3.1 Subtask A-1, Determine the Feasibility of Diagnostic Technologies

The objectives of Subtask A-1 included conducting a review of the technical literature and
interviewing industry officials to (a) determine the feasibility of diagnostic technologies and (b)
define what should be monitored. This initial phase evaluated the feasibility of standardized
electronic on-board diagnostic (OBD) systems that could be used by roadside safety and
emissions inspectors as well as by carriers in their routine maintenance operations. This subtask
was based on the premise that the number of multiple sophisticated electronic systems will
increase on heavy commercial trucks of the future. These systems include electronically
controlled engines and anti-lock braking systems. These systems will have on-board diagnosis
and fault logging capabilities to generate and store fault codes that will be useful in identifying and
correcting operational and performance problems. Subtask A-1 also postulated that it wpuld be
useful to standardize the diagnostic capabilities of these systems and that diagnostic capabilities
could improve the roadside safety and emissions inspection process.

1.3.2 Subtask A-2, Identify and Evaluate Other Diagnostic Systems to Monitor He~vy
Truck Components for Maintenance and Inspection Purposes

As a result of the findings ofSubtask A-1, the second major subtask required the research
team to investigate the avaiJability of sensors used in non-truck applications and their feasibility
for use on Class 8 vehicles. This task identified and evaluated sensors that were either being used
or proposed for use which demonstrated potential for monitoring systems or components on
heavy duty trucks. Systems on trucks initially considered as candidates for sensors were both
conducive to electronic monitoring and difficult to measure using the current manual practice. _At
the time this list of candidates was first formulated, there had been no attempt to determine the
availability, much less the feasibility, of any of the sensors to accomplish the various inspection
tasks.

This initial investigation was then extended by identifying additional and more detailed
functions necessary to actually expedite and improve the consistency of roadside inspection and
maintenance activities. The objective of this subtask was to identify, evaluate, and compare
presently available and prototype sensor technologies, then develop a conceptual design of
diagnostic systems using these sensors which would facilitate roadside inspections and
maintenance activities of Class 8 vehicles.

1.3.3 Subtask A-3, Develop a Solicitation Plan to Determine Cost-Sharing Opportunities


for Developing Standardized On-Board Diagnostics

The goal of this subtask was to develop a plan for solicitation of cost-sharing
opportunities in the development and implementation of diagnostic systems. This included the
following elements: developing a plan for solicitation of cost-sharing opportunities, identifying
potential participants, and determining the information to be solicited.

5
Chapter 1: Introduction

1.3.4 Subtask A-4, Conduct the Solicitation of Cost-Sharing Opportunities

The primary objective of this subtask was to conduct the solicitation that was proposed
and approved in Subtask A-3, for cost-sharing opportunities with non-Federal entities in the
development and testing of standardized on-board diagnostic devices. The solicitation plan
presented a list of participants including: motor carriers, truck manufacturers, original equipment
manufacturers (OEM's), and suppliers, as well as organizations such as the Commercial Vehicle
Safety Alliance (CVSA) and the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE).

1.3.5 Subtask A-5, Write Final Report

The goal of Subtask A-5 was to write a final report that incorporated the findings and
conclusions of the Feasibility Evaluation, Investigation of Sensors, and Solicitation for Cost-
Sharing Opportunities.

6
Chapter 2: Methodology

CHAPTER2

METHODOLOGY

2.1 INTRODUCTION

The methodology utilized to conduct this research is described schematically by figure 1,


which is intended to generally depict three interrelated activities, culminating in the Final Report.
Literature reviews were involved in two of these activities, and industry/agency interviews were
involved in all three. Subtask A-3, "Develop a Solicitation for Cost-Sharing Opportunities," was
the study design for Subtask A-4, so Subtasks A-3. and A-4 are shown as complementing tasks of
the same activity. Subtask A-2, "Investigate Sensors," is shown as a parallel activity with the
"Solicitation" activity because their timing with respective to each other was not critical.

2.2 DETERMINE THE FEASmiLITY OF DIAGNOSTIC TECHNOLOGY

The initial subtask required the research team to conduct a review of technical literature
and interview government and industry officials to: 1) determine the feasibility of diagnostic
technologies, and 2) define what should be monitored. Objectives were met by conducting a
literature review and by interviewing industry and government officials.

2.2.1 Literature Review Concerning Diagnostic Technology

A comprehensive literature~search revealed a number of articles and other publications


related to on-board diagnostics and roadside inspections. These included both public documents
presented at industry and society meetings as well as published documents and articles. Texas
A&M University's Sterling C. Evans Library was the source of most of the publications used,
either in printed paper form or as microfiche. The search began by consulting the Evans Library
database, known as NOTIS, and Wilson's Periodical Database. Sterling C. Evans Library is a
major local source of information with holdings of more than two million volumes of books, four
million documents and microtext, and 13,000 periodicals. Supplementing this initial search were
searches of the National Technical Information System (NTIS) and Transportation Research
Information Service (TRIS).

NTIS is a CD-ROM database which provides bibliographic records of published scientific


and technical information including unclassified information released by the Department of
Defense; Department of Energy; NASA; SCI:fldia, Oak Ridge, and Lawrence Livermore
Laboratories; and various public and private research institutions. The NTIS database is updated
quarterly. TRIS is a worldwide source of information on various modes and aspects of
transportation including planning, design, finance, construction equipment, traffic operations,
management, marketing, safety, and other topics. It contains more than 315,000 abstracts_of
completed research, summaries of research projects in progress, and selected articles from more
than 1,000 journals. TRIS also includes access to TLm (Transportation Library Subtile) which is
the bibliographic citations of the new acquisitions of the Institute of Transportation Studies
Library at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Northwestern University Transportation

7
Chapter 2: Methodology

Determine Fcasibili1y
of Diagnostic Technology
(Subtask A-I)
.!.
Literature Review
I
~
Interviews with
Industry and Government
Officials
~

Analysis of
Information
-!.
Report of
Findings

~ ~ . .

Investigate Sensors Develop a Solicitation for


(Subtask A-2) Cost Sharing Opportunites
(Subtask A-3)
~
Literature Review ~
Solicitation -Cost Sharing
.!- Opportunities
Interviews of (Subtask A-4)
Industry Personnel
~
.!- Interviews of
Analysis of Motor Carrier and Industry
Information Personnel
+
Report of
.!.
Analysis of
Findings Information
~
Report of
Findings
, ~
.
Final Report
(Subtask A-5)

Figure 1. Schematic Diagram of Methodology

8
Chapter 2: Methodology

Library at Evanston, Illinois. TLm covers all modes of transportation and provides an annual
input of more than 9,509 records t~ TRIS.

Some of the key words and key word combinations used were: trucks, maintenance,
diagnostics, safety inspections, and emissions inspections. These sources related to automotive
and heavy truck diagnostics, microelectronic-based devices on heavy trucks, future trends of
electronics, and existing and pending standards and regulations of various government bodies.
The search identified 45 documents that were of interest to this portion of the study and the stated
research objectives. Upon review of all potentially usable documents, _14 were found to be
relevant. Summaries of these documents are provided in Appendix A. The literature identified
and summarized can be generally divided into three categories: 1) descriptions of research and
development efforts, 2) identification of current and future needs, and 3) guidelines and solutions.

2.2.2 Interviews of Industry and Government Officials Concerning Diagnostic Technology

Most of the useful information gathered during this phase of the study was acquired by
project personnel traveling to meet with knowledgeable personnel either in their offices or at
conferences where several key individuals were available at one location. Conferences which
provided these opportunities were the International Symposium on Motor Carrier Transportation
in Williamsburg, Virginia, the Society of Automotive Engineers J193 9 Committee meeting in
Boston, Massachusetts, The Maintenance Council meeting i~ Kansas City, Missouri,- arid the SAE
Truck and Bus Exposition in Detroit. Each provided the opportunity to meet with several of the
key personnel who provided. information needed for the study.

Interviews and meetings were conducted with various government and industry
organizations to determine the currently available technologies and diagnostic equipment that are
available and appropriate for this research. Organizations included: FHWA, CVSA, SAE, the
Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) America Commercial Vehicle Operations Technical
Committee, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration {NHTSA), and the American
Trucking Associations (ATA).

2.2.2.1 Vehicle OEM's

Interviews were conducted with all six of the major domestic manufacturers of Class 8
vehicles. These were Freightliner, PACCAR, Navistar, Mack, Volvo/GM, and Ford. The
interview process with the vehicle OEM's (Original Equipment Manufacturers) began with an
initial telephone call to the person thought to be the most helpful based on his/her current position
and experience. This first call included a brlef overview of the study, its objectives, and
establishment of a tentative meeting date and time. The location was usually on-site at the OEM's
facility, but the SAE meeting in Boston and the TMC meeting in Kansas City_provided meeting
opportunities as well. On-site meetings were typically held at Technical Centers.

The meeting format varied widely, but it always began with the researchers providing a
comprehensive summary of study objectives. The same general information was gathered from
each OEM but questions asked by researchers were not always the same. Predictions regarding
trends in electronics were usually based on the representative's position of some authority,

9
Chapter 2: Methodology

although it was understood that company policy, consumer demand, or other factors could
influence future directions in ways not fully apparent at the time of the interview.

2.2.2.2 Vehicle Component Suppliers

Researchers also interviewed several Class 8 component suppliers. Included were four
domestic engine suppliers (Caterpillar, Cummins, Detroit Diesel, and Mack), three transmission
suppliers (Allison, Eaton, and Rockwell), two axle producers (Eaton and Rockwell), and three
Antilock Braking System (ABS) suppliers (WABCO, Bendix, and Mi4land-Grau). Finally, the
major independent supplier of generic diagnostic tools, Micro-Processor Systems, Incorporated
(.MPSI), provided information on current and future diagnostic service tools. The interview
process with the vehicle component suppliers was planned and conducted in a manner that wa~
very similar to the vehicle OEM interviews.

2.2.2.3 Motor Carriers

The ,method used to identify motor carriers for interview began with members of the
American Trucking Associations who were located near interviewees such as OEM or component
suppliers. In some cases where ATA membership was sparse, additional contacts came from
interviewees or from local telephone directories. The National Private Truck Council-Q-WTC)
provided a list of their members in three states representing three regions of the country. Finally,.
names of owner-operators were provided by the Owner~Operator Independent Drivers'
Association. Researchers conducted interviews with the NPTC members and owner-operators by
telephone. -

Most of the on-site meetings with motor carriers in this first subtask were in locations near
interviews with OEM or component suppliers. The time frame used to schedule these meetings
was similar to that used for vehicle OEM' s or component suppliers. Meetings with larger carriers
usually included the Director of Maintenance. Questions asked participants varied, depending on
the size of the organization, the number of different diagnostic systems, and the amount of time
provided by carrier representatives.

2.3 IDENTIFY ALTERNATIVE SENSOR TECHNOLOGIES

The next major objective was to identify and evaluate sensors presently available in
applications outside the trucking industry. The two primary sources providing information for
Subtask A-2 were a literature review and interviews of trucking and sensor manufacturing
personnel.

1.3.1 Literature Review to Identify Sensor Technologies

A comprehensive literature search identified publications on state-of-the-art sensor


technology being used or developed throughout different industries and trends in commercial
truck on-board diagnostic systems. Various library catalogs and databases yielded valuable
assistance in the search process, and the process was, in general, similar to the literature review
conducted in Subtask A-1. An initial search of Texas A&M University's Sterling C. Evans

10
Chapter 2: Methodology

Library began by consulting NOTIS and Wilson's Periodical Database. Supplementing this initial
search were extensive searches of the following additional databases: FirstSearch, NTIS and
TRIS. For this search, key words and key word combinations included: trucks, maintenance,
diagnostics, safety inspections, emission inspecti~ns, sensors, diagnostic sensors, on-board
systems, electronic engines, truck electronics, electronic sensors, engine sensors, engine
diagnostics, motor carriers, commercial vehicles, truck safety, and micro-electronic diagnostics.
Researchers then scanned bibliographies of the resulting publications and articles to determine
their relevance for further review and use. If desired articles were not found in the Sterling C.
Evans Library collection, they were requested through the Interlibrary Loan Service.

Documents selected for review often resulted in additional reference scans. These
additional reference scans consisted of additional key words not previously used, author searches,
and article reference lists. The literature search was conducted until the yield of pertinent
information pertaining to the objectives yielded diminishing returns. This comprehensive search
resulted in excess of 4,500 titles that were scanned for relevance to this study, with over 200
documents selected for review. The references section of this report contains a final list of
documents used for the investigation.

2.3.2 Interviews of Industry Personnel to Identify Sensor Technologies

Personnel from the automotive-industry (General Motors Powertrain and Delco Remy),
truck engine manufacturers (Caterpillar, Cummins, and Detroit Diesel}, and sensor manufacturers
(Delco Electronics, Rockwell International, WABCO, and Eaton) provided iruormation on
sensors that are currently available. As part of this process, researchers also contacted the
National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) in Houston, Texas. These contacts
resulted from either Subtask A-1 activities or through telephone calls and letters sent to these
industry personnel. Interview information came from key industry contacts during site visits to
industry personnel offices, or by telephone. Interviewers used results of these interviews to
formulate a matrix of the different on-board diagnostic systems with corresponding areas of
evaluation. A copy of the blank matrix form is provided in Appendix B. Topics of evaluation
included sensor type, cost, supplier, reliability data, noise sensitivity, and expected accuracy over
the sensor's service life.

Industry personnel did not answer all of the questions asked, as much of the desired
information was either considered proprietary or was not known. As a result, information
obtained from these industry interviews defined little more than the type of sensors being used.
Specifics on sensor performance were unavailable for most sensors, although the information
allowed general comparisons of most sensor types.

2.4 PROPOSE A SOLICITATION OF COST-SHARING OPPORTUNITIES


.. ' -

to
This portion of the study involved formulating aplan det~tnrl~e what, if my, cost-
sharing opportunities would be available from non-Federal entities for development of
standardized diagnostic tools. The solicitation plan presented a list of participants including:
motor carriers, engine manufacturers, vehicle OEM' s, and suppliers as well as organizations such
as the CVSA and SAE. Motor carriers included for-hire members of the ATA and private carriers

11
Chapter 2: Methodology

who.were members of the NPTC. Representative owner-operators who participated in Subtask


A-1 were also included in the designed solicitation. The research team proposed to contact and
determine cost-sharing opportunities with motor carriers in the for-hire and private categories
from at least five States, and included carriers in the small, mid-size, and large categories.

2.5 CONDUCT SOLICITATION OF COST-SHARING OPPORTUNITIES WITH


NON-FEDERAL ENTITIES

Telephone solicitation, supplemented by site visits, replaced th~ originally planned mail-
out survey. This method utilized an unstructured and informal conversational format as opposed
to a structured list of questions and topics strictly followed. Researchers-were very careful in
telephone and site conversations to prompt participants by first providing a brief overview of the
study, then discussing general topics related to on-board diagnostics. When talking to vehicle
OEM's, engine manufacturers, component suppliers, and the diagnostic tool supplier, the
conversation following the overview was tailored to their relationship to the topic of on-board
diagnostics. For motor carriers, there were four general categories that were included: general
fleet information, maintenance and diagnostic service tool information, roadside inspections, and
cost sharing.

2.5.1 CQntact Identification

The process of identifying contacts within the trucking industry actually began in Subtask
A-1. These contacts in the first task of this research effort can be generally categorized as
manufacturing- or motor carrier-related. For the information necessary for Subtask A-4,
researchers initially contacted the same manufacturing personnel as in the first subtask, contacting
others within each organization as necessary. However, contacting motor carrier personnel
followed a different methodology than in Subtask A-1 due to a lack of responsiveness from motor
carriers in the earlier effort.

Researchers made contact with vehicle OEM's, engine manufacturers, component


suppliers, and service tool suppliers as part of Subtask A-1. When the study team contacted these
same individuals for information related to cost sharing, they responded by either providing the
reply themselves or by deferring to other persons within their organization. In two cases, the
original company representative had found employment elsewhere, but each of their successors
became the new contact person. In another case, an original contact person had been promoted
within the organization, but she still provided support on the project.

Initial identification of the for-hire motor carriers to be contacted used information from
the ATA, while private (not for-hire) carrier membership lists came from the NPTC. The
methodology used for contacting private carriers following this identification by the NPTC was
the same as that described below for other motor carriers. Researchers forwarded facsimile
summaries of the study and a formal request for assistance to Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma,
New Mexico, and Texas trucking associations and followed the request in each case with a
telephone call. The most promising of these results were from Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.
A randomized sampling process might have been used if a larger sample size had been available,
but pure random selection was not considered to be critical in this study. In this case, both the

12
Chapter 2: Methodology

sample size and the participants "selected" to participate depended upon their willingness to
participate. Attempts were made to include a variety of carrier sizes.

In both Texas and Oklahoma, the trucking association representative initially stated that
their organization no longer provides lists of members for purposes such as this. However, the
director of the Oklahoma trucking association office offered to contact a few of his member
carriers who would participate in the study. In the ca-se of Texas, study staff contacted the Texas
Railroad Commission and requested a list of carriers. This list was organized by county, so the
request was for the three counties where Houston, Dallas, and San ~tonio are located. This
process proved to be less successful than beginning with a member of the State trucking
association who knew which members would be most cooperative and who had other essentials
needed to meet study objectives.

2.5.2 Telephone Interviews

Once the identity of the most appropriate motor carrier or manufacturer contact was
established, researchers sent a facsimile to the person, thus providing the.necessary background
information. Then, upon making contact with the person by telephone, study staff reiterated the
_overview information and began discussing the study from the standpoint of the specific
manufacturer involved. This overview provided the list of tasks such that the topic of cost
sharing naturally occurred toward the end of this introductory portion of the telephone interview._
Then, the researcher continued by discussing t~e topic of cost sharing in greater detail based on
each individual manufacturer's product(s). The interviewer prompted interviewed person(s) by_
using categories of cost sharing that seemed appropriate and which were best suited to their
interests. Researchers used options such as equipment contributions, staff participation, and data
contributions.

2.5.3 Site Interviews

Study staff conducted site interviews with motor carriers only, and not with manufacturing
entities. Researchers did not consider site interviews as essential with manufacturing entities
because they had conducted on-site interviews with them in Subtask A-1. Staff conducted site
interviews with motor carriers in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The process of carrier
identification in Texas, as described above, resulted in a less efficient methodology overall by
requiring more telephone calls to reach appropriate carriers. However, site interviews generally
provided similar results in all three States.

Establishing meeting times usually occurred several days in advance of the actual meeting
so that the researcher could arrange as many meetings as possible each day and schedule sufficient
travel time between meetings. The format of the site visit was similar to the telephone
conversation discussed above. It started with an overview of the overall study objectives,
followed by promptings by the researcher regarding the four general topic areas of Fleet
Information, Maintenance and Diagnostic Tool Information, Roadside Inspections, and Cost
Sharing.

13
Chapter 2: Methodology

2.6 FINAL REPORT

A preliminary report was drafted for each major subtask of the study. The design plan for
the final report required the incorporation of the information provided from each of these reports,
and the overall analysis, findings, and recommendations of the study into one comprehensive
document.

14
Chapter 3: The Heavy Truck Operating Environment

CHAPTER3

THE REAVY TRUCK OPERATING ENVIRONMENT

3.1 LITERATURE FINDINGS

A comprehensive literature search revealed a number of articles and other publications


related to on-board diagnostics and roadside inspections. The search identified 45 documents that
were of interest to this study and the stated research objectives. Upo~ review of all potentially
usable documents, 14 were found to be relevant. Summaries of these documents are attached as
Appendix A. The literature identified and summarized can be generally divided into three
categories: 1) descriptions of research and development efforts, 2) identification of current and
future needs, and 3) guidelines and solutions. Examples of literature in each of these categories
are presented below.

Hames, et. al. cs> described the Detroit Diesel Electronic Control (DDEC) manufactured by
the (then) Detroit Diesel-Allison Division of General Motors (now Detroit Diesel Corporation).
DDEC I, introduced in September 1985, was the first U.S. electronic engine control system for
the heavy duty diesel trucking industry. The development ofDDEC I took advantage of advances
in technology tointegrate all control system electronics int~ a single engine-mounted, fuel-cooled
electronic control module. Improvements and refinements t~ DDEC I included the on-board
diagnostics that were introduced with DDEC II. These capabilities can be categorized into three
areas: self diagnostics, engine system protection, and engine performance diagnostics. Spivack <6>
documented a research and development effort by West Coast Research for the U.S. Army Tank-
Automotive Command to provide a differential transducer that could be used for engine
diagnostics. The outcome of research on this transducer is uncertain since no other literature or
interview references to it surfaced during the course of this investigation.

The automation of various components of the heavy duty. diesel vehicle were addressed by
several authors. Efforts to automate the preselection of vehicle gearboxes by Scania were
detailed by Holmelius <7). Bender and Struthers <s> addressed efforts by the Allison Transmission
Division of General Motors to develop an electronically controlled automatic transmission system
utilizing advanced technologies in microprocessors, application specific integrated circuits
(ASIC's), sensors, actuators, displays, and direct electronic clutch pressure control. The
integration of diagnostics for heavy duty diesel vehicles and the need for integration in the
approach to diagnostics was addressed by Lukich and Brandt <9>.

Foy <10> stated,that real-time control :systems have potential for many different applications
in the trucking industry including an integrated control system. The author envisioned a total
real-time control system for a vehicle that could be separated into four areas: trailer computer,
cab computer, .powertrain computer, and chassis computer. Malecki and Snyder <U> addressed the
future of the trucking industry, the ramifications of current and pending economic, legislative, and
safety issues on the trucking industry, and the use of electronic engine controls to address those
issues. Bishel <12>also addressed the future of diagnostic equipment and the need for
standardization.

15
Chapter 3: The Heavy Truck Operating Environment

Stepper <U> presented a synopsis of the serial data communications adopted in SAE
Recommended Practices J1708, J1587, and J1922 as well as J1939 which was under development
by the Truck and Bus Control and Communications Network Subcommittee.

3.2 INTERVIEW FINDINGS

3.2.1 Vehicle Electronics

Electronics have made a significant inroad onto the heavy-duty commercial vehicle. As
recently as 1986, there was almost a complete absence of microelectronic technology on the
heavy-duty vehicle. In contrast, today, there are several electronic systems and applications that
are now available on the vehicle. This is because electronics has offered the following advantages
to the suppliers and producers of the vehicle:

Cost versus Price. Due to the competitive price pressures on the commercial vehicle
manufactured in the United States over the last seven years, most systems installed on
commercial vehicles have had to continually be much lower in cost than comparable
systems in the preceding generations of product as measured in constant dollars.

Weight. Introduction of increased usage ofmicrocontroller-based electronics has led to


numerous relativ'ely minor system component weight reductions over existing pneumatic .
and mechanical systems sufficient to balance out. an increased level of sophistication and
number of applications installed on the vehicle.

Reliability. The advancements in microelectronic technology were eventually expected to


lead to improved component reliability over then-existing electrical, pneumatic, and
mechanical linkage controls and instrumentation.

Flexibility. The increase in electronics-based features made it possible to provide


segmented product features at a series of standard and optional levels from the same basic
product design. System designs and functions were often structured in a modular fashion
providing a degree of latitude to adapt to various customer demands and product
"personalities."

Effectiveness. Electronics can be more effective than some of their mechanical


counterparts, as in engine fuel injection control where they also overcome the long-term
mechanical "wear" problems previously encountered. Sophisticated systems such as anti-
lock braking systems would not be feasible by any means other than by digital electronic
systems.

The major areas currently using or expected in the near future (by the year 2000) to
incorporate an electronics-based design on the heavy commercial vehicle include the following:

Powertrain controls including 1) engine controls, 2) transmission controls,


3) engine protection and shutdown, and 4) vehicle speed controls;
Electrical power generation, distribution, and lighting;

16 '
Chapter 3: The Heavy Truck Operating Environment

Vehicle Trip Recorders;


Electronic-based displays, monitors, and instrumentation;
Engine cooling systems control;
Brake application anti-lock controls;
Traction controls and vehicle weight measurement;
Retarders;
Tire pressure monitoring;
Electronic steering control;
Driver safety controls;
Collision-avoidance;
Driver comfort controls (HVAC, Radios, etc.); and
Off-board communication and navigation.

Brief descriptions of each of these microelectronic-based applications follow.

Powertrain Controls. Electronic systems are especially important for engine


management and controls. These systems are intended to inject the optimum fuel quantity into
the engine under all operating conditions. Precise control of the injected fuel quantity benefits the
operating performance of the vehicle,. maximizes the fuel-economy of the vehicle and reduces
emissions to the benefit of the environment. The sensors required to control the combustion cycle
also permit the controller to provide engine protection and shutdown as well as vehicle speed
controls.
~

For transmissions, electronic controls have to optimally control the gearshift points and
correctly select the shift sequence. Benefits include variable gearshift points, comfortable shifting,
and jerk-free shifting reducing powertrain stresses. Acceleration with no interruption in power
flow represents an improvement in comfort and safety.

Electrical power generation, distribution, and lighting. By the end of the decade,
"smart" switches will begin to appear on the heavy duty vehicle. ';('hese switches will activate
many of the high-current lamps and actuators which are currently connected by long lengths of
wiring between mechanical switches and the battery. These switches will utilize a multiplexed
single wire that ties together the switches and various devices on the vehicle. These types of
systems will offer efficiency, protection, and intelligent control using relatively low cost devices
on the vehicle. The "smart" in this case comes from integration of the processing of the signal
received from the bus together with the power control output on a single chip or module. The
complementary applications include integra~ing a sensor input such as a resistor, mechanical
switch, or pressure sensor, with signal processing to develop a data signal to be sent on the
multiplexed wiring to another device. A typical application is a "smart" solid state relay in the
starter solenoid, integral with the starter, replacing the remotely mounted magnetic switc~
Automatic disengagement of the starter and lockout options would then be possible to protect the
starter from damage. ; -

Vehicle Trip Recorders. Microelectronic trip recorders are the oldest of the intelligent
devices, being initially introduced to the heavy truck industry in the late 1970's and early 1980's as
replacements for tachographs. These units, while originally simply recorders of operational

17
Chapter 3: The Heavy Truck Operating Environment

parameters such as vehicle speed or engine revolutions per minute (rpm), have evolved into on-
board driver information systems recording driver productivity parameters such as. idle time, time
stopped, and number of brake applications. These devices are expected to continue to develop by
embracing such functions as 1) more memory allowing a greater. degree of time resolution in the
frequency of logging of existing parameters, 2) a complete capability as "crash recorders" with
storage of a complete set of vehicle operational parameters immediately before and after a
significant event such as an accident, and 3) additional functions where the large-scale storage on
these devices begins to function as a generalized memory or "hard disk" role for a number of the
other systems on the vehicle which have more limited memory. This additional capacity could
also serve as an "electronic log book" to monitor driver hours of service, but tamper resistance
and generating paper output are concerns. Ongoing demonstrations of this capability require
waivers from the regulatory community.

Much of the functionality of trip recorders resides on the capabilities of the off-board
software to analyze the data collected and logged on the recorder. They have become
productivity measurement tools that are the foundation of vehicle business systems. Advanced
_developments are expected in the nature of the off-loading of the data stored on the recorders.
These currently run the gamut from cassettes, umbilical cords, and radio telemetry. As these
develop they may make use of standard on-board data buses and diagnostic connectors.

Electronic-based Displays, Monitors, and Instrumentation. Displays are the most


visible element in the ongoing technical revolution in electronics present on the heavy vehicle.
Display options include light emitting diodes (LED) which replace incandescent light bulbs on a
one-for-one basis; free format colored cathode ray tubes (CRT) such as those introduced on some
passenger automotive models in the 1980's; fixed format vacuum fluorescent (VF) displays in a
single or variety of colors as have been widely used on passenger cars; and fixed format liquid
crystal displays (LCD) in either monochromatic or multiple color discrete gauge plates of "glass".
LCD products can be based on either segment illumination or free-format dot matrix displays.

Other potential applications include gas discharge displays which are often called plasma
displays as well as electroeluminescerit displays (EL). However, both techniques have been
plagued by inadequate brightness and high voltage require~ents.

The authors expect that the existing trend to replace mechanical analog gauges and
displays with microelectronic gauge drivers will continue. Eventually, by the end of the decade,
more sophisticated free format displays based on LCD or similar technologies that are user
configurable will become more commonplace. Also, it is expected that sophisticated heads-up
display technology will be used for display of routine information such as speed and revolutions
per minute as is currently the state-of-the-art in fighter aircraft.

All of the above optional display techniques, regardless of their sophistication, require an
intelligent microprocessor to receive the vehicle parameters. Upon receiving these signals
either directly from sensors or via a multiplexed wiring bus, the microprocessor functions as a
gauge driver, converting the data into displayed elements.

18
Chapter 3: The Heavy Truck Operating Environment

Engine Cooling Systems Control. Microprocessor control of radiator fan drives and
radiator shutters is increasingly being developed as a proprietary application system by a number
of vehicle OEM's. These systems will need data bus access to the engine controller sensors. They
will be integral to vehicle performance and thus fault coding may need to be accessed by a
diagnostic device.

Brake Application Anti-lock Controls. Electronically controlled anti-lock braking


systems (ABS) typically provide benefits in an emergency situation by monitoring wheel rotation
and modulating the brake pressure in order to prevent tire lock-up, or .-skidding. These systems
are sophisticated and complex, and their usage is anticipated to be widespread by 1995 or 1996.
On September 28, 1993, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) published
a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, proposing to require ABS. The final rule on ABS was
published by NHTSA on March 10, 1995. It requires ABS on all newly manufactured
commercial vehicles as follows: (1) on/after March 1, 1997, truck tractors; (2) on/after March 1,
1998, all other air braked vehicles; and (3) on/after March 1, 1999, all hydraulically braked
vehicles. Also, on March 10, 1995, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office of
Motor Carriers published a notice of intent concerning maintenance policies for antilock brakes.

The Class 8 vehicle OEM's currently offer anti-lock brakes as standard equipment. .As
ABS usage increases, it will bring with it both the necessity and opportunity for automated
inspection due to the inherent sophistication of ABS technology. Given that current on-board
monitoring of ABS by the driver is only a "go" or "no go" message, there will be opportunities for
external diagnostics applications. External diagnostic technology for both ABS and non-ABS
braking systems willprobably be available by 1996 --perhaps based on dynamometers and
infrared sensing.

Later in the decade will be the advent of electronic braking systems (EBS), or "brake by
wire." The brake pedal will function as a switch or rheostat generating an electrical signal that
will trigger brake actuation from air reservoirs mounted at or near the axles. Thus, the time delay
in today's systems which are actuated by air pressure will be virtually eliminated. Initial
installations will be redundant with air actuation backing up the electronic actuation. Benefits of
faster timing will include reduced stopping distances, ability to apply differing amounts of torque
to each wheel based on the load or weight on each brake, the ability to alter brake timing
automatically as conditions and loads dictate, and the ability to measure and compare the heat
generated by each brake in order to determine how much work each is doing and balance the
braking among the various individual brakes. Electronic braking will permit the integration of
intelligently controlled retarders into a complete braking system (microelectronically controlled
retarders are described below.) Brake by Wire will also introduce opportunities for complete
electronic diagnosis of the braking system.

an
Brake by wire will require special data and: power connections to the trailer for
a
integrated system. This requirement can be met by either second trailer cable and connector as
in Europe or by engineering modifications of the seven-pin trailer connector in order to extend a
high-speed data bus to the trailer. To date, trailer installed ABS can be implemented with stand
alone trailer axle installations. However, brake by wire will require real time integration of all
vehicle configuration wheels into a total system.

19
Chapter 3: The Heavy Truck Operating Environment

Traction Controls. Electronically controlled automated traction controls are similar to


ABS, forming a safety related system that has the objective of preventing wheel spin during
acceleration. It makes use of the same hardware components as ABS for monitoring wheel
rotation. Electronically controlled traction systems typically provide benefits in slippery surface
conditions to reduce loss of traction. These systems, like ABS, are sophisticated and complex,
and their usage is anticipated to increase with increased implementation of ABS.

Retarders. Electronic retarders offer a perceptible reduction in stress for the driver
during everyday vehicle operation. They also achieve improved operating economy through
service life of the brakes. This is contrasted to ABS that functions only under a severe emergency
braking condition. The deceleration effects of retarders are coupled electronically to the vehicle
speed control systems.

Tire Pressure Monitoring. Tire inflation pressure monitoring and control of on-board
inflation are application systems currently used in the military and also available for commercial
vehicles. It is expected that they will be widely introduced by 1998. These microelectronic
applications are generally stand alone. However, before the end of the decade, it is expected that
optional display of the on-going pressures will be desirable on the electronic instrumentation in
the cab at the driver's selection.

Electronic Steering Control. Electrorucally controlled power steering offers- increased


safety and driver operating comfort. Conventional servo-hydraulic steering systems possess
transmission characteristics which represent a comprot:rrlse between steering force inputs
determined by the steering ratios of the mechanical steering components and- the hydraulic booster
components. At high speeds and under high lateral acceleration, the driver needs a direct feel of
the lateral acceleration through the steering wheel while low steering effort is desired for comfort
in turns at low speeds. Electronically controlled systems will utilize a fluid proportioning valve
which allows the pressure in the hydraulic reaction side of the system to be varied by the
controller based on vehicle speed, front axle load, and lateral acceleration.

Driver Safety Controls. Driver safety controls are an eclectic mixture of self-contained
and autonomous applications on the heavy truck. These include radar guided backing and
maneuvering at the dock, keyless vehicle entry and security systems, as well as interfaces to radar
detection for regulated cruise control (similar to collision avoidance systems detailed below.)

Collision-Avoidance. Collision avoidance systems are electronically controlled proximity


detectors. They utilize a high-frequency microwave or radar transmission and reception system
together with intelligent controls that detect the rate of closure between the vehicle and potential
obstacles detected by the radar system. The safety benefits of this type of system are obvious.

Driver Comfort Controls (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning - HVAq,.


HVAC systems are increasingly being designed with microelectronic control of blend air doors,
water, and refrigerant valve controls. These systems u~e an extensive number of temperature and
system condition sensors and then operate the system using parameter identification (PID) logic in
order to converge upon a desireg set point.

20
Chapter 3: The Heavy Truck Operating Environment

Off-Board Communication and Navigation. Satellite and narrow-band FM two-way


radio communication are already prevalent within the heavy truck industry. In most cases a
digital electronic controller is used to handle the transmission and reception of data. These
applications are generally stand-alone in nature. It is expected that extensive interfaces between
the on-board data communications system on the vehicle data bus and the off-board
communication system will be developed to routinely "broadcast" vehicle operational status. One
application would use the keypad on the trip recorder or vehicle instrumentation system to input
information for driver data to be transmitted to the fleet owner's office.

Navigation units will be self-contained. They will be either positional reference calculation
units with their own mapping or they will be radio-controlled via LORAN-C or geostationary
satellite radio transmission reception.

In summary, the overall electronics industry has been the beneficiary of decreasing unit
costs of their most basic raw material, semiconductor circuits or "chips." This has provided the
ability for the automotive passenger car market to aggressively implement microprocessor-based
electronic applications and thereby build a large volume base for the development of electronics
components applicable to the commercial motor vehicle. Commercial vehicle owners and
operators have thus become more familiar with the concepts and techniques involved in
microelectronic technology as embodied in passenger car computer modules for engine e~ssions
control. This familiarity, along with the success of"electro~c engines" in heavy trucks; has done
much to negate the initial acceptability problems with the reliability of on-board vehicle
electronics.

Table 1 is a summary of project findings from the information-gathering process that


illustrates the penetration of electronics into heavy truck applications versus mechanical,
pneumatic, and other techniques. To distinguish between electronic and microprocessor-based
systems in the table, one should realize that "electronic" systems typically represent on/off or
go/no go scenarios. Microprocessor-based systems are "smart" systems with memory of stored
parameters via "look-up" tables. One example in passenger cars is electric seat controls. A
"smart" control would have the capability of resetting to match a particular driver.

The historical role of most Class 8 OEM's has been that of systems integrator, or more
significantly, as a merchant assembler of supplier components. This role has not only continued
but has accelerated with the introduction of advanced microelectronic controllers on various
vehicle sub-systems.

3.2.2 Vehicle Maintenance

Heavy truck maintenance is performed by a wide variety of individuals and organizations.


Much of the maintenance-is provided by the traditional dealer or' distributor organizations._ -These
OEM and supplier franchised service organizations are typically staffed with factory trained .-
service technicians and are supplied with most, if not all, of the factory recolnmended service
equipment including portable and console-based diagnostic service tools. These dealers or
distributors are typically authorized to sell and service the manufacturers' products within a given

21
Chapter 3: The Heavy Truck Operating Environment

Table 1. Current Status of Electronics on Heavy-Duty Trucks

Micro-
Processor
Application Mechanical Electronic Based Pneumatic

Engine Speed Controls X X X


Engine Protection X X X
Electronic Engine Controls X
Transmission Controls X X
Vehicle Speed Controls X
Automated Engine Cooling Control X
Automated Traction Control X
Anti-Lock Braking X
Tire Pressure Monitor X
Controlled Assisted Steering X X X
On-Board Weighing Systems X
Axle Load Sensing X
PTO Controls X X X
Electronic Driven Discree~ Gages X X
Full Digital Displays X
Vehicle History Recorders X
Trip Data Recorders X
Crash Recorders X
Service Advisory Records X
Diagnostic Link X
Cab Environment {HVAC Controls) X X
Seat Controls X X
Lighting Controls X X
Mirror Controls X X
Blind Spot Detection X
X
Security--Anti-Theft
X
Remote Keyless Entry
X X
Communication System
X X
Security--Relocate Stolen Vehicle
X
Automated Load Advisory
X
Navigation CRT with Maps
X
Precise Location
X

22 '
Chapter 3: The Heavy Truck Operating Environment

geographic area. They also spend most, if not all, of their effort in sexvicing products of a single
(or multiple) manufacturer.

The carriers or vehicle operators often dq much of their own maintenance in-house.
Typically, a large fleet will have many maintenance centers or garages geographically distributed
within the area serviced by the fleet. These garages are staffed with technicians or mechanics who
perform routine maintenance as well as diagnose and correct problems encountered by the
fleets' drivers. Depending upon the make-up of the fleet, these technicians might find it
necessary to provide service on a variety of vehicles from different manufacturers as well as a
variety of components such as engines and transmissions from different component suppliers.

In both the dealerships and the fleet maintenance operations, the operation typically
segregates the problem definition or description function from the diagnosis or correction
function. In ~ dealership operation, the problem is described by the operator or driver to a
write-up man, often called a service manager or cus~omer service technician. He writes a
work order thatdescribes.the problem in terms of its obvious symptoms that is in tum
forwarded to a mechanic who is assigned the problem diagnosis task.

The mechanic or service technician then troubleshoots the problems using the
symptoms to determine. the root cause of the problem. Where a complex elec~onical~y
controlled device is involved, it is generally routine practice to attach the electronic diagnosis-
tool to the vehicle or component in order to determine if on-board operating malfunctions have
been encountered and stored as.fault ~odes in the device. Thus, routine and problem
maintenance of electronic devices generally involves one or more diagnostic tools.

Integration of service documentation including manuals, bulletins, and similar literature


with the diagnosis device is a major need in the diagnosis function. The diagnosis function
typically follows a "tree diagram" with alternate paths to be followed depending upon the
conditions found by the mechanic such as the fault codes displayed by the diagnosis tools.
This diagnosis tree data is generally provided in hard copy form in the manufacturer's service
documentation. Thus, there is often: cross-referencing between books of service literature and
the codes and conditions displayed by the diagnostic device.

3.2.3 Vehicle Regulatory Environment

Commercial motor vehicles over 10,000 lb Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR)
must meet a variety of existing NHTSA Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) and
FHWA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR). These FMCSR regulations are
extensive and are enforced on the motor carrier through periodic roadside inspections
conducted by the FHWA and the States. NHTSA enforces its regulations through _compliance
testing and a review of the manufacturers records. NHTSA has recently prepared its fmal
report on the use of ABS on trailers; and, as of March 10, 1995, it published its final Rule
regarding anti-lock brakes on heavy trucks. These initiatives could lead to additional
regulations in advanced braking systems.

23
Chapter 3: The Heavy Truck Operating Environment

3.2.3.1 Regulatory Environment Related to Emissions

Regulations applying to emissions of existing and new heavy diesel trucks have been in.
existence for a number of years, although attention has increased with adoption of the Clean Air
Act of 1990.<1415> The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets standards for emissions from
heavy duty trucks. Beginning with model year 1994, new engines for heavy duty trucks had to be
built to reduce particulate (soot and dust) releases by 90 percent. Effective for model year 1998
and thereafter, the emissions of oxides of Nitrogen (NOJ from gasoline and diesel fueled trucks
shall not exceed 4.0 grams per brake-horsepower-hour.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) currently regulates gaseous emission levels
for vehicles sold within the State of California. Section 1968.1 of Title 13, California Code of
Regulation (CCR), entitled "Malfunction and Diagnostic System Requirements-- 1994 and
Subsequent Model-Year Passenger Cars, Light-Duty Trucks, and Medium-Duty Vehicles and
Engines" (OBD II) establishes parameters that must be monitored (on gasoline engines) and
which, upon detection of a problem, must generate a fault code and illuminate a malfunction
indicator light (MIL). These elements are included: catalyst (after-treatment of exhaust gases), .
heated catalyst (checks for proper heating of catalyst), misfire monitoring, evaporative system
morutoring, secondary air system monitoring, A/C refrigerant leak monitoring, fuel system
monitorir~.g, oxygen sensor monitoring, Exhaust Gas Recirculation system monitoring, and a
"Comprehensive Component Monitoring" category, which could include any electronic
powertrain component not otherwise covered.

Although the above requirements are for gasoline engines, CARB is also actively pursuing
procedures to control diesel emissions. Currently the proposals for controlling diesel exhaust
emissions are focused in three areas. The first area is technology that forces emission standards.
These standards are intended to lead to engineering augmentations of engine designs, including:
cylinder redesign, turbocharger/supercharger redesign, improved fuel injection systems featuring
electronic controls, exhaust gas recirculation, catalytic trap oxidizer, and particulate trap oxidizer
development.

The second area is fuel regulations. The adopted measures regulate the maximum
allowable sulfur and aromatic hydrocarbon fraction of diesel fuel to 0. 05 percent and 10 percent
by weight, respectively. These regulations result in the reductions ofNOx, SOx, and PM
emissions and promotion of efforts to design and test heavy-duty engines which operate with
alternative fuels such as methanol.

The third area of concentration for controlling diesel exhaust emissions is an active
inspection program, the California Heavy Duty Vehicle Inspection Program (HDVIP). This
program is conducted at California Highway Patrol (CHP) inspection and weigh stations:t at
random roadside locationS, and fleet locations.. The type of test California uses .~s a snap-idle test,
which takes 10 to 20 minutes. It is estimated byCARB that the HDVIP will eventually reduce
the number of on-road excessively smoking heavy-duty vehicles by 57 percent.

A number of other States also currently operate heavy-duty vehicle emissions inspection
programs. These States and the type of tests used by each include: Arizona (dynamometer),

24
Chapter 3: The Heavy Truck Operating Environment

Colorado (snap-idle, acceleration; & lug-down), Connecticut (not specified), Maryland (snap-
idle), Nevada (lug-down/snap-idle), New Jersey (snap-idle, acceleration), New Hampshire (not
specified), and Oregon (no-load idle). It should be noted that State-specific differences exist in
the method of conducting these tests, but some examples are provided to illustrate the
procedures. The CARB snap-idle test is performed on a fully warm engine with the transmission
disengaged and wheels chocked. The driver is instruct~d to perform three "clean-out" rapid
engine accelerations, then three test accelerations (to maximum governor speed). Procedures
require the smoke to be measured by a smoke opacity meter and strip chart recorder. The lug-
down test used in one State consists of (1) running the vehicle at a speed of 45 to 60 mph on a
dynamometer, and (2) i~creasing the dynamometer load progressively-until the loading reduces
engine rpm to 80 percent of governed rpm. Peak smoke opacity is measured over a period of 5 to
10 seconds. In another State, an acceleration test conducted on a dynamometer requires an
opacity check for the period when rpm is between 70 percent of rated capacity to rated rpm. In
this. test, the smoke opacity cannot exceed 40 percent for at least 5 seconds. It is anticipated that
other States will also adopt emissions regulations in the future as environmental and air quality
regulations are enacted.

The EPA has recently requested comments on similar proposed Rulemaking for vehicles
up to 14,000 lb Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR), proposing to replace previous Rules
within this weight category. It is expected that future regulations on emissions for diesel engines
from both of these organizations will be extended into the heavier weight classes. When that
happens in an industry which is largely a horizontaiiy integrated industry as in the Class 8 truck
market, questions arise as to which entity is responsible for ensuring compliance. Obviously, the
engine manufacturer must accept responsibility for emissions sensors which are resident within the
engine envir()nment, but at least one of the OBD II requirements does not fall within the engine
manufacturer's purview. That is the refrigerant leak monitor.

No matter which party takes the lead in ensuring compliance with EPA rules, all of the
monitored elements must generate standardized diagnostic codes and generate a signal which
illuminates a MIL. The stored fault codes must be available to an inspector performing a routine
roadside inspection, preferably complemented with a "snapshot" of other pertinent data such as
engine RPM, road speed, and various pressure, temperature, and/or voltage readings from the
engine (or other appropriate system) at the time the fault occurred.

Organizations such as EPA and CARB are supplemented with a variety of State, county
and municipal regulations that mandate vehicle compliance with additional and overlapping safety
and emissions regulations. An on-board system for diagnostics would have to support the widest
possible number of these rules and organizations. These would include engine fault codes and
ABS fault codes as well as possible additional parameters not currently monitored ..
. . -~

Current off-board tests of emissions in heavy-duty diesel trucks inClude. opacity tests of
exhaust smoke. As of April 1993, the 'eight previously mentioned States had adopted mandatory
emissions inspection arid maintenance programs for diesel trucks. California developed its own
heavy-duty vehicle smoke and tampering inspection program composed of nine enforcement
teams operating randomly along California highways, at fleet facilities, and at truck weight and
inspection stations. The CARB has established opacity standards to be used in these tests based

25
Chapter 3: The Heavy Truck Operating Environment

on the manufacture date of the vehicle; opacity standards for older vehicles are less stringent than
newer ones. In California, the opacity test results are based on the "snap-idle" test, but other
States which use opacity measurements are not necessarily consistent with the California tests.
The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) is currently developing a joint government and
industry-approved method for testing truck emissions at the roadside. Work on the draft
standard, 11667, "Snap-Acceleration Smoke Test Procedure for Heavy-Duty Diesel Powered
Vehicles," was expected to be approved by SAE by the end of the calendar year 1993,(t6) but was
not approved. Given the currently increasing activities in off-board testing, the increase in
electronic. engines, and the precedent established by OBD II of monit~ring the integrity of
components affecting emissions, on-board diagnostics for emissions applications should be
imminent. .

3.2.3.2 Regulatory Environment for Roadside Inspections

Table 2 represents a preliminary effort to identify items of safety inspections (at truck
weight and inspection stations in the field, as contrasted to terminal or shop safety inspections).
These items come from the list provided in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations,
published by the American Trucking Associations (ATA). These originated in the Code ofFederal
Regulations, Part 49, Subpart 393, U.S. Department ofTransportation.<1'>

For each item of inspection, the general technique currently used by field inspectors is
identified. The background approach to the inspection process is generally that of the Commercial
Vehicle Safety Alliance, but it should be recognized that different States even within CVSA have
wide variations in the depth and numbers of items inspected. Much safety inspection consists of
observations by an experienced inspector, alert for conditions that he/she has learned are typically
out of tolerance or a problem area. Where the entry in the Technique column reads, "Verify
general conformance," this level of inspection is meant. Unless the item is totally absent or
noticeably damaged, no further scrutiny is attempted. For each item, a subjective rating is
assigned concerning its suitability for advanced technology substitutes or assistance of the
primarily visual and manual walk-around (and under) inspection procedure.

A rating of" 1" denotes an item suitable for replacement by advanced instrumentation or
techniques such as bar coding. In some cases, such as headlamp aim measurement, good
technology is already in use. A level "2" rating denotes an operation which might be aided by
readouts or other kind of instrumentation, but payoff would be slight. Much of the
time-consuming manuaVvisual inspection process remains. A Level "3" rating denotes an
operation not suitable for mechanization or. instrumentation, without a radical change in
requirements or unforeseen ways in which the item could be assessed. This is only a preliminary
study of the main items tliat make up a safety inspection, and further study or news of advanced
technology will doubtless change some of these ratings. Other items that are beyond the scope of
this research are hazardous material inspection procedures, and those associated with the
paperwork side ofthe weigh.station process; i.e. logbooks, bills oflading, permits, and so forth.
Going beyond those items that are currently required by regulation to be inspected, future
opportunities will exist for instrumentation as sensor sets become available and a desirable benefit-
to-cost relationship exists. Some candidates are proposed later in this document.

26 I
n
=-
~

Table 2. Analysis of Items of Safety Inspection for Heavy Commercial Vehicles ..,
f"to.
~

~
t-3
SUBPART EQUIPMENT/FUNCTION FIELD INSPECTION SUITABILITY FOR ADVANCED =-
~

PARA. TECHNIQUE TECHNOLOGY<>


~
~
B Lighting Devices, Reflectors, Electrical
I EQuipment i

393.9 Lamps Operable Observe operability 2 - Unless no other reason for walk around

393.11-18 Lamp configurations for vehicle types Observe presence 3 - Must verify locations

393.19 Tumsi~s Observe presence/operability Operability 2, presence 3 must verify locations

393.20 Clearanc~ .Lamps Observe presence 3


t!!j

t-.)
393.22 Pennitted/prohibited Combinations Not a specific item 3 =
..,....
<
.....,l
393.23 Li~htin~ devices to be electric Observe presence 3
=
a=
393.24 Requirements for headlamps and auxiliary road Inspect condition, mounting 3 ~

lidttin~ lamps Measure aiming 1 - State of the art =


4"'t-

393.25 Requirements for other lamps (mounting, design) Inspect condition, markings 3
Brake stop lamps Observe operation 2 - Part of walk around

393.26 Requirements for reflectors Inspect condition, markings 3

393.27 Wiring specifications Inspect condition, dimensions 3

393.28 Wiring protection Inspect condition 3

393.29 . (Electrical) Grounds Verify presence 1 - Voltage readouts

393.30 Battery Installation Verify configUration, condition 2 to 3 (Electrical only 1)


..
393.31 Overload Protective Devices Not inspected

<> Code: 1 - Conducive to electronic monitoring; 2 - Possible electronic monitoring, but low payoff; 3 Not suitable for electronic monitoring
n
=-
=
......
..,
n>
Table 2. Analysis of Items of Safety Inspection for Heavy Commercial Vehicles (Continued)
..
~

~
--- ---- ----- ---- ~

SUBPART EQUIPMENT/FUNCTION FIELD INSPECTION TECHNIQUE SUITABILITY FOR ADVANCED =-


n>
PARA. TECHNOLOGY <> ~
393.32 Detachable Electrical Cormections Inspect condition, design 3
=
393.33 Wiring Installation Inspect condition 3

c Brakes
393.40 Required brake systems Verification 1 to 2
Service brakes
Parking brakes
Emergency .provisions
t!!j
393.41 Parking brakes Verify Operation/Release 2 =
~
~
00
Verify presence
5"
a=
393.42 Brakes on all wheels 3

Breakaway and emergency braking Verify operation (part of Leakdown 1 n>


393.43
Test) =
......

393.44 Protection of front brake lines (buses) Design item, not usually inspected
.11.
393.45 of brake tubing and hose Inspect condition 3

' 393.46 Brake tubing and hose cormections Inspect condition 3


i

393.47 Brake lining (pads or shoes) Measure thickness, condition 1 - thickness

I 393.48 Brakes operative Verify operation 1


Check for presence of manual valve 3

I 393.49 Single valve operates all brakes Verification 3

1393.50 ResetVoirs required Leakdown test - verify integrity 1


Verify drain cock operability 3

<> Code: 1 - Conducive to electronic monitoring; 2 - Possible electronic moriitoring, but low payoff; 3 - Not suitable for electronic monitoring
n
=-
~

Table 2. Analysis of Items of Safety Inspection for Heavy Commercial Vehicles (Continued) ..,
~
~

..
C,H

~
SUBPART EQUIPMENT/FUNCTION FIELD INSPECTION SUITABILITY FOR ADVANCED =-
~

PARA. TECHNIQUE TECHNOLOGY <>


~
~
393.51 Warnmg devices and gauges Leakdown test- verify operation 1 to 2

393.52 Brake Performance Braking distance: not usually 1 if performed


performed

D Glazina and Window Construction

393.60-63 Glass presence, types, condition; window Verification 3


design, markings

E Fuel Systems ~

393.65 Location, installation, desi~ of all fuel svstems Verification of conformance 3


=
<
~r
t--)
\0
393.67 Liquid fuel tank requirements Verification of confolmance, 3. =
a
certain items (caps, vents, etc.) ~

=
~

393.69 Liquefied petroleum gas systems requirements Inspected under 393~65

F Couplina Devices and Towinfl Methods

393.70 Coupling Devices/Towing Methods


a. Tracking Not inspected
b. 5th Wheel Assemblies Mounting (either Verification I
3
halt) Verification of operation 2 - special instrumentation
Locking Verify position (lower) 3
Location Verification of design adequacy, 3
condition
c. Full trailer towing Verification ''. 3

d. Safety devices Presence, design Qualitative estimate 2


Strength

Ca> Code: .1 - Conducive to electronic monitoring; 2 - Possible electronic monitoring, but low payoff; 3 - Not suital>le for electronic monitoring
n
='"
=
~
~
Table 2. Analysis of Items of Safety Inspection for Heavy Commercial Vehicles (Continued) '""&
~
~
SUBPAAT EQUIPMENT/FUNCTION FIELD INSPECTION SUITABILITY FOR ADVANCED =-
tD
TECHNOLOGY <>
PARA.
393.71 Coupling Devices/Towing Methods Driveaway-
towaway
TECHNIQUE

Not often inspected 3


=
tD
=
a.- Number in combination Verify general conformance 3
b. Carrying vehicles on towing vehicle Verify general conformance 3
c. Carrying vehicles on towed vehicle Verify general conformance 3
d. Bumper tow bars on heavy vehicles Verify not present 3
e. Front wheels of saddle mount vehicles Verify general conformance 3
restrained
f. Orientation of towed vehicle Verify general conformance 3
g. Means required for towing Verify general conformance 3 ~

w
h. Requirements for towbars
ilk Saddle-mounts
Verify general conformance
Verify general conformance
3
3
~=
::;
0 e
I. Kingpins for saddle mounts
a=
Verify general conformance 3
m. Additional requirements for saddle mounts Verify general conformance 3
tD
n. Connection devices Verify general conformance 3
=
~

G Miscellaneous Parts and Accessories


393.75 Tires
Tread, sidewall condition Measure 8.nd verify conformance 2
Load rating Verify general conformance 2(bar code)
. -
Pressure Thump or measure 1 to 2
393.76 Sleeper berth design and occupant protection Verify general conformance 3
393.77 Heaters
Proluoited types Check for presence 3
Specifications Verify general conformance 3
393.78 Windshield Wipers Verify presence, condition, 3
operation
I
i 393.79 Defrosting Device (if windshield_) Verify general conformance 3

<a> Code: 1- Conducive to electronic monitoring; 2- Possible electronic monitoring, but low payoff; 3- Not suitable for electronic monitoring
n
=-
~
,...
Table 2. Analysis of Items of Safety Inspection for Heavy Commercial Vehicles (Continued) .,
tD

-------
!f
~
SUBPART EQUIPMENT/FUNCTION FIELD INSPECTION SUITABILITY FOR ADVANCED ~
tD,
PARA. TECHNIQUE TECHNOLOGY <>
393.80 Rear Vision Mirrors Verify presence, condition 3 ~
~

393.81 Hom Verify operation 2


393.82 Speedometer Sometimes inspected on way to 1
bay
393.83 Exhaust System Location Verify conformance 3
393.84 Flooring (Integrity, contamination with Verify general conformance 3
flammables)
393.86 Rear erxl protection Verify general conformance 3
~
393.87 Flags on projecting loads Not usually an item of inspection =
<
w
""'""
393.88 Television receivers (not visible to driver) Verify general conformance 3 a=
393.89 Bus drive shaft protection Verify conformance 3 a
tD
393.90
393.91
Bus standee line or bar
Bus aisle seats
Not usually and item of inspection 3
Verify conformance 3
=
,...

393.92 Bus emergency door marking and lamps Verify conformance (393.30 for 3
lamp)
393.93 Seats, seat belt assemblies, and anchorages Verify presence of belts, seat(s) 3 ..

invokes FMVSS (49CFR571) anchored, etc.


393.94 Vehicle interior noise levels Not usually an item of inspection 1
H Emergency Equipment
393.95 Emergency equipment on power units Verify conformance 3
Fire extinguisher
Spare fuses
Warning devices

<> Code: 1- Conducive to electronic monitoring; 2- Possible electronic monitoring, but low payoff; 3- Not suitable for electronic monitoring
n
Table 2. Analysis of Items of Safety Inspection for Heavy Commercial Vehicles (Continued) ="
~

..,......
~

SUBPART EQUIPMENT/FUNCTION . FIELD INSPECTION SUITABILITY FOR ADVANCED ~


PARA. TECHNIQUE . TECHNOLOGY <) ~
="
~
I
393.100
Protection Aaainst Shiftina or Fallin1 Car1o

General rules
=
~
~

Protection components Verify general conformance 3


Metal articles

393.102 Securement systems


Tie down assemblies
Load binders and hardware
Attachment to vehicle
Winches/other fastenings
Adiustability Verify conformance . 3
)
~

a==
393.104 Blocking and bracing Verify general conformance 3 <
w
t-.l
393.106 Front-end structure Verify presence 3

J Frames, Cabs, Body Components, Wheels,


a
~

Steering, Suspension =
......

393.201 Frames intact Inspect condition 3


Bolts, brackets intact, tight
Frame rail flanges not bent or damaged
Accessories bolted or riveted
No holes in flanges except by manufacturer

393.203 Doors intact and working, emergency egress Inspect eonditlon . : 3


possible
!

Cab mounts intact


Hood fastened in place
Seats securely mounted
Front bumper intact and not hazard _(protruding)

393.205 Wheels/rims not damaged or broken Inspect condition 2-3


Stud/bolt holes not damaged or elongated 3
i Nuts or bolts missing or loose Inspect/check tightness 1 (tightness)
(a) Code: 1- Conducive to electronic monitoring; 2- Possible electronic monitoring, but low payoff; 3- Not suitable for electronic monitoring
n
Table 2. Analysis of Items of Safety Inspection for Heavy Commercial Vehicles (Continued) ="
=
----- ----- ------- - ---

.,
f""to
~

SUBPART
PARA.
EQUIPMENT/FUNCTION FIELD INSPECTION
TECHNIQUE
SUITABILITY FOR ADVANCED
TECHNOLOGY<>
..
C.H

393.207 Axle mountings intact, not broken Inspect condition 3


=-
~

Axles aligned Verify conformance 1 ~


Adjustable axle locking pins intact, engaged Inspect condition 3 =
Leaf springs intact, not missing or shifted Inspect condition 3
Coil springs intact (not cracked or broken)
Torsion bars intact (not cracked or broken)
Air suspension:
Brakes get air before suspension Verify operation 1
Suspension levels vehicle Verify conformance 2-3
Air leakdown (3 psig in S minutes) Verify conformance 1

393.209 Steering wheel structurally intact Inspect condition 3. ~

w
Steering lash
Steering system:
Verify operation
Verify conformance
1
3
=
<
w ~r
U-joints not worn, faulty, repaired by
welding Inspect condition 3 =
a
~
Gear box intact, no missing bolts or cracks
Pitman arm tight
Inspect condition
Verify confo~ce
3
2
=
f""to

Lock-to-lock capability Verify operation 1


Power steering system:
All components intact and working Inspect conditio~operation 1-2
Belt condition Inspect condition 3 ..
No leaks Verify conformance 2
Sufficient fluid in reservoir Verify conformance 1

<a> Code: 1 - Conducive to electronic monitoring; 2 - Possible electt:anic monitoring, but low payoff; 3 - Not suitable for electronic monitoring
Chapter 3: The Heavy Truck Operating Environment

3.2.4 Vehicle Diagnostic Techniques

3.2.4.1 Introduction

Existing diagnostic techniques used to determine the source of problems in


microprocessor-based truck components run the gamut from blinking lights to dedicated
diagnostic tools. Blinking lights are intended to convey simple _messages, whereas diagnostic
tools are required for more complex problems that require more sophisticated logic. All of these
techniques are based on the microelectronic-device on-board the vehi~le storing and/or
repetitively communicating fault codes indicating the problem encountered on the unit. These
fault codes are stored in memory on-board the vehicle for access and interpretation by an off-
board device. Thus, diagnostic systems can generally be divided into on-board and off-board
elements. This report emphasizes on-board systems, but an understanding of the off-board
devices and techniques used to diagnose problems is essential to a better understanding of how
on-board systems function and the importance of standardization.

3.2.4.2 Off-Board Systems

Because of the diversity of manufacturers, technician preferences, and supplier strategies


in the off-board diagnostic device category, it is virtually impossible to rigidly define the operation
of a generic diagnostic device. However, it is possible to emphasize the functiQnality that such
devices should have in the interest of industry standardi~ation. These dedicated diagnostic
devices are both hand-held (portable) and console-based (stationary).

Portable diagnostic devices should be small and easily moved and have an environmentally
protected keypad incorporated into the unit for the user. They should be rugged and sturdy, with
an alpha-numeric character display. They should be equipped with cable and connector for
attachment to the vehicle data link and capable of obtaining power from the vehicle by data bus
connection. Portable devices should support erasure of stored f~ult codes, display of test switch
status, and display of all parameters to which the manufacturer or fleet management has been
granted access. They should be capable of storing all of the diagnostic data obtained from the
vehicle for communication to a full-range diagnostic device.

Stationary or console-based devices should have at least an SO-column by 40-line


information display and they should support bit-mapped graphic displays. These devices should
preferably be based on generalized software standards such as MS-DOS, WINDOWSlM, or other
easily obtainable packages, and they should. utilize icons and menus to increase ease ofuse. They
should support the J1708/J1587 data link protocols, and they should support communication with
portable devices. Communication links for console-based devices can run the gamut from a
standard RS232C port to communication via infrared Local Area Network or similar
technologies.

All ofthe existing off-board tools.(generally for engine or ABS diagnostics) include at
least several of the following features:

34 '
Chapter 3: The Heavy Truck Operating Environment

They read the standard J1587 parameter identifier (PID) encoded diagnostic data.

They read and write proprietary manufacturer's data that is not defined in the SAE
J1587 standard. This data is not generally available to the generic tool suppliers.

They provide some capability for component parameter programming at either or


both the customer level and the dealership level. These parameters include items
such as engine RPM, power take-off (PTO) speed, idle shutdown time, engine
horsepower, and transmission shift points.

They provide for controlled program modification by reprogramming the


electronic controller with authorization to provide new control logic and new
calibration parameters. This function is used for both recalls to correct defects as
well as improved controller operation for improved vehicle performance.

Some of these tools provide for measurements of direct physical data on the
vehicle and displays of these data. These vehicle signals include voltages,
frequencies, and pressures.

- Some tools are capable of performing published diagnosis procedures as described


in the manufacturers' repair literature. Additionally, they walk the mecharuc
through the procedure using "help" aids and diagnostic trees..

A few are capable of performing the manufacturer's proprietary diagnostic tests


that are used for diagnosis of difficult problems.

Some electronically integrate the display of all of the manufacturer's technical


manuals with the data acquired from the vehicle.

Tools also continuously save a few seconds of vehicle data so that the technician
can take a "snap shot".ofthe vehicle's data before and after a problem occurs.

Hand-held tools have the advantage of being relatively inexpensive, and they provide a
"standard" tool that can be modified for manufacturer-specific items using cartridges.
Disadvantages include the problem that generic cartridges for the tools are not as effective as
component-specific cartridges. Most of the tools are based on proprietary computer design,
limiting the ability to add software routines~ More detailed capabilities for diagnosis require the
specific manufacturer cartridge applicable to the component(s).

PC-based diagnostic tools are based on an "open" computer design which provides a
multitude of additional optional computer hardware and software features on the tool.. They have'
the additional advantages of supporting very sophisticated. diagnostic programs, have more . -
potential when used as a generic tool, and have the potential extended to many computer
component suppliers to provide useful products. They could still be hand-held units by using a
"laptop'' configuration, but it should be "ruggedized" to withstand the shop or roadside inspection
environment. Their prices range from moderate to expensive, depending on selection of available

35 I
Chapter 3: The Heavy Truck Operating Environment

options. The computer used for this purpose requires at least a DX or DX2 processor and an add-
on analog board. General cost figures range between two and four times the cost of existing hand
held seiVice tools. Their capability for complete diagnosis still requires a manufacturer's program.

3.2.5 Vehicle Manufacturen

InteiViews were conducted with all six of the major domestic original equipment
manufacturers of Class 8 vehicles. These were Ford, Freightliner, Mack, Navistar, PACCAR, and
Volvo/GM. A number of common statements made by these manufac~urers is provided below.
These opinions represent a consensus among persons inteiViewed; some differences were
expressed both among and within vehicle OEMs interviewed. First, definitions of Society of
Automotive Engineers (SAE) Standard Practice 11708, J1587, J1922, and 11939 are necessary to
the understanding of OEM comments related to on board diagnostics.

11708--Serial Data Communication Between Microcomputer Systems in Heavy Duty


Vehicle Applications. This is the hardware protocol for the low speed serial data link that
describes the wire size, type and length, electrical parameters and protocol for messages.

11587--Recommended Practice For Serial Data Communications Between Microcomputer


Systems in Heavy Duty Vehicle Applications. This is the data format for the low speed data link.
It is a software standard based on the J1708 hardware standard. It defines standard messages
with a message identifier {MID) such as 11 190" for engine revolutions per minute (rpm) and
assigns numbers to components such as "130" for the transmission.

J1922--Powertrain Control Interface for Electronic Controls Used in Medium and Heavy-
Duty Diesel On-Highway Vehicle Applications. The interim standard for drive train
communications until the high-speed data link {J1939} is available.

11939-- Recommended Practice for High Speed Serial Communications. Network


hierarchy and the level of interconnection among vehicle electronic subsystems are addressed in
this standard. It is intended to serve as a high speed communications and control data link. It
provides opportunities for the advancement of technology, and it allows component suppliers to
integrate subsystems for improved performance. In comparison to existing 11708, 11587, and
11922 standards, it will enhance existing system capabilities and add new ones to better support
controls and multiplexing on a single network.

There is common acceptance and usage of the 11587/11708 protocols for


diagnostics; these are predicted to coexist with the high-speed communications
protocol,.11939, for five to ten years after the introduction ofJ1939.

Most vehicle OEM representatives agreed that the faster speed of 11939 is
needed for a) "control" applications and b) more detailed diagnostic coding .

Most agreed that the vehicle OEM's should take the leadership role in coordinating
multiple electronic systems on Class 8 trucks for communication purposes such as
with diagnostic tools to minimize redundancy.

36
Chapter 3: The Heavy Truck Operating Environment

One of the Class 8 OEM' s is distributing service literature to their distributors


on CD-ROM using a Mackintosh system. This could complicate future usage of
"PC-based" systems in the shop or roadside environment as discussed later in
this document.

Three of the OEM' s are currently using the interim J1922 high speed
communications protocol for control applications.

One OEM predicted a "through the cab" diagnostic connector within five years.
Pros and cons include the driver's privacy and the inspector needing to enter
the cab during inspection anyway.

The 1993 percentage of electronically controlled diesel engines in Class 8 trucks


being installed by two major vehicle OEM's was 80 percent for one and 95
percent for the other.

The trend in electronic diagnostics is being driven by: a) a shortage in skilled


mechani~s, and b) rapid changes in vehicle design iri response to emissions and
safety regulations.

Future applications of electronics on Glass 8 trucks: trailer refrigeration


systems, lighting systems, engine systems, tire inflation systems, and force
transducers to sense loading conditions.

Vehicle OEM's development of new technology is driven by the customer


and/or legislation.

3.2.6 Vehicle Component Suppliers.

Four domestic engine suppliers (Caterpillar, Cummins, Detroit Diesel, and Mack),
three transmission suppliers (Allison, Eaton, and Rockwell), two axle. producers (Eaton and
Rockwell), and four ABS suppliers (Eaton, Bendix, Midland, and WABCO) provided
information for use in this study. Also, the major independent supplier of generic diagnostic
tools, Micro-Processor Systems, Incorporated (MPSI), provided information on current and
future diagnostic service tools.

Some general comments expressed by component suppliers are summarized below:

All engine manufacturers have both proprietary and non-proprietary codes.


Generic readers generally cannot access proprietary codes.

All manufacturers of electronic engines secure parameters that could change the
engine's torque and horsepower, and thus discourage tampering and consequent
increased emissions to undesirable levels.

37
Chapter 3: The Heavy Truck Operating Environment

All major engine manufacturers except one utilize independent suppliers of


diagnostic hardware. The one exception manufactures its own.

Many mechanics have been in a "parts changing" mode for many years and
continue this with electronic components. So a majority of parts removed and
tested are not conclusively defective, but many are returned to the supplier for
replacement.

In 1992, the leading manufacturer of ABS sold 36 percent of its units for general
freight movement; in 1993 it was expected to be 60 percent. "Brake by wire,"
possibly available by the year 2000, will offer much greater opportunity for on-
board diagnostics than current brake systems.

There is a consensus among the OEM's and suppliers that the market penetration of
"smart" electronics will continue and will accelerate. As a consequence, the number of
microprocessors on the vehicle will markedly increase by the end of the decade. Further, there
will be an accelerating trend toward the sharing of data among controllers. This should minimize
the proliferation of redundant sensors on the vehicle such as engine speed sensors and vehicle
speed sensors.
,_
All of the OEM's and the component suppliers have committed to the joint efforts of The
Maintenance Council (TMC} and Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) to incorporate
standardized low-speed and high-speed data buses on the vehicle for communications, including
diagnostic tools, in order to share operating and diagnostic data. These efforts were instrumental
in the adoption by Class 8 OEM' s of a standardized connector in a standardized location.

Because of the nature of the heavy truck market, the manufacturers and suppliers form
alliances in order to develop a functioning vehicle for the customer. It is expected that these
trends toward cooperation and sharing will continue.

OEM and supplier dealership maintenance garages have not yet encountered the problems
of training and investment in a wide range of diagnostic tools. Typically the type of maintenance
brought to them is a difficult problem involving one of their nameplate units. Problems involving
other manufacturers or individual component suppliers are generally routed to dealers for that
nameplate or component. If the problem is not severe, it is typically handled by the mechanics in
the fleet's garage.

Anti-lock Braking Systems. Comparison of the on-board diagnostic systems for anti-
lock brake systems for Eaton, Midland-Grau and WABCO indicates significant differenc~s in the
ways these component suppliers communicate fault information to maintenance and inspeCtion
personnel. More specifically, the codes used by each of these companies are unique to that
company and are not standardized. One common trait among the systems is that each company
provides the capability of specifically identifying each sensor for each axle. Table 3 groups fault
codes from each of these suppliers in order to demonstrate that some of the basic groupings are

38
Chapter 3:. The Heavy Truck Operating Environment

Table 3. Anti-lock Brake Diagn_ostic Codes

Description Eaton Midland- WABCO


Grau

Sensor failed open or shorted to ground 1*1 thru 1*6 01 thru06 2-8-10 thru 2-8-15 and
2-9-0 thru 2-9-2

Jl922 communication link problems 8*8 2-8-3 and 2-8-5


2-8-9 thru 2-8-11

No fault or trouble found 6*6 00 2-0-0

System voltage is less than 9 volts 6*3 90

Power supply voltage is too high 6*4 92 2-13-8 and 2-13-9

Sensor failed, no signal 2*1 thru 2*6 11 thru 16 2-6-10,


2-6-11,
2-7-2,2-7-3,

Signal quality poor or intermittent 7*1 thru 7*6 21 thru 26

. - -
similar (even though fault-specific codes are different among manufacturers). Each group
addresses one fault such as sensor failed or shorted. Midland-Grau- specifies 0_ as-the fault code
for this problem.- The additional identifier isolates the location of the fault; for example, 01
indicates that the left sensor for axle 1 is the sensor that has failed or shorted.

3.2.7 Vehicle Users-- the Motor Carriers

A full spectrum of private and for-hire carriers was interviewed. These included the large
for-hire carriers operating over 2, 000 units down through smaller regional and commodity-
specific carriers, including some owner-operators operating one to 10 units. Large fleets included
large less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers using van type cargo trailers; mid-size and small fleets
included tanker operations and material haulers.

During conversations with these carriers, several points became evident. The first was
that a significant number of carriers do not have vehicles equipped with electronic engines, and
thus have no experience with on-board diagnostics. This occurrence was more predominant for
small to medium sized companies. The second point was that some fleets purchase vehicles based
on a limited range of specifications, generally becoming comfortable with a particular set of
engine, drivetrain and other component combinations. These fleet management personnel believe
that their selected combination has served them well and will_ to do so for the foreseeable future.
Thus, the problems of a wide range of engine, transmission, and braking components their in
fleets is of limited impact in their maintenance functions. Several owners, chief executive officers,
and maintenance supervisors remarked that maintenance operations were simplified by having a
homogeneous fleet. The third and final point was that some of the companies that do have

39
Chapter 3: The Heavy Truck Operating Environment

electronic engines have not purchased diagnostic devices. Those companies that have purchased
diagnostic devices, usually purchase the equipment that is sold by the engine manufacturer.

There are other fleets, however, that are using a variety of components and a variety of
tools and find this extra expense and training to be a significant problem. The leasing companies
are examples and have long supported standardization and trends to universal tools. Regardless
of the tool or manufacturer, the typical fleet finds that it takes an average of30 to 45 minutes to
troubleshoot a specific problem. Training costs are practically insignificant, but the electronic
intimidation factor is a recurring theme, which increases lost time and (unquantified) costs. Other
negative comments from service personnel who had diagnosed electronic engine problems
included a general resistance on the part of mechanics to change to electronics, and computer
logic not allowing the mechanics' experience to be fully utilized.

Chapter 4 and Appendix C provide a comprehensive report on motor carrier interviews


conducted during the study period. The following items were included in the list of items
discussed: .fleet size (based on number of power units), number of electronic engines, number of
anti-lock brake systems, number of diagnostic devices used, acceptance of radio frequency for
preclearance to roadside inspections, commodity hauled, maintenance facility location, and
coverage area. Results of these interviews indicate significant advantages of electronic engines
over mechanical engines.. Fuel mileage and tire wear were improved, possibly due to in~reased
use of cruise control. It should be noted that cab type was a factor in fuel economy which was
not always available from carriers interviewed. One carrier reported a 0.3 mpg advantage of
conventional cabs compared to cabovers.

Some operators and drivers stated that roadside inspections do not currently pose a major
inconvenience; others stated that the delays caused by inspections were significant. According to
the first group, they can tolerate delays of30 to 45 minutes, which is the average time required
for this inspection. Most are interested in safe vehicles and willingly comply with roadside
inspections because safety violations can occur even if pretrip maintenance has been performed.
There is, however, a major concern as to whether the existing levels of inspector training are
sufficient for the tasks involved. There were numerous anecdotal examples cited of inexperienced
and/or unqualified inspectors delaying vehicles unnecessarily for long periods of time. Further,
there are concerns on the part of the carriers as to whether a standardized electronic diagnostic
tool being used in roadside inspections would compound this problem if the inspectors cannot be
trained to correctly inspect and diagnose problems.

Given the current interest in transparent borders and other means of maintaining '~ust in
time" delivery schedules, it was anticipated that the use of radio frequency (RF). for downloading
inspection data would be attractive to carriers. However, there were numerous concerns
expressed by owner/operators and larger carriers that a standardized diagnostic system might be
used by regulatory personnel as a tool to "browse" the on-board electronic controllers. Inspectors
could interrogate all stored faults "until they.found something wrong" regardless of its
significance to safety or emissions regulatory compliance. To overcome this concern, industry
standardization of codes and diagnostic devices must provide a segmentation or hierarchy of
significance.

40
Chapter 4: Cost Sharing Potential Within the Industry

CHAPTER4

COST SHARING POTENTIAL WITHIN THE INDUSTRY

4.1 INTRODUCTION

Once the solicitation plan for gathering the desired information was approved, the
research team began a very intense search of appropriate sources of information. These
sources were to include: motor carriers, engine manufacturers, original equipment
manufacturers (OEM's), component suppliers, diagnostic equipment suppliers, and public
agency representatives. Also included were organizations such as the Commercial Vehicle
Safety Alliance (CVSA) and the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Motor carriers
contacted include for-hire members of the American Trucking Associations (ATA), and private
carriers who are members of the National Private Truck Council (NPTC). Representation also
included owner-operators. The plan included both on-site and telephone interviews of
knowledgeable industry personneL

States targeted for motor carrier contacts by telephone included: Arkansas, California,
Maryland, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, and Washington. In addition, the solicitation plan
included Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma for site visits to meet with motor ~ers .. The
study team also contacted all six of the major domestic manufacturers of Class 8 trucks; these
are: Ford, Freightliner, Mack, Navistar, PACCAR, arid Volvo GM. Additionally, the study
team contacted four domestic diesel engine manufacturers (Caterpillar, Cummins, Detroit
Diesel, and Mack), transmission suppllers (Ailison, Eaton, and Rockwell), and the antilock
brake system (ABS) suppliers (Bendix, Midland-Grau, and WABCO). Researchers also
contacted Micro-Processor Systems, Incorporated (MPSI), which is the major independent
supplier of general diagnostic tools. Researchers also communicated with organizations that
have an interest in the standardization of diagnostics on heavy vehicles. Included were: The
Maintenance Council (TMC) of ATA, SAE, and CVSA.

The solicitation by telephone or site visit assessed potential participation and the
conditions under which participation will be likely to take place. The conversations with each
non-Federal entity focused on the participant's desire to participate in the cost of development
of standardized ~iagnostic devices and the type of support that might be available. Categories
used by the research team were: monetary contributions, technical contributions, equipment
contributions, manpower participation, and data contributions (typically records. kept by the
non-Federal entity during testing).

4.2 METHODOLOGY
' .. ~ - .-

The proposed method of information retrieval by telephone solicitation, supplemented by


site visits, replaced the originally planned mail-out suiVey. There were two reasons for making
this change; one was that previous attempts at gathering information using a similar population of
participants was extremely unsuccessful, and the other was the rigorous and time consuming
approval process necessary. when a sutVey questionnaire is used. The difference in format with

41
Chapter 4: Cost Sharing Potential Within the Industry

the solicitation process compared to a survey questionnaire was the use of a less structured and
informal conversatio11al format as opposed to a structured list of questions and topics strictly
followed.

Researchers were very careful in telephone and site conversations to prompt participants
by first providing a brief overview of the study, then discussing general topics related to on-board
diagnostics. When talking to vehicle OEM's, engine manufacturers, component suppliers, and the
diagnostic tool supplier, the conversation following the overview was tailored to their relationship
to the topic of on-board diagnostics. For motor carriers, there were four general categories that
were included: general fleet information, maintenance and diagnostic service tool information,
roadside inspections, and cost sharing.

4.2.1 Contact Identification

The process of identifying contacts within the trucking industry as reported in chapter 3
actually began in Subtask A-1. These contacts in the first task of this research effort can be
generally categorized as manufacturing- or motor carrier-related. For the information
necessary for Subtask A-4, researchers initially contacted the same manufacturing personnel as
in the first task, contacting others within each organization as necessary. However, contact~ng
motor carrier pe!sonnel followed a different methodology than that described in chapter 3 due
to a lack of responsiveness from motor carriers in the earlier effort.

4.2.1.1 Manufacturer Contact Identification

Researchers made contact with vehicle OEM's, engine manufacturers, component


suppliers, and service tool suppliers as part of this research task. When the study team contacted
these same individuals for information related to cost sharing, they responded by either providing
the reply themselves or by deferring to other persons within their organization. In two cases, the
original company representative had found employment elsewhere, but each of their successors
became the new contact person. In another case, an original contact person had been promoted
within the organization, but she still provided support on the project.

4.2.1.2 Motor Carrier Contact Identification

Initial identification of the for-hire motor carriers to be contacted used information from
the ATAFoundation. For private (not for-hire) carriers, the NPTC provided a list oftheir
membership in States named by the study s~aff. The methodology used for contacting private
carriers following this identification by the NPTC was the same as that described below for other
motor carriers.

Identification of for-hire motor carriers began with assistance from the ATA Foundation in
the form of a State trucking association contact for the States of Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma,
New Mexico, and Texas. Researchers forwarded facsimile summaries of the study and a formal
request for assistance to four of these States and followed the request with telephone calls. The
most promising of these results were from the States of Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. A

42
Chapter 4: Cost Sharing Potential Within the Industry

randomized sampling process might have been used if a larger sample size had been available, but
pure random selection was not considered to be critical in this study. In this case, both the sample
size and the participants "selected" to par:ticipate depended upon their willingness to participate.
Attempts were made to include a variety of carrier sizes.

In both Texas and Oklahoma, the trucking association representative initially stated that
their organization no longer provides lists of members for purposes such as this. However, the
director of the Oklahoma trucking ass_ociation office offered to contact a few of his member
carriers who would participate in the study. In the case.ofTexas, study staff contacted the
Texas Railroad Commission (TRC) to request a list of carriers. This list was organized by
county, so the request was for the three counties where Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio are
located. This process proved to be less successful than beginning with a member of the State
trucking association who knew which members would be most cooperative and who had other
essentials needed to meet study objectives.

The next step in the identification process in Texas was to select from the computer
output provided by the TRC carriers who would participate in a site interview. Difficulties in
this process included lack of interest on the part of a few carriers, the most knowledgeable
person being unavailable, and scarcity of carriers that have knowledge and experience with
sophisticated truck electronics.

The next step in the identification process in Oklahoma and Arkansas, following receipt
of a list of carrier names, was to ~ontact them all by telephone and send a facsimile to them
describing the study. From this list some were selected for telephone contact only, while
others that were available and willing participated in a site interview.

4.2.2 Telephone Interviews

4.2.2.1 Manufacturer Interviews

Once the identity of the most appropriate manufacturer contact was established,
re~chers sent a facsimile to the person, thus providing the necessary background
information. Then, after making contact with the person by telephone, study staff reiterated
the overview information and began discussing the study from the standpoint of the specific
manufacturer involved. This overview provided the list of tasks such that the topic of cost
sharing naturally occurred toward the end of this introductory portion of the telephone
interview. Then, the researcher continued by discussing the topic of cost sharing in greater
detail based on each individual manufacturer's product(s). The interviewer prompted
interviewed person(s) by using categories of cost sharing that seemed appropriate and which
related to their interests. Researchers used options such as equipment contributions, staff
participation, and data contributions.

43
Chapter 4: Cost Sharing Potential Within the Industry

4.2.2.2 Motor Carrier Interviews

Once the identity of the most appropriate motor carrier contact was established,
researchers sent a facsimile ~o the person providing the necessary background information.
Then, after making contact with the person by telephone, study staff reiterated the overview
information and began discussing the study from the standpoint of the specific motor carrier
involved. This overview provided the list of tasks such that the topic of cost sharing naturally
occurred toward the end of this introductory portion of the telephone interview. Then, the
researcher continued by discussing the topic of east sharing in greater detail. Questions that
were asked of each participant were never worded the same, nor was the order of questions the
same; however, the general nature of the questions was similar. An example of an informal script
that could have been followed by interviewers is provided below:

Ask about the carrier's fleet, to include, for example: number of tractors, trailers,
number of engines by manufacturer, number of electronic engines, number of units
with ABS, and coverage area.

Ask about the carrier's maintenance operation, specifically with regard to the
diagnostic equipment used.

Ask about the carrier's experience with roadside inspections. . .

Ask the carrier about its willingness to be involved in cost-sharing activities. If


necessary, prompt the interviewee by using categories of cost.sharing such as
. monetary contributions, technical contributions, equipment contributions,
manpower participation, and data contributions.

4.2.3 Site Iriterviews

Study staff conducted site interviews with motor carriers only, and not with
manufacturing entities. Researchers did not consider site interviews as essential with
manufacturing entities because they had conducted on-site interviews with them in a previous
task. Staff cot:tducted site interviews with motor carriers in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.
Once the list of prospective carriers was finalized in all three States and a knowledgeable
person in a position of authority consented to meeting with study staff, the next step was to
establish a meeting time. This process was more difficult for some of the larger carriers
because the best person was always very ~usy. In a few cases, this process reduced the
number of participants because a suitable meeting time could not be found.

The format of the site visit was similar to the telephone conversation discussed abovee
It started with an overview of the overall study objectives, followed by promptings by the
re8earcher regarding the four general topic areas of Fleet Information, Maintenance and
Diagnostic Tool Information, Roadside Inspections, and Cost Sharing.

44 I
Chapter 4: Cost Sharing Potential Within the Industry

4.3 RESULTS

4.3.1 Introduction

Results of the telephone and on-site solicitations provided a general consensus on cost-
sharing opportunities, although many representatives of OEM's or component suppliers expressed
their reluctance to giving a strong commitment without being provided additional details. Others
required that any product (hardware and/or software) _development and testing would remain
proprietary following testing. Fewer expressed no conditions at all on_ participation.

Motor carriers were generally willing to enter into cost sharing activities, based on a
general assumption that this will amount to installing a new or modified product on a limited
number of their fleet vehicles for alimited time period. There did not appear to be significant
concerns about sharing data that would allow comparisons of new and old products. Many of the
carriers and others revealedthat they must anticipate a "return" on their investment in order to
participate. No one specifically stated that they would share in the form of monetary
contributions.

Detailed information resulting from industry interviews is provided in Appendix C. This


informati~n is organized by the following categories and in the following order: vehi~le OEM'~, .
engine manufacturers, component suppliers, motor carriers, .and agencies. Summaries of each of
the four categories used earlier in this report describing motor carriers are provided below. These
categories are Fleet Information, Diagnostic and Service Tool Information, Roadside Inspection
Information, and Cost Sharing Information. These are followed by' tabulated summaries of
comments by both manufacturers and motor carriers.

4.3.2 Motor Carrier Comments

The motor carriers interviewed represented a broad view of the motor carrier industry.
The size of the carriers that participated in the study extended from owner operators that owned a
single tractor-trailer combination to some of the largest fleets in the country. Normal operating
conditions for these carriers ranged from off-road and rough road operations to almost exclusive
Interstate roadway operations. Carrier types included: crude oil haulers, construction materials
haulers, hazardous materials and special fuels, oversize and overweight loads, fresh fruits and
vegetables, general merchandise and dry goods, refrigerated and frozen foods, automobile haulers,
and special merchandise (antique furniture and museum pieces). Although the motor carriers
interviewed varied in many aspects, the res~arch team noted a number of common comments and
trends.

4.3.2.1 Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tools


< -~ -::

Although motor carriers almost universally endorsed electronic engines, several carriers
made suggestions for improvements. One frequent comment recorded in interviews concerned
the quality of the sensors used on electronic engines. A number of carriers provided details on
sensor failures and apparent lack of quality control.

45
Chapter 4: Cost Sharing Potential Within the Industry

Carriers were also concerned about the lack of training and education available. These
comments were especially prevalent from small carriers. They indicated that a semi-annual two or
three day course that provided instructions on new maintenance and diagnostic techniques, new
products, and a general refresher course for maintenance personnel and supervisors would be
extremely helpful due to the rapidly changing environment in diesel electronics. Maintenance
personnel also discussed the need to know more of the "bows and whys" of electronic
maintenance. They felt that this would allow them to make more informed decisions.

4.3.2.2 Roadside Inspections

The general consensus of the carriers interviewed was that roadside inspections are
necessary and that the inspections do increase roadway safety. However, a number of the carriers
felt that the inspections were too subjective and dependent on the individual inspector.
Suggestions included providing common training and certification for the inspectors at aU levels .
(i.e. Federal, State and local) and making the inspection itself more objective. Most motor
carriers were generally in favor of usi~g diagnostics during roadside inspections if those tools
would be used to increase objectivity.

The motor carriers were also generally in favor of a sticker that allowed them to pass
through subsequent inspections stations, once they had successfully passed an inspection. Most
felt that these stickers should apply to a regional area, rather than for just one State. lt:should be:
noted that. CV~A has promoted this concept for a number of years, although some jurisdictions
choose not to use it.

4.3.2.3 Cost-Sharing

Owner operators own one or more vehicles and operate either as independent motor
carriers or under lease to a motor carrier. In the typical scenario, the owner is also a driver of
one of the trucks. Once the number of trucks in an operation exceeds three to four, the
owner's time and energies are spent in managing the operation, as opposed to drivingc Thus,
the owner operator as used in this report is generally limited in size to three to four trucks.

Most of the owner operators were willing to consider cost sharing opportunities.
However, most who would discuss the options offered by St\ldy staff seemed most likely to test
a new device on their truck, as opposed to contributing in any other way. Some of them might
have envisioned this research as a means of obtaining a new diagnostic service tool, for
example, when they cannot afford one o~erwise. Table 4 summarizes comments from owner
operators.

Almost all of the larger for-hire carriers listed in table S were willing to participate in
cost sharing.. It should be noted that other carriers contacted as part of this process were not
interested in cost sharing and some would not even participate in a telephone interview.
Selection of the carriers in this list was based on their willingness to participate and the
information they were willing to share about their motor carrier operation related to
maintenance activities and on-board diagnostics. The number of power units (p. u.) operated

46 I
Chapter 4: Cost Sharing Potential Within the Industry

Table 4. Summary of Owner Operator Comments

I Carrier
No.
Partici-
pation Comments
1 Yes . Owner operator of one truck wants to be contacted later.
2 No This owner operator is "dead set" against the use of diagnostics for
roadside inspections.
3 Yes This owner has one truck with a non-electronic engine, but is willing
to consider cost sharing activities.
4 Yes This owner of one tanker is willing to consider cost sharing.
5 Yes This owner of two trucks is.willing to consider cost sharing when
details become available.
6 Yes This owner of one truck is leased to a meat packing company and
operates between Kansas City and Portland.
7 Yes This owner of one truck was not specific in what he would _
-
contribute. - -

8 Yes This owner of eight ~rucks with electronic engines was not specific in
what she was willing to contribute.

by each carrier is intended to provide a measure of the carrier's size. Unless specified they do
their own maintenance.

Motor carriers were generally willing to enter into cost sharing activities, based on a
general assumption that this will amount to installing a new or modified product on a limited
number of their fleet vehicles for a limited time period. There did not appear to be signifi~t
concerns about sharing data that would allow comparisons of new and old products. Many of
the carriers and others revealed that they must anticipate a "return" on their investment in
order to participate. No one specifically stated that they would share in the form of monetary
contributions.

Private (or not for-hire) carriers serve the needs of their owner(s) and often have their
own maintenance facilities where they perform maintenance on their vehicles. Table 6
provides a. summary of comments given by private carriers related to cost sharing.

47 '
Chapter 4: Cost Sharing Potential Within the Industry

Table 5.Summary of Larger For-Hire Motor Carrier Comments

Carrier
No.
No.
p.u.
I
Partici-
pation
I Comments
1 12 Yes Auto hauler only owns one electronic engine, but is interested.
2 12 Yes Will participate but not in monetary contributions.
3 14 Yes Owner has maintenance performed elsewhere.
4 15 No Have had problems learning diagnostic tool.
5 30 Yes The owner specified data collection and future testing.
6 33 Yes No conditions were specified.
7 40 Yes They are interested in future testing or data collection.
8 40 Yes No conditions were specified.
-
9 43 Yes This company advocates new technology.
10 43 No They are willing to consider something mo~e detailed later.
11 46 No They do not do maintenance on electronic engines.
12 72 Yes This company is interested in participation.
13 75 No They are willing to be contacted later when more details are available.
15 118 Yes As long as the testing is consistent with other activities.
16 150 Yes They expressed that they would probably participate.
18 250 Yes No conditions stated.
19 345 Yes They expressed that they would probably participate.
20 375 No Their trucks operate on irregular routes, making testing difficult.
22 880 No Mechanics are currently working overtime and cannot participate.
25 1084 Yes Participation depends on details.
26 1489 Yes Only in limited .ways. Truck routes are unpredictable.
27 1490 Yes Depends on the direction the study takes.
.
29 4000 No Not enthused about electronics but cannot avoid it
30 8000 Yes Open to almost anything and want tO influence the direction of
technology.

48
Chapter 4: Cost Sharing Potential Within the Industry

Table 6. Summa'ry of Private Motor Carrier Comments

Carrier
No.
No.
p.u.
IP~i-1
patton Comments
1 3 Yes Maintenance is performed elsewhere.
2 20 Yes They did not specify any limitations.
3 20 Maybe Participation would depend on fmal details.
4 22 Yes Especially if equipment is involved such as diagnostic tool.
\

5 27 No They are too busy to get involved.


6 246 Yes Will not contribute money, but will share mechanic time and install
devices on trucks.
7 650 Yes No conditions were stipulated.
8 750 Yes Must consider each opportunity for cost sharing on its own merit.
9 3000 Yes No conditions.

4.3.3 Vehicle OEM Comments

Representation by many ofthe participants of this research on current SAE and TMC
efforts relat~q to standardization was a significant factor in many tentative commitments given.
This was especially true, ~r at least verbalized, in component supplier and OEM responses related
to cost sharing. Even though some of their resources that might be donated to cost sharing
endeavors were already being expended through SAE/TMC activities; most of these participants
still wished to be considered when more specific details of cost sharing opportunities become
available.

All six of the domestic manufacturers of Class 8 trucks participated in this activity. With
only one exception, they were interested in participation in cost sharing. One OEM offered to test
a new sensor on a test truck, as long as it is compatible with the test truck's existing data bus.
Table 7 is a summary of OEM comments.

4.3.4 Engine Manufacturer Comments

Of the three Class 8' truck engine manufacturers available, two were interested i~ ~ture
considerations related to on~board diagnostics. None made specific suggestions related to how
they would participate. Table 8 provides a summary of their comments.

4.3.5 Vehicle Component Supplier Comments

Most vehicle component suppliers are willing to participate in cost sharing endeavors. Of
the transmission manufacturers, all want to be contacted later with additional details of cost

49
Chapter 4: Cost Sharing Potential Within the Industry

Table 7. Summary of OEM Comments

I Vehlcle
OEM
No.
I
P~ici-
patton
I Comments
1 Yes No limitations stated.
2 No The only way this OEM would participate now is if specific details were
available now, and if the opportunity happened to. be consistent with
their planned directions in diagnostics.
3 Yes Before final commitment, this OEM must check with legal and
engineering departments.
4 Yes OEM must retain marketing rights to any new product tested.
5 Yes Manager ofProduct Test stated that if they participate, they must be
granted the marketing rights to a tested product. The Electrical Section
Manager committed to testing a new sensor on their test vehicle
running on their test track if the sensor is compatible with their standard
data link. . -

6 Yes Electronic Product Development engineer stated that this OEM would
like to remain available and provide the final decision when more details
are known.

Table 8. Summary of Engine Manufacturer Comments

Engine
Manuf.
No.
1 No
Partici..
pation Comments
The representative for this engine manufacturer was noncommittal, but he
I
was willing to be included in future considerations.
2 Unknown Attempts to date to.contact the appropriate person have been unsuccessful.
3 Yes The manufacturer is definitely interested.
4 Yes This manufacturer would not definitely commit to participatio~ but it wants
to be contacted with more details. -

50 I
Chapter 4: Cost Sharing P~tential Within the Industry

sharing. Two of the three AB S ma11:ufacturers were not positive rega'fti-ing participation, but one
of them wants to be contacted later to find out more details. The one ABS manufacturer who
wants to participate will probably require sole marketing rights to products tested in return for
their staffing. The diagnostic service tool manufacturer is interested in providing support to this
activity. However, specifics of what might be available depend upon new products that are on
the verge of being introduced. Table 9 provides a summary of comments from component
suppliers.

4.3.7 Agencies

Agencies participating in this study include the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, the
Society of Automotive Engineers, and The Maintenance Council of the American Trucking
Associations (ATA). Representatives of these organizations have been consistent in their views
expressed related to standardization of on-board diagnostics. They believe there is potential for
the use of a standardized device to improve the consis_tency and reduce time required to conduct
roadside emissions and safety inspections.

Table 9. Summary of Component Supplier Comments

Component --
Supplier Partici-
No.- pation Comments
ABS Suppliers
1 No There is little perceived incentive for this company to participate in cost
sharing.
2 No Would still like to be contacted when details are available.
3 Yes Company would probably require that it retain the rights to market
products tested.
Transmission Suppliers
1 Yes Transmission suppliers probably have less to gain from cost sharing
activities than other entities, and this transmission supplier's sales in the
over-the-road truck market is limited. However, they would like to leave
the opportunity open for further consideration.
2 Yes They are defmitely interested. They already own interests in two
diagnostic tool suppliers.
3 Yes General Manager .only stated that his company is interested in cost shariilg.
Diagnostic Service Tool Supplier
1 Yes This diagnostic tool supplier will participate, but specifics of its support
depend upon new products.

51
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

CHAPTERS

INVESTIGATION OF SENSORS FOR ON-BOARD DIAGNOSTICS

5.1 lNTRODUCTION

5.1.1 Overview

An investigation of the feasibility of a standardized electronic ~iagnostic device for


. maintenance and inspection of commercial vehicles concluded that the heavy truck standardization
efforts should be continued through the ongoing efforts of the Society of Automotive Engineers
(SAE) and The Maintenance Council (TMC). These efforts have resulted in and are expected to
continue to develop standard data links, data protocols, a standard diagnostic connector, and a
common connector location. Subtask A-1 established that some of the variables currently being
monitored during roadside safety and emissions inspections are conducive to adding sensors to
expedite and improve the consistency of inspections.

Table 10 is a summary of the initial list of the inspection items from the Federal Motor
Carrier Safety Regulations, (FMCSR) Subpart 393 <17>that were identified in Subt~sk A-1 as
being conducive to electronic monitoring. The selection process began with the entire list of
items included in this FMCSR, then removing items certain not to be candidates for electronics.
As more information was g~thered in Subtask A-1, providing more information on the state-of-
the-art in vehicle sensors, this list was further-refined into Table 11, which provides the list of
inspection parameters that form the basis of this chapter. This tabulated list is important because
these parameters are either physically difficult to measure, or current methods of measurement
and/or observation yield inconsistent results.

The two sources of information used to develop the table II list were the FMCSR,
Subpart 393, and Office of Motor Carrier inspection personnel. At the time this list of candidates
was first formulated, there had been no attempt to determine the availability, much less the
feasibility, of any of the sensors to accomplish the various inspection tasks. As efforts to address
the various parameters got undeiWay, several conclusions became evident. One was that there
were sensors available that should be able to monitor some of the desired functions, but they
would require testing in a "real-world" environment before being marketable. Another was that
there was some functional redundancy in the list, although that was not necessarily undesirable.
For example, tire heat sensors to detect flat tires might, at first, be considered. to contribute little
to a vehicle equipped with a tire pressure system. However, upon further consideration, heat
sensors would still be useful in this example. by detecting overheating from other sources such as
defective axle bearings.

Another resulting conjecture suggests that some diagnostic systems, while possible to be
accomplished on-board, will probably be more feasible as an off-board system. Undoubtedly,
there will be trade-off's to be considered as new technologies develop, so the decision regarding
which method is better for measuring some parameters might change. For example, providing on-
board weighing systems might reduce the need for pavement weigh-in-motion (WIM) systems if
on-board systems become sufficiently widespread, if they are tamper proof, if their accuracy

53
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

Table 10. Systems Initially Considered Suitable for Advanced Technology

SUBPART EQUIPMENT~UNCTION FIELD INSPECTION SUITABILITY


PARA TECHNIQUE FOR ADVANCED
TECHNOLOGy<>
B Lighting Devices, Reflectors, Electrical Equipment
393.2 Requirements for head lamps Measure aiming 1
and auxiliary road lighting
lamps
393.29 (Electrical) Grounds Verify presence 1 - Voltage readouts
c Brakes
393.43 Breakaway and emergency Verify operation (part of Leakdown 1 -
braking Test)
393.47 Brake lining Measure thickness, condition 1 - thickness
393.48 Brakes operative Verify operation 1
393.50 Reservoirs required Leakdown test - verify integrity 1
393.51 Warning devices and gauges Leakdown test - verify integrity 1 to2
393.52 Brake performance Braking distance: not usually 1 if performed
performed
G Miscellaneous Parts and Accessories
393.75 Tire tread, sidewall condition Measure and verify conformance 1
Tire pressure Thump or measure 1
393.82 Speedometer Sometimes insp~cted on way to bay 1
393.94 Vehicle interior noise levels Not usually an item of inspection 1

<> Code: 1-- Conducive to electronic monitoring


2-- Possible electronic monitoring, but low payoff
3-- Not suitable for electronic monitoring

54
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

Table 10. Systems Initially Considered Suitable for Advanced Technology (Continued)

SUBPART EQUIPMENT/FUNCTION FIELD INSPECTION SUITABILITY


PARA. TECHNIQUE FORADVANCED.
TECHNOLOGY
J Frames, Cabs, Body Components, Wheels, Steering, Suspension
Nuts or bolts missing or Inspect/ check tightness 1 (tightness)
393.205 loose
393.207 Axles aligned Verify conformance 1

Air suspension:
Brakes get air before Verify operation 1
suspension

Air leakdown (3 psig in Verify conformance 1


5 minutes)
393.209 Steering lash Verify operation 1 -
Steering system:
Lock-to-lock capability Verify operation 1
Power steering system:
...
Sufficient fluid in Verify conformance 1
reservoir

(a) Code: 1-- Conducive to electronic monitoring


2-- Possible electronic monitoring, but low payoff
3-- Not suitable for electronic monitoring

exceeds that of pavement systems, and if the vehicle is capable of a radio frequency (RF)
transmission of its axle weight to the roadside.

Because of the "pull marketing" scheme within which Class 8 trucks are bought and sold,
some or even most, of the systems would probably not be attractive to motor carriers until the
systems demonstrate their usefulness through sustained and successful "real-world" application.
Motor carrier management must anticipate a net benefit from jnstallin& these systems. then
include them jn specifications of new yebjcle purchases before vehicle manufacturers
commit to tbeoi. The authors believe that ABS is a good example of how a safety system can be
appealing to motor carriers, especially on tanker units and even at a cost of$l,500 to $2,500 per
axle, due to motor carrier management's perception that it improves safety and reduces lawsuits.
Demand for ABS equipment has grown to the point that OEM's now offer ABS as standard
equipment on highway trucks.

55
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

Table 11. Potential Additional Parameters to be Measured


on Heavy Trucks

Regulatory Parameter/Application Comments


Impact

Emissions On-board real-time Modification of Stedman on-road emissions


measurement of CO device for diesel engines
Particulates On-board opacity measurements of normal
conditions of particulate matter
Check of various engine Integrity of engine parameters to detect faults
parameters that impact emissions
Safety Brake function Brake drum temperature differences between
wheels
Air pressure leak down
Air _pressure drop upon brake application
Brake adjustment Push rod stroke .. ..

Brake shoe travel


Axles/weight/suspension Weight sensors for overweight or unbalanced
load
S_pring deflection detector
Excessive mechanical wear or Excess steering system wear
cracks
Frame deflection sensors
Axle shift detector
Broken/loose wheel
Tire inflation pressure Tire pressure sensors
Heat sensors (to detect flat tires)
Sliding fifth wheel Latch detector
Position detector
Sliding trailer tandem Lock detector
Position detector

56
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

There is a mechanism in place for dissemination of safety information as it becomes


available. This currently occurs through SAE and TMC meetings that are held at various locations
throughout the country and through trade journals. However, improvements in format, content,
and frequency of sessions and in journal articles dedicated to safety items should be reassessed on
a regular basis to ensure that information gets disseminated to motor carriers, component
suppliers, and OEM's in a timely manner.

Chapter 3 provided a summary of emissions and safety parameters considered for


monitoring because of their potential for improving the reliability and ~educing the time required
to conduct inspections and maintenance of various vehicle systems. However, this was a general
tevel investigation which did not provide details on system components or methods of
accomplishing specific sensing functions. Chapter 3 revealed that there is very little
documentation available to identify, evaluate, or compare specific sensor technologies or
diagnostic system conceptual designs pertinent to the improvement of roadside inspections of
Class 8 trucks. It was also originally intended that a cost /benefit analysis be conducted; however,
other Subtask A-1. findings indicated that such an analysis would produce little if any useful
results due to the lack of information on the cost or consequent benefits without system design
details on specific sensor technologies. Therefore, this follow-up investigation was initiated to
extend the findings reported in chapter 3.

This task extended the initial investigation by identifying additional and more detailed
functions necessary to actually expedite and improve the consistency of roadside inspection and
maintenance activities. The objective of this subtask was to identify, evaluate, and compare
presently available and prototype sensor technologies, then develop a conceptual design of
diagnostic systems using these sensors which would facilitate roadside inspections and
maintenance. activities of Class 8 vehicles. The result was an exploration of more detailed sub-
functions associated with the actual measurement tasks.

An on-board diagnostic system should provide means for determining the status of the
braking, engine and chassis systems of the vehicle. Each of these functions requires identification
of the critical variables to be sensed, techniques for measuring the variables, and sensor
technologies for measuring the critical variables. In addition, a system to interpret, evaluate,
display, and store the diagnostic information is essential. Figure 2 illustrates the relationship
among the functions of a potential system for improving the roadside inspection process. This
diagram, as it flows from top to bottom, converges on the primary focuses of Subtasks A-1 and
A-2. The functions shown in dotted lines ~e important to the overall diagnostic system design,
but are beyond the scope of Subtask A...2 and this chapter. This flow chart, or function diagram,
is intended to demonstrate the requirements for the diagnostic system.

In addition to enhancing roadside inspection techniques, on-board sensors can also


facilitate motor carrier maintenance. Motor carriers are very concerned about maintenance
efficiency for improved performance and reliability, and because maintenance directly impaCts
safety and emissions. The term "facilitate" pertains to any action that will expedite the
maintenance process and/or enhance the reliability and consistency of the maintenance activity or
record keeping.

57
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

Provide Means to
Improve the Roadside
Inspection Process

r-------------------- --------~------------1

r:De-;eiop-a-;Yiteti that .Develop New Diagnostic .-De-;~;p_a_S~etii: tb;t


1 Reduces Inspection Devices that Provide : Provides More Accurate
.: Time Information on the Status of I Information on the Status
Critical V~hicle Systems :of Critical VehiCle Systems
Currently not Being Monitored

Develop New Systems Develop New Systems Develop New Systems


that Provide Information that Provide Information that Provide Information
on Brake Statits on Chassis Status on Engine Status

See Section 5.2 See Section 5.4

.--:---lr-====!::::::===:::--r-------- -.-----II
r.------+-_;_ __ -~-
1 Develop a System that
1 Interprets and
Evaluates the Sensor
I Signals and Stores the
:Interpeted Information

Focus of Subtask A-1 Focus of Subtask A-2

LEGEND:
Represents topics
- - - - - report focuses on.

Represents important
------- ~ aspects of the main
objective, but are
beyond the scope of
Subtask A-2.

Figure 2. Potential Means for Improving Roadside Inspections

58
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

Maintenance of heavy duty trucks is usually performed according to a time or mileage


schedule, or due to general necessity created from degraded performance of a vehicle system.
Ideally,. maintenance and repairs outside of periodic lubrication are performed just before a system
fails, maximizing the usable life of that system. Any premature maintenance is considered
uneconomical; however, field failures and their associated downtime are even more wasteful.
Thorough maintenance inspections should predict, with reasonable accuracy, when a system will
fail. However, this process can be costly and time consuming, and it is not always accurate due to
simple human error. To reduce the time required and increase the confidence in the inspection
process, additional sensors could ~e installed to monitor key variables _that correlate with system
degradation or failure. The negative aspect of having more sensors or on-board diagnostic
systems is both the perception and, in some cases, the reality that maintenance and repair become
more complicated and the sensors themselves contribute to the number of systems that can fail.
Proper training of maintenance personnel and integration of systems into one data link could
reduce potential complications.

Foilowing a discussion of background information on general sensor operation and


evaluation criteria, the chapter is organized into sections on sensors monitoring the status of the
brakes, chassis, and engine. Evaluations of various sensor technologies are provided. Th~
Methodology section provides a brief synopsis of the literature review and interview process,
while the final section includes.summaries of two conceptual designs. The first conceptual design
is based on available sensors, while the second requires advanced technology development for
implementation.

Before proceeding to findings related to on-board systems, the distinction between on-
board and off-board systems should be clearly understood. The focus of this research was
primarily on the on-board systems -- those that reside permanently on the vehicle and include such
components as sensors, microprocessors, memory storage for fault codes, and the data bus. Off-
board systems that typically interface with the on-board systems are of two types -- portable
(hand-held) or stationary (console-based) systems. Both portable and stationary devices should
support erasure of stored fault codes, test switch status, and display all parameters to which the
manufacturer or fleet management has not limited access. Both should have the capability of
communicating with the other. Both should support the standard data link protocols, with the
stationary device being a more powerful and robust system with a very user-friendly interface.
Both off-board devices communicate with on-board systems through a standard receptacle
located on the vehicle.

5.1.2 Background

During the last two decades, the number of on-board diagnostic systems and sensors on
highway vehicles has grown significantly. New applications for sensors are continually being
developed as advancements in material and microprocessor technology expand sensor capability.
The implementation of new sensors on vehicles has contributed to improved vehicle safety. and
reduced emissions. Future sensors are expected to be more independent, such that they will self
diagnose and calibrate, process the signal, log the data, and survive in harsher environments than
today's sensors. Sensors in many cases must tolerate extreme temperatures, water, salt, oil,
electric overload, electromagnetic interference, and acceleration. <ta) Figure 3 illustrates

59
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

components of a typical diagnostic device with the flow of information and role of the sensor
indicated. The focus of Subtask A-2, Sensors, is also encircled on figure 3.

The sensor's role is to provide a signal proportional to the state of a particular variable or
measurand. This signal in most cases is electrical and can be an analog or digital voltage, a
current, or a resistance. This signal, relative to the state of the variable, must be consistent over
the life of the sensor and provide a distinctive signal for fault detection. Primary performance
requirements of sensors include sensitivity, linearity, stability, accuracy, output format and signal-
to-noise ratio. Other crucial characteristics are packagability and reliability. Heavy duty truck
sensors will be expected, like other vehicle components, to last at least 5 to 10 years or one
million miles. Tasks that future highway vehicle sensors might be expected to a~complish ir)clude
on-line emission measurements, identification of dangerous operating conditions (both of the

...
Measurandor Variable
(e.g. pressure, temp., emission) ....
Focus ofSubtaskA-2
;

\-- -1-
Sensor
~ .....

---
(e.g. transducer, thermocouple)
I
....
Proportional Signal ----
(e.g. voltage, current, resistance)
Control Device
(e.g.vaJve,fuelmete~g)

'"
Signal Conditioner I Processor
(e.g. microprocessor, CPU)

! !
Gage or MIL Storage in CPU Response Signal
(driver information) (for maintenanCe or inspector) (for closed loop control)

Figure 3. Typical Diagnostic Device Schematic

. 60
ChapterS: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

vehicle and the roadway environment), recognition of electromagnetic interference and


measurement of human factors (fatigue, blood pressure) <~ 8 19>.

5.1.3 General Selection Criteria and Procedure

Necessity and cost are often the primary determinants of whether or not a diagnostic
device is implemented or even if engineering efforts are allocated to investigate its feasibility.
However, governmental mandates can also result in implementation even when consumers
disagree on the need. Depending on the motivation for implementing ~ sensor, cost can be a
detriment to its implementation. For example, current oil viscometers cost more than most
consumers are willing to pay. Therefore, it is unlikely that engine manufacturers will offer them
as an option. Conversely, automotive engine manufacturers install costly oxygen sensors on their
engines to satisfy Federal emission regulations, not customer demand. In this case, cost would
have less role in the decision of whether or not the sensor is used .

. Subtask A-2 evaluated potential sensors on the basis of the technology under review being
capable of satisfying system requirements. That is, the functions to be accomplished defined
sensor requirements and identified alternative sensor technologies that could satisfy these
requirements. The criteria for evaluating and selecting from among the various alternative sensor
technologies included how well each particular technology satisfied the requi~~ments of
sensitivity, linearity, stability, accuracy, output format, signal-to-noise ratio, and reliability~ and
finally cost. In most cases not all of this information was specifically known, resulting in -
qualitative evaluations. Finally, trade-off studies resulted in conceptual designs of diagnostic
systems incorporating the selected -sensor technologies.

5.1.4 Assumptions

As this investigation focused on the sensor's specific or local task, it was assumed that all
proposed sensors have a means of communication to whatever processor or controller that may
be required. Possible communication paths could be the current buses, additional buses, or
multiplexing the present buses. This investigation did not address any limitation of current Class 8
truck communication buses, as that was beyond the scope of this chapter.

5.1.5 Methodology for Identifying Alternative Sensor Technologies

Two primary sources provided information on alternative sensor technologies. An


exhaustive literature review provided a port~on of this information, while interviews of trucking
and sensor manufacturing personnel provided the remainder.

5.1.5.1 Literature Survey

A comprehensive literature search identified publications on state-of-the-art sensor


technology being used or developed throughout different industries and trends in commercial
truck on-board diagnostic systems. It then systematically searched all of the available databases
to satisfy key words and key word combinations selected for this purpose. The literature search
was conducted until the yield of pertinent information pertaining to the objectives yielded

61

- -----------------------------------------------
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

diminishing returns. This comprehensive.search resulted in excess of 4,500 titles that were
scanned for relevance to this study, with over 200 documents selected for review. A more
complete description of the literature search is available in chapter 3.

5.1.5.2 Interviews of Industry Personnel

Personnel from the automotive industry (General Motors Powertrain and Delco Remy),
truck engine manufacturers (Caterpillar, Cummins, and Detroit Diesel), and sensor manufacturers
(Delco Electronics, Rockwell International, WABCO, and Eaton) proyided information on
sensors that are currently available. As part of this process, researchers also contacted the
~ational Aeronautic and Space Administration(NASA) in Houston, Texas. These contacts
resulted from either Subtask A-1 activities or through telephone calls and letters sent to these
industry personnel. Interview information came from key industry contacts during site visits to
industry personnel offices, or by telephone. Interviewers used results of these interviews to
formulate a matrix of the different on-board diagnostic systems with corresponding areas of
evaluation. A copy of the blank matrix form is provided in Appendix D. Topics of evaluation
included sensor type, cost, supplier, reliability data, noise sensitivity, and expected accuracy over
the sensor's service life. Figure 4 provides. a list of typical questions posed to these industry .
personnel.

Industry personnel did not answer all of the quest~ons, as desired infoiination was either
considered proprietary or was not known. As a result, information obtained from these industry
interviews defined little more than the type of sensors being used. Specifics on sensor
performance were unavailable for most sensors, although the information allowed general
comparisons of most sensor types.

5.2 BRAKE STATUS

5.2.1 Introduction

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (2o> section 393.40, Required brake
systems, states, " ... motor vehicles must have brakes adequate to control the movement of, and
to stop and hold, the vehicle or combination of vehicles." Section 393.51, Warning devices and
gauges, mandates that an obvious signal be provided to the driver in case of low air compressor
tank pressure. Section 393.52, Braking performance, lists required performance capabilities of
braking system as: developing a braking force at least equal to 43.5 to 65.2 percent of its gross
weight, developing a minimum deceleration.of4.27 to 6.4 rn!sec2 (14 to 21 ftlsec2) from 32
kilometers per hour (kmlh) (20 miles per hour [mph]), and stopping in less than 6.1 to 12.2
meters (20 to 40 feet) from 32 kmlh (20 mph), depending on the type of vehicle. All performance
requirements assumed that the pavement was dry, hard, and free ofloose material. For a vehicle's
braking system to dependably meet these requirements all subsystems of the braking system must
function properly. Having knowledge of only the air compressor pressure is not sufficient to
conclude if the braking system is capable of meeting the performance requirements. This is the
reason for periodic maintenance and roadside inspections. This section suggests several
applications of on-board sensors that would aid in assessing brake status.

62
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

What type of sensor(s) do you recommend for powertrain, brake, or chassis diagnostic
systems (e.g. temperatures, pressures, position)?

What type of sensor(s) does your company use or manufacture?

What type do you expect will be used in these areas in the future?

What improvements or advantages do the new types of sensors have to offer?

Figure 4. Representative Questions for Industry Personnel

Common brake system failures are the result of excessive brake lining wear, cracked
drums, maladjustments and air leakage. Examination of brakes during routine and roadside .
inspections is intended to identify worn linings and check for general functionality of the braking
system. Both types of inspections can be costly and time consuming, and they can be inaccurate
due to simple human error. To reduce the co.st and necessity/frequency of the inspection, sensors
could be installed to morutor key variables that" correlate to impending system failures-. .
Determining brake system status may be accomplished by monitoring brake adjustment, brake
lining wear, drum temperatures, braking torque, brake line pressures, and air compressor
operation. Figure 5, which is an expansion of the main function structure shown in figure 2,
illustrates the functions necessary to determine brake status. In the following sections of this
chapter these functions are addressed by further expanding the function structure to lower levels
to identify sensor requirements.

5.2.2 Brake Adjustment

The current method of checking brake adjustment utilizes a simple measurement of push
rod stroke during a static brake application. Inspection personnel typically note the physical .
movement of a reference point on the push rod and measure the push rod stroke as the difference
in the reference point from the "resting" position and the "applied" position. While the inspector
is underneath the vehicle, the driver is instructed to apply the brakes. The inspector notes the
amount of travel in the push rod and compares that with the maximum allowable stroke.
Considering the number of wheels an inspector must check and the crudeness of this process, this
test consumes a significant amount of time, sometimes with questionable accuracy.

Another method initially considered feasible fordetecting brakes out of adjustment and
noted in figure S is brake lining travel. Measuring adjustment with this technique would require a
method to measure the relative positive position of the brake lining in the unbraked and braked
mode. Measuring brake lining travel is not considered more feasible than the current method of
measuring brake push rod stroke.

63

-------- _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ j
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

- .. Provide Means
to Determine
Brake Status

'
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Provide Provide Means Provide Means Provide Means Provide Means Provide Means
Means to to Determine if to Determine if to Determine if to Determine if to Determine if
Determine if Brakes Lining Brake Lining Brakes are the Correct Brake System
Brakes are in Thickness'is Temp.'sare Producing the Amount of Air has a Air Leak
Need of withinSpec.. within Correct Amt. of Pressure is
Adjustment. Specification Torque Supplied and Section 5.2. 7

section52.3
Section 5.2.3 .
Section 5.2.4
.
Section 5.2.5.
Evenly Distrib.

Section 5.2.6

Figure 5. Determining ~rake Status

Table 12 summarizes some requirements of a sensor to provide a signal proportionalto


brake adjustment. This table is one of several sensor performance requirement tables provided
throughout this chapter. The following six categories are listed: Working Range, Frequency
Response, Accuracy, Sensitivity, Operating Temperature Range, and Vibration Survival.
Working Range is the low and high values of a variable between which the sensor must accurately
detect the desired variable. In most cases, the sensor's response is linear within this range.
Frequency Response is the inverse of the amount of time the sensor uses to update between
measurements. Accuracy defines the acceptable range of error the proportional signal can provide
relative to actual level of the variable. Sensitivity defines the level of the sensor's output voltage
relative to the variable of interest. Most sensors generate zero to five volts within their working
range. Operating Temperature Range defines the range of temperatures that the sensor must
survive without significantly influencing its output. Vibration Survival defines the maximum
acceleration the sensors must tolerate.

Two types of sensors that can measure push rod stroke are linear displacement sensors
and position sensing switches. Most off-the-shelf linear displacement sensors could meet. the .
measurement requirements; however, meeting the survival requirements poses a challenge. Two
common types of linear displacement sensors that may be feasible for this application. are the Hall-
effect and LVDT (linear variable differential transformer). Both sensors provide accurate signals
but could be cost prohibitive. Again, special design considerations would be required to make

64
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

Table 12. Nominal Requirements for a Brake Adjustment Sensor

Requirement Ranee Comments


Working Range 0-65 mm Estimates based on general
Frequency Response 5 to 10Hz .automotive sensor requirements
Accuracy 0.5mm and general brake system designs.
Sensitivity 0.5 V/mm
Operating Temperature Range -45 to 60 oc
Vibration Survival 30g

these sensors sufficiently rugged to withstand the harshness of the environment. As an alternative,
a simple position-sensing switch could be used to detect when the push rod has reached the
allowable limit point. Two significant advantages of the position-sensing switch are its simplistic
design and lower cost. One weakness of the positioning switch is not indicating the push rod
stroke approaching its limit; however, .a safety margin could be established by its position.
Position-sensing switches can be electro-mechanical or completely electronic (e.g. Hall-effect) ..
The fully electroruc device is recommended, as its life expectancy is higher in the aforementioned
harsh environment. According to informal interview information, brake adjustment sensing
techniques are currently available, but they tend not to be designed for the rigors of service and
they require significant extra winng. Figure 6 is a function structure~ or logic diagram, used to
portray functions considered important in monitoring brake adjustment, shown in bold outline.

An additional consideration in this discussion is the increased penetration of automatic


slack adjusters over the past few years. It is hypothesized that this phenomenon has decreased the
number of maintenance inspections on brakes, especially as maintenance personnel become more
confident in the performance of automatic slack adjusters. If this hypothesis holds true, there is an
even greater need to install sensors to monitor the relative angular or linear position of one or
more of the moving brake parts.

5.2.3 Brake Lining Thickness

It is desirable to measure brake lining thicknesses during roadside inspections to evaluate


remaining lining thickness that is available upon brake application. This measurement is currently
accomplished visually if an inspection dust cover or a sight hole has been provided. In cases in
which there is no opening to inspect the shoes, this measurement cannot be made without
removing the wheel assembly. In other words, there are cases where inspection of the lining
thickness simply is not done.
. . .

Because some brake.linings cannot easily be inspected visually, there is astrong case for.,
adding sensors to monitor brake lining wear. The authors.did not discover any commercially
available sensors to perform this function, but a viable method is provided. One conceivable
method would activate an alarm as the lining thickness approaches a critical level, allowing a
reasonable safety factor. The conceptual design involves a conductivitysensor which sends a
signal to a malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) on the instrument cluster once the critical shoe

65
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

Provide Means to Determine if


Brakes are inNeed of Adjustment

r--------------------------
1
I
r------~----.
iPr~;ide-M~~~ c;~p;ie-a- OR I
I
: Signal that Exemplifies Push
I Rod Stroke to a Specification
1----- _1:.,-----
Provide a Signal Provide a Signal
I 1
1 Proportional to the When the Push Rod
I :L _Push Rod Stroke Stroke Reaches a
r-----+----,
, ____ j.____ .,. ____ _,.____ _
_. _ . ._ _ _ _ _. _ . .. . .

Specific Point

1 Provide Means It Provide Means to.


: to Transfer 1 Compare Signal
1 Signal to CPU I to a
........_ ...._ _...: Predetermined LEGEND:
I Specification Represents topics
I
report focuses on.

___ .... ____ Represents important


aspects of the main
objective, but are
beyond the scope of
SubtaskA2.

Figure 6. Determining Brake Adjustment

thickness is reached. The circuit would also generate a fault code sent via the vehicle's data bus
to be logged into memory for later access by maintenance and inspection personnel. ..
. .
This concept resembles the current use of"squealers" on automotive disk brakes to emit a
high frequency sound when the brake pad reaches a critical thickness. The proposed design for
trucks is different in that, as brake lining wear approaches its limit, the contact would close an
electrical circuit rather than simply forming a metal-to-metal contact that generates an audible
signal. Its location on the brake lining might coincide with one of the fastening rivets, with its
contact point being calibrated so as to provide the aforementioned safety margin. Because the
possibility exists for metallic brake dust forming a conductive "bridge" within the rivet hole and
making premature contact with the drum, the electrical contact would need a non-conductive
coating.

66
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

Details of this design might also include the malfunction indicator light (MIL) remaining
illuminated either constantly or flashing intermittently to remind the driver and maintenance
personnel of the needed lining replacement. Otherwise, the MIL would only be activated when
the brakes were applied and might not be noticed. Figure 7 is a function structure illustrating the
functions that should be provided for determining if the brake lining thicknesses are within
specification with an on-board diagnostic device. Table 13 lists requirements of a sensor to
provide a signal proportional to brake lining thickness. These requirements are estimates based
on the general requirements for automotive sensors as provided in Sensors: A Comprehensive
Studf11> and relative to the specific application. Survival requirements for this system include
tolerance to harsh vibration, high temperatures, resistance to fine particle intrusion,.and corrosion
resistance.

Provide Means to Determine if Brake


Lining Thickness is w{m Specification

r---------~~------------
r----- _.._______
'
---------~--------
1 Provide
Means to Compare a
:Signal that Exemplifies Lining
I ______ L ____ OR
Provide a Signal
l
Provide a Signal
I Thickness to a Specification 1
1 Proportional to
the When Brake Lining
'--------~--------~
I : Brake Lining Thickness is Below a
r-----L----,
, ____ j____ , _____...___ _
1
&..
Thickness Specification
1Provide Means 1 Provide Means
I to Transfer : to Compare
: Signal to CPU 1 Signal to a

____..........
: Predetenirlned
1 Specification
~..

LEGEND:

- - - - Represents topics
report focuses on.

Represents important
------- aspects of the main
objective, but are
beyond the scope of
SubtaskA2.

Figure 7. Determining Brake Lining Thickness

67
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sens~rs for On-Board Diagnostics

Table 13. Nominal Requirements for a Brake Lining Thickness Sensor

Requirement _Range Comments


Working Range 0-20mm Estimates based on general
Frequency Response 0.5 to 1.0 Hz automotive sensor requirements
Accuracy 0.5 nun and general brake system designs.
Sensitivity 0.5 V/mm
Operating Temperature Range -45 to 60 oc
Vibration Survival 30g

5.2.4 Brake Lining Temperatures

Brake lining temperatures are currently not ~cinitored in a highly quantitative manner.
Vehicle inspection and maintenance personnel note any indications of overheating, but brake
temperature is not monitored continuously. Monitoring of the maximum operating brake lining .
temperatures offers the opportunity to detect performance imbalances between wheels or
abnormaVunsafe operating conditions. Excessively high brake temperatures can cause premature
shoe wear and cracked drums. Low drum temperatures (relative to another drum on the_ same
axle or another axle) indicate a possible malfunction or maladjustment. Figure 8 is the function
structure for determining brake lining temperatures. Table 14 lists the requirements for the sensor .
function, providing a signal proportio~al to brake lining temperature.

Three sensor types were identified that would satisfy the requirements determined from
the function structure: a NiCr-Ni thermocouple, a thin-film thermocouple, and a thermistor.
Thermocouples are robust and versatile, and they offer proven technology. Thermocouples can
be used for a wide range of temperatures (-270 to 2000 C) and can survive in harsh mechanical,
chemical, and electrical environments. <21 22> A study done by Lucas Automotive GmbH
concluded that an embedded Nickel Chromium-Nickel (NiCr-Ni) type thermocouple was the most
cost effective method for measuring brake temperatures. <22> The authors are not aware of any
brake temperature sensors currently being used for other than laboratory use.

Thermistors offer another proven sensor design type, especially in highway vehicles,
where they have been used to measure oil and coolant temperatures on vehicles for years.
Thermistors are relatively inexpensive, but are relatively non-linear over wide temperature ranges.
Therefore, they may have limitations in this--application. A thin-film thermocouple was developed
and tested at the National Institute of Stand.ards and Technology in Maryland, where tests were
conducted using the sensors to measure combustion and cylinder wall temperatures of a diesel .
engine. Because of their success demonstrated in combustion chamber tests, there is potential for
thin-film thermocouple use in braking systems.<23> Positive attributes of these sensors include their
high speed response (although not critical for brakes), improved packagability due to their small
size, and strong adherence characteristics due to their unique bonding method. <23> These sensors
are still in a preliminary design stage, so costs are not known.

68
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

Provide Means to Determine if Brake Lining


Temperature's are w(m a Safe Operating Range
I
r------------1
------
: ProvideMeansto
I
_j _______ !
Provide Means to
1 Compare Signal from Determine Current
I Sensor to a Specification Lining Temperatures
I______
_____ t.r----
___ _ --------,
I
-,
_____ ;:t_____ ~ r---- ;:t___ _
1Provide Means t o 1 HaveCPU Provide a Signal ,Provide Means to
: Transfer Signal : Compare Signal Proportional to I Attachthe
I
toCPU
1 _.....
l _ __ 1 from Sensor to a Lining Temperature I Sensor
I
Predetermmed
Specification
LEGEND:
Represents topics
- - - - report focuses on.

Represents important
------- aspects of the main
objective, but are
beyond the scope of
SubtaskA2.

Figure 8. Determining Brake Lining Temperature

Table 14. Nominal Requirements for a Brake Lining Temperature Sensor

Requirement Range Comments


Working Range 80-540 C Estimates based on general
Frequency Response 0.5-1 Hz automotive sensor requirements
Accurac_y 5 C and general brake system designs.
Sensitivity 15 mV/C
Operating Temperature Range -45 to 540 oc
Vibration Survival 30 g

69
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

Current monitoring systems used on heavy trucks do not include brake temperatures,
requiring that the initial design process include the fundamentals of sensor location, attachment
properties, and robustness of sensors to withstand the harsh environment. The two probable
locations are inside the brake drum, perhaps behind the brake lining, and on the outside of the
drum. There are pros and cons involved with each of these locations. Inside the brake drum, the
sensor would offer quicker response characteristics to heat generation, but it must endure the dust
and other chemicals generated by deteriorating brake components, primarily linings. On the outer
surface of the drum, response time is reduced somewhat by the conductivity of the drum metal
and sensor feedback across moving parts becomes a design factor. In .either case, requirements
for sensor survival include tolerance to corrosion, harsh vibration, extreme temperatures, and
thermal cycling. The sensors will generate valuable information about brake condition, but
"smart" components must also utilize logic to identify abnormal conditions and calculatecritical
differentials between wheels. As always, cost will be a factor, especially inside the drum where
sensors may require replacement with each new set of brake linings.

Eaton Corporation currently o~ers a temporary on-line brake analyzer system that
measures individual wheel lining temperatures, pressures and response times. The temperature .
sensor is a spring loaded, rubbing thermocouple located on the inner drum surface. This design
allows only temporary monitoring capability as opposed to one that is mounted permanently for
long term monitoring. Legal ramifications associated with the use of such a system discourage
brake manufacturers from offering them as a permanent on-line system. This is due to the very
sensitive nature of brake failure as a potential contributing factor in an accident, where lawsuits
are almost a certainty;

The three aforementioned thermal sensors are not the only feasible sensors applicable to
brake temperature measurements, but are considered to have the strongest potential of those
currently available. Prototype thermal sensors include thick-film resistive temperature devices
(RTD) and noble-metal thermometers, which both offer improved linearity and accuracy over
thermistors. (2t) Both of these sensor types are still in the research stage.

5.2.5 Braking Torque

The authors are not aware of any commercially available on-board braking torque systems.
Furthermore, this parameter is currently not being measured at roadside inspections, except in a
few isolated locations where off-board brake test devices are being evaluated for more widespread
use. On-board or off-board brake torque information could provide a means of determining if the
brake system as a whole is functioning properly, although it would not necessarily identify root
cause problems. Off-board systems will still require valuable time to conduct the test of brake
torque, even if they are deemed suitable. Therefore, an on-board system that provides similar
information is worthy of further consideration.

As in the case of brake temperatures, torque measurements provide opportunities for


detecting imbalances between corresponding wheels and abnormal conditions. More importantly,
a processor could compare actual brake torque measurements to the amount of torque that would
be expected from a properly operating system considering the brake pedal position, appli~d air
pressure, and vehicle speed. Expected torque values would be determined empirically, then

70 I
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

stored in a look~up table in the control module as a product of the variables noted above. This
procedure is analogous to engine injection timing values. Figure 9 is a function structure for
determiningifthe proper amount ofbraking torque is supplied. Table 15lists the requirements
for the sensor function, providing a signal propot:tional to braking torque. Sensor survival
requirements would be similar to temperature and lining thickness sensors.

On-line brake torque measurement has been accomplished on disk brakes with a
conventional strain gage affixed to a caliper support bracket. <24> The location of the strain gage
was determined through finite element analysis computer modeling te~hniques. This design
couples proven sensor technology with the latest computer analysis tools. A convent~onal
Wheatstone type strain gage would most likely suffice. Due to the fact that this technique has
been applied to disk brakes only, most of the performance requirements are not directly
transferable to drum brake applications. However, this is not to say that the technique is
inappropriate for drum brake application. It is likely that a strain gage measurement of braking
torque on a component near the brake linings inside the drum would provide the necessary
information. Enduring this harsh environment becomes a factor as in previous sections. In this
drum brake scenario, the sensor is not the limiting factor, but the technique of its application is.

5.2.6 Brake Line Air Pressure

Measurem~nt of brake line air pressure at the brake chamber can provide- a means of
determining if the correct amount of pressure is being supplied to each brake chamber, and it can
also identify leaks. Unfortunately, these systems are not available at the present time. Currently,
truck brake systems only measure supply tank air pressure. FMCSR Section 393.51, Warning
devices and: gauges, states that any vehicle equipped with air pressure brakes must have a low
pressure warning device. Figure 1 0 is a function structure indicating the functions required for
determining if the proper amount of air pressure is supplied and distributed. Table 16 lists the
requirements for the sensor function, providing a signal proportional to brake line pressures.

Two sensor types that satisfy requirements determined from the function structure are
based on capacitive and piezoelectric technol~gies. The market currently offers several pressure
transducers of these types that would meet the performance requirements. <25> The piezoelectric
sensor would best meet the requirements, as it ~ypically has a higher frequency response than the
capacitive sensor. Again, survival requirements are similar to sensors previously mentioned
because these sensors must be located near the wheels and under the vehicle. Pressure
transducers placed in series with the individual brake li~es could provide feedback to a controller
which compares line pressures. As an addit.ional incentive, this measurement method offers the
opportunity for using closed loop control to meter line pressure with proportioning valves.

5.2.7 Brake System Air Leak

Detection of air leaks in the brake system is crucial for obvious_ reasons. Roadside
inspectors check for brake line air leaks simply by listening for them. In this process, the
inspector instructs the driver to run the engine at idle, then apply and hold the service brake. The
inspector then observes the air reservoir gage on the dash as the driver applies the brakes to
reduce the.pressure down to5.6 kgf7cm2 (80 psi). Upon dropping 5.6 kgf/cm2 (80 psi), the

71
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

Provide Means to Determine if Brakes


are Providing Proper Amount of Torque
____________ I
r
_____ Jt_
----,
; ProvideMeans to
+
Provide Means to
1 CompareS ignals Determine
: fromthe.S ensors Braking Torque
1 to a Specifi1cation

r------
I
----1
____..._:._ ___ !
Provide a Signal
---------
: Provide Means
I-
Have CPU Proportional to
I
1 to Transfer I Compare Signal Braking Torque
: Signal to CPU lfirom Sensor to a
I
I Predetermined I _.;.. __ r_ ---------,
I
I Specification .! ~------ 1---- _,._----
Provide a Signal 1 ProvideMeans 1 Validate the
Proportional to I toAdhe re 1 Correlation
I
Strain I
- Sensor : Between Strain
_ _. 1 of a Component
: toActual
L _ _ _ _ _ _ _....
1 Braking Torque

LEGEND:
Represents topics
- - - - report focuses on.

Represents important
--------aspects of the main
objective, but are
beyond the scope of
SubtaskA2.

Figure 9. Determining Braking T!>rque

Table 15. Nom.inal R~quirements f~r a Brake Torque Sensor (Strain)

Re!{uirement Ran2e Comments


Working Range - 100-750NM Estimates based on general
Frequency Response >100Hz automotive sensor requirements
Accuracy +30NM and general brake system designs.
Sensitivity Unknown
Operating Temperature Range -45 to 540 oc
Vibration Survival 30g

72
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

Provide Means to Determine if


Proper Amount of Air Pressure is
Supplied and Evenly Distributed

r-------------------------
______ ;_____ _
. I Provide Means to Provide Means to
: Compare Signals Determine the Line
lfrom Each Sensor and Pressures
: to a Specification
L - -......- - . . . - . - . - -
1
r-----_ . . ___ 1 .-------'-' ----,
J, ____'t_
,----t.____ l ____ t, ____ ..., Provide Signals : Provide Means
1 Provide Means 1 Have CPU Proportional to 1 of Proportioning
1 to Transfer 1Compare Signals Line Pressures : Line Pressures
: Signal to CPU : from Sensors

LEGEND:
Represents topics
- - - - - - - report focuses on.

Represents important
-------aspects of the main
objective, but are
beyond the scope of
SubtaskA2.

Figure 10. Determining Brake Line Pressures and Distribution

Table 16. Nominal Requirements for a Brake Line Pressure Sensor

Requirement Range Comments


Working Range 0-1000 kPa Estimates based on general ..
Frequencyltesponse 0.5-1.0 Hz automotive sensor requirements
Accuracy 10 kPa and general brake system designs.
Sensitivity 8-10 mV/kPa
Operating Temperature Range -45 to 60 oc
Vibration Survival 15_g

73
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

compressor should activate, allowing-the inspector to determine problems in_the system. He or


she then checks to ensure that the air pressure either remains constant or increases after the
compressor activates. A drop in pressure indicates a serious air leak in the brake system, and the
vehicle should be placed out of service. This method is subject to human error and requires
valuable time to complete. As noted previously, vehicles are required to be equipped with a
pressure sensor to monitor tank pressure. An alternative might utilize air compressor cycling rate
based on the usage of the air system (e.g. braking applications). An air leak causes the
compressor to work excessively to compensate for loss of pressure, so increased compressor
activity based on system usage would be correlated to leaks. Figure 11 is a function structure
utilizing compressor activity to detect air leaks.

Provide Means to
Determine if Brake the
~

. -
System has an Air Leak
OR
- r--------- -- 1
r ______-t_ ____ _
1 Provide Means to
'Provide Means to ' Provide Means to
1 Determine if Signal Determine When the Determine if Proper
: Represents Excessive -Compressor is On Amount of Air Pressure
I Compressor Activity
is Supplied and Evenly
L._.------~----_. Distributed
r----------,
--------- .---------
: Provide Means Have CPU
1
- ~lr

Provide a Signal that ,_See Section 2. 7 l


1 to Transfer 1 Calculate Represents the
: Signal to CPU : Activity Level Compressor Being On
1 and Compare
: witha
L _ _ _ _ _ _ _. . .
1 Specification LEGEND:
Represents topics
- - - - report focuses on.

Represents important
/i
------- aspects of the main
objective, but are
beyond the scope of
SubtaskA2.

Figure 11. Detecting Air Leaks

74
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

This technique does not require new sensors to be added to the vehicle, but it does require
an electronic counter logic circuit that triggers each time the compressor is activated. This circuit
coupled to the air compressor switch could monitor the number of times the compressor engages
over a period oftime. The logic used to evaluate this circuit must distinguish between loads
caused from heavy braking versus a genuine air leak. This research did not discover systems for
automating this process that are currently being marketed for heavy trucks.

5.2.8 Final Comments on Brake System Monitoring

All proposed sensors serve only a detection role, and not a corrective role. Corrective
action typically requires input from all braked wheels and sufficient control logic to ensure
harmonious brake application across axles and between articulated vehicle units. Given today's air
braked heavy vehicles, this suggests a modification to incorporate a computer controlled, high
speed proportioning valve to equalize line pressures or brake torque. This improvement could
also equalize temperature as long as the modified system is capable of removing imbalances in
braking force. Unfortunately, there are some cases in which this would not happen. If
component wear (e.g. brake lining) is sufficiently different among the braked wheels, or if
adjustment is beyond a correctable limit at one or more wheels, then this modification will not
provide sufficient compensation. A more sophisticated system utilizing an entirely different
regime for applying brakes becomes necessary.

Electronic braking systems (brake-by-wire) for heary trucks are being investigated
because they offer opportunities for improvements in heary vehicle braking not available on
current systems. Robert Bosch GmbH has developed a system that offers adaptive control by
pressure regulation and proportioning valves. <26> Such systems are anticipated to improve
response time of brakes and make an adaptive braking system ~ore feasible. Among the more
specific attributes of electronic braking systems that make them attractive are: enhanced
diagnostic capability, compatibility among articulated units, balancing of braking force between
loaded and unloaded conditions, balancing ofbrake application rates (front to rear), less brake
application delay, and increased integration potential with collision avoidance systems.

5.3 CHASSIS STATUS

5.3.1 Introduction

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations require many chassis system checks as
listed in chapter 3, including status of all lighting devices, wiring harnesses, electrical
connectors, windows, frame rails and fasteners, coupling devices, tires, and wheels. Conducting
inspection of all theses systems consumes a considerable amount of time, and implementing on-
board diagnostic devices could reduce the time required. Not all of the chassis subsystems are
good candidates for on-board sensors, and benefits of adding sensors are, in some cases,
insufficient to warrant the necessary investment (as qualified in chapter 3). Elements of the
chassis inspection process that could potentially be monitored with on-board diagnostics include:
tire pressure and temperature, tire tread depth, cracked wheels, loose wheel lugs, and the lighting
system. Two other elements included in this section that relate closely with chassis items
inspected are on-board weighing systems and dynamic suspension control.

75
.Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations Section 393.75 Tires, lists several-requirements
related to tire condition and type. Items relevant to this chapter include: a tread depth of 3.17
mm (4/32 in) for steer axle tires, tread depth of_1.59 mm (2/32 in) for other tires, and air pressure
appropriate for the truck's current weight rating. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations
Section 393.205 Wheels, states that the wheels and rims must not be cracked or broken and that
all nuts or bolts be present and tight. Figure 12 is an expansion of the main function structure in
Section 5.1.1 that illustrates the functions necessary to determine chassis status. The following
sections of this chapter address these functions by further expanding the function structure to
lower levels to identify sensor requirements.

Provide Means
to Determine
Chassis Status
I.

Provide Means Provide Means


to Determine to Determine
Tire Status Suspension -
System Status
I
Provide Means to Provide Means
.r
~----~----~ l _____i
I ----~

Determine if Tires to Determine if Provide Means 1 Provide Means


Oper. Parameters Tire Tread to Determine if 1 to Control
are within a Safe Depth is within Vehicle Weight : Suspension
Operating Range

Section 5.3.2
Specification

Section 5.3.2
is within
Specification L---.. . -
1 Dynamics
Section 5.3.5
Section 5.3.4

LEGEND:
Represents topics
- - - - report focuses on.

Represents important
-------aspects ofthemain
objective, but are
beyond the scope of
SubtaskA2.

Figu~e 12. Determining Chassis Status

76
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

5.3.2 Tire Operating Conditions and Tread Depth

Having a system on-board that monitors tire operating conditions and tread depth could
expedite roadside inspection and improve highway safety. Two systems are currently being
marketed, one that simply monitors tire pressure and another more complex central tire inflation
system that both monitors and corrects tire inflation pressures. The RF system alerts the operator
when inflation pressure drops below an acceptable limit or is read by an off-board device. Neither
are considered complete replacements for manu~l tire checks, but they should significantly reduce
the number of manual checks needed. It is also anticipated that, by 1~96, there will be "RF tags"
implanted in tires as they are manufactured to store the tire's identification information. Included .
will be location manufactured, date of manufacture, size, and a unique numeric identifier. <27)

Central tire inflation systems can independently monitor tire pressure and maintain
relatively constant pressure to equalize tire wear and load, and as a result, reduce mainte~ance
and replacement costs of tires on heavy trucks. These systems automatically maintain the correct
air pressure in each tire, with pressure sensors required for feedback to the central system.
Sensors are currently being mounted inside tire rims in automotive and truck applications to
measure tire pressure and temperature. These sensors have a built in microprocessor that outputs
a radio frequency (RF) signal that is received by a processor located elsewhere on the vehlcle.
Temperature measurements are required as a correction factor for pressure measurements;_ in
addition, temperature could be used to-identify abnormal conditions. Tread. wear sensors are
being developed to expedit~ the inspection process as well as record keeping of tread wear
rate. <2'> The current versi.on of tread wear sensors requires a hand-held reader to be passed over
the sensor. Modification is required for providing a signal to the driver in transit and generating a
code to be stored for access by roadside inspection and maintenance personnel. Table 17 lists the
sensor function requirements, in which the sensor signal must be proportional to tire pressure.

Table 17. Nominal Requirements for a Tire Pressure Sensor

Requirement Range Comments


Working Range 150-1000 kPa Estimates based on general
Frequency Response 1Hz automotive sensor requirements.
Accuracy 20 kPa
Sensitivity 50mV/kPa
Operating Temperature Range -45 to 166 oc
Vibration Survival JOg :

Tire pressure has implications related to tire temperature, and vice versa. However, tires
can overh~at, even with proper pressures, from brakes or other nearby components overheating.
Therefore, assuming these other components do not have their own temperature monitoring
system, there is a need to monitor tire temperature. For the aforementioned embedded chip to
monitor and store tire temperatures, along with tire use and retread date, it will be necessary to
develop a tiny battery with a desirable life of approximately 10 years. Stored tire temperature

77
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

data could provide valuable information that would not be revealed during a normal visual
inspection. Retreading a tire that has overheated is a waste of time and money, as well as a safety
risk.(27>

5.3.3 Loose Wheel and Cracked Wheel Detection-

A loose wheel detection device could reduce highway accidents and decrease the amount
of time required for roadside inspection; however, no such systems are currently known to exist
for heavy trucks. A loose wheel caused by loose or missing lug nuts produces a lateral harmonic
vibration if enough lugs are loose to allow for movement of the rim. This vibration could be
detected by a wireless accelerometer (radio frequency) attached to the wheel. Vibrations caused
from road conditions must be distinguishable from loose wheel vibrations or else the system
would generate false alarms. This type of accelerometer would have to self-calibrate, withstand
harsh environments, and have a response time in the approximate range of a few hundred hertz.
One possible type is a silicon accelerometer that uses Wheatstone bridge circuitry which strains as
acceleration occurs. <24> This design is similar to a silicon pressure transducer and offers the
capability of including a microprocessor in the sensor for any needed signal conditioning.
Unfortunately, neither the literature search nor the office interviews uncovered thistype of
development.

Roadside inspectors currently check wheels for cracks by visually inspecting each wheel.
They often look for rust stains that -might suggest crack formation. Wheels on the steering axle
are especially critical because of the more hazardous implications if a failure occurs. By the same
token, a crack is more difficult to detect on inside wheels of dual tires. A crack might manifest .
itself by loss of tire pressure, but it is otherwise difficult to detect. Therefore, a means to detect
cracks other than visually is needed. Unfortunately, all currently known applicable methods
require conditions that are not appropriate for an on-board test. Therefore, off-board techniques
should be sought.

5.3.4 On-Board Weighing System (OBWS)

Vehicle weight measurement is a requirement for the transportation of goods by highway.


Roadside inspections often occur in conjunction with weight enforcement activities, so-it is
appropriate to consider axle and vehicle weights in this context. The vehicle weighing process
currently utilizes static scales with increasing numbers of pavement weigh-in-motion (WIM)
systems being used to screen potential violators for static weighing. An on-board weighing
system reduces the need for highway WIM systems and static scales if on-board axle weight
information could be transmitted to the roadside._ The OBWS would serve as an electronic
clearance measure upstream of static weight enforcement locations just as pavement WIM
systems do today. Table 18 lists the requirements for vehicle weight sensors mounted on the
on
vehicle, one sensor per axle or axle set. In controlled environments (e.g. static weights a level
surface), these on-board systems provide static accuracy levels that are superior to current
pavement weigh-in-motion systems.

This research discovered information on OBWS from two sources: vendors of on-board
weighing systems and the literature. In general, the vendors of these systems currently sell their

78
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

Table 18. Nominal Requirements for a Vehicle Weight Sensor

Requirement Range Comments


Working Range 2,200 to 33,000 N Estimates based on general
Frequency Response 0.5-1.0 Hz automotive sensor requirements.
Accuracy 2 percent
Sensitivity 0.2mV/N
Operating Temperature Range -45 to 40 oc
Vibration Survival 30g

systems to a limited subset of the truck population. Systems currently being marketed in the
United States provide static weights of individual axles, axle groups, dollies, or gross vehicle
weights of the truck. Based on telephone contacts with several of the OBWS vendors, there is at
least a perception that the demand for these systems will increase in the next few years. Results of
these telephone conversations are provided below.

Typical applications currently utilizing these on-board weighing devices are refuse haulers
and logging operations; other line-haul operations of general freight have apparently not found
these systems to show a favorable cost-benefit relationship. The installed cost estimated by a
vendor in Washington State for Class 8 trucks was $6,000. Its system has load sensors at the fifth
wheel and on the trailer tandems to provide information on front-to-rear load distribution, but it
does not provide weights on each e. In a technical product bulletin, the company claims an
accuracy of 1 percent. Another on-board weighing system vendor based in Oregon offers a
system that allows the driver to weigh as many as six axle groups, drop and hook trailers, or
dollies without recalibration. In its product literature, this company claims that its system can
interface with on-board computers and print weight tickets that include time, date, gross vehicle
weight, and individual axle group weights. Cost and accuracy information were unavailable.

Yet another Oregon-based company markets an on-board weighing system, for use
primarily for air-ride axles, although its newest model also weighs spring-suspensioned steering
axles. Prices for a complete kit from this vendor for a tractor and semitrailer set-up is $1,695; for
systems that interface with on-board electronics, the prices start at $2,995. Systems currently
being marketed for refuse haulers have the capability of weighing the contents of individual curb
side waste containers for billing purposes. They also keep track of the cumulative weight to
maximize payload without exceeding legal load limits.

The literature search yielded additional insight into on-board systems currently being used
to determine axle and gross vehicle weights. In an article reprinted from World Wastes, (2l) there
was some very informative information regarding the use of OBWS in refuse hauling. There is
significant potential in this industry to avoid overweight fines by having on-board weighing -
systems. For example, a spokesman for a private recycling company, located in the city of St.
Cloud,-Minnesota, stated that his company has avoided paying close to $2,000 per year in fines as
a result on their on-board scales.

79
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

The literature search also found one test of on-board systems documented by the Forest
Engineering Research Institute of Canada (FERIC} for a logging operation. <29> This test evaluated
22 on-board systems over a four year time period. Findings indicated that electronic load cells
exhibited the highest degree of accuracy and required the least maintenance during testing of the
several types of on-board weighing devices. FERIC researchers noted that electronic load cell
maintenance is beyond the ability of many truckers, can require expensive parts, and is frequently
viewed with apprehension. However, a cost-benefit study revealed that benefits, including fewer
underloads, exceeded costs, which included both initial costs and periodic maintenance of load
cells. On-board systems could replace weigh':'in-motion systems currently installed on road
surfaces if their accuracy, reliability, and cost were acceptable and on-board weight could be
communicated with roadside enforcement activities..

5.3.5 Dynamic Suspension Control

Although the topic of dynamic suspension control does not directly pertain to roadside
insp~ction or maintenance, it is noteworthy due to its potential for also improving stability
characteristics of large trucks. Once the components of dynamic suspension control are available
on large trucks, there might also be potential for improving the roll stability of these high center-
of-gravity vehicles. Research conducted at the University of British Columbia analyzed the
feasibility of active roll control of semitrailers by actuating the fifth wheel hydraulically.<30> By
tilting the fifth wheel during cornering or high lateral inertial shifts from cornering, these
researchers demonstrated that a trailer's rollover threshold could be increased up to 30 percent,
depending upon the trailer weight and center of gravity height.

Until the last few years, suspension systems were completely passive, but active control of
suspension dynamics for improvement of ride quality has become more common in passenger
cars. There are several types of dynamic suspension control systems currently on the market,
including fully active, semi-active, and adaptive systems. These systems increase general stability
and improve handling by adjusting damping ratios and/or providingreaction forces to road
.undulations and vehicle inertial shifts (cornering or braking). Fully active suspensions have been
in development for many years, but the cost and associated parasitic power requirements have
prohibited large market acceptance. Active suspensions, in theory, maintain vehicle attitude to the
most stable position, which most often is level. Each wheel is independently actuated with
hydraulically powered cylinders or actuators. In addition, the response times required for high
speed travel or drastic undulations sometimes exceeds the capability of current actuators. Semi-
active suspensions use low power actuators in conjunction with the passive suspension, providing
quick spring constant and damping ratio changes. An adaptive suspension changes the damping
ratio and in some cases, adjusts static load responses.<31>

Spring linear displacement and/or acceleration measurements provide the necessary


information for these suspension control systems. Both linear displacement sensors and
accelerometers have been used in automotive applications for adaptive suspension systems. With
accelerometers becoming more cost effective and robust in design, sensors are not currently the
limitation in implementing an adaptive suspension control system. For example, a new thick film
accelerometer that responds to an acceleration range of0.08g to 0.4g and a frequency range of
0.5 to 2 Hz has been developed utilizing piezoresistive effect. <32> There are several other

80 t
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

conventional accelerometers on the market that could adequately perform in these suspension
applications.

5.3.6 Other Chassis Components

The chassis-related safety components listed in Table 11 that have not been discussed thus
far are: spring deflection detectors, frame deflection sensors, axle shift detectors, excess steering
system wear, sliding fifth wheel position and latch detectors, and sliding trailer tandem lock and
position detectors. Most of these chassis components require sensors ~o endure a long period of
time in a harsh environment to detect a failure. Sensors intended to detect metal-against-metal
wear, fatigue, and/or distortion must endure years of use, thousands of miles of pounding,
abrasive forces, and corrosive elements before being required to detect a single failure. This is
because the failures they are expected to detect typically occur over a long time period. Heavy
trucks travel as much as 321,800 kilometers (200,000 miles) per year under very rigorous
demands, especiallyon chassis components. For these reasons, the success rates of these sensors
are generally anticipated to be low.

5.3.6.1 Chassis Frame and Suspension Component Status

Chapter 3 acknowledged frame cracks, spring deflection, and axle shift as potential
variables to n:tonitor. Many instances of frame cracking begin in a localized high stress area which
is covered by a flange or other connecting member and caruiot be detected visually. This creates a
need to detect these probl~ms using other techniques that are reasonably reliable and cost
effective. Although automating the process would benefit roadside inspection.s, no literature or
industry interviews supported the feasibility of such diagnostic devices. Only speculative methods
of monitoring these components can be suggested, given the current state of the art. It is
conceivable that the process currently used in aircraft generating an eddy current of electricity to
test the aircraft skin might be transferable in a very limited sense. The process requires a very
clean surface, free of many of the items that would always exist on truck chassis components.
The possibility of optical sensors that detect misalignment might also be tested, but their
probability of success over a long time period is doubtful. Strain gages placed at critical points
are not considered good solutions either because of the normal flexure of the frame, especially
under loaded conditions. There would be many cases in which additional deflection due to a
crack could not be distinguished from simple load-induced frame deflection.

Monitoring spring deflections presents several difficulties, but it could probably be


accomplished based on similar systems that have been marketed in Europe by at least three
manufacturers: Bendix, Lucas, and Midland-Grau. Even though the literature search did not
discover these systems, researchers are generally aware of their capabilities. Load is determined
by spring deflection and braked air pressure is controlled as a function of the load on a particular
axle. A control valve with a variable reaction surface area reduces the output pressure iri the
valve in relation to the input pressure as a function of spring compression Qeaf spring) or bellows
pressure (air bag). Unfortunately, the likelihood of failure of sensors mounted on suspension and
chassis components is relatively high due to sensors being exposed to corrosive elements and road
shock.

81
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

Monitoring of axle shifts could conceivably be accomplished using optical sensors, or it


could also be accomplished using linear displacement sensors or position sensing switches. These
sensors would detect axle shifts relative to a position on the frame and provide a signal when
these shifts exceed a specified value. Again, manufacturing a sensor that is rugged and highly
accurate, and capable of enduring hundreds of thousands of miles before normal wear generates a
failure signal would, in all likelihood, be cost prohibitive.

5.3.6.2 Steering System Status

Determining steering systems status require~ monitoring both gear and tie rod joint
condition. Monitoring of gear wear or lash could be accomplished with angular displacement
sensors placed on both the input and output shaft of the steering gear box. A CPU would
compare the signals from both sensors to determine if there is excessive gear wear. Once again,
cost would most likely be prohibitive. For testing the condition. of tie rod joints, one possibility
might involve accelerometers placed on steering components. If the test is conducted at" crawl
speeds on a smooth surface, the potential problem of distinguishing between road-induced
movement and actual excessive component wear would be minimized.

5.3.6.3 Lights

Roadside .inspectors visually inspect the vehicle's head lamps, tum signals, identification
lights, marker lights; and emergency flashers for proper_ color and operation. The inspector simply .
walks to the front to check head lamps, tum signals, and other lights while directing the driver to
activate each from within the. cab. The inspector then walks to the rear of the truck and does the
same for tum signals, brake lights, identification lights, and marker lights. Failures are due to
many causes, including: defective bulbs, short circuits in wiring or in the bulb socket, corrosion,
and vibration due to rough pavement.

The authors understand that OEM's are planning to implement five light-emitting diodes
(LED's) for each marker lamp, creating a more reliable system than the current single-bulb system.
These LED's will generate as much light as the current system while causing less current drop.

It is conceivable that an electronic sensing system could be installed to monitor current


draw near each light bulb or LED group. It would not detect signal and flasher module
malfunctions, but it would alert the driver when a bulb had failed. Passenger cars are known to
have used fiber optic technology to accomplish the same result. Even though these systems might
also be added to heavy trucks, drivers, maintenance personnel, and roadside inspectors can easily
check lights while visually checking other components, so an automated system must be
inexpensive as ~ell as very reliable. to result in a positive benefit/cost relationship. A sensing
system for lights is expected to achieve little in delay reduction, and the wiring harness would add
significant cost and bulk to the tractor and trailer.. The monitoring system itself would be subject
to some ofthe_same problems it is intended to detect such as short circuits and.looseconnections.
Multiplexing may be an answer to some of the anticipated problems with increasing complexity
inherent in some of the more sophisticated electronic systems.

82 '
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

5.3.6.4 Sliding Fifth Wheel and Sliding Trailer Tandem

The current inspection process requires the inspector to check the trailer kingpin and the
fifth wheel for excessive slack. This requires the driver to lock the trailer brakes while the
tractor's service brakes are released, removing the wheel chocks, placing the tractor in gear, and
gently rocking the tractor back and forth. While the driver does this, the inspector watches the
fifth wheel to detect excessive movement between the kingpin and fifth wheel, between the fifth
wheel mounting components and the frame, and between the upper and lower fifth wheel halves.
Because this process itself can cause damage to the very components it is intended to test, it is
desirable to replace it with.a more benign test. Unfortunately, such.systems are not currently
available for heavy trucks.

It is possible that electrical conductivity switches could be built into the fifth wheel to
detect excessive wear and to detect the fifth wheel lock not being fully seated and secured. For a
wear sensor between the kingpin and the fifth wheel slot, the sensor achieves an "open" position
both when a trailer is not being pulled and when excessive wear occurs in the components. As
with most other sensors discussed elsewhere in this chapter, the harsh environment is a concern.
In this case, a sensor must be used that can endure heavy applications of grease and impacts that
occur when COl!pling a trailer or due to brake application lag time upon sudden acceleration.
Detecting problems between the base. of the fifth wheel and the frame might be done with position
sensors.

Solutions similar to those applying to fifth wheels should also suffice for sliding -trailer
tandems. It is desirable to have a system that detects both the position of the axle group and
verifies that the locking mechanism is engaged and secure. A sensor for ensuring that the locking
mechanism is seated and secure might be an electrical conductivity type as described above. For
the position of the sliding trailer tandem, an optical sensor (perhaps laser) could monitor the
distance between axle groups to check for compliance with a particular State's laws. If State
inspection personnel know the distance between the various axle groups, they do not have to
manually measure their spacing to check compliance with the Bridge Formula. An on-board
system could facilitate this check, in conjunction with axle weights that might also be available
from an on-board system. These vehicle parameters serve as an electronic clearance mechanism
upstream of an enforcement station.

5.4 ENGINE STATUS

5.4.1 Introduction

Monitoring the engine status is essential for determining the necessity of maintenance and
for correction of engine emission problems. Besides emission tests, roadside inspections of engine
systems typically include a visual inspection for fluid leaks and damaged wires or belts. However,
thereare no p~ormance specifications available. Both existing and.proposed legislation will
require detection of engine emissions problems, although the methodology for obtaining this
information from the engine is not yet standardized. Generally, current roadside emissions testing
uses off-board smoke opacity tests to detect vehicles that exceed acceptable emission levels.

83
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

Two general types of sensors should be investigated for monitoring engine emissions. The
first type is a direct method in which sensors are placed in the exhaust system, and the second is
an indirect method which predicts exhaust emissions based on engine parameters. The direct
method is thought to hold much greater promise for implementation. It measures the exhaust
directly, leaving no doubt as to the correlation between the variable measured and the desired
variable. The indirect method requires adding sensors inside the engine and would have to be
accomplished by the engine manufacturers. Each engine is unique; therefore, applications of
sensors to accomplish the same objective might be different for each manufacturer. Having the
same sensor for all diesel engines also implies a lower unit cost. Everi though the direct method is
preferred, sensors applying to both systems will be discussed because it is impossible to accurately
predict which system might be implemented.

Figure 13, which is an extension of the main function structure in Section 5.1.1, displays
the functions necessary for determining engine status. The three essential subsystems necessary
are those for d~termining the status of the lubrication, ~cooling, and combustion processes. All
three subsystems would be useful to motor carriers for truck maintenance, but the third subsystem
would be most useful in determining compliance with government emission regulations. Because
detection of engine emission problems is increasing in importance, this chapter emphasizes
diagnostic devices that provide that information.

Provide Means
to Determine
Engine Status

Provide Means
. !
Provide Means Provide Means to
to Determine to Determine Determine
Cooling System Lubrication Combustion Process
Status System Status Status
I
~

Provide Means Provide Means Provide Means Provide Means


to Determine if to Determine if to Determine if to Determine
the Coolant's the Oil's the Oil's if Exhaust
Operating Operating Operating Emission Levels
Temperature is Temperature is Pressure is are within Spec.
; within Spec. withinSpec. within Spec.
Section 5.4.2.2
Section 5.4.3 Section 5.4.3 .. 5.4.2.4

Figure 13. Determining Engine Status

84
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

Several possible variables within the three engine subsystems were not considered in this
chapter because they were deemed of less importance- than those selected. For example, an oil
condition monitor might be useful; however, oil condition sensors have been researched for years
and no design has proven to be more cost effective than the current conservative oil change
practice based on mileage or time. Similarly, analysis of the chemical composition of the coolant
to determine the freezing and boiling points is not important to roadside inspectors, even though it
is highly important to motor carrier maintenance personnel. This research found no on-board
sensors capable of determining these properties, and there are no Federal rules requiring that these
variables be monitored. As previously stated, sensor technology often follows enactment of
Federal requirements on the vehicle systems. The following sections address the sensor
technologies for determining the status of exhaust emissions, the cooling system, and the
lubrication system.

5.4.2 Exhaust Emissions

5.4.2.1 Introduction

Requirements from Federal and State legislation, such as The Clean-Air Act and On-
Board Diagnostics II (OBD II), have created a tremendous amount of research activity directed
toward reducing engine emissions. For example, in 1998 the nitrogen oxide (NOJ emissions
standard for heavy duty trucks will be reduced to 4:0 from 5. 0 g/bhp, the 1994 standard. <14>T ~
meet present and future emission requirements, new technologies are being developed for both
engine design and control. 'Gasoline spark-ignition (SI) engines have been equipped with after
treatment systems utilizing catalytic converters for years. However, over-the-road diesel engines
in heavy duty trucks have not yet required after treatment systems to meet Federallegislation.
Engine designers have increased fuel injection pressures and tightened tolerances to -reduce
inherent emission levels. Inherent engine emissions are a product of design variables, such as
engine type (turbocharged or naturally aspirated), engine component design (e.g. combustion
chamber shape, cylinder wall topography), transmission type, vehicle weight, and many others.
Furthermore, engine component wear also affects emissions. Operating conditions, such as
ambient air pressures and temperatures, rotating dynamics (engine speed and acceleration), fuel
quality, and fuel metering have been shown to influence engine emission levels. The sensors
suggested in this section would be used to identify emission levels above the inherent levels, such
as those resulting from deficient operating conditions or component failure or wear. Knowing
these emission levels is useful in determining the need for adjustments or maintenance for various
engine components such as valve train, fuel injectors, and even sensors.

Figure 14 is a diagram showing the functions necessary for determining emission levels.
Three exhaust emissions measuring techniques are included in this section. These are: direct
measurement with on-board sensors, indirect measurement by measuring combustion
characteristics, and indirect measurement by measuring fuel injector performance.

Although this chapter emphasizes methods for on-board applications, it is noteworthy to


report that several portable off board emission analyzers are currently available for most emission
exhaust gases, including NOx, SOx, CO, C02, and HC. These units use an electrochemical sensor
and are equipped with easy to use controls. One weakness of these units is that they typically

85
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

Provide Means to Determine if Exhaust


Emission Levels are within Spec.

r---------~---------
-*-----., ~, ~
:-p~;jdeMeansto Provide Means to Provide Means to
aDetenmneEmission Determine Emission Determine Status of
: LeveIs Off-Line Levels On-Board the Fuel Metering
. I System
-*-----
:-M~~~eTailpipe ~. ~ !
1 Emissions with a Provide Means Provide A Signal Provide Means to
: PortableAnalyzer to Determine Proportional to Determine Status of
Combustion Each Critical the Fuel.Metering
Clulracteristics Ennssion Species System

~.
I
~
!
... Install Sensors ''
l
Provide a Signal
Provide Signals Provide a Signal for Each Critical
;.;

Proportional to Fuel
Proportional to Proportional to Emission Species Injector Pulse
Cyl. Temperature Cyl. Pressure (electrochemical, Width and
Solid State, IR)
.
Section 5.4.2.3 Section 5.4.2.4
Section 5.4.2.2

Figure 14. Determining if Exhaust Emission Levels Are Within Specification

require frequent calibration. Also, in order for such devices to be effective, they require a specific
engine speed and load sequence because emissions are dependent upon these operating
parameters. This off-board procedure for trucks would simulate automotive emission tests being
implemented around the country.

S.4.2.2 Measuring E,xhaust Emission Directly with On-Board Sensors

Currently, there are no on-board emission sensors used for diesel engines in Class 8
trucks. Most emission analyzers today are used for research purposes only and are configured for
the off-board mode. The only on-board emission sensor on the market to date is an oxygen
sensor, which is used to determine air-fuel ratio to permit high catalytic converter performance on
SI engines only.

86
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

Special considerations are necessary to measure emissions during transient conditions


(acceleration or deceleration) as compared to steady-state (constant engine speed) conditions.
For a properly tuned engine of any type, transient engine conditions produce more emissions on a
per unit time basis than an engine operating in steady state. In SI engines, the control "maps"
(look-up tables) are based on steady-state points, but their implementation is dynamic, and thus
they handle transient conditions. The current snap-idle smoke test for heavy trucks is also a
transient test, although transferring this test to an on-board test would require replicating off-
board test procedures or developing new procedures for the on-board mode.

An on-board emissions testing system must be reliable and rugged, and able to accurately
generate emissions information under prescribed operating conditions. Depending on the nature
of the tests, necessary input parameters might include ambient barometric pressure, temperature,
and humidity. The engine would have to meet operating requirements of being fully warm and
operating under a prescribed load. If under these preset conditions, unacceptable emission levels
are reached, a steady state system would illuminate a malfunction indicator light (MIL) on the
instrument panel, similar to that used in passenger cars today, The engine computer could log the
current operating conditions based on the signal, and the engine could be put into a limp-mode if
critical predetermined conditions were met.

One investigation found that diesel emissions could be reduced by using combustion
chamber emission measurements as a feedback to control fuel delivery. <35> This study used an
optical probe located in the combustion chamber to produce control feedback. Emissions were
reduced by altering fuel injection timing and metering based on combustion chamber emission
measurements. The probe used in this study would not be suitable for full-time on-board use, but
it shows potential for closed-loop combustion control by means of emission measurements.

This section identifies several types of emission sensors that have potential for on-board
usage, but none were discovered that were being used for heavy-duty diesel on-board emission
measurements. Table 19 lists the requirements for the sensor function, providing a signal
proportional to a specific emission species.

Three types of emission sensors were selected for further consideration because they
appeared to be good candidates for on-board applications. These three were electrochemical,
solid state, and infrared (IR). Electrochemical sensors consist of a pair of electrodes in an
electrolyte medium protected by a gas permeable barrier. A polarizing voltage between the
electrodes produces an electrical current proportional to the gas concentration present in the
electrolyte. Humidity and air flow must be controlled to specified conditions for these sensors to
function properly. These sensors require maintenance and calibration every three months and their
life expectancy is 1. 5 to 3 years. <22> Therefore, they are not ~eemed feasible for on-board
emissions sensing.

A solid state sensor's primary design consists. of a metal-oxide semiconductor such as tin
oxide. Solid state sensors are similar to electrochemical sensors in that they ha~e two electrodes,
but solid state sensors are different in that they are surrounded by the metal oxide. Assuming
constant temperature, the designated gaseous species to be sensed changes the resistance between
the electrodes proportional to its concentration. Its operating temperature is typically 3 50

87
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

Table 19. Nominal Requirements for an Exhaust Emission Sensor

Requirement Range Comments


Working R~nge varies per species Estimates based on general
Frequency response . 10-50Hz automotive sensor requirements.
Accuracy 5%.
Sensitivity varies per species
Operating Temperature range 200 to 400 oc
Vibration survival 5g

degrees Celcius, requiring a heater to be included in the sensor. Solid state sensors have a lower
part-per-million (ppm) range than the emission levels of most automobile and truck engines. In
addition, these sensors are not completely capable of distinguishing a single gaseous species.
Therefore, at present they would not be suitable for on-board emissions sensing. (lS)

Infrared (IR) gas sensing offers the ability to sense several gas species with one unit, but_
cost and intolerance to unclean environments make it an unlikely candidate for an on-board
exhaust sensor. Similarly, fiber optics is an upcoming technology for measuring gases, but
cleanliness requirements of the optical windows limits its potential for this applicatio~. Most IR
emission analyzers used today are for research bench tests, although another application ofiR
emission measurements is remote tail pipe emissions measurements as developed at the University
ofDenver. <37> This system measures tailpipe emissions of vehicles driving at highway speeds. As
it exists today, the system is restricted to gasoline engines, short term remote (off-board) sensing,
and sensing at ground level. It is currently not suitable for on-board measurements and is
currently not applicable to diesel engines. In order to adapt this system for on-board diesel
emission measurements, some development work and funding would be required. Chalmers
University of Technology in Sweden tested an on-line IR quick response system by measuring
oxygen, but no other emission species was evaluated.<38> Unfortunately, at the current time, IR
cannot distinguish between other gaseous emission species.

5.4.2.3 Determining Exhaust Emission Using Combustion Characteristics

This section discusses two variables that have the potential to minimize emissions through
closed loop combustion control; they are cylinder pressure and temperature. Table 20 lists the
requirements for the sensor function, providing a signal proportional to cylinder pressure. Table
21 lists the requirements for the sensor function, providing a signal proportional to cylinder wall
temperature.

Cylinder pressure and temperature measurements offer the most comprehensive technique
for establishing combustion efficiency. Several new pressure transducers (sensors) and
thermocouples have been developed with the intention of providing full time on-board combustion
monitoring. These pressure sensors could replace misfire sensors currently used in SI engines for
timing control and could determine fuel injection timing for compression ignition (CI) engines.
With further research in correlating combustion characteristics to emissions, they could eliminate

88
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

Table 20. Nominal Requirements for a Cylinder Pressure Sensor

Requirement Range Comments


Working Range 0-lOMPa Estimates based on general
Frequency Response 20-30kHz automotive sensor requirements
Accuracy 5% and engine operating parameters.
Operating temp. refers to the sensing
Sensitivity 300mV/MPa
membrane only. Rest of unit will
Operating Temperature Range 400 to 600 oc tolerate temperatures up to 150 C.
Vibration Survival 5g

Table 21. Nominal Requirements for a Cylinder Wall Temperatur~ Sensor

Requirement Range Comments


Working Range 500 to 2000 oC Estimates based ori general
Frequency response 10-50Hz automotive sensor requirements.
Accuracy 15
Sensitivity 3.3 mV/C .. -

Operating Temperature range 500 to 2000 oc


Vibration survival 5g

the need for any on-line emission sensor as the correlation of cylinder pressures and temperatures
to certairi emission species becomes better established. Maintenance could also benefit from such
sensors because power degradation trends could be used to detect faulty or worn components.

The requirements of these sensor types are probably the most stringent of any covered in
this chapter. The environment in which they must survive includes extreme pressures and
temperatures, and thermal cycling froin power to intake stroke must also be tolerated. The sensor
must also have resistance to carbon build-up. Bosch has developed a sensor that is a
piezoresistive effect type with an integrated circuit. <39> Mitsubishi Electronic Corporation has
developed a Silicon on Insulator (SOl) type high temperature pressure. <40> The sensor body is
capable of tolerating temperatures above 150 C, but the sensing membrane is capable of
tolerating temperatures up to 600 o C. Both sensors have been laboratory tested in engine
cylinders. The National Institute of Standards and Technology in Maryland has developed and
tested a thin film thermocouple for measuring combustion/cylinder wall temperatures of a diesel
engines. <7l All ofthese sensors have not had significant field testing, and therefore, only the
recommendation for further investigation can be given at this time.

5.4.2.4 Determining Exhaust Emissions by Measuring Fuel Injector Performance

Knowledge of injector performance could predict emission levels as well as the necessity
of maintenance. Defiriitive correlations have been established between diesel engine emissions

89
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

and fuel injection timing and injector system condition.<41> Injection timing settings are empirically
determined by the engine manufacturers. These calibrated timing settings are a product of engine
piston position and speed, throttle position, and several operating temperatures. The engine's
computer stores this data on a look-up table for reference during operation. The optimal injector
timing to minimize one emission species (e.g. NOx or SOJ is not necessarily the same as
minimizing other emissions. Thus, injection timing settings are a compromise between power and
emissions levels. Table 22 lists the requirements for the sensor function, providing a signal
proportional to fuel injector performance.

Fuel ,injector position and duration measurements can verify proper functioning of the
injectors by comparing expected performance with measured performance. Performance is defined
as pulse width and amplitude of an injection pulse, which determines the volume of fuel injected
into the combustion chamber. Fuel injection metering is determined by a look-up table stored in
the engine computer. These figures are determined based on ambient conditions, throttle position,
and engine speed. As fuel injector components wear, actual fuel injection volumes may deviate
from what is required. peviations from the programmed fuel metering levels can produce
excessive emission levels and degraded engine performance. Wolff Controls Corporation has
developed a Hall effect sensor for monitoring fuel injector opening and closing events. This type
of sensor could be used to identify worn injectors and prevent excessive emission conditions
caused by malfunctioning injectors. <42>

Table 22. Nominal Requirements for a Fuel Injector Sensor

Requirement Ran2e Comments


Working Range Oto 0.2 mm Estimates based on general
Frequency response 0.6 to 3kHz automotive sensor requirements.
Accuracy 15 oc
Sensitivity 3.3 mV/C
Op_erating Temperature range 500 to 2000 o C
Vibration survival 5g

5.4.3 Engine Coolants and Lubricants

On-board oil and coolant temperature measurement devices have been in vehicles for
decades. Consequently, the measurement techniques for these variables are well established. For
either fluid, oil or coolant, a sensor is simply exposed to the respective fluid in a location that best
represents the maximum operating temperature range. There were no new measureme~t
techniques found in the literature or during the industry survey. However, the search process
discovered new sensor types that are worthy of reporting. Table 23 lists requirements of a sensor
to provide a signal proportional to oil and coolant temperatures.

90
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

Table 23. Nominal Requirements for an Oil and Coolant Temperature Sensor

Requirement Range Comments


Working Range -40 to 200 oc Estimates based on general
Frequency Response <10Hz automotive sensor requirements.
Accuracy 10 oc
Sensitivity 0.5 V/mm
Operating Temperature Range -40 to 200 oc -

Vibration Survival 5g

Currently, automotive and truck engine manufacturers equip engines with thermistors for
monitoring coolant, oil, and air temperatures. These sensors change resistance with ambient
temperature. Considering the low cost and high reliability of thermistors, any new thermal sensor
considered as a replacement must offer very low cost and/or advantages in reliability or
convenience.

Thin film thermocouples have been developed and tested at the National Institute of
Standards and Technology in Maryland. These thermocouples were used to measure
combustion/cylinder wall temperatures of a diesel engine. <to) The main advantage, of such a design
would be improved packaging, considering its relatively small size; Noble-metal thern1ometers
also have thin film design, and also offer improved response, and accuracy of+/- 0.05 oc <8>,
although, oil and coolant temperature measurements do not require high speed response or
extreme accuracy. Both of these sensorsare still in a preliminary design stage and therefore cost
is not known and performance specifications are not yet proven.

Like oil and coolant temperature measurements, techniques for measuring oil pressure are
well established. Although techniques have remained unchanged, some new sensor technology
has emerged. One of these, anq perhaps the most noteworthy, is Mitsubishi Electronic
Corporation's SOl high temperature pressure sensor.<40> This sensor has been laboratory tested in
engines, but not in long term road tests. Improved accuracy and lower costs over predecessors
appear to be possible with the SOl sensor.

5.5 CONCEPTUAL DESIGNS

5.5.1 Introduction

Conceptual designs provide general descriptions Qf the main component(s) of a system. In


this chapter, the systems are the diagnostic devices and the main components are the sensors. The
previous chapters described alternative sensor types and in some cases alternative measurement
techniques. This chapter presents the best of the alternative sensor types that satisfy the functions
of the diagnostic devices of three vehicle.subsystems-- brakes, engine, and chassis. The sensors
were evaluated based on the selection criteria described in Section 5.1.1.

91
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

Table 24 provides a summary of the conceptual designs thought by the authors to have the
most promise for implementation. The Subsystem Function column lists the subsystem function
required to monitor the respective vehicle system status. The Measurement Technique column
lists the means which the sensor would be applied to the conceptual design(s). The table presents
two conceptual designs. The first design recommends sensors that are presently available, that is,
are being usedin the same or a very similar application The second design recommends sensors
that possess some advantages over the first design, but currently are in the developmental or
conceptual stage. The Cost I Benefit column qualitatively ranks the conceptual design on cost of
implementation and benefits gained, by low (L), medium (M), and high (H). The cost r~quired for
implementation refers to the cost incurred by the trucking company. Benefits refer to the level of
improvement to roadside inspection in either time or importance of knowledge gained.

5.5.2 Sub-System Conceptual Designs

Th~ conceptual designs for each of the sub-systems associated with brake, engine and
chassis are provided in the following sections. For each sub-system, the conceptual design
provides the recommended sensor or system type (as discussed more thoroughly elsewhere in this
chapter), their known advantages and disadvantages in the proposed application, a~d estimated
cost/benefit information. Because little is known about these applications, this discussion utilizes
three categories of costs and benefits: high, medium, and low.

5.5.2.1 Conceptual Design of Sub-System for Monitoring Brake Status

The elements identified as being necessary for determining brake statu~ were: brake
adjustment, lining thickness, lining temperature, braking torque, line pressures, and compressor
activity. Current heavy duty truck brake systems do not incorporate any of the measurements
techniques or sensors covered in this chapter. Consequently, the measurement techniques
recommended require validation before they could be incorporated. Monitoring every one of
these variables would be, most likely, unnecessary and costly.. Furthermore, it depends on from
what perspective the system requirements are derived. From a Federal regulatory view point,
safety is the key issue. They are concerned with the ability of the vehicle to stop in the required
distance defined by the FMC SR. These regulations only require knowing the final product of the
braking system, stopping distance. From a trucking company's viewpoint, safety and maintenance
are both important issues. Therefore, knowledge of the maintenance requirements of the braking
system would be important. Knowledge of stopping distance would not provide any specific
information on the status of the brake system components or sub-systems. Consequently,
maintenance personnel could not conduct any root cause analysis of problems without further
manual inspections. Therefore, knowledge of the status of each component would be valuable
from a maintenance view point.

Brake Adjustment. Two types of sensors that can measure push rod stroke are linear
displacement sensors and position sensing switches. Two common types of linear displacement
sensors that may be feasible for this application are the Hall-effect and L VDT (linear variable
differential transformer). Both sensors provide accurate signals, but their ability to withstand the
harsh environment is questionable and their cost could be prohibitive. A simpler and less
expensive alternative is a position-sensing switch. They can be electro-mechanical or

92
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

Table 24. Summary of Conceptual Designs for Monitoring Vehicle Status

MEASUREMENT SUBSYSTEM CONCEPTUAL COST/ CONCEPTUAL COST/


TECHNIQUE FUNCTION DESIGN - Currently BENEFIT DESIGN- Future BENEFIT
Available Sensors Sensors
Monitor brake Push rod stroke Position Sensing Switch L/H N/A
adjustment measurement
Monitor brake lining Conductivity Conductivity L/H JR. (Visual) sensors M/H
thickness
Monitor brake lining Embed a sensor at NiCr-Ni Thermocouple M/M Thin-film HIM
temp. the base of the brake thermocouple
lining
Monitor braking Local component Wheatstone strain L/H N/A
toraue strain
Monitor brake line Sensors placed in Piezoelectric pressure HIM N/A
pressures series with air lines transducers
bv brake cylinders
Monitor oil and Conventional Thermistors LIM N/A
coolant temp.
Monitor HC exhaust Indirectly - linear Hall effect sensor M/M N/A
emissions displacement of each
fuel injector plunger
Monitor all exhaust Directly- Place N/A JR., laser or H/H
emission species sensors in the stream dectrochemical
ofthe exhaust
Monitor vehicle Load at each Load cells M/H N/A
weight suspension point -

Tire pressure and Sensors fixed inside RF signal output M/M N/A
_ temperature .tire on wheel piezoelectric pressure
. ' diameter sensors
Tire tread Sensors fixed inside RF and bar code MlH N/A
management tire on wheel (off-board reader
diameter required)

N/A: Not available

completely electronic (e.g. Hall-effect). The fully electronic device is recommended, as its life
expectancy is longer in this harsh environment.

Brake Linini Thickness The conductivity sensors suggested for monitoring brake lining
thickness form an electrical bridge between a contact on a brake lining rivet and the brake drum.
When lining wear reaches its critical limit, the contact would close an electrical circuit sending a
fault code to memory and alerting the driver by illuminating a MIL on the instrument panel. Its
location on the brake lining might coincide with one of the fastening rivets, with its contact point
being calibrated so as to provide a safety margin. Because the possibility exists for metallic brake
dust forming a conductive "bridge" within the rivet hole and making premature contact with the
drum, the electrical contact would need a non-conductive coating. Once contact is made within
each brake, its fault cod~ could identify which brake lining needs attention. It is expected that the
cost of each brake system would be relatively low, consisting primarily of the wiring harness.

93
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

Brake Lining Temperature The most viable sensor to perform brake lining temperature
measurement is an embedded Nickel Chromium-Nickel (NiCr-Ni) type thermocouple. Lucas
Automotive conducted a study that concluded that this thermocouple was the most cost effective
method for measuring brake temperatures. The primary justification for this selection is that this
thermocouple involves proven technology, and it also is robust and versatile.

Brake Torq_ue. Measuring strain of a component that undergoes stress during braking has
been shown in tests of disk brakes to correlate with braking torque. Although this measurement
technique has not been applied or tested on drum brake systems, it combines a potentially feasible
method and low cost. Consequently, this measurement technique is worthy of additional
attention. A conventional Wheatstone type strain gage would most likely suffice, resulting in a
relatively low cost for the sensor itself. In this drum brake scenario, the sensor is not the limiting
factor, but the technique of its application is.

Brake Line Air Pressure The piezoelectric sensor best meets the requirements for brake
line air pressure, as it typically has a higher frequency response than the secondary alternative, a
capacitive sensor. Survival requirements are similar to sensors previously mentioned because
these sensors must be located near the wheels and under the vehicle. Pressure transducers placed
in series with the individual brake lines could provide feedback to a controller which compares
line pressures. As an additional incentive, this measurement method offers the opportunity for
implementing closed loop control to meter line pressure with proportioning valves. The cost is
relatively high for this sensor, and the benefit is marginal. The modest benefit is based on the
notion that air pressure problems generally manifest themselves elsewhere, so there is little to be
gained from measuring air pressure at the brake chamber.

Brake System Air Leaks The technique described in this section requires no transducer
type sensor. Instead, a simple logic circuit is proposed that provides the means to monitor the
work load of the air compressor. It would utilize an electronic counter logic circuit that is
triggered each time the compressor is activated. This circuit coupled to the air compressor switch
could monitor the number of times the compressor engages over a period of time. The logic used
to evaluate this circuit must distinguish between loads caused from heavy braking versus a
genuine air leak. The cost of this system is low, but the benefit is relatively low also, based on the
inspection time required to detect leaks manually.
-
5.5.1.2 Conceptual Design of Sub-System for Monitoring Chassis Status

The functions identified as being necessary for determining chassis status were
determining the status of the vehicle weight~ tire operating parameters, and tire tread depth.

Tire Operating Parameters. Two types _of tire pressure systems are currently being
marketed, one thatsimply monitors tire pressure and another, more complex central tire inflation
system, that both monitors and corrects tire inflation pressures. The simpler RF system alerts the
operator when inflation pressure drops below an acceptable limit or is read by an off-board
device. Neither are considered complete replacements for manual tire checks at first, but they
should significantly reduce the number of manual chec~s needed. For an embedded chip to
monitor all the desired parameters and store tire temperatures, along with tire use and retread

94
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

date, it will be necessary to develop a tiny battery with a desirable life of approximately 10 years.
Stored tire temperature data could provide valuable information that would not be revealed during
a normal visual inspection. Retreading a tire that has overheated ~sa waste of time and money, as
well as a safety .risk.

Tire Tread De.pth. Tread wear sensors are being developed to expedite the inspection
process as well as record keeping of tread wear rate. <33> The current version of tread wear sensors
require a hand-held reader to be passed over the sensor. Modification is required for providing a
signal to the driver in transit and generating a code to be stored for access by roadside inspection
and maintenance personnel.

Loose Wbeel and Cracked Wbeel A loose wheel caused from loose or missing lug nuts
produces a lateral harmonic vibration if enough lugs are loose to allow for movement of the rim.
This vibration could be detected by a wireless accelerometer (radio frequency) attached to the
wheel, although distinguishing between loose wheel vibrations and road-generated vibrations
would probably not be possible. One possible type is a silicon accelerometer that uses
Wheatstone bridge circuitry which strains as acceleration occurs. This design is similar to a
silicon pressure transducer and offers the capability of including a microprocessor in the sensor
for any needed signal conditioning. Unfortunately, neither the literature search nor the office
interviews uncovered developments of this type.

Roadside inspectors currently check wheels for cracks by visually inspecting each wheel.
They often look for rust stains that might suggest a crack forming. Wheels on the steering axle
are especially critical because of the more hazardous implications if a failure occurs. All of the
methods that are currently known to apply require conditions that are not appropriate for an on-
board test. Therefore, off-board techniques should be sought.

Other Chassis Components Other chassis-related safety components are: spring


deflection detectors, frame deflection sensors, axle shift detectors, excess steering system wear,
sliding fifth wheel position and latch detectors, and sliding trailer tandem lock and position
detectors.

Frame: Although automating the process would benefit roadside inspections, no literature
or industry intetyiews supported the feasibility of such diagnostic devices. Only speculative
methods of monitoring these components can be suggested, given the current state of the art.

Spring Deflection: Monitoring spring deflections presents several difficulties, although it


could probably be acc~mplished using technology similar to systems marketed in Europe by at
least three manufacturers. However,. withstanding the harsh environment of the chassis, including
shock loading and exposure to corrosive elements, is expected to significantly reduce the accuracy
of this system.

Axle Shifts: Monitoring of axle shifts could conceivably be accomplished using optical
sensors, or it could also be accomplished using linear displacement sensors or position sensing
switches. These sensors would detect axle shifts relative to a position on the frame and when
these shifts exceed a specified value. Again, manufacturing a sensor that is rugged and highly

95
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

accurate, and capable of enduring hundreds of thousands of miles before normal wear generates a
failure signal would, in allli~elihood, be cost prohibitive.

Steering System: Determining steering system status requires monitoring both gear and
ball stud condition. Monitoring of gear wear or lash could be accomplished with angular
displacement sensors placed on both the input and output shaft of the steering gear box. A CPU
would compare the signals from both sensors to determine if there is any gear wear. Once again,
cost would most likely be prohibitive.

Lights: It is conceivable that an electronic sensing system couid be installed to monitor


current draw near each light bulb. It would not detect signal and flasher module malfunctions, but
it would alert the driver when a bulb had failed. Problems with this system include little reduction
in delay and its ~ost.

Sliding Fifth Wheel: Because the inspection process can cause damage to the very
components intended for testing, it is desirable to replace the process with a more benign test. It
is possible that electrical conductivity switches could be built into the fifth wheel to detect
excessive wear and to detect the fifth wheel lock not being fully seated and secured. In this case,
a sensor must be used that can endure heavy applications of grease and impacts that occur when
coupling a trailer or due to brake application lag time upon sudden acceleration. Detecting
problems between the base of the fifth wheel and the frame could be done with position sensors.

Sliding Trailer Tandem: Solutions similar to those applying to fifth wheels should also
.suffice for sliding trailer tandems. It is desirable to have a system that detects both the position of
the axle group and verifies that the locking mechanism is engaged and secure. A sensor for
ensuring that the locking mechanism is seated and secure might be an electrical conductivity type
as described above. For the position of the sliding trailer tandem, an optical sensor (perhaps
laser) could monitor the distance between axle groups to check for compliance with a particular
State's laws.

On-Board Weighing Systems.. Sensors are available on the market at the present time to
accomplish this function. Electronic load cells haye been used successfully and have exhibited
low maintenance and acceptable accuracy. Another concept presently being investigated is
suspension displace~ent or air spring pressure sensors. Specialized applications where on-board
weighing systems are currently being used are logging and refuse hauling.

5.5.2.3 Conceptual Design of Sub-System for Monitoring Engine Status

The functions identified as being necessary for determining the engine status were:
determine the status of engine emissions and determine the status of the oil and coolant
temperatures. The measuring techniques in these cases are either well established or simple to
implement, but sensors for measuring emissions on-board are not proven.

Engine Emissions Two general types of sensors were investigated for monitoring engine
emissions. The first type is a direct method in which sensors are placed in the exhaust system, and
the second is an indirect method which predicts exhaust emissions based on engine parameters.

96
Chapter 5: Investigation of Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

The direct method is thought to hold much greater promise for implementation. It measures the
exhaust directly, leaving no doubt as to the correlation between the variable being measured and
the desired variable. This chapter identified several types of emission sensors that have potential
for on-board usage, but none were discovered that were being used for heavy-duty diesel on-
board emission measurements. Three types of emission sensors were selected for further
considerations because they appeared to be good candidates for on-board applications. These
three were electrochemical, solid state, and infrared (IR). None of these have been sufficiently
tested in both the diesel and on-board environments to declare them appropriate for Class 8
trucks.

The indirect method of monitoring gaseous emissions depends upon strong correlation
between selected variables and emissions levels. These correlations are different for the different
emission species. The most cost effective method to determine Hydrocarbon (HC) and possibly
particulate emission levels is a Hall effect fuel injector performance sensor. Correlation between
other emission species and test parameters requires further research.

Current emissions testing uses smoke opacity as the test parameter and conducts the test
in the off-board mode. Tests typically include both the test of smoke-and visual inspection of the
engine compartment to look for visible signs of tampering. There is a strong desire that is often
expressed among qrivers to be able to tamper with the engine to achieve higher performance. The
negative result of this tampering is often increased emissions. . -

97
Chapter 6: Analysis of Improvement Potential

CHAPTER6

ANALYSIS OF IMPROVEMENT POTE~TIAL

6.1 INTRODUCTION

6.1.1 Communication Requirements and Standards

In the heavy truck industry, an inspector (roadside or otherwise) or maintenance


technician cannot rely upon the vehicle manufacturer to provide an integrated system of
diagnostics. The heavy truck industry is based upon a vehicle composed of many sub-systems or
components which are manufactured independently by various independent suppliers. Potentially,
each component with "intelligent" control or its own electronic control module (ECM) comes _
with its own proprietary diagnostic hardware, codes, and procedures. Thus, an inspector
attempting to gauge the operational functionality of one or more systems on the vehicle, or
alternatively a heavy truck maintenance garage servicing a variety of vehicles, would have to
maintain a wide variety of diagnostic devices.

Thus, based upon the disparate variety of applications and hardware on a heavy
commercial vehicle, there is a potential opportunity to develop a standardized diagnostic terminal
that eliminates the various unique hardware devices as well as minimizes the potential costs of
service technician and inspector tr~ining. This potential is constrained, however, by the large .
number of suppliers and their needs to protect their own market niches by product differentiation
as well as the relatively limited overall production volumes as compared to the passenger car
industry.

Currently, the only diagnostic logging function that is available from the manufacturers
and suppliers in the heavy truck industry is the ability to store occurrences of fault or malfunction
codes in the memories of their specific ECM's or microprocessor-based controllers. There is no
generalized logging device that is capable of functioning in a manner similar to that found in
passenger cars. Potentially, the vehicle recorder could provide the on-board function for logging
of vehicle parameters. However, market penetration of recorders is currently limited--
approximately 10 percent of existing and new vehicles. Further, the recorder's role is currently
limited by its task of logging vehicle and driver productivity data which tends to occupy most of
its memory as well as its design.

6.1.1.1 Parameters to be Monitored

The population set for diagnostic data is provided by the existing 11587 compliant
diagnostic codes provided by the vehicle manufacturers and component suppliers for their existing
on-board electronic controllers. Examples of these diagnostic codes are spown in table 25 for
engine and transmission suppliers. One problem in making this comparison is that the descriptions
of (the same) faults vary widely among engine manufacturers.

In order to facilitate a complete on-board diagnostic capability to support all of the


possible needs of roadside safety and emissions inspections, additional data will probably

99
Chapter 6: Analysis of Improvement Potential

Table 25. Comparison of Diagnostic Codes by Component

Description Caterpillar Detroit Mack Cummins Allison


Diesel

Excessive Engine Power 23-2

Vehicle Overspeed Warning 84-0 p0840 42 212 Pace


241 Celect
11 PTPacer

Low Fuel Pressure Warning 94-1 p0941

Low Oil Pressure Warning 100-1 p 100 I Red Light 143 Celect 1412
and Alarm

Very Low Oil Pressure 100-11 11 141 Celect

High Coolant Temperature Warning 110-0 p 1100 Red Light 142 Celect
and Alarm

Low Coolant Level Warning 111-1 pIll I Red Light 235 Celect
and Alarm

Very Low Coolant Level 111-11 21 145 Celect -

Engine Overspeed Warning 190-0 p 190 0 NA 234 Celect _


13 PTPacer

Intermittent Battery 168-2 p 168 I

Throttle Sensor Failed Low 91-8 21 12

Primary Shift Selector Mode Function 23 13


Fault

Sump Oil Temperature Sensor Failed p 175 3 212 Celect 33 23


High

Power Interruption 3500

Proprietary Data Link Abnormal s248 8 62


Frequency

Controller bad device or component 254-12 s 254 12 235Pace


352 Celect
23 PTPacer

Personality Module Fault 252-12

11587 Data Link Bad Device or s 250 12 63 243 Pace


Component 414 Celect

Shutdown Override Switch 74

Timing Sensor 34

Source: Engine and Transmission Manufacturers

100
Chapter 6: Analysis of Improvement Potential

need to be logged at the point that a system fault is encountered. Examples are brake data such
as initial and final vehicle speed, air pressure applied at the brake chamber, and brake torque. It is
logical to collect and store this data in the specific component controller that controls the function
because that controller is already wired into the specific sensor set to access and log the data.

Such an approach may require a small proprietary controller/logger for any emission or
safety system faults that are not currently addressed by a component supplier. An example of this
type of condition could be the conceivable necessity to store the time and vehicle location of a
refrigerant leak in the air conditioning system. There currently are few, if any, intelligent
controllers on-board for these systems, so the vehicle manufacturer would have the opportunity to
install an embedded controller for this type of fault logging. ,The other alternative is to utilize
proprietary controllers such as some have for instrumentation gauge drivers, road speed
governors, or shutdown systems.

6.1.1.2 Data Communications Standards

Existing Heavy Truck On-Board Communications Standards. The heavy truck


industry has been faced for some time with the challenge of communicating among a number of
existing and planned electronically controlled components sourced from different manufacturers
on the heavy truck vehicle. As a result, lengthy joint efforts to establish recommended practices
in the communications area by the SAE and TMC have developed a communications standard
that is present on most heavy vehicles today. These recommended practices for communications
on the heavy vehicle are: -

11708--Serial Data Communication Between Microcomputer Systems in Heavy Duty


Vehicle Applications. This is the hardware protocol for the low speed serial data link that
describes the wire size, type and length, electrical parameters and protocol for messages.

11587--Recommended Practice For Serial Data Communications Between Microcomputer


Systems in Heavy Duty Vehicle Applications. This is the data format for the low speed data link.
It is a software standard based on the J1708 hardware standard. It defines standard messages
with a message identifier (MID) such as "190" for engine revolutions per minute (rpm) and
assigns numbers to components such as "13 0" for the transmission.

11922--Powertrain Control Interface for Electronic Controls Used in Medium and Heavy-
Duty Diesel On-Highway Vehicle Applications. The interim standard for drivetrain
communications until the high-speed data link (11939) is available.

11939-- Recommended Practice for High Speed Serial Communications. Network


hierarchy and the level of interconnect between vehicle electronic subsystems are addressed in this
standard. It is intended to serve as a high speed communications and control data link. It
provides. opportunities for the advancement of technology, and it allows component suppliers to
integrate subsystems for improved performance. In comparison to existing 11708,11587, and
11922 standards, it will enhance existing system capabilities and add new ones to better support
controls and multiplexing on a single network.

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Chapter 6: Analysis of Improvement Potential

The data bus, shown in figure 15, is the single wire or set of wires used to transmit
information among the electronic components or sub-systems of the heavy duty vehicle. The rate
of data transfer defined by the low speed bus or J1708 is 9600 bits per second. The high-speed
bus, J1939, will transmit at a rate 10 to 20 times that of J1708, or in excess of 100,000 bits per
second. It will be used for speed-critical data exchange among components such as engines,
automatic transmissions, and anti-lock brake systems. Table 25 provides a partial list of the data
being currently broadcast on the J1587/J1708 data link and a comparison ofhow this varies by
manufacturer.

Further, industry groups are currently developing a new standard for recommended
practice, J1939, which will be capable of handling real-time data. This standard is anticipated to
eventually replace the J1587 standard for communication of diagnostic information. J1939 will
probably coexist with the slower J1708/Jl587 based data link used for information monitoring for
the foreseeable future. The increasing penetration of intelligent electronic-based devices on the
heavy duty vehicle will likely result in most if not all vehicles within the heavy truck market having
one.or more controllers with a data link capability. For at least the remainder of the decade, this
capability will primarily be based on J1708/J1587 design practices. Gradually, the higher speed
real-time features of J193 9 will penetrate the manufacturing base and will coexist with the slower
diagnostic links. It is recommended that the Jl708/J1587 data link standards and protocols
continue to be the medium for transmitting diagnostic faults and system condition data to the off-
board diagnostic devices.

Diagnostic Information Standards. There are two basic strategies for communicating
.diagnostic information to the inspector or maintenance technician. One is that the microcontroller
on the vehicle transmits a "code" that is then used as an index into a table or list of descriptive
messages that indicate a fault. This is the methodology that is followed in the passenger car
industry and is also widely followed in the heavy truck industry.

The second approach is the use of a structured message. This type of message format is
covered by the diagnostic message format developed by the TMC/SAE subcommittee for Jl587,
the recommended practice for serial data communications between microcomputer systems in
heavy duty vehicle applications. It is a highly structured format for forty character descriptive
messages.

An alternative to the structured message format is a free form textual message. However,
this runs counter to the standardization of diagnostic message formats.

6.1.2 Hardware Requirements and Standards

A generic diagnostic system would require the specification of many off-the-shelf


components. There are two potential approaches for diagnostics: on-board devices and off-
board devices. Further, off-board devices can be segmented into portable and console
(stationary) devices.

102
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Figure 15. Schematic of Networking Devices


Chapter 6: Analysis of Improvement Potential

6.1.2.1 On-Board Devices

Display Techniques. The preponderant application of on-board diagnostics is to store


micro-controller fault codes and display the faults to the vehicle operator and/or maintenance
technician on demand. The devices themselves are currently the specific controllers supplied by
the manufacturer of the component such as the engine, transmission, or AB S braking system. The
occurrence of such faults is often indicated by the illumination of a "check engine" light or similar
indicator. The indication of the specific fault is generally decoded by a "flashing light"
methodology.

There are various divergent applications for the use of dashboard-mounted warning lights.
These include warning indicators with messages such as: "stop engine", "check engine", "service
now", "service soori", and "check electronics". These indicators are generally off, being
illuminated for a bulb check when the key is first turned to an on position. At the service garage,
a service technician is able to check the vehicle system status by invoking a diagnosis mode and
counting the number of pulses or illuminations of a dedicated warning indicator.

More recently, a number of vehicle manufacturers have introduced generalized displays


that are capable of displaying diagnostic information. These devices, especially in connection with
the data link, are able to display a range of diagnostic codes. Such displays include single
character displays (generally based on seven-segment numeric display technology of liquid crystal
display [LCD]) or vacuum fluorescent (VF) display technology, multiple character displays based
on seven-segment technology, or bit-mapped displays.

Because of the rapid introduction of sophisticated electronics, "flashing light" technology


is believed to only have a limited future. Future on-board diagnosis will be based more on the
real-time logging of vehicle faults and system condition "snapshots" together with more
sophisticated displays of the diagnostic information. It is probable that the display of this
information will be in connection with an off-board diagnostic device.

Real-Time Fault Logging. The current state-of-the-art will allow for the real-time
capture and storage of diagnostic information on the vehicle to be later down-loaded and analyzed
by off-board diagnostic equipment. This function should be added to all on-board controllers on
the vehicle. It should be a permanent feature of the vehicle.

At the lowest level of complexity, each ECM will simply record the fault or malfunction
codes that occur while the heavy truck vehicle is in operation. The fact that the fault occurred
may or may not be indicated to the driver by the warning light indicator depending on the fault
severity. These codes would be brought to the attention of the service technician when a
diagnostic tool is next attached to the data link.

On-board diagnostic logging should permit the manufacturer, or alternatively fleet


management, to define what and when data is to be recorded on the vehicle. The
manufacturer/owner should be able to specify trigger events or faults and an associated list of
parameters to be recorded with the fault such as engine speed and vehicle speed.

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Chapter 6: Analysis of Improvement Potential

An adequate diagnostic system must permit dynamic specification of fault codes and
related data parameters. This activity should be addressed by industry standardization activities.

6.1.2.2 Off-Board Devices

Because of the diversity of manufacturers, technician preferences, and supplier strategies


in the off-board diagnostic device category, it is virtually impossible to rigidly define the operation
of a diagnostic ,device. However, it is possible to emphasize the functionality that such devices
should have in the interest of industry standardization.

Portable Diagnostic Devices. This type of device should be portable with a keyboard
and it should be no larger than a typical laptop computer. It should have an environmentally
protected keyboard and an alphanumeric character display. It should be water and shock
resistant. It should support the J1708/J1587 data link protocols and it should have a connector
and cable for attachment to the vehicle data link. It should be capable of obtaining power from
the vehicle by bus connection. It should display the current data on any ECM requested by the
inspector or technician.

The portable device should support erasure of stored fault codes, test switch status, and
display all parameters to which the manufacturer or fleet management has not limited access. It
should be capable of storing all of the diagnostic data obtained from the vehicle for
communication to a full-range diagnostic device. It should support communication with a station
or console-based device for full-range diagnosis.

Stationary or Consol~Based Devices. This type of device should have at least an 80


column by 40 line information display. It should also support bit-mapped graphic displays. This
device should preferably be based on ge~eralized software standards such as MS..:DQS or
WINDOWSTM. The device should be user-friendly, based on icons and menus. Like the portable
device above, it should support the J1708/J1587 data link protocols and it should also
communicate with the portable device. Communication linkage can run the gamut from a
standard RS-232C port to communication via infrared LAN or similar technologies with the hand-
held portable device.

6.1.2.3 Diagnostic Device Connections

One of the most essential elements for the widespread usage of a standardized diagnosis
capability for the heavy commercial truck industry is the definition of an off-board diagnostic
connector. Such a connector has to be usable by all devices requiring access to the serial data link
in a standardized and readily accessible location.

Current Connectors in the Heavy Truck Industry. The industry has cooperated to
develop hardware and software standards for communications among electronic devices on the
heavy truck including diagnostic information. Further, the industry has recently developed a
standard diagnostic connector configuration to eliminate the fragmentation that existed on trucks
with electronic diagnostics in years past. The variety of connectors that existed prior to adoption
of the standard connector is shown in table 26. In addition to OEM's included in the table, Ford

105
Chapter 6: Analysis of Improvement Potential

Table 26. Heavy-Duty Diagnostic Connectors Before Standardization

OEM Vehicle Manufacturer

Component Supplier Freightliner Mack Navistar Peterbilt Western


International Kenworth Star

Allison ATEC 12-pin GM


Connector

Allison World 12-pinGM


Connector

Cat3176 9-pin Deutsch 6-pin Deutsch 8-pin Navistar 9-pin Deutsch 9-pin Deutsch
Connector Connector Connector Connector Connector

Cat3406 9-pin Deutsch 6-pin Deutsch 8-pin Navistar 9-pin Deutsch 9-pin Deutsch
Connector Connector Connector Connector Connector

Cwnmins PACE 2-pinAMP 2-pin AMP or 8- 2-pinAMP .


Connector pin Navistar Connector
Connectors

Cwnmins PT PACER 2-pinAMP 2-pin AMP or 8- 2-pinAMP


Connector pin Navistar Connector
Connectors

CumminsCELECT 2-pinAMP 2-pin AMP .or 8- 2-pinAMP 2-pinAMP


Connector pin Navistar Connector Connector
Connectors

Detroit Diesel 12-pinGM 6-pin Deutsch 8-pin Navistar 12-pinGM 12-pin GM


DDECIIII Connector Connector Connector Connector Connector

MackV-MAC 6-pin Deutsch


Connector

Rockwell 6~pin Deutsch


WABCO/ABS Connector

and Volvo/GM used the connector provided by the engine manufacturer. This was prior to the
SAE/TMC Recommended Practice (RP)1202.

All of the manufacturers and suppliers currently offer as standard equipment a standard
diagnostic connector for the J1708 data link. The connector is the specification met by the HD-1 0
six-pin connector manufactured by Deutsch. It is important to note that two of its six pins remain
available for vehicle- and engine-specific purposes.

Location of the Connector. The standard data link connector is generally mounted in the
cab. However, the location is not standard. Table 27 illustrates the variety of locations that
the current heavy truck design population supports. It can be seen that many of these locations
require either tilting the hood or the cab on cab-over engines (COB's) of the vehicle. Even in-cab

106
Chapter 6: Analysis of Improvement Potential

Table 27. Heavy-Duty Diagnostic Connector Location

OEM Vehicle Manufacturer


Component Supplier Freight~iner Mack Navistar Peterbilt _ Western
International Kenworth Star

Allison ATEC In cab on left kick


. !panel
Allison World In cab on left kick
panel
Cat3176 On engine left In cab under dash In cab on kick On engine left On Engine left
side panel side side -
Engine on left side
Cat3406 On engine left In cab under dash In cab on kick On engine left On engine left
side panel side side
Engine on left side
Cummins PACE In cab on left kick In cab on kick On engine ECM
panel panel or dash/
On engine ECM
. -
CumminsPT PACER In cab on left kick In cab on kick On engine ECM
panel panel or dash/
On engine ECM
CumminsCELECT In cab on left kick In cab on kick In cab under dash On engine ECM
panel panel or dash/
On engine ECM
Detroit Diesel In cab on left kick In cab under dash In cab on kick In cab under dash In cab under
DDECI/II ~anel panel or under dash
dash
MackV-MAC In cab under dash

Rockwell In cab on left kick


WABCO/ABS panel

locations often require climbing up and entering the cab in order to attach the diagnostic
connector. In addition to OEM's included in the table, Ford and Volvo/GM generally utilized the
connector provided by the (engine) manufacturer on the side of the. engine until standardization
was defined by RP 1202. The Volvo/GM exception to this was when the Detroit Diesel engine
was used. Where it was used,. they located their connector in the electrical center near the center
of the dash.

Currently, diagnostic tools are viewed as an aidto be used in the repair activities of the
maintenance shop. In the futu~e, these will become more widely used in preventive maintenance
activities. Further, the use of diagnostic tools by vehicle inspectors in a roadside environment to

107
Chapter 6: Analysis of Improvement Potential

assess the functionality and efficiency of emissions and safety systems is a very real possibility.
This would require connecting the diagnostic tool, not just when the vehicle is in the shop with a
problem, but each time it enters the fleet yard or shop and each time it enters an inspection
station.

For a roadside inspection, ideally, the inspector must be able to reach the connector while
standing on the ground without entering the vehicle. This would virtually mandate a left kick
panel location. The same location would be desirable for a routine attachment and.review ofthe
engine, transmission, and other system ECM information as part of a preventive maintenance
program on predominantly electronically controlled units.

Further, guaranteed environmental protection will be difficult to obtain if the connector is


externally mounted and protected by a cap. Alternatively, passive environmental protection of the
connector would be cost prohibitive to obtain on the heavy vehicle. Thus, a relatively benign
environment in the cab would be the optimal solution.

It is suggested that a dedicated diagnostic connector location be designated in order to


support off-board diagnosis. It probably should be located inside the heavy truck cab near the
driver's door. The connector should be located low enough as to be accessible without the
inspector or maintenance technician having to enter the vehicle--probably on or near the left kick
panel. >

6.1.3 Diagnostic Device Operator Interfaces

A standard practice should be defined for diagnostic devices that dictates a standard
display and query methodology for the interaction with the diagnostic device. The inspector or
service technician will then become familiar with the interface and will be productive as he/she
moves among various diagnostic tools. This may be difficult inasmuch as there are various levels
of sophistication and information. Each level will have different costs. A standard display and
query methodology should provide clear messages, minimize training, and simplify data
presentation.

Due to the sophistication of systems using diagnostics, it is anticipated that "flashing light"
techniques will soon be inadequate. As the need for interaction increases and the number of
different codes increases, these techniques must of necessity be replaced by more efficient
systems. Therefore, this will not continue to be a viable means of communicating diagnostic code.

On-board displays would have three potential audiences. These are the driver at the time
of fault occurrence, the service technician after the fact, and the manufacturers' authorized service
te~hnician at a dealer or distributor. The on-board display should be capable of immediately
alerting and notifying the driver to stop if necessary. It should also display the fault condition
code if the driver needs to communicate it to his/her dispatcher. Secondly, the service technician
should have access to all fault data including component identification and parameter values.
Lastly, authorized service personnel should be able to use the display to access all fault
conditions, vehicle environment, and operating details.

108
Chapter 6: Analysis of Improvement Potential

Off-board displays should display fault codes, sensor values, switch positions, and any
other parametric data required to solve the vehicle malfunction problem. This should be all of the
data available to the ECM of any component that is meaningful to the fault isolation process.

The off-board display should provide clear messages, minimize training, simplify the data
request, and simplify the data presentation. It should provide a help screen display that is easily
accessible with a single key. Perhaps a standard based on a DOS-Windows environment would
be the most practical long-term standard for the heavy duty industry.
;

6.2 Potential Improvements Possible with New Sensors

There is little doubt that additional on-board sensors could provide valuable and timely
information regarding on-board systems. Whether these systems will be viewed as cost-effective
by carrier management is a different matter. If these systems reduce accidents, there is potential
for reductions in insurance costs. If they reduce out-of-service violations, they also reduce costs
both in the form of fines and in costly and unproductive delays while repairs are made. However,
these new sensors must undergo rigorous testing, first under controlled conditions, then under
normal driving conditions. Then, a component supplier must appeal to carrier management and
demonstrate benefits of their products before carriers begin requesting the product on new trucks.
If enough demand for a product surfaces, vehicle OEM's take notice and consider the design and
tooling ramifications to make the new systems available on new trucks. -

A good example of'this process is Anti-Lock Braking Systems on heavy trucks. Motor
carriers began to see the advantages of ABS from the standpoint of safety improvement and
reduction in lawsuits. The increasing demand. for ABS systems, first among tanker operators and
then with other trailer and truck types, finally resulted in OEM' s providing ABS as standard
equipment on highway trucks.

Given these background caveats, it is readily apparent that the new sensors suggested in
this report will require both time and resources for development and implementation. Some
development efforts will undoubtedly fail, while others will be successful. The application of still
other sensors, while feasible on today's Class 8 trucks or those of a few years hence, might not be
cost effective in the future because of radically different methods of performing the monitored
function. An example is a sensor system to diagnose braking torque. On today's air braked
vehicles, an on-board system that detects substantial differences in brake torque between
individual brakes on the vehicle and provides accurate fault information is unavailable. If it were
available, it could provide instantaneous warning both to the driver and for later use by
maintenance personnel when a critical out-of-tolerance situation is imminent so that adjustments
or repairs could be made immediately. However, electronic braking ("brake by wire") systems are
anticipated to become available in a few years. The timing ofEBS and its market penetration may
render electronic sensors for the current air braked systems less feasible because of a shorter pay
off period for manufacturers to recover development costs.

Of the sensors discussed in chapter 5, those pertaining to brakes and tires appear to have
the greatest chance of improving roadside inspections, improving vehicular safety, and reducing
carrier costs of operation in the near future. Because brakes are so critical to vehicle safety, and

109
Chapter 6: Analysis of Improvement Potential

tires are the second most expensive item required for truck operation (behind diesel fuel), there is
justification for /pursuing testing and development. Roadside inspectors spend a substantial
amount of time checking brakes, thus providing another incentive to provide monitoring
capability, assuming that most or all of the brake inspection time would be eliminated. Based on
interviews with FHWA Office of Motor Carriers (OMC) inspection personnel and interviews with
motor carrier representatives, the time required to conduct a Level 1 inspection varies widely.
However, many of those interviewed stated that each inspection takes an average of30 minutes.
Furthermore, according to OMC representatives, the time required to conduct components of a
typical inspection can be broken down approximately as shown in table 28.

Table 28. Time Required for Safety Inspection Items

System Time (minutes)

Brake system 15

Driver 5
Lights (includes time for registration, etc_.) 5
Chassis (includes fuel system, steering system) 5

TOTAL 30

One must also consider that emissions inspections are becoming more widespread and will
probably increase in frequency in the years ahead. If smoke opacity tests continue to be used as
the method of measuring emissions on heavy trucks, they are anticipated to require approximately
15 minutes per vehicle. These tests require both the measurement of the exhaust smoke and a
visual inspection under the hood to inspect for tampering. If this is done by the same inspector
that conducts the safety inspection, the total time required for both the safety and emissions
inspections is 45 minutes. This, of course, excludes delay time (if any) waiting in a queue and
delay time (if any) waiting for the inspector_ to beginthe inspection. In order to fully evaluate
expected costs and benefits, a life-cycle cost analysis must be performed.

Based on interviews with OMC inspection personnel, the inspection of the braking system
requires approximately half of the total time required for a Level 1 inspection. Therefore, the
potential exists for reducing the time required for the safety inspection to approximately one-half
of its current 30 minutes by implementing a brake monitoring system. The cost of such a system
must be offset by savings incurred through reduced delays, improved braking performance,
reduced repair costs, and possible reductions in insurance costs. Most of these savings are

110
Chapter 6: Analysis of Improvement Potential

impossible to accurately quantify at this time, but the current costs of delaying commercial
vehicles at weigh/inspection stations claimed by the Advantage I-75 project are $1.00 per minute.

In many of the functions related to the vehicle investigated thus far, the driver's need to
stop is diminished. Some roadside inspection personnel believe that it is very important for the
vehicle to stop to allow inspection of driver log books, ensuring compliance with hours-of-service
requirements. Talking to the driver and observing his/her behavior during the inspection may also
reveal alcohol or substance abuse. Therefore, some inspectors may insist that trucks need to stop.
However, fewer inspectors would insist on stopping a truck that had just been inspected,
especially if this action resulted in other trucks not being inspected that needed it more. Another
area of research that is beyond the scope of this report is on-board monitoring of driver
performance. Again, this will probably not take the place of roadside inspections, but it may
provide criteria used to determine which drivers need to be stopped in the future.

As a final consideration regarding the addition of sensors to Class 8 trucks, carrier


maintenance practice can also be enhanced. Many carrier vehicle inspections follow procedures
similar to those used in roadside inspections. Carriers also minimize out-of-service violations by
checking the same parameters as roadside inspectors. Electronic systems that reduce delay times
at the roadsicie could also reduce time required to perform maintenance and repair. Therefore, the
total value of an electronic system must incorporate the savings in roadside delays, the enhanced
maintenance-capabilities, and safer vehicles through improved monitoring techniques.

6.3 Outlook for Improved Diagnostics Based on Motor Carrier Interviews

The motor carriers interviewed in this study represented a broad view of the motor carrier
industry. Thesize of carriers that participated in the study extended from owner operators that
owned _a single tractor-trailer combination to some of the largest fleets (approximately 40,000
power units) in the country. Normal operating conditions for these carriers varied from off-road
and rough road operations to almost exclusive Interstate roadway operations. Carrier types
included: crude oil haulers, construction materials haulers, hazardous materials and special fuels,
oversize and oveiWeight loads, fresh fruits and vegetables, general merchandise and dry goods,
refrigerated and frozen foods, automobile haulers, and special merchandise (antique furniture and
museum pieces). Although the motor carriers interviewed varied in many aspects, the research
team noted a number of common comments and trends.

Table 29 is a summary of information gathered through the interview process covered in


chapter 4. It incorporates information regarding their size, current electronic systems, diagnostic
service tool(s) used, comments on roadside inspections, and willingness to participate in cost
sharing. The tabulated information shows that owner-operators are less-likely than larger carriers
to have access to a diagnostic service tool. It also shows that some of these larger carriers have
purchased multiple diagnostic tools. Others have effectively standardized their (engine)
. diagnostics by purchasing from only one manufacturer.

Ill
Chapter 6: Analysis of Improvement Potential

Table 29. Summary of Carrier Interviews

Tractors Trailers Service


Carrier Elect. Tool Used Roadside Insp. Cost
No. Engines ABS Total ABS Total RF Sharing~'

Owner Operators
1 1 0 1 0 1 None 3 hr/mo delay Yes Yes
2 0 0 3 0 8 None 0.5-1.5 hts. delay No No
per inspection
3 0 0 2 na na None Little delay No Yes
4 1 0 1 na na None Too subjective Yes Yes
5 2 0 2 na na None 1-3 hr.delay/insp. Yes
6 1 0 1 na na Kent- 2 hrs/year delay nac Yes-
Moore
7 1 0 1 na na None Too subjective Yes Yes
-
8 8 0 8 na na None 2-3 hrs/wk. delay No Yes
For Hire Carriers
1 1 1 1 0 1 None na na na
2 0 0 12 0 14 None Too Subjective na Yes
Minimal delay
3 14 14 14 20 20 None na na na
4 4 na 15 na 15 Cummins No Diagnostics na No
5 30 na na ECAT Use Diagnostics na Yes
6 33 na 33 na 33 ECAT Are Good na Yes
7 40 na na na na None Use Diagnostics na Yes
8 40 na 40 na 40 None Use Diagnostics na Yes
9 43 na 43 na 43 Cat& Use Diagnostics na Yes
Cummins
10 43 na 43 na 43 ECAT Use Diagnostics na Yes
11 5 na 46 na 46 None Use Diagnostics na Yes

Willingness to support radio frequency for electronic clearance


b Willingness to participate in cost sharing
cna: Not Available

112
Chapter 6: Analysis of Improvement Potential

Table 29. Summary of Carrier Interviews (Continued)

Carrier Elect~ Tractors Trailers Service Cost


No. . Engines Tool Used Roadside Insp. RFa Sharing1
ABS Total ABS Total
12 40 na 72 na 73 None Use Diagnostics na Yes
13 0 na 75 na 75 DDEC Use Diagnostics na Yes
14 45 0 106 0 na Celect, nac na na
DDEC
15 118 0 118 0 na na Better Reports na Yes
16 110 0 150 0 na na na na Yes
17 80 0 172 na na DDEC na na na
18 200 na 250 na na Cat& No Diagnostics na Yes
Cummins
19 Some 0 345 na na MPSI No Diagnostics Yes Yes
20 375 0 375 0 na --
Compulink No Diagnostics __ na No
&MPSI
21 250 0 520 0 2000 OEM na na na
22 344 Few 880 Few na None na na No
23 Some Few 968 Few na ECHEK Little delay na na
24 4 0 1022 0 na na Little delay na na
25 800 Few 1084 na na na No Diagnostics na Maybe
26 na 0 1489 0 12975 One na Yes Yes
27 1290 few 3109 few 6798 Cummins Use Yes Yes
&Cat Diagnostics
28 3600 na 3600 na na Cummins No Diagnostics na No
DDEC
Cat
29 4000 na 4000 na na Cummins None na No
DDEC
Cat
30 8000 na 8000 na na Cummins Use Diagnostics Yes Yes

a Willingness to support radio frequency for electronic clearance


b Willingness to participate in cost sharing
c na: Not Available

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Chapter 6: Analysis of Improvement Potential

Table 29. Summary of Carrier Interviews (Continued)

Carrier Elect. Tractors Trailers Service Cost


No. Engines Tool Used Roadside Insp. RFa Sharingb
ABS Total ABS Total
31 850 Few 9700 Few 34400 nac na na na
32 2715 200 10000 na 30000 MPSI na na na
33 28000 500 40000 500 29000 MPSI na na na
OTC,Cat
V-MacPC
Private Carriers
1 3 2 3 na na None No Diagnostics na Yes
2 8 na 20 na na Cat 5.25 hrs/week Not Yes
delay Sure
3 20 0 20 na na na Inconsistent Yes Yes
4 22 0 22 na na None 1. 5 hrs/22veh Yes Yes
per wk delay.
5 27 0 27 na na None/ Little delay No No
DDEC
6 145 0 246 0 1200 Rockwell 2 hr./mo delay Yes Yes
7 325 0 650 na na Cat Take too long na Yes
8 225 Few 750 na na na UseDiag. Yes Yes
9 2300 0 3000 0 17600 1\.filSI cost $35-50 na Yes
/truck insp.

Willingness to support radio frequency for, electronic clearance


b Willingness to participate in cost sharing
c na: Not Available

6.3.1 Diagnostic Tool Comments

Although motor carriers almost universally endorsed electronic engines, several carriers
made suggestions for improvements. One frequent comment recorded in interviews concerned
the quality of the sensors used on electronic engines. A number of carriers provided details on
sensor failures and apparent lack of quality control.

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Chapter 6: Analysis of Improvement Potential

Carriers were also concerned about the lack of training and education available related to
vehicle diagnostics and other electronic systems. These comments were especially prevalent from
small carriers. They indicated that a semi-annual two or three day course that provided
instructions on new maintenance and diagnostic techniques; new products, and a general refresher
course for maintenance personnel and supervisors would be extremely helpful due to the rapidly
changing environment in diesel electronics. Maintenance personnel also discussed the need to
know more ofthe "bows and whys" of electronic maintenance. They felt that this would allow
them to make more informed decisions.

6.3.2 Roadside Inspection Comments

The general consensus of the carriers interviewed was that roadside inspections are .
necessary and that the inspections do increase roadway safety. However, a number of the carriers
felt that the inspections were too subjective and dependent on the individual inspector.
Suggestions included providing common training and certification for inspectors at all levels (i.e.
Federal, State and local) and making the inspection itself more objective. Most motor carriers
were generally in favor of using diagnostic devices during roadside inspections if those tools
would be used to increase objectivity. However, many also expressed concerns that-an inspector
equipped with a diagnostic tool used might also be capable of "browsing" the data bus until they
found something wrong, even though the fault might be neither valid (false signal) nor significant
with respect to vehicle safety. This has implications for the security and reproducibility of on-.
board diagnostic designs. -

Motor carriers were also generally in favor of a sticker that allowed them to pass through'
subsequent ip.spection stations, once they had successfully passed an inspection. Most felt that
these stickers should apply to a regional area, rather than for just one State. It should be noted
that the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) has promoted this concept for a number of
years, although some jurisdictions choose not to use it. The electroriic equivalent of the CVSA
sticker is an inspection date and "go/no go" inspection results stored on a transponder for RF
transmission upstream of an inspection station. Results of carrier interviews suggest that this
usage of transponders would be acceptable to many carriers because it has the potential for
reducing the number of duplicate inspections. It should also be attractive to inspection personnel
as it provides them the opportunity to make informed choices as to which vehicles to inspect.

6.3.3 Cost-Sharing Comments

The motor carriers interviewed were very responsive to participating in future research
~d testing. Most indicated that they could not make a firm commitment without knowing details;
however, they wished to be considered for participation in future projects. The majority of motor
carriers indicated they would be willing to participate in testing diagnostic devices, allow data to
be collected using their resources, and provide access by others to their trucks, personnel, and
facilities. Most were willing to test a new device on their truck, as opposed to contributing.in any
other way. Some of them might have envisioned this research as a means of obtaining a new
diagnostic service.tool, for example, when they cannot afford one otherwise. Almost all of the
larger for-hire and private

115
Chapter 6: Analysis of Improvement Potential

carriers interviewed were willing to participate in cost sharing. Many of the carriers revealed that
they must anticipate a "return.. on their investment in order to participate.

All six of the domestic manufacturers of Class 8 trucks participated in this activity. With
only one exception, they were interested in participation in cost sharing. One OEM offered to test
a new sensor on its test truck, as long as the sensor and related components are compatible with
the test truck's existing data bus.

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Chapter 7: Conclusions

CHAPTER7

CONCLUSIONS

7.1 INTRODUCTION

The functional needs of the electronic sensors and diagnostic logging systems discussed. in
this report are viewed differently by inspectors and carrier maintenance personnel. Roadside
inspectors only need to know if a serious fault exists, not how to repair it. For braking systems,
they would like to compare the vehicle's actual stopping ability with tlie requirement for stopping
distance (or some equivalent parameter) specified in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations
(FMCSR). Maintenance personnel, on the other hand, are interested both in detecting a system
problem as well as how to repair it. This requires identifying the part that is defective, or the root
cause. For the braking monitoring system to satisfy both inspection and carrier maintenance
requirements, it must be able to both detect a system problem and identify the root cause.

The functional difference between the two systems will be in the typeofhand-held (off-
board) reader used to interrogate the systems on the vehicle. The on-board system will not
change from one environment to the other. Carrier maintenance will probably utilize a very
robust, complex device. that stores logic trees and other methods to guide the mechanic step-by-
step to logical defects (root causes) in the off-board device. If the engine and component
manufacturers. converge upon a common standardized system, it should be based on an open
hardware and software platform in order to minimize the development costs and eliminate supplier
advantages that might reduce competition.

The most optimal platform would be based on the JaM PC-compatible standard. These
computers are widespread, amounting to over 91 percent of the personal computer base. They
have a widespread common hardware foundation based on the Intel microprocessor architecture.
Further, there is a generic set of software standards based on Microsoft MS-DOS TM and
WINDOWS TM, or like products. It is recommended that the platform be WINDOWS-based
because it provides an open graphic standard as well as offering ease ofuse. WINDOWS NT TM
or ffiM' s OS/2 TM -like graphic platforms are less desirable due to. the uncertainty of product
introduction or widespread acceptance. This carrier maintenance system will be very powerful,
and capable of manipulating most, but not all, non-proprietary parameters within each system.
Roadside inspectors will utilize a smaller, simpler device with relatively fixed capabilities. The
user will have limited keystroke combinations to access only prescribed parameters.

7.2 VEHICLE CONSIDERATIONS

7.2.1 Currently Available Sensors for Improving OBD

The potential exists for adding sensors for on-board performance analysis of the vehicle's
safe operation and legal emissions. The safety and emissions parameters considered to be feasible
for measurement by on-board vehicle diagnosis were discussed in chapter 5. The list of
parameters was initiated by Office ofMotor Carriers personnel who inspect vehicles, with
modifications based on FMCSR, Subpart 393, pertaining to roadside safety inspections and

117
Chapter 7: Conclusions

parameters relating to emissions testing. Most of these are important either because they are
physically difficult to measure or current methods of measurement/observation yield less than
consistent results. Current measurements of safety parameters require the inspector to crawl
underneath the vehi~le to measure, feel, and/or listen for problems. Given the increasing
widespread use of aerodynamic fairings in the Class 8 truck population, crawling underneath the
tractor has become a problem. These considerations also included the needs of maintenance
personnel because their on-board system needs are similar to (but not exactly the same as) those
of roadside inspectors. As noted before, the diagnostic device that is used to interrogate the on-
board system is anticipated to be different for the two environments.

In some of the chapter 5 parameters, there exists the need to monitor multiple variables
and record them for later retrieval. For example, to accurately monitor brake function, prevailing
conditions must be known. A desirable list includes initial and final vehicle speed, whether the
vehicle is loaded or unloaded, air pressure applied at the brake, heat generated by each brake, and
brake torque. -

7.2.2 Future Sensors for On-Board Diagnostics

Based on this research and interviews with vehicle Original Equipment Manufacturers
(OEM's), it is conceivable that the heavy-duty Class 8 truck of the year 2000 and beyond could
be equipped with as many as 50 electronic systems. More likely, there Will be between three and
seven "intelligently" controlled electronic devices. These will include the following: engine,
transmission, brakes, retarder, the instrument cluster, trip recorder, and an off-board
communications device. Some sort of network would be required to permit these electronically
controlled devices to share information. The benefits of this networked sharing of information
includes: elimination of redundant sensors, simplified wiring, _coordinated driveline components
(engine, transmission, and brakes) to improve safety and efficiency, and single-point data
collection for diagnostics. Other devices that may need to be linked into the network include
proximity sensor devices, tire pressure monitoring, and vehicle security devices. Table 30
indicates the expected introduction date for various electronically-based applications on the heavy
duty truck ofto~orrow. Its basis is researcher opinion combined with informal conversations
with key industry representatives.

It is recommended that each manufacturer continue to log its own diagnostic fault data in
its own electronic control module (ECM). Further, this should be augmented with additional data
so that a "snapshot" of the vehicle system condition is taken at the time of the fault being
detected. Industry standardization would then focus on standardized techniques for extracting
and displaying the logged data to inspectors in a roadside environment and. to the vehicle service
technicians in the repair garage.

7.3 AGENCIES AND PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

7.3.1 The Society of Automotive Engineers and The Maintenance Council

It is recommended that free-market heavy truck standardization efforts be continued


through the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and The Maintenance Council (TMC)

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Chapter 7: Conclusions

Table 30. Forecast of Heavy-Duty Truck Electronics

Introduction 50% Penetration Point


Application Date or Full Production

Engine Speed Controls 1987 1993


Engine Protection 1987 1993
Electronic Engine Controls 1989 1994
Transmission Controls 1988 . 1998
Vehicle Speed Controls 1987 1993
Automated Engine Cooling 1994 1998
Axle Controls 1991 1998
Automated Traction Control 1990 1998
Anti-Lock Braking 1987 1998
Tire Pressure Monitor 1990 1998
Brake By Wire 1998 2000+
Electronically Controlled Steering 1992 2000+
Steer By Wire 1997 2000+
Adaptive Suspensions 1997 2000+
Automatic Weighing 1992 2000+
Axle Load Sensing 1989 2000+
Cargo Monitoring 1990 2000+
Aerodynamic Surface Controls 1997 2000+
PTO Controls 1987 1996
Electronic Driven Discreet Gauges 1988 1995
Full Digital Displays 1988 1998
Vehicle History Recorders 1990 1997
Trip Data Recorders 1987 1997
Crash Recorders 1991 1997
Service Advisory Records 1991 1997
High Speed Data Link 1995 2000+
Multiplexed Electrical System 1996 2000+
Cab Environment (HVAC Controls) 1988 1995
Seat Controls 1989 1996
Lighting Controls 1989 1997
Mirror Controls 1989 1996
Blind Spot Detection 1991 1997
Rear Obst~cle Detection 1997 2000+
Security--Anti-Theft 1989 1996
Anti..;Theft Remote Keyless Entry 1996 2000+
. Communication System 1990 1998

119
Chapter 7: Conclusions

Table 30. Forecast of Heavy Duty Truck Electronics (continued)

Introduction 50% Penetration Point


Application Date or Full Production

Security--Relocate Stolen Vehicle 1991 1997


Automated Load Advisory 1991 2000+
Navigation CRT with Maps 1997 2000+
Precise Location 1991 1999
Driver Performance Impairment Monitors 1997 2000+
--Chemical
Driver Performance Impairment Monitors 1997 2000+
--Fatigue

activities. These efforts have resulted in and will continue to develop standard data links, data
protocols, a standard diagnostic connector, and a common connector location. A prime example
of the need for continued standardization efforts, especially in the vehicle maintenance arena, is
among anti-lock braking (ABS) manufacturers. Currently, systems from the brake manufacturers
each utilize their own unique fault code sets. Only vague similarities exist within code groupings.
With the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration having published their final rule on
.March 10, 1995 requiring ABS implementation, this disparity became more critical.

The standardization problem with AB S involves two different types of signals: ( 1) the
signal generated by the system when a fault occurs, and (2} the code describing the fault. The
first signal type, which is of primary concern to roadside inspectors, will be standardized with the
recent National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Rulemaking on ABS.
However, carrier maintenance is very interested in standardization of the second signal type.
Again, it would appear that SAE/TMC efforts should address this need for standardization.

7.3.2 The Federal Highway Administration

The Federal Highway Administration should remain a facilitator in the process of


accomplishing standardization to ensure that the roadside inspection needs are met, in addition to
the needs of motor carrier maintenance personnel. This might result in a minimal set of public
data standards and hardware necessary to comply with governmental needs. However, because of
the sensitivity expressed by motor carriers to allowing access to the complete set of diagnostic
codes on the vehicle, component and vehicle manufacturers should be encouraged to secure those
parameters not needed for safety and emissions inspections. The resulting open system would be
less powerful than existing systems, using only alimited subset of parameters.

The preferred method of achieving a standard off-board tool for roadside inspection would
involve making use of ongoing industry standardization activities and using the potential large

120
Chapter 7: Conclusions

market volumes to obtain a low cost hand-held or console-based diagnostic tool. Even though
this ongoing industry standardization will probably take three to five years, it avoids the need for
government involvement. This time lag will actually not be a detriment to electro~c diagnosis
anyway, given that some syste~s on the vehicle today will not be significantly conducive to
adding diagnostics until perhaps the tum of the century. It is anticipated that, by that time, several
on-board safety systems will not only have the capacity for electronic diagnosis but that the
number of these systems .will be sufficient to cause a significant impact on the roadside inspection
process. As an example~ if electronic diagnosis were only availabl~ to one minor system on the
vehicle, reducing current average inspection times from 30 minutes to .28 minutes, there would be
far too little incentive for either the industry or inspection personnel to invest in the change.
However, if at some future date, average inspection times could be reduced from 30 minutes to
15 minutes due to several new electronic systems with supporting on-board diagnostics, it is
expected that the incentives would be sufficient to encourage and achieve participation.

7.3.3 Agencies

Agencies participating in this stu~y include the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance,
the Society of Automotive Engineers, and The Maintenance Council of the American Trucking
Associations (ATA). Representatives of these organizations have been consistent in the
opinions they have expressed related to standardization of on-board. diagnostics. They believe
there is potential for the use of a standardized device to improve the consistency and reduce
time required to conduct roadside emissions and safety inspections.

7.4 MANUFACTURING

7.4.1 Vehicle OEM

It is expected that the commercial vehicle industry OEM's who function as the "system
integrators" will each continue to follow one of the three basic strategies that they have all
followed to date:

A. One concept has been to "push the limits of technology" and strive to reach the ultimate
goal of completely proprietary and integrated vehicle systems. The result has been
comprehensive and integrated functional controllers, developed as proprietary units by the
OEM.

B. A second concept has been to take a passive approach to the development of electronics
technology, especially that related to unique vehicle level control functions. Under this
alternative, OEM's will generally monitor, evaluate, and integrate state-of-the-art industry
supplied electronic components when available with little or no proprietary electronic
function development. This would be in a traditional role as a "merchant assembler" of
supplier componentry. This method has generally resulted in a relatively loose
confederation of separate electronic-based systems on the vehicle, often with redundant
sensors, pickups, and output displays and instruments despite the opportunities for data
sharing using the SAE-defined J1708/J1587 data bus.

121
Chapter 7: Conclusions

C. A third alternative has been to steer a middle course between the other two extremes. In
this role, the manufacturers have focused on functions of strategic design importance such
as vehiCle wide controls and monitoring.

This research indicates that at the current time, all six of the U.S. manufacturers of Class 8
vehicles seem to be complying with either strategy B or C, or a combination of the two.
European manufacturers comply with strategy A.

7.4.2 Vehicle Component Suppliers

It is believed that the supplier structure within the industry will not be significantly
changed during the late 1990's from that existing today. All of the heavy commercial vehicle
manufacturers will have access to the same engine control, anti-lock, and recorder products as
well as common electrical connectors, alternators, batteries, starters, and lighting components.
Thus, many of the on-board electr9nic system features of vehicle competitors will be generic and
little differentiated from each other. However, at the level of display instrumentation and certain
vehicle control functions, there will still be significant technical product differentiation. The
component suppliers themselves are expected to aggressively utilize microelectronic-based
controllers in order to provide advanced features that give them operational, cost, or similar
competitive advantages.

Going beyond the strictly mechanical elements of roadside inspections, consideration


should also be given to other elements that are conducive to electronic monitoring and readout.
On-board systems could include driver logs and other papetWork, vehicular weights, wheelbase
(for Bridge Formula compliance), and hazardous materials information. Such systems are
available for further testing; and indeed are being tested in limited applications to determine their
acceptability to replace some of the current time consuming processes.

7.5 COST SHARING FOR ON-BOARD DIAGNOSTICS

Based c;>n findings presented in chapter 4 and Appendix C, it would appear that
implementation of cost sharing activities should be considered. This is envisioned as partnerships
between the Federal Highway Administration and the non-Federal entities contacted in the current
study. There appear to be an abundance of motor carriers that are willing to test new products in
a "real-world" environment and at least one vehicle Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) that
has agreed to test a new product in a test track environment. Other OEM's and component
suppliers are expected to participate, with success perhaps hinging on matching needs of the
FHWA with voluntary resources from these non-Federal entities.

7.5.1 Proprietary Information

There is little doubt that proprietary codes will continue to exist among the manufacturers
and that these codes will be inaccessible to others. However, these inaccessible codes do not
necessarily pose a problem for standardization related to roadside inspections. Researchers
believe that current SAE efforts at standardization of codes transmitted on the Class 8 data bus
will result in a system that can be accessible to roadside inspectors via a less powerful and less

122
Chapter 7: Conclusions

robust diagnostic device than that which will be used in the carrier's maintenance operation, and
certainly incapable of modifying the highly protected (proprietary) codes related to engine
torque/horsepower. The engine is used as an example, but other systems such as brakes will
undoubtedly also generate thousands of bytes of information that are neither necessary nor
desirable for access by roadside inspectors. Ensuring that. all of the codes necessary for roadside
inspections are accessible to inspectors and are standardized will be crucial to the success of any
electronic system.

Researchers envision a diagnostic tool designed specifically for inspectors with unique
software that "filters" the data being transmitted on the vehicle's data bus. The criteria for
developing such a device must be considered at the outset. If such a device can be manufactured
at a reasonable cost, if it can resolve at least some of the concerns expressed by carriers in chapter
4 related to existing roadside inspection techniques, and if/when a substantial portion of
roadside inspection parameters are susceptible to monitoring by electronic sensors, then the
government should initiate further evaluation/testing of an inspector diagnostic device.

This special diagnostic device should overcome the expressed apprehensions of a number
of carriers that inspectors might be likely to "browse" the network until they find something
wrong. This.device would not completely overcome another carrier concern, that of technical
training. Learning to use the device should present no difficulties and it should improve
consistency because it Will remove subjectivity. Its programmed logic would simply compare
current parameters with preestablished limits, providing a 11 go/no go 11 result for use by inspectors.
However, it may still be prone to read codes indicating faults that really do not exist. Fortunately,
: '_;. it will err on the safe side. Perhaps during an initial test period; codes indicating faults would be
verified by the"old (manual) method of visual inspection/measurement. If electronic systems
perform satisfactorily during this test period, then redundant measurements might be dismissed.

7.5.2 Standardization of Roadside Inspections

Because the Federal Highway Administration's Office ofMotor Carriers (OMC) casts a
shadow of potential regulation, it is thought that a non-regulatory organization should lead the
effort of standardization related to roadside inspections. SAE is thought to be an appropriate
non-regulatory organization to accomplish this, and it should be recognized that SAE is well on
its way to achieving some worthwhile goals related to standardization of diagnostics for carrier
maintenance. If carrier maintenance and roadside inspections were a similar operating
environment with all the same needs, then it could be concluded that the SAE is already
accomplishing what might, in the end, become astandardizeddiagnostic tool for use by roadside
inspectors. However, inspectors only need to know that a serious problem exists, not how to
correct it (which includes diagnostics). SAE interests will generally dwell on both identifying the
problem and correcting it.

There exists the need to standardize not only the full set of codes on Class 8 trucks, but
also those related to roadside inspections. At the appropriate time, the SAE should consider the
subset of codes that should be available for roadside inspection purposes. This will necessitate
input from the OMC to ensure that all parameters that are being inspected are available for
electronic measurement as specific sensors and monitoring systems come on line. It should be

123
Chapter 7: Conclusions

recognized that many drivers and some owners will be sensitive to some of the parameters that
might be stored in memory (e.g. vehicular speeds).

7.5.3 Dealing with Carrier Opposition

Findings of this study indicate a low degree of driver acceptance of electronic monitoring
in general, but a better acceptance was exhibited by carrier management._ Poor initial acceptance
has also been true of carrier management in some cases, but as the merits of electronic monitoring
have been demonstrated, the resistance has subsided. In general, comments from carrier
management indicate that they need and want the capabilities afforded them through electronic
monitoring to know items such as where their trucks are at a given time, which route the truck
followed (automatic vehicle identification [AVI] and automatic vehicle location [AVL]), the
amount of idle time, and spe~ds. Management is generally pleased with many elements of the
newer electronic engines such as increased fuel mileage, improved tire wear, ability to control top
speed, and keeping track ofvarious engine-parameters. Drivers generally like the cruise control,
but they dislike the "feel" of the accelerator. Some want to be able to tamper with the engine to
increase performance,. and they do not like being monitored.

Some drivers may never like the monitored aspect of electronic engines, but electronic
engines are the wave of the future. Driver acceptance of electronic monitoring via the engine's
electronic control module (ECM) may .gradually improve as they become more accustomed to
their performance characteristics and as the older mechanical engines become obsolete.
Researchers believe that driver acceptance will be handled by carrier management, and that
government involvement in an acceptance campaign would be unnecessary. _

Many of the motor carriers interviewed noted problems with existing roadside inspections,
leading several carriers to recommend not giving these inspectors another tool to ease placing
vehicles out of service. Yet, a couple of these hoped that the tools could improve the quality of
inspections. Even in the best of circumstances, truckers will complain about roadside inspections,
even if they ar~ reminded that inspections make the roadways safer. However, there are some
things that can make inspections more palatable. These include: reduction of duplicate
inspections (e.g. inspection stickers with inspection date or digital database) and consistency from
one State to another in how inspections are conducted. Researchers believe that electronic
inspections can help make these improvements a reality.

Another misgiving of some motor carriers will be in adding more and more electronics to
the vehicle. If their prior experience with electronics has been economically unfavorable, they will
not be inclined to support electronic inspections, even if they expedite roadside inspections. In
that case, SAE may not be able to effect standardization in a consistently meaningful way for
inspection purposes. Additional electronics in roadside inspections will probably encounter similar
resistance as did electronic engines. The opposition to electronic engines has subsided over time
as these engines have gained in popularity and as productivity gains have been experienced by
more and more carriers. New electronic systems that are introduced on. heavy trucks, as well as
electronic inspections, must prove themselves by demonstrating advantages over existing systems
just as electronic engines have.

124
References

REFERENCES

1. Office ofMotor Carriers, Report ofActivities, Roadcheck '94, A Cooperative International


Commercial Vehicle Safety Inspection Effort, Federal Highway Administration, Department
of Transportation, Washington, D.C., October 1994.

2. Office of Motor Carriers, The MCMIS Motor Ca"ier Safety Profile, Federal Highway
Administration, Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C., 1992.

3. Truck R~ntal and Leasing Association, "Analysis of New Commercial Truck Registrations
1988, June 1994.

4 Census of Transportation Trucklnventory and Use Survey, Bureau of Census, U.S.


Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C., 1987.

5. Hames, Richard J., Hart, David L., Gillham, Gregory V., Weisman, Steve M., and Peitsch,
Bernd E., "DDEC II- Advanced Electronic Diesel Control", SAE 861049, Detroit Diesel
Allison Division, General Motors Corporation, 1986.

6. Spivack, H.M., Differential Transducer for Vehicle Diagnostics, U.S. Army Tank-Automotive
Command, Research, Development and Engineering Center, Warren, Michigan 483 97-5000,
Contract Number DAAE07-86-C-R088, February 1990.

7. Holmelius, Hal, "Scania CAG- Computer-Aided Gear Shifting," SAE 861051, Saab-Scania
AB, Sweden, 1986.

8. Bender, J.G. and Struthers, K.D., "Advanced Controls for Heavy Duty Transmission
Applications", SAE 901157, Allison Transmission Division, General Motors Corporation,
1990.

9. Lukich, Janice M. and Brandt, Wayne D., "Integrated Diagnostics for the Vehicle System,"
SAE 912683, Caterpillar, Inc., Peoria, IL, 1991.

10. Foy, Lucinda A., "Real-Time Processing Applications for Heavy-Duty Trucks,'' SAE
861066, Charlotte Technical Center, Freightliner Corporation, 1986.

11. Malecki, Richard L. and Snyder, Charles R, "Diesel Electronic Engine Controls in the North
American Heavy Duty Truck Market," SAE 861077, Navistar International Corporation,
1986.

12. Bishe~ Richard A, "Standardized Truck Diagnostics- The Road to Progress," SAE 891680,
PACCAR Technical Center, PACCARinc., 1989.

13. Stepper, Mark R, "Data Link Overview for Heavy Duty Vehicle Applications," SAE 902215,
Cummins Electronics Company, Inc., Columbus, Ohio, 1990.

125
References

14. Coinmerce Clearing House, Clean Air Act Law and Explanation, Commerce Clearing House,
Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1990.

15. United States Environmental Protection Agency, The Plain English Guide to the Clean Air
Act, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., April1993.

16. "Summary of State Diesel Emissions Inspection Programs," American Trucking Associations,
Inc., Department ofEnvironmental Affairs, Alexandria, Virginia, April1993.

17. Code ofFederal Regulations, Part 49, Subpart 393, U.S. Department of Transportation 1993.

18. Gopel W., Hesse J., Zemel J.N., "Sensors A Comprehensive Survey- Fundamentals and
General Aspects," Vol.1.

19. Pallas-Areny R. and Webster, J., "Sensors and Signal Conditioning," 1991.

20. American Trucking Associations, "Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations," September
1993.

21. Gopel W., Hesse J., Zemel ~.N., "Sensors A Comprehensive Survey- Thermal Sensors," Vol.
4;

22. Wollenweber, K-H and Leiter, R. from Lucas Automotive GmbH, Koblenz; Germany,
"Function-monitoring Brake System: Temperature Monitoring System," C44/049/93, IMechE
'93.

23. Kreider, K 7 and Yust, M., "Thin Film Thermocouples for Heat Engines," Process Sensing
and Diagnostics, AIChE Symposium Series, p. 62-6.

24. Perronne, J., Renner, M, and Gissinger, G., "OnLine Measurement ofBraking Torque Using
a Strain Sensor," SAE # 940333.

25. Tandeske, D., "Pressure Sensors- Selection and Application," 1991.

26. Wrede, J. and Decker, H., "Brake by Wire for Commercial Vehicles," SAE 922489.

27. "Keeping Tabs on Tires," Heavy Duty Trucking, December, 1994.

28. "States Throw Enforcement Weight Behind Axle Laws,n World Wastes, 1992
C~rnmunication Channels, Inc., Atlanta, GA, May 1992.

29. Clark, M., and E. Philips, "On-Board Truck Weigh Scales," Forest Engineering Research
Institute of Canada, Vancouver, B.C., 1989.

30. Dunwoody, B. and Froese, S., "Active Roll Control of a Semi-Trailer," SAE 933045.

126
References

31. von Glasner, E-C., Gohring, E., Povel, R., and Schutzner, P., "Analysis of Intelligent
Suspension Systems for Commercial Vehicles," SAE 933008.

32. Cotignoli, G., Dell, Acqua R, and Dell, Orto G., "A Thick Film Accelerometer for Electronic
Suspension Control," SAE 890481.

33. Gordon, M., "High-Tech Systems Monitor Tire Wear,_" Rock Products, Nov. 1991.

34. Keenan, T., Ward's AutoWorld, Mar 1994, pg 122.

35. Hartman P., Steven Plee and James Bennethum, "Diesel Smoke Measurement and Control
Using an In-Cylinder Optical Sensor," SAE #910723.

36. Gopel W., Hesse J., Zemel J.N., "Sensors A Comprehensive Survey - Chemical and
Biochemical Sensors Part I," Vol.2.

37. Stedman, D. University ofDenver, unpublished transcript of telephone interview, June 1994.

38. Ahlberg H., Lundqvist, S., Anderson T., Tell, R., "Near-IR. Diode laser system for emissions
and process control," EC03 Vol. 1269 p.68-72.

39. Herden W. and Kusell, M., "A New Combustion Pressure Sensor for Advanced Engine
. Management," SAE # 9403 79.

40. Hase, Y., Bessho, M., and Ipposhi, T. from Mitsubishi Electronics Corporation, "SOl Type
Pressure Sensor for High Temperature Pressure Measurement."

41. Gallgher, J., "Colorado Diesel Inspection and Maintenance Program," SAE #900329.

42. Smith M. and Wolf, P., "Self-Calibrating Hall-Effect Pilot Timing Sensor for Diesel Fuel
Injectors," SAE # 940380.

127
APPENDIX
APPENDIX A

ANNOTATED BffiLIOGRAPHY
Appendix A: Annotated Bibliography

Austin, J. William and Weimer, Robert J., " Service and Support of Electronic Products in
the Trucking Industry," SAE 871579, Cummins Electronics Company, Inc., Cummins
Engine Company, Inc., 1987.

Austin and Weimer found that the introduction of electronics to the trucking industry can
be characterized by the following two "people problems": lack of electrical experience and a
"parts-changing" orientation. The effects of this technology on a heavily mechanical industry are
very pronounced in the service and support areas. These problems are a result of issues generic
to the trucking industry as well as' ones which are specific to either the diesel engine or vehicle
electronics businesses.

The heavy duty truck is a product that is jointly developed from integrated products that
are produced by multiple manufacturers. This makes individual product design efforts more
difficult and significantly impacts the product support efforts due to the differing designs and,
therefore, differing support tools, manuals, and procedures. The various component
manufacturers and original equipment manufacturers have been impacted to varying degrees due
to the differing amounts of electroruc content in their present and proposed future products.

Recent legislation regarding emissions has resulted in the need for electronic -controls on
the diesel engine, which has not had any electronic content to date. Experience with electronics in
military, automotive, and other industries all point to a high incidence of"No Trouble Found"
(NTF) failures. NTF failures are defined as components which have. been removed from
operation (in this case removed from the truck) and are returned to the warranty, repair or service
center. Upon reinspection, these components are found to ~eet all functional tests. While these
effects may occasionally be the result of inadequate tests, the number ofNTF failures is
commonly a measure of the adequacy of service tools and diagnostic procedures.

Efforts to resolve vehicle integration problems have centered around standardizing


interfaces. This was undertaken to eliminate confusion over how the various products are
intended to interact with each other. The standardization process is well understood as evidenced
by the degree to which there are standards for components such as tire and rim sizes and engine to
transmission bolt patterns. This same process applies to electrical interfaces. The major interface
between truck electronic products is a communication link, as defined by an industry SAE
standard.

The approach taken by the authors to solve the diagnostics dilemma is to stress
consistency -- familiar test methods, standardized tools, and thorough training aids that are
flexible and upgradeable. The service tool strategy which was developed for this philosophy calls
for a tiered approach. There are four tiers which allow for service at various degrees of
investment, ranging from on-board diagnostics that come as standard equipment with the product,
to optional tools such as E-CHEK, Compulink, and Compuchek. Each successive plateau allows
incremental enhancements in productivity and there are tools that satisfy service needs for the full
range of products and service personnel.

The first level of tools consists of internal or on-board control modules. The basic
operational steps of the control modules are as follows: 1) faults cause codes to be stored in the
control module; 2) fault indicators in the instrument cluster illuminate while the fault is active; and

133
Appendix A: Annotated Bibliography

finally 3) the exact fault can be determined by either turning on the test switch in the cab,
interpreting the code number from flashing lights, or isolating the fault with the fault tree in the
service manual .

The second level of tools consist of the E-CHEK service tool, which is the lowest level
off-board tool. It presents service personnel With a device which is: small enough to go
anywhere, h.andheld, and inexpensive. This tool allows service personnel to easily obtain
information stored in the control module, wherever the control module is located on the vehicle.
E-CHEK interprets the information and presents it in engineering units such as RPM and degrees
Fahrenheit. The device also reads fault code numbers and sensor values, and allows service
personnel to isolate a fault with the code, sensor values, and service manual.
. .

The key tool developed to provide both diagnostic and calibration functions is Compulink.
Its functional capabilities include: read and display stored fault codes, read data associated With
faults, use self-contained fault trees, use codes and symptoms to work down the fault tree,
perform special tests (such as cylinder cut outs}, and perform simple adjustments. It can be
attached to a PC network, adding full calibration capability. Compulink is portable, flexible, and
durable.

The fourth level tool is a version of the service bay computer that is currently used in
maintenance shops today. This tool represents computational capability brought into the service
bay and current state:..of.;.the-art engine analysis features. The fourth level tool must have
additional electronic analysis capabilities which can 1) do all functions of the three lower lev~l
tools, 2} analyze electronic engine controls--as well as "mechanical" components, and 3} analyze
other electronics on vehicles.

134
Appendix A: Annotated Bibliography

Bara, Mark F., Hames, Richard J., and Henriksen, Craig 0., "Field Experience with the
Detroit Diesel Electronic Control System," SAE 901159, 1990.

The introduction of the Detroit Diesel Electronic Control system (DDEC) in 1985,
precipitated a tremendous learning curve in the application of electronics to the heavy-duty truck
market for both the engine manufacturer and the vehicle builder. The application of electronics to
heavy-duty diesel engines was motivate_d by the basic needs of competitive fuel economy and
performance at legislated reduced exhaust emission levels. Electronic control of the direct
injection unit injectors common to Detroit Diesel products was envisioned as the optimum in the
control of injection timing and metering events. The flexibility offered by programmability would
provide the basic tool to develop low emission engines with excellent performance and fuel
economy. Having reached a decision on applying electronics to achieve these primary objectives,
the flexibility of electronics was utilized to maximize customer benefits such as improved cold
startability, engine protection and system diagnostics, idle shutdown, road speed limiting, and
cruise control.

A formal reliability engineering program was completed to insure that the reliability goals,
representing stringent customer expectations, could be demonstrated. Serviceability was
addressed throughout the specification and design stages.- This included eliminating the need of
service adjustment for injection timing, cylinder-to~cyl~nder fuel balancing, governor speed
adjustments, and the incorporation of system self-diagnostics. Unique diagnostic features were
developed based on field experience with the mechanical unit injection system. _Diagnostic test
equipment and troubleshooting procedures were developed and evaluated as part of the reliability
test program. _Engine protection diagnostics for the oil and coolant systems were added to
prevent catastrophic failures.

The DDEC system is self-diagnostic and identifies malfunctions through the illumination
of a Check Engine Light (CEL) and.Stop Engine Light (SEL). The seriousness of the fault is
indicated by which light or lights are illuminated. An amber CEL usually indicates a fault with a
sensor or wiring. Illumination of the CEL and red SEL indicates an out of limit fault condition for
low oil pressure, low coolant level, or high engine temperature. Codes are stored in memory to
identify the fault. The two methods to read the fault are: by obtaining the codes by using the
diagnostic request switch typically located on the dash and interpreting the code using a pocket
card, or by using a handheld Diagnostic Data Reader (DDR) that plugs into a connector typically
located under the dash.

The DDR can also be used to perform tests on the engine, aiding in the evaluation of
mechanical problems. The system self-diagnostics detect the presence of a fault and logs codes
that isolate the fault to a particular subsystem. The troubleshooting guide fault trees lead the
mechanic step-by-step through fault isolation, repair, and confirmation tests._ The primary shop
floor tools for servicing the DDEC system are the DDR and a digital multimeter. The DDR can
read fleet-type information stored in the ECM's memory such as total engine hours, idle hours,
and total fuel consumed. Simple tripmeter information is also available, such as trip miles, trip
fuel (gallons), and trip average fuel (MPG).

135
Appendix A: Annotated Bibliography

Bender, J.G. and Struthers, K.D., "Advanced Controls for Heavy Duty Transmission
Applications," SAE 901157, Allison Transmission Division, General Motors Corporation,
1990.

Allison Transmission Division of General Motors Corporation is currently developing an


electronically controlled automatic transmission system utilizing advanced technologies in
microprocessors, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), sensors, actuators, displays, and
direct electronic clutch pressure control. The transmission system has been designated as the
World Transmission (WT). Included is a complete family'ofheavy duty automatic transmissions
which will become part of the Allison Transmission product beginning in 1991. The WT design
provides expanded capabilities over present transmission technology and results in improved
performance with benefits in life cycle cost. The microprocessor used in the WT transmission is a
second generation Allison Transmission Electronic Control system (ATEC II).

A major aspect of the ATEC II system is the integration of the electronic control circuitry
with a push button shift selector unit. This integrated unit contains the input/output electronics
and the microcomputer. The control unit is based on state-of-the-art technology, which includes
surface mounted chip resistors and capacitors and multi-layer circuit board construction, to
achieve a highly reliable, inexpensive, compact design. The microcomputer selected for the
ATEC II system is the Motorola MC 68HC11, which is a powerful, highly integrated CMOS
device particularly suited for automotive electronic controls. Three types of memory are
employed in the ATEC II electronic control unit (ECU) including RAM,' EEPROM, and a one
time programmable PROM. The microcomputer used in the ECU assembly supports two
different external serial communication link interfaces: a Remote Serial Interface (RSI) and the
Serial Communications Interface (SCI).

The RSI links the electronic control unit to up to two remote shift selectors. In general,
the SCI performs two major functions. First, it provides data to a diagnostic data reader to
facilitate servicing and/or system performance parameter.monitoring. Second, the SCI can be
used to receive throttle position information from an electronic engine control unit; in this case,
the requirement for a separate ATEC II throttle sensor is eliminated.

The ATEC IT subsystem and transmission hardware are supported by comprehensive built-
in diagnostics and simple, but effective, maintenance tools. The ECU examines the condition of
the transmission, status of the entire control system, and performs a periodic self-check. If a
problem is detected and verified, a "SERVICE" transmission light is illuminated to signal the
operator. The diagnostic information is stored in EEPROM in the for of descriptive codes that
isolate the failure to individual components for future maintenance action. Provisions are made
for both current and historic diagnostic .codes. In general, the diagnostic code remains stored in
memory even if the anomaly disappears. This feature is critical in identifying intermittent
problems which can occur in electrical systems. The diagnostic codes can be displayed on the
integrated digital display or on a portable diagnostic tool.

As part of the initia~ ATEC II program, a standard portable diagnostic tool defined as the
Diagnostic Data Reader (DDR) was developed to simplify the service function. This tool
provides both a diagnostic and parametric digital readout device. It features an 8-line, 20
characters per line digital liquid crystal display (LCD) and 16 key pad. The keypad contains a

136
Appendix A: Annotated Bibliography

menu key, select key, data key, up arrow key, down arrow key, English to metric key, and 10
keys each containing a number 0 to 9. Each key is "touch sensitive" for easy use. The display and
keypad are illuminated for night operation. This very flexible menu driven DDR provides a
common service tool for the Allison ATEC I and ATEC II systems and also for the Detroit Diesel
Corporation DDEC I and DDEC II electronic engine control systems.

137
Appendix A: Annotated Bibliography

Bishel, Richard A., "Standardized Truck Diagnostics - The Road to Progress," SAE
891680, PACCAR Technical Center, PACCARinc., 1989.

Diagnostic_s have become an important factor in the trucking industry. The major reason
for the growing influence of diagnostics is the increased complexity of electronically controlled
engines. Other reasons that have contributed to the growing importance of diagnostics are the
increased computational capability of on-board controllers, the J1708 standard truck
communication link, the decreased cost of electronic components, and the increased reliability of
electronics. As more electronic products are incorporated on vehicles, the complexity of
troubleshooting increases and the use of supporting on-board and off-~oard diagnostic capabilities
becomes more significant.

Electronic products such as engine controls are complicated to repair without diagnostics
and the current suppliers and manufacturers have incorporated varying levels of diagnostics.
Blinking lights, fault code readers, and other means have been devised to display diagnostic
information from engine controls. However, the capabilities of each diagnostic tool proVided by
the engine manufacturer are proprietary to that specific engine.

Diagnostics, like other electronic products, have their own problems and terminology
which are often unfamiliar to service mechanics and technicians. In addition, mechanical
components, especially in an environment like the truck industry with many different suppliers,
cannot be easily categorized. For example the code which would indicate a fuel solenoid .
malfunction on a Caterpillar engine, would mean something different on a Cummins or Detroit .
Diesel engine.

In the J1708 and Jl587 Recommended Practices, devices or systems on-board the vehicle
were categorized and numbered. The message identification assignment (1\.flD) indicates what
number is associated with what system or device. For instance Number 128 indicates an engine,
number 129 indicates a turbo-charger, and number 146 indicates a cab climate control system.
Because these numbers were developed to indicate w:hich device transmitted the sensor
information, using them to indicate which device sent the fault information was a foregone
conclusion.

Jl587 categorized parameter information of the data link. Parameter identifiers (PIDs)
were assigned for different types of sensed information. As with the MIDs, it made sense to use
these number assignments in diagnostic protocol. Since there are parameters and components
that do not fall into the sensor category, another category was defined and listed for each device
or system MID. This category was denoted as sub-system identifiers (SIDs). SIDs parameters
are defined for a device for which failures can be detected and isolated by the device.

In the future, diagnostic equipment will focus on two areas: on-board and off-board tools.
It is anticipated that this diagnostic equipment will use standardized fault -
codes. In order to avoid obsolescence in standardized diagnostic equipment as new components
are defined and the list of codes is updated, a method was adopted to allow diagnostic equipment
designed today to request fault code information from the new device. Electronic products
designed in the future could contain a brief definition of the sub-system component. Thereby,
when new electronic equipment is added to a vehicle , the on-board and off-board service tools

138
Appendix A: Annotated Bibliography

could request this information. Without this feature, motor carriers would be forced to keep their
diagnostic equipment current by software revisions and module changes. Another problem would
be mechanics not knowing what a fault code means.

139 '
Appendix A: Annotated Bibliography

Gillespie, Thomas D. and Kostynuik, Lidia P., A Rationale for Establishing the Period of
Validity for CYSA Triick Inspection Decals, Michigan State Police, Office of Highway
Safety Planning, 300 South Washington Square, Lansing, Michigan, April 30, 1991.

Trucks that travel on highways are subject to several levels of inspections. The lowest and
also the most common level of inspection is the driver or walk around inspection. This is a
cursory inspection that is required to be performed prior to driving the vehicle. In the process of
walking around the vehicle, the driver is expected to check designated items either by visual
inspection or operation of the subsystem. Items that are inspected include: parking brakes,
service brakes (to include trailer connections), steering mechanisms, lighting devices and
reflectors, tires, horns, windshield wipers, rear vision mirrors, coupling devices, wheels and rims,
and emergency equipment. The second type of inspection that every vehicle undergoes is the
periodic preventative maintenance inspection. This type of inspection is conducted by a mechanic
performing maintenance ~n the vehicle. However, there are no universal standards for the
mechanic to use for inspections conducted during preventative maintenance. Therefore, the
quality of this type of inspection varies, and is dependent upon the practices of individual fleets .

. Effective July I, 1990, Federal Motor Carrier Regulations required that every commercial
motor vehicle undergo an annual inspection. Commercial vehicle inspections are conducted by
State enforcement personnel under the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) for
the purpose of removing trucks from the road that have defects serious enough to affect their
operation. The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) is an independent organization that
uses common truck inspection standards and out-of-service criteria which were developed in
cooperation with the United Stat~s Department of Transportation (USDOT). The annual
commercial vehicle inspection, which must be conducted by a certified inspector, is similar to the
CVSA inspection with the exception that the criteria for passing the inspection are more stringent
and no defects are allowed.

The CVSA inspection involves careful scrutiny of the vehicle and the driver. Particular
attention is focused on those components that are designated as safety critical. Safety critical
items include: steering, brakes, lights, tires and wheels, fuel system, exhaust system, suspensions,
frames, couplers, cargo securement, header boards, and rear end protection. If no defects are
found, a CVSA decal is affixed to each component of the combination. If 0/S violations are
found and the vehicle is declared out of service, no 0/S decal is affixed to the vehicle. If only
minor defects are found in the critical systems, which do not render the vehicle out of service, the
vehicle still does not receive a decal.

The objective of the CVSA inspection program is based on the premise that vehicle
defects lead to accidents, then inspections conducted to remove defective vehicles from the road
will reduce the number of accidents. Two recent sources of information, a National
Transportation Safety Board {NTSB) investigation of truck brake system condition and an Ohio
inspection program, appear to demonstrate the validity of this premise.

In the. Ohio study 5.4% of the vehicles inspected had a valid CVSA decal and only 0.6%
of these vehicles failed inspection. Thus, the failure rate for vehicles with a valid decal was 12%.
By comparison, vehicles without a decal obtained a failure rate of 19 percent. ~he 1990 NTSB

140
Appendix A: Annotated Bibliography

study showed a general trend of increasing frequency of out of service violations as the age of the
decalincreased~

A second perspective regarding the appropriate period for validity of the decal is gained
when the probability of the failure of a component as a function.oftime is considered. A large
national carrier provided detailed information on the maintenance program for tractors,
semitrailers, and dolly converters. Several significant observations resulted from these data.
First, trailers and dollies have lower overall maintenance needs when compared to tractors,
apparently because of their reduced complexity. Nevertheless, based on 1989 Michigan
inspection data, trailers were found in violation and placed out of service as often as tractors.
This discrepancy is probably due to a less rigorous maintenance program for trailers in many
fleets.

This study found that the two largest maintenance items were brakes and lights. Lights
were rated by experts as a low severity item. On tractors and trailers they are a primary
maintenance item; however, the maintenance of lights on dollies is required as a minimum.
Lights were not a frequent source of violations in the 1989 inspection data, presumably because
light defects are highly visible and are easier to detect by drivers during their 'Yalk around
inspections. Brakes, on the other hand, were identified as a high severity item with a strong
likelihood of defects contributing to accidents. They are a relatively high maintenance item on
every vehicle and are the major source of violations in MCSAP inspections. Fleets may
underestimate the average maintenance needed for brakes if automatic slack adjusters are used
exclusively. If the vehicle is equipped with manual slack adjusters, it will typically receive several
more maintenance checks each year for brake adjustment purposes.

When maintenance incidents are used as surrogates for inspections, it was found that the
probability of failure grows with time. Typically, the probability of failure approaches unity at
approximately three months from the date of repair. The authors, therefore, recommended
continuing the three month validity for the CVSA decal.

141
Appendix A: Annotated Bibliography

Hames, Richard J., Hart, David L., Gillham, Gregory V., Weisman, Steve M., and Peitsch,
Bernd E., "DDEC ll- Advanced Electronic Die~el Control", SAE 861049, Detroit Diesel
Allison Division, General Motors Corporation, 1986.

DDEC II (Detroit Diesel Electronic Control) is an advanced technology electronic fuel


injection and control system. for diesel engines. Detroit Diesel Allison introduced the Detroit
Diesel Electronic Control (DDEC) in September 1985, and became the first U.S. engine
manufacturer to provide an electronic engine control system for the heavy duty diesel trucking
industry. This system, based on the General Motors Custom Microprocessor chip set, controls
the fuel injection timing and quantity via electronic unit injectors. This two-box system includes a
cab-mounted module containing the digital electronics and an engine-mounted, fuel~cooled
module with the analog injector driver components. Sensors, monitoring critical engine operating
parameters, provide signals to DDEC for the microprocessor calculations. In addition to
electronic fuel control and speed governing, DDEC I provided self diagnostics, engine protection
diagnostics, and a wide selection of application options, such as cruise control and road speed
governing.

The DDEC II development took advantage of advances in technology to integrate all


control system electronics into a single engine-mounted, fuel-cooled electronic control module. -
Utilizing the General Motors Single Chip Mjcroprocessor, it provides enhanced control system
performance and additional control features as well as simplified OEM installation.

The major subsystems ofDDEC II include the electronic unit injectors, the electronic
control module, and the sensors. Fuel is delivered to the cylinders by the electronic unit injectors
which are cam-driven for mechanical pressurization of the fuel and controlled via solenoid-
operated valves for precise fuel delivery. The electronic control module computes fuel timing and
quantity and actuates the electronic unit injector solenoids through high current, pu~se width
modulated electronic drivers. The electronic control module also monitors the solenoid current to
sense when the injector valve closes and uses this information to compute timing for subsequent
injection events.

The on-board diagnostics that were introduced with the DDEC I have been expanded and
refined in DDEC II. These capabilities can be categorized into three areas: self diagnostics,
engine system protection, and engine performance diagnostics._

The electronic control module continuously performs self-checks and monitors the other
system components, including the injector solenoids, sensors and wiring. System diagnostic
checks are made at ignition-on and continue throughout the time the engine is operating. Portable
diagnostic equipment facilitates and expands DDEC II's diagnostic capabilities. The Diagnostic
Data Reader requests and receives engine parametric data and fault codes via a serial
communication link.

In addition to monitoring system components, the electronic control module also


compares the sensor outputs against calibration high and low limits for the current engine
operating speed. The engine protection diagnostic for loss of oil pressure, oil over-temperature,
and low coolant level can prevent a minor problem from becoming a major failure.

142
Appendix A: Annotated Bibliography

The portable diagnostics readers also provide a method of diagnosing engine performance
problems not directly related to faults in the DDEC system. The DDEC system has eliminated
many of the mechanical problems, such as mechanical adjustments to timing, governor linkages,
governor spring settings, and foot pedal to engine linkages.

143
Appendix. A: Annotated Bibliography

Holmelius, Hal, "Scania CAG- Computer-Aided Gearshifting," SAE 861051, Saab-Scania


AB, Sweden, 1986.

Electronic systems have opened new opportunities for automating vehicle gearboxes,
either partially or entirely. A very high degree of automation can be achieved providing
opportunities for controlling and coordinating the gearbox with the engine and other vehicle
functions. Scania has chosen to automate the preselection of gears.

The exact time at which the gear is engaged is left to the driver's discretion. The driver
can use a small preselector lever, which is within easy reach, to override the computer and select a
gear other than that the computer would engage. The automatically or manually preselected gear
is actually engaged when the driver depresses the clutch.

The equipment for computerizing the gearshifting is designed for mounting directly on the
existing five-speed and ten-speed Scania manual gearboxes. The microprocessor selected for the
computer-aided gearshifting (CAG) system also provides opportunities for service benefits.

A switch is provided on the control unit of the computer for engaging a check and fault-
tracing program. This comprises testing ofLEDs, buzzer signals, controls and switches, and the
gearshifting movements for the main gearbox and planetary gearbox. Digital codes displayed in
the gear indicator provide information on the location of faults.

The. memory capacity of the microprocessor is also utilized for recording and storing
disturbances that may occur in the system while the truck is traveling. The gear indicator is also
used for displaying codes to show the faults that have been re~orded .

.Utilization of sensor input data and the computer has potential for further development.
One enhancement would involve supplying the computer with more accurate, instantaneous
information on engine torque. Using the input data from sensors and information concerning the
gearbox, rear axle ratio, and tires, the computer could suggest gears that are better matched to the
situation.

In the future the CAG system may be integrated with other electronic control systems.
This may include control of engine and power train functions, programs for more disciplined
driving, and various forms of safety systems. The need for standardization is growing in the
current development of electronic control systems. Therefore, future development should seek
ways to reduce the number of signal paths.

144
Appendix A: Annotated Bibliography

Lukich, Janice M. and Brandt, Wayne D., "Integrated Diagnostics for the Vehicle
System," SAE 912683, Caterpillar, Inc., Peoria, IL, 1991.

Electronics on heavy-duty on-hig!lway vehicles have enabled new and enhanced


functionality and performance of the total vehicle. Vehicles are available with electronically
controlled engines, transmissions, dashboards, braking systems, and other electronic components.
While the number and complexity of electronic components on the vehicle continues to increase,
it would appear that the level of diagnostics for the "total vehicle" is not growing at the same rate.
The diagnostics that are available for today's vehicle, and the standards that support their
development, have largely focused on the individual components.

When there is more than one electronic component on a vehicle, there is a natural desire to
' '

minimize the cost of any single major component by reducing the number of sensors required.
One solution to this problem is to design the sensors to share output with several major
components. SAE/TMC J1708, "Serial Data Communications Between Microcomputer Systems
in Heavy Duty Vehicle Applications" and SAE/TMC Jl587, "Electronic Data Interchange
Between Microcomputer Systems in Heavy Duty Vehicle Applications" were created to facilitate
information exchange between stand alone microcomputer-based modules. In addition to
reducing the need for redundant sensors on the vehicle, the standard enables electronic
dashboards to present vehicle status information to the vehicle operator, and allows off-board
communications to pe developed for servicing vehicle electronic controls.

The heavy duty industry's inexperience with electronics has sometimes hampered the
diagnosis of mechanical problems because of" electronic paralysis." Inexperienced personnel can
lose their basic (mechanical) common sense when faced with a problem on an electronically
controlled vehicle. The solution to this paralysis is to educate dispatchers, operators, and service
technicians. Manufacturers also need to share in the solution by continuously improving system
diagnostics. The industry needs to do whatever is required to make sure that mechanical system
problems can be correctly diagnosed when the electronics detect a symptom or fault.

One area where the industry has begun an effort to encourage a more consistent diag~ostic
environment is the TMC work on a standard diagnostic scan tool. Because each manufacturer
has taken a slightly different approach to diagnostically supporting their component, the result has
been a multitude of individual tools and a variety of troubleshooting techniques. The goal of the
TMC work is to identify a tool platform that can accommodate all manufacturer-specific
programs needed to troubleshoot a vehicle. A standard diagnostic scan tool would reduce some
of the need for proprietary tooling and provide a consistent "look and feel" to the service
technician for all components. While there will be a reduction in the number of "physical" tools
required with the standard scan tool, it can be argued that it does not provide reduction of
"logical" tools.

The engine fault indicators or dash fault lamps are examples of what happens when the
individual manufacturers develop their diagnostics according to their own component needs.
Some manufacturers have two lamps, others have one. The number of digits for codes that are
flashed and what a given code means varies from manufacturer to
manufacturer. In addition, the need for enabling the diagnostic codes is inconsistent. With the
advent ofJ1587 and its standardized Failure Mode Identification (FMI) coding structure, there is

145 !
Appendix A: Annotated Bibliography

opportunity for removing inconsistency. In summary, when manufacturers address only their own
component point of view, they arrive at different solutions to the same diagnostic problems.

The growth in availability and capability of electronics on heavy duty vehicles has
increased information and functional integration and is making the component-focus approach to
diagnostics insufficient. No single component or chassis manufacturer can overcome the
obstacles to the creation of the vehicle diagnostic environment. To the extent that the vehicle
diagnostic enviro~ent requires an "integrated" approach, it will take an "integrated" effort to
create it.

146
Appendix A: Annotated Bibliography

Stepper, MarkR., "Data Link Overview for Heavy Duty Vehicle Applications," SAE
902215, Cummins Electronics Company, Inc., Columbus, Ohio, 1990.

Data link interfaces have become a requirement for the heavy duty vehicle industry
because of the need to share information among individual subsystems. Therefore, it is important
for the industry to be familiar With the eXisting heavy duty vehicle serial data communications
standards. SAE has addressed the need to share information among individual subsystems.

There are several benefits to be gained by connecting all subsystems to a single data link,
but the two major benefits are single-point servicing and information routing. Vehicle servicing is
easier because the service person has only one connection point to locate rather than one point for
each subsystem.

The author presents the serial data communications adopted in SAE Recommended
Practices 1.1708, Jl587, and Jl922 as well as Jl939, which is currently under development by the
Truck and Bus Control and Communications Network Subcommittee. An overview of each
standard is presented below.

Jl708. The Jl708 recommended practice addresses specifications for the physical layer
and part of the data link layer. Basically it consists of four requirements that identifies the
hardware and minimum protocol specifications for each of the connecting subsystems. Three of
the requirements fit into the physical layer category and the final requirement treats the data link
layer.

The first requirement covers hardware specifications and defines the u~t load or the
maximum number of subsystems on the same data link. The unit load definition quantifies voltage
and current requirements, output impedance, termination and filtering characteristics, maximum
number of subsystems allowed per network, the dominant bit state in order to force collision
detection, and the proper circuit biasing to allow operation of the data link. The next requirement
covers the characteristics of the transmission line or cable. These characteristics include the
maximum line length; the specific size of each wire in the twisted pair; the number of twists per
inch and the termination and filtering requirements. The third or last physical requirement
includes specifics on timing to which both the hardware and software must adhere to be able to
interface to the data link. Hardware and software jointly must be able to perform the following
functions:

Determine if the start of the message has begun,


Stop transmitting a message at the end of the current character if the transmission of
another message has begun,
Determine when the data link is available to transmit a message, and
Minimize the blind time through the data link access procedure.

The fourth requirement identifies part of the Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) Model data
link layer. It defines the identifiers and message frame format. The message identifiers are in
sections which align with different message frame formats. There are currently five sections
identified. Section one is for company proprietary communications; characters after the message
identifier arc not identified. Section two is for J1922 formatted messages. Section three is

147
Appendix A: Annotated Bibliography

reserved for assignment by the J1708 committee. Section four is for message identifiers that are
unassigned and available for use, and section five is for J1587 formatted messages.

J1587. J1587 completes the definition of the data link layer and addresses the application
layer. The physical layer for J1587 remains the same as specified in J1708. Source and
destination endpoint identifi~rs need to be defined in the data link layer. J1587 defines the format
of parameter identifiers as labels and as commands. J1587 also defines the message identifiers for
use as follows: -

The first character in a message is the source of that message


A character within a block defines the destination for that block or source for which the
parameter identifiers and data apply

The majority of the J1587 document relates to the application layer and contains
definitions of the assigned parameter identifiers. J1587 defines the parameter identifiers and data
by scaling data for labels and providing unique data field assignments for commands. J1587 also
assigns a message identifier to each subsystem.

Many options are available through J1587 for subsystem designers because of its
flexibility. A summary ofJ1587 application notes follows.

A request can be separated from its response by many other messages such as other
requests or broadcasts.
Several requests can ~e packed into one message.
There are no specifications for acceptable response times, therefore a requesting .
subsystem must recognize that responses can be delayed and should not assume that a
message has been lost.
If data are needed on a repeated basis, it is preferred that it be set up as broadcast data.
Broadcast data should be packed into as few messages as possible.
There should be some method of modifying what data are broadcast from a particular
subsystem.
Subsystem-specific requests should be used anytime information is desired from only one
subsystem.
If the data do not arrive after a predefined time period, parameter timeouts should occur
so that proper action can be taken.
Create a user application document that fully defines data link usage during vehicle
operation.

Jl222.. The physical layer for J1922 remains the same as specified in J1708, with the
exception that one of the defined messages is 22 bytes instead of the maximum 21 bytes. As with
Jl587 the application and datalink layers are defined with J1922. The desire to have more data
throughput for J1922 caused the separation of the data link and the application layers to be less
definitive. The J1922 data link layer defines the following.

It defines message identifiers 69 to 86 for its use.


It defines that operating conditions and requests are to be formatted in position-dependent
data messages.

148
Appendix A: Annotated Bibliography

It defines the following three basic message types per subsystem plus t4e engine current
gear request and the transmission's corresponding response: broadcast, initialization
request, a~d initialization response.

The J1922 application layer defines control modes available to be commanded (speed,
torque, and torque and speed limit); the maximum number of network connections as 4 (engine,
transmission, antilock brake/traction control, and retarder subsystems); defines all messages and
update rates to keep the data link utilization below 70 percent; and assigns message identifiers to
subsystems.

!1.2l2. The layers needed for the heavy duty vehicle local area network are addressed in
the J1939 specification. A small amount of the work is needed in the network layer; however,
most of the content and work needed to complete the J1939 specification will be done in the
physical, data link and application layers. In the physical layer the J193 9 specification defines the
subsystem unit load (maximum number of subsystems on the same data link), and the termination
and filtering of transmission lines for lOOk to 350k baud. With regard to the network and data
link, the following specifications were defined:

The use of controller area network (CAN) protocol,


The message frame format with regards to how to determine source, destination, control
and data fields,
The communication mode with- regards to commands, responses,' acknowledgements, and
proprietary modes, and
Error handling and resolution.

The application layer specifications addressed by J1939 are the application needs with respect to
powertrain control, information sharing, and diagnostics. Data characteristics such as scaling
resolution, priority, latency requirements, accuracy, update rates, and data definitions are also
included. Table 31 is a summary ofthe information provided by the author.

149
Appendix A: Annotated Bibliography

Table 31. Comparison of SAE, Bosch, and ISO Heavy Duty Vehicle
Serial Data Communications Standards

J1708 Serial Data Descn'bes the electrical characteristics a subsystem


(Jan. 1986) Communications Between must have in order to plug into and access the data
Microcomputer Systems in link to sent or receive messages at 9600 baud
Heavy Duty Vehicle (bits/second). Source addr~ses or identifiers
Applications (MIDs) are defined. Applications include
proprietary service ~ools and proprietary products.

J1587 Electronic Data Interchange Defines a set of MIDs that use a specific message
(Jan. 1988) Between Microcomputer frame format. This message frame format defines
Systems in Heavy-Duty source and destination addressing techniques. It
Vehicle Applications also defines specific commands and data labeling
and their rang~, resolution, format, and update
rates. Applications include information sharing and
SAE diagnostics.

J1922 Powertrain Control Defmes a set of MIDs that use a specific message
(Nov 1989) Interface for Eleetronic frame format. The message frame formate defines
Controls Used in Medium the source and destination identifiers as well as the
Duty and Heavy Duty data to be sent and its range, resolution, format,
Diesel On-Highway Vehicle and update rate. Applications for powertrain
Applications control functions.

J1939 Currently under Defmes all the hardware and software requirements
(not yet development by the Truck for complete subsystem interconnectioqs from the
published) and Bus Control physical layer to the application layer.
Communications Network Applications will include iormation sharing,
Subcommittee diagnostics, and low and high bandwidth controls.

CAN-Data Controller Area Network A serial data communications protocol that is


Link Layer owned and licensed by Bosch. It provides a
BOSCH (approx. standard message frame and defmes how this
1986) message frame is generated and received. It
defines portions of the data link layer.

ISO 7497 Open Systems A model used to aid in the development of


(version 1, Interconnection-Basic specifications related to subsystem interconnection.
1984) Reference Model It outlines a layered approach to defining subsystem
interfaces.
7498/DAD1 Addendum 1:
ISO Connectionless Model

7498/PDAD3 Addendum 3: Naming


Including Addressing

Source: Stepper, Mark R., "Data Link Overview for Heavy Duty Vehicle Applications," SAE
902215, Cummins Electronics Company, Inc., Columbus, Ohio, 1990.

150
Appendix A: Annotated Bibliography

Spivack, H.M., Differential Transducer for Vehicle Diagnostics, U.S. Army Tank-
Automotive Command, Research, Development and Engineering Center, Warren,
Michigan 48397-5000, Contract Number DAAE07-86-C-R088, February 1990.

The U.S. Army Tank-Automotive Command (TACOM) diagnostic program for internal
combustion engines and vehicle maintenance mandated that continuous analog differential
pressure measurements be provided. Differential transducers were required to determine pressure
losses caused by incipient malfunction, clogging and build-up of foreign particles in automotive
filters, hydraulic components, air, water, or other fluid flow components. Previously, equipment
used in the STE/ICE program Diagnostic Connector Assembly (DCA) utilized discontinuous
switching alarm signals to indicate a condition requiring immediate servicing attention.

TACOM contracted with West Coast Research to conduct a research and development
effort to provide optimum selection and integration of materials, manufacturing processes, sensing
ele~ents, and test procedures in an economical configuration. The research led to the
development of three differential transducer models which would fulfill the goals of the program.
Continuous analog differential transducers were shown to be producible in composite polymer,
aluminum casting, or computer-controlled machining ofbar stock. Each of the materials and the
corresponding manufacturing process have resulted in effective procedures, which are modest in
cost and comparably priced. The accuracy of results are similar to, or better than, more
conventional transducer performal?-ce.

151 '
Appendix A: Annotated Bibliography

Wing, R. Gregory and Uttamsingh, Ranjeet, "AI Based Diagnostic Support Systems for the
Trucking Industry," SAE 902218, Synetics Corporation, 1990~

The process of recording, troubleshooting, and repairing trucks, along with training
mechanics, is in a process.oftransition. Today's trucks are increasingly equipped with
complicated electronics and complex devices such as electronic control modules (ECMs). As a
result of this increase in complexity, the trucking industry will soon be required to employ
advanced diagnostic technologies and information to repair vehicles. However, because of the
variety of truck component options and configurations that currently exist, the complexity of the
diagnostic systems that will be required is increased.

In order to maintain or increase the overall quality of vehicle repair, a decision support
system for vehicle repair needs to be implemented. The major components of this system as
defined by the authors include:

A knowledge acquisition system which can be used by each component manufacturer to


develop "expert system" diagnostic knowledge bases for each of their products,

A shop bay computer system which can be used by the mechanic and has diagnostic and
repair procedures embedded in an expert system along with "on-line" documentation and
graphics,

A repair facility system which can integrate the information acquired during the mechanic's
repair session with the appropriate billing, inventory, and vehicle maintenance system, and

An original equipment or component manufacturer's system which can provide all product
<Jiagnostics and technical documentation, via computer networks, to the repair facilities
and shop bay systems.

The primary challenge is to provide mechanics with expert diagnostic and repair
infoQllation so that they can continue to perform in an efficient manner. The use of "Model Based
Reasoning" allows diagnostic knowledge bases to be developed by a product repair person in a
relatively simple and fast manner. The most effective approach for the mechanic would involve
the integration of a diagnostic expert system with on-line documentation and management
systems. Several industries (i.e. complex medical equipment such as CT scanners, military
aircraft, and computer systems) have chosen this direction and the impact has been significant.

152 '
Appendix A: Annotated Bibliography

Department of the Army, Direct Support and General Support Maintenance Manual,
Including Repair Parts and Special Tools List: Simplified Test Equipment for Internal
Combustion Engine, Reprogrammable CSTE/ICE-Rl, Washington, D.C., 1989.

The Simplified Test Equipment for Internal Combustion Engines - Reprogrammable


(STE/ICE-R) is a testing system used for performing tests and measurements on the vehicle.
In addition to acting as a conventional digital multimeter to measure voltage, current and
resistance, it is also capable of measuring pressure, speed, compression unbalance, engine
power, and some specialized battery and starter evaluations. STE/ICE-R is powered by the
vehicle's batteries. The complete system includes:

Vehicle test meter (VTM), which performs the measurement and analysis
functions of the STE/ICE-R systems,

Transducer kit (TK), which is a collection of transducers, adapters, and fittings


.that permit the STE/ICE-R to be used as a general purpose measurement system
for any application. This allows the STE/ICE-R to be used anywhere that you
want to measure voltage, current, resistance, pressure, or speed,

Cables,

Transit case, and.

Technical publications.

A Diagnostic Connector Assembly (DCA) is an electrical harness on the vehicle that


allows the STE/ICE-R to be powered and to make measurements of key vehicle signals from a
single connections. In addition to many basic electrical signals such as starter voltage and .
current, it includes engine speed and fuel supply pressure. The STE/ICE-R can make TK
measurements at the same time that it is connected to the DCA. Table 32 is a summary of test
applications for the STE-ICE-R.

153
Table 32. STE/ICE Test Procedures >
-----
~
Test Type and Description Requirements , Typical App6cation ~
Number ~
Engine RPM (Average)
Test #10
Measures engine speed in the range 50 to 5000 RPM. At speeds
below 50 RPM the VTM will display 0. At speed above 5,000
RPM the display may give a false reading.
Test requires DCA
hookup only.
Check engine speed.

ia
n>
Power Test Measures. an engine's power producing potential in units of Test requires DCA Check engine power in units of ~
(RPM/SEC) Test #12

Power Test (Percent)


RPM/SEC.

Measures the percentag~ of engine's power producing potential as


hookup only.

T~strequires DCA
RPM/SEC.

Check engine power.


=
"""".
c-
=
0
Test #13 compared to a good engine. hookup only.

Compression Compares the compression between the highest and lowest Test requires DCA Check compression unbalance
Unbalance Test #14 cylinders and displays the unbalance in the percent. hookup only. of engine with VTM powered
from battery of vehicle being
tested.
~
Ut
~ Fuel Supply Pressure Measures the return pressure, in onler to detect line block.itge, Test requires DCA Fuel Supply Pressure.
(psi) Test #24 leaks, or insufficient restrictor back pressure. hookup only.

Pressure (psi) 0 to Measures pressure in the range of Oto 1000 PSIG. Test requires the Oil Pressure.
1000 Test #50 use of TK adapters
and transducers

Battery Voltage Test Measures battery voltage in the range 9 to 32 volts. The voltage Test requires DCA Check battery voltage.
#67 is measured directly at the power source of the VTM, and may be hookup only.
done with the vehicle operating or shut down.

Starter Motor Voltage Measures the voltage present at the starter motor positive .. Test requires DCA Check starter motor voltage.
Test #68 terminal, in the range of 0 to 32 volts. hookup only.

Starter Negative Cable Measures the voltage drop on the starter path. A high voltage Test requires DCA Check starter negative cable
Voltage Drop Test #69 ( > 2V) indicates excessive ground path resistance. hookup only. voltage drop.

Starter Solenoid Volts Measures the voltage present at the starter solenoids positive Test requires DCA Check starter solenoid volts.
Test #70 terminal. hookup only_.
Table 32. STE/ICE-R Test Procedures Continued) >
--- - - ---~
---
~
Test Type and Description Requirements Typical Application ~
Number ~
Starter Current Measures the average starter current in the range 0 to 1000 Test requires DCA hookup Check starter current. >
Average Test # 71

Current First Peak


Test #72
amps.

Measures the overall condition of the complete starting


system.
only.

Test requires DCA hookup


only.
Check condition of starting
system on Cl engines with VTM
I
('f)
~
being powered from vehicle

==
C'"

Battery Internal Measures the internal battery resistance. Internal battery Test requires DCA hookup
being tested.

Evaluate batteries on CI engines


=
e)

Resistance Test #73 resistance is the measure of the state of the batteries. only. with VTM being powered from
battery of vehicle being tested.

Starter Circuit Measures starter circuit resistance. Test requires DCA hookup Check resistance of complete
Resistance Test #74 only. starting system in CI engines
~
Lit with VTM powered fonn
Lit
batteries of vehicle being tested.

Battery Resistance Measures the change of battery resistance. Test requires DCA hookup Evaluate batteries in Cl engines
Change Test #75 only. with VTM powered from
batteries of vehicle being tested.

Battery Current Test Measures current to or from the battery. ,Test requires DCA hookup Evaluate batteries in Cl engines.
#80 only.

DC Voltage 0 to 45 Measures voltage in the range of -45 to 45 volts. The VTM c Test requires the use of the Fuel solenoid, Starter solenoid,
Volts DC Test #89 is used as a DC voltmeter with the decimal point in the TK adapters and Alternator Output, or Any DC
correct position. This test must be done with the component transducers. Voltage measurement.
being tested turned on.

DC Current 0 to Measures the DC current in the range ofO to 1500 amps. Test requires the use of the Alternator output, average starter
1500 Amps DC Test The VTM is used as an ammeter with the decimal point in the TK adapters and current, battery current, and any
#90 right position. This test may be done with the transducers. DC current up to 1500 amps.
vehicle/equipment operating.
>
&
~

~
Table 32. STE/ICE-R Test Procedures (Continued)

Test Type and


Number
Description Requirements Typical Application ~
Q..

Resistance and Measures resistance in the range of 0 to 4500 ohms. The Test requires the Continuity checks,
=
....
C"'
=
0
Continuity to 0 to VTM is used as an ohmmeter, and test results are always use of the TK resistance measurements,
4500 Ohms Test #91 displayed with the decimal point in the device being tested adapters and and switch and relay
will adversely affect test results. Make sure the Circuit or transducers. functions.
component being tested is shut off.

~
~ Source: Department
Special Tools of the Army,
List: .Simplified

TestDJW:t Slii!P~rt ~--
d General Su
En~tin~
rt Maintenance Manual, Including Repair Parts and
Eq_utpmentor ntemaI Comb::!ln , Repmgrammab)e (STEIICE-R), Washington,
D.C., 1989e
Appendix A: Annotated Bibliography

Foy, Lucinda A., "Real-Time Processing Applications for Heavy-Duty Trucks," SAE
861066, Charlotte Technical Center, Freightliner Corporation, 1986.

Real-time control systems have continued to advance along with other electronic devices
and are now being utilized in the heavy-duty truck industry. These systems are designed to
electronically control events as they happen and provide up-to-date diagnostic information,
consequently increasing the operating efficiency, reliability, and safety of the vehicle. Real-time
control systems have potential for a variety of applications beyond those that are currently being
used in the trucking industry.

Diagnostic systems that can record intermittent problems give more accurate assessments
of the problems, thereby increasing reliability. Being able to diagnose a problem and correct it
immediately prevents catastrophic failure resulting in the vehicle being out of service. With the
use of a real-time control system, the number of mechanical parts can be reduced significantly.
An example of this is the electronic transmission, which optimizes or eliminates the use of the
clutch. This reduces the number of mechanical parts for the electro-hydraulic automatic
transmission and reduces wear when clutch usage is optimized for the electronically shifted
mechanical mechanism.

Several real-time systems are currently available or under developJ:!lent for use in the
heavy duty trucking industry. -Examples of these are the electronic engine, transmission, and anti-
lock braking systems. The major di~advantage of these systems is that they operate primarily as
stand-alone systems. Different units on the same vehicle measure and process signals
redundantly. Jl708 specifies the format for communication between modules, although it cannot
presently be used for real-time control. This problem could be resolved with the development of a
high-speed data link. Because total system design is critical, it is necessary that a high-speed data
link for heavy-duty vehicles be developed. To optimize system performance and minimize
redundancy, it must meet the following criteria:

Open system flexibility,


Minimum processor burden,
Maximum programmer transparency,
Guaranteed data consistency,
Faster transmission rate,
High reliability in noisy environments, and
Reduction in manufacturing cost.

With the advent of high speed data communications, the vehicle will incorporate more and
more electronics until control systems can be separated into four major categories. These are:
trailer computer, cab computer, powertrain computer, and chassis computer.

157
Appendix A: Annotated Bibliography

The electronic engine and electronic transmission could be optimized by using a single
computer to control both systems. This computer would be the powertrain computer and would
fully integrate the operation of the engine_and the transmission, so that the engine would have
direct knowledge of the transmission and vice-versa. An example of how this would be beneficial
is the shifting of gears. Shifting would be optimized with a more direct relationship between the
engine and transmission. Also, when a problem arises with one unit, the other unit could
compensate to avoid further damage thus providing a "limp home" feature.

The second unit would be the chassis computer, which controls anti-lock braking, tire
pressure, load sensing, and other chassis functions. The ability to control tire pressure in relation
to load sensing would make anti-lock braking more effective. With the addition of a collision
detection device, the actual braking force applied could be determined by the distance between the
vehicle and the obstruction.

The third area of control would be the cab computer, which would function as the data
retriever for the complete vehicle. This will be the system which provides all the information for
the displays in the vehicle. All the data smoothing would take place in this computer, in addition-
to other functions including the vehicle recorder and heating and air conditioning controls.

The fourth computer would be the trailer computer, which could be used to administer the
anti-skid braking for the trailer, monitor refrigerated units, and accomplish load sensing. A
monitoring system could be installed on hazardous waste arid materials haulers that could warn of
leaks and other possible problems.

158
Appendix A: Annotated Bibliography

Malecki, Richard L. and Snyder, Charles R., "Diesel Electronic Engine Controls in the
North American Heavy Duty Truck Market," SAE 861077, Navistar International
Corporation, 1986.

Deregulation has had a tremendous impact on all sectors of the transportation industry.
The heavy duty truck of today and the future will have to provide its _customer with improved
efficiencies not previously achieved in the transportation industry. In addition to the increased
economic pressures on the industry, several regulations are causing significant changes. These
regulations and proposed regulations affect vehicle noise, exhaust emissions, and safety. Due to
economic, legislative, and safety issues, the truck of the future will be drastically different from
today's product.

Truck manufacturers and component suppliers are turning to microcomputers, electronic


sensors, communication links, digital displays, and satellite communication systems to make
trucks safer, easier to operate, and more efficient. The two basic types of electronic systems
applicable to on-highway trucks, as identified by Caterpillar, are control systems and monitoring
systems. They define control systems as performing an active role in the operation ofthe vehicle
by regulating various processes, while monitoring systems evaluate the processes for display to
the operator or to be recorded for future analysis.

Electronic engine control systems will play a major role in lowering the operating costs of
diesel engines.. All of the major North American engine suppliers are, or will be, making available
controls on engines. Many electronic engine control systems are being adapted to engines that
were originally mechanically fueled. Some engine suppliers are developing new engines that are
being tailored specifically to electronic engine controls.

Electronically controlled diesel engines have proven performance advantages as compared


to mechanically fueled engines. Along with the added performance, diesel electronic engine
controls can provide the extra value of certain features that are not practically feasible with
mechanically fueled engines. These features can aid in driver convenience, economic
performance, safety, and maintenance. Depending on the engine, the first generation diesel
electronic engines will be capable of providing some benefit in the following areas: cruise control,
road speed governing, engine speed governing, diagnostics, and emergency engine shutdown
capabilities.

One feature of diesel electronic engine controls is electronic diagnostics. Electronic


diagnostics range from reading out the diagnostic codes from-instrument panel lamps to off-
vehicle diagnostic tools. Engine control systems will also be able to record real time fault
information that may be of value to the service technician at a later date. The engine control
system can assist maintenance personnel in troubleshooting electronic components and sensors,-as
well as engine faults such as plugged injectors and low cylinder compression.

159
APPENDIXB

DIAGNOSTIC TOOL INFORMATION


.. ~
l

Diagnostic Tools
for
Computer Controlled
Components

Available Now or in
the Near-Term

Useful Tool Capabilities


for Diagnostics

Read J 1587 PI D Data


Read/Write Proprietary Data
Parameter Programming
- Customer Parameters
- Dealer Parameters
Control Program Modification

2
-------~.--------- ..
.

Useful Tool Capabilities


for Diagnostics (Cont_d)

Signal Measure~ent.;.
Public Diagnostic Tests
Proprietary Diagnost_ic Tests
Integrated Electronic Technical Manuals
(IETM)
Flight Recorder

Hand-Held Tool
Pluses and Minuses
Pluses
- Relatively "inexpensive
- Provides a 'standard tool
- Manufacturer ~artridges are available
Minuses
- Generic cartridges ar~ in~ffective
-Proprietary computer'design
-Real capability requires
manufacturer cartridge
Summary of Hand-Held Tools

.cMtridge . .

Allison

CaterpiUar

caterpillar ECAP
Detroit Dietel

Cummine COMPUUNK


-. .
Cummins ECHEK
Eaton
MackV-MACK


WABCOABS
Snap-On Tools isdevelq>ilg carti~ges for 1helrMT2500 acamer.

PC-Based Tool
Pluses and Minuses
Pluses
- -
- ope_n_ comput~r (jesign (lots of ()ptions)
- SUppOrts sophisticateddiagOoslic programs
- More 'pOtentii!l fot'effectiv~ gen~ric tools
- Potelltial for lOts of supplier~,
Minuses _ _ _ .,_ _
- Rel&l!Vely expe~SiVe to verY'~ip~nsWe
-Real Capability still requires the
manufacturer's program
6
Summary of PC-Based Tools

Product
Caterpillar
Service Information
System (SIS)
Cummins Electronic ~!'

Software Database and


Network (ESDN)
Mack
V-MAC Service
DiaQnostics ProQram
7

Generic cartridges have limitations.


Hand-held- .tools support m0Sff)l'c;,ducts.
~ ' .. ~ .. .. ._ . . . . .. . . . ~ .

Manufacturer cartridgeS 8re reqUired.


PC-baS~d toOls. (softwar~ a~d h~rd\Vare).
are available~c ....
. The-:e i.~Ji.o.Jlt~f:J.90111P~tiJJPIJ jJ~ltJt!tr,y~~:: .
tool markefrebl1Jve to passenger:
car. .
'Company: MPSI Product Functions

0
Product Description: Special Ftllctions & Strengths :

101004 Prolink diagnostic reader Flight recorder


4 Jine, 80 character LCD display RS-232 port supports printer and PC interfaces.

Large, color<oded keypad


10 ft data cable
Easily updated through hardware/software cartridge..s.

0 Indicates basic capability, requires additional softwarethardware to perfomt function.

'Company: OTC and OEMs

Product Description:
3824239 Cummins Diagnostic Cartridge Co\1ers PACE, PT PACER, CF.LECl products.
3824271 Cummins Programming Cartridge Has general purposej1708 function built-in.
can pedorm all authorized functions on any
application that OTC has released cartridges
for (i.e., Ford, GM1 Chrysler, and imports)
Low cost cartridge upgrades.
Product Description:
201023. Rockwell I W ABCO ABS Cartridge Reads systetn fault codes.
Display pardrneters and set'.sor values.

Product Functions
'Company: MPSI

$429.00
Product Description:
201024 caterpillar Cartridge Flight recorder
Fault code display
Includes harness adapter
Customer programmable parameter
interface
Performs cylinder cut-out
BTM sweep test
Shut off solenoid test
Exhaust brake solenoid test
Prln ter output
'Company: Product Functions
MPSI

Product Description: Special Functions &Strengths:


I 201009 Allison Transmission Canridge, ver.s;on 2.0 Flight recorder (_snapshot for trouble shooting)
Fault code display
l'arameter read-out
Printer output

!Company: Product Functions

Product Description:
201011 Heavy Duty Standard canridge, version 2.0 Flight recorder (snap-shot)
Fault code display
)1587 parameter infonr.ation display
Printer output
Product Functions
MPSI

$399.00
Product Description:
20100i DDEC I & II Cartridge1 version 4.0 Flight recorder
Diagnostic code displa)
Parameter I sensor readout
Customer Reprogram interface
Special tests (Cylinder cut-out)
Printer Output

!Company: MPSI

$469.00
Product Description:
201010 V-MAC Cartridge1 version2.0 Flight recorder
RS-232 PCUnk cable included
Diagnostic code display
Customer parameter reprogramming
Printer output
APPENDIX_C

RESULTS OF COST SHARING INTERVIEWS


Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

APPENDIXC

RESULTS OF COST SHARING INTERVIEWS

INTRODUCTION

Results of the telephone and on-site solicitations provided a general consensus on cost-
sharing opportunities, although many representatives of OEM's or component suppliers expressed
their reluctance to giving a strong commitment without being provided additional details. Others
required that any product (hardware and/or software) development and testing would remain
proprietary following testing. Fewer expressedno conditions at all on participation.

Motor carriers were generally willing to enter into cost sharing activities, based on a
general assumption that this will amount to installing a new or modified product on a limited
number of their fleet vehicles for a limited time period. There did not appear to be significant
concerns about sharing data that would allow comparisons of new and old products. Many of the
carriers and others revealed that they must anticipate a "return" on their investment in order to
participate. No one specifically stated that they would share in the form of monetary
contributions.

Vehicle OEM'S

Vehicle OEM No. t

A member of management at Vehicle OEM No. 1 stated very emphatically that his
company would participate in cost sharing related to on-board diagnostics. He did not state any
limitations related to their participation.

Vehicle OEM No.2

Researchers discussed cost sharing opportunities with the Chief of Electronics at Vehicle
OEM No. 2. This man asked a number of questions regarding who would oversee the
implementation of the cost sharing activities. This is anticipated tp be a subsequent contract with
FHWA's Office of Motor Carriers. being responsible for its conduct. The selected contractor
would probably be responsible for contacts with non-federal entities who responded in the current
study that they would be interested in cost sharing.

He asked if there will likely be several "projects" that come out of this. It would appear
that at least a few will develop, based on the study team's contacts. The specifics will depend on
remaining commitments of interest and other activities ongoing at that time. These activities
resulting from the current study will probably be used to fill in perceived or real gaps in research.
He mentioned other American Trucking Associations (ATA) efforts currently underway that
included elements of roadside inspections.

One concern he voiced was protection of each firm's identity during and following testing.
This should be addressed during the planning of the actual implementation of cost sharing

175
Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

activities. The results could be reported as simply successful or unsuccessful, but the sponsor
must consider participants' wishes to refrain from reporting details.

He thinks what the study team is doing in determining cost sharing participants has value,
but he could not commit to expending resources (even in showing an interest) for something that
is undefined. So, his answer .is a definite "no" at this time, given no details regarding what the
cost sharing activity might entail. He stated that his company would have to foresee a definite
return on any expenditures of staff time and other resources and the activitywould have to fit
with what their management foresees for diagnostics. Furthermore, the company would require
that they maintain sole rights to any and all results. They would definitely not commit monetarily.

Vehicle OEM No.3

Management at Vehicle OEM No. 3 were very positive in their interest in cost-sharing
regarding standardized on-board diagnostics. On a scale where maximum interest is 5. 0 their
rating would be a 4.5. However, before they would commit absolutely, they must clear the
request with their legal staff and with their engineering staff. This will probably take
approximately two weeks.

Vehicle OEM No.4

The Director of Government Technical Affairs ofVehicle OEM No.4 stated that his
company would be interested in participating in cqst sharing; however, he stated that his company
would have to retain marketing rights to any new products tested. He said his company is very
interested in items that will enhance diagnostic functions as long as they do not compromise safety
in anyway.

Vehicle OEM No.5

Researchers spoke with two representatives ofVehicle OEM No.5. The first is Manager,
Product Test, and the second is Electrical Section Manager. Their responses are provided in that
order.

According to the Manager, Product Test, one stipulation that is critical for this company
in evaluating the prospects of new diagnostic tools or diagnostic systems will be in acquiring the
exclusive rights to the device or system for some predetermined amount of time. They need this
in order to make the endeavor worth their efforts and their investment and to test the device for a
sufficient amount of time to ensure its reliability, durability, and accuracy. She expressed that this
scenario of cost sharing was different from previous opportunities. In other activities of this
nature, the cost sharing details are known in the beginning.

She asked how the coordination of the participants would be accomplished, especially if
consortia of non-federal entities were contemplated. One scenario might involve, for example, a
diagnostic tool company offering an on-board device that offers comn1unications potential
between two subsystems resident on the vehicle. Two systems would be selected that are

176
Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

important to both maintenance and roadside safety and emissions inspection activities. The
selected researchers might first identify potential combinations of component suppliers, OEM's,
and others with workable combinations. The researcher would get the various parties together
and there would be some initial agreements as to who would do which tasks in order to
accomplish the goals of the test. Upon consideration of this, she thought this coordination
process might be a little too casual, implying that it should have more predefined structure. This
comment appeared to reflect some apprehension, and can be put into the context of another
agreement they already have with a university in their State.

Vehicle OEM No. 5 has recently entered into a partnership with a university to test a real-
time air brake diagnostic system. The air brake diagnostic system must monitor the braking
system and provide a warning when malfunctions occur. It would have the capability of receiving
input from the operator on an upcoming grade to compare the condition of the brake against the
length and steepness of the grade. In that study, this manufacturer required that an electronic
supplier be a partner and be available to continue building these components at the end of the test
phase, and OEM No.5 would naturally have exclusive rights to the component system.

The Manager, Product Test commented that the OEM has experienced a dramatic
increase in the number of invitations similar to this one over the past few months. In fact, over
the last 6 to 9 months, the company has experienced as many of these partnering opportunities as
they did over the previous five years. There would appear to.be increased efforts on the part of
both the National Highway Traffic Safety Admimstration (NliTSA) and FHWA in trying to
integrate research and the practical applications of research. She forwarded the request to the
Electrical Section Manager.

The' Electrical Section Manager mentioned that there are a half dozen or so devices that
have resulted from partnerships like the study team is promoting with this project. Examples are
ProDriver by Detroit Diesel which displays faults in English syntax, Road Relay by Cummins
(10,000 ofthese already sold), and diagnostic recorders. He predicted that there will be more and
more of these innovations based on the needs perceived by vehicle buyers (pull marketing).

He believes that even though the number of these useful electronic-based systems will
increase on the truck,. they will not necessarily be safety related. The problem with devices that
provide safety related information is that if they fail there is a high probability that a lawsuit will
result. Exceptions that he expressed to the general safety items are air bags and collision
avoidance systems. He noted that unless some of these safety features are mandated by the
government, they will not be in demand on a widespread basis. He says the problem is that there
are no standards for safety in new products;

He has been involved in automotive electronics for 18 years and with this OEM, he is in
charge of testing new electronic systems on their trucks. He stated that the current trend in
readouts is full English messages and discontinuing blink codes. Displays will include all
messages in English. One of the key ideas seemed to be coming up with a single display. This
must refer to all diagnostic systems talking to one display on the instrument cluster. When this
becomes feasible, a common diagnostic interface for multiple systems will probably be more
feasible. This single readout will develop by the year 2000, according to the OEM spokesman.

177
Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

Our discussion turned to the need for standardized diagnostics from the perspective of
roadside inspections. He stated that brake wear sensors are available now but they are not reliable
enough (he did not say that he had personally tested them). He pointed out that for a new device
to be included. on a heavy truck it must be requested by the customer, unless a Federal mandate
occurs. SAE and TMC efforts help standardization efforts also.

The Electrical Section Manager mentioned that it would be nice to push a button and have
all systems queried very quickly. This might, for example, apply the brakes in a predetermined
manner and provide detailed results to the mechanic, the driver, or the roadside inspector.

He stated that his OEM will participate in cost sharing in the following manner. If another
non-federal entity can provide an on board diagnostic (OBD) sensor for testing, the OEM will
install that sensor on their test truck for operation on their test track. The device must transmit
on the truck's on-board network so they can monitor its performance and provide accurate results.
For example, a sensor that measures push rod stroke must generate a diagnostic.message at the
appropriate time for transmittal on the truck network in standard message code, "BRAKE OUT
OF ADJUSTMENT." He stated that the third party (sensor vendor) will not have to do the fault
message. The OEM will not require proprietary rights to the product following testing because it
will have a marketable product by the end of testing and it will know how to install the device on
their truck. It will be ahead of its competition by knowing how to mount it and connect it to their
on-board system just as this OEM did with an ABS manufacturer. Of course, the OEM's testing
on new sensors will be limited in scope, with details to be determined before testing.

Vehicle OEM No.6

An engineer in the Electronic Product Development section of Vehicle OEM No.6 acted
as liaison between the research team and others at this OEM. Their response was, "... we would
We
be interested in possible participation. do not now have any definite plans for participation,
but would like the opportunity to join in such studies under the correct circumstances."

Engine Manufacturers

Results include three of the four domestic manufacturers of Class 8 diesel truck engines.
Research staff repeatedly attempted to contact the fourth by telephone, but with no success.

Engine Manufacturer No. 1

This engine manufacturer could not commit to anything at the time it was contacted due
to an internal company problem. Once this situation is resolved, the idea of participation in cost
sharing would be more acceptable, given the proper circumstances. The other reservation that
this Supervisor/Service Technician had was that his company is well represented in ongoing SAE
and TMC efforts related to standardization of diagnostics. Unless the cost sharing was perceived
by his company to be of some benefit above and beyond these other efforts, he was certain they
would not participate. However, he was amenable to being contacted later when details of cost
sharing opportunities are available and the government is ready to pursue something definite.

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Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

Engine Manufacturer No.2

This Principal Engineer ofResearch and Engineering, who was named by one of his
colleagues in the same company, was not available. This first contact, who was manager of the
company's diagnostic product service, provided assistance for Subtask A-2, but he deferred to the
Principal Engineer for a cost sharing commitment. Numerous attempts to contact this person
were unsuccessful.

Engine Manufacturer No. 3

The Staff Technology Engineer of Electronic Controls Engineering, who responded in


Engine Manufacturer No. 3, was involved with current and future advanced diagnostics. He
asked two other staff engineers, one who serves on an SAE committee, and another who is
involved in TMC efforts, to look over the information sent to them. The Manager of
Technical Services asked questions about the timing of the cost sharing activity. That will
depend upon the time required for the FHWA to receive the current study results, evaluate
these results, then initiate a subsequent study. This effort would undoubtedly require several
months.

The manager stated that his company is definitely interested in cost sharing with the
only caveat being that he would be selective in choosing cost sharing activities~ If, for
example, the FHWA asked his company to add an oil quality sensor to their engines for
testing, they would not do it. So this company's response is a qualified "yes."

Engine Manufacturer No. 4

An engineer in the Electronic Product Development section of Engine Manufacturer No. 4


acted as liaison between the research team and others at this company. Their response was that
"we would be interested in possible participation. We do not now have any definite plans for
participation, but would like the opportunity to join in such studies under the correct
circumstances."

Component Suppliers

ABS Suppliers

ABS Supplier No. 1

The President and General Manager of this ABS Supplier wanted to know the details of
cost sharing before consenting to participation. Upon clarification of the sequence of events
that must occur before implementation, he stated that he would have to know the details.
These details depend on the non-federal entities interested in participating, other similar
research initiatives, and parallel SAE/TMC efforts.

179
Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

This General Manager stated that there appears to be very little, if any; incentive for
his company to be involved in cost sharing. This ABS manufacturer has been working closely
with vehicle OEM' s and with a significant customer base through their parent company and
their customer base. This manufacturer also has a person who currently chairs a SAE/TMC
committee that is actively involved in standardization. In conclusion, the ABS supplier is
already involved in what appear to be numerous activities that provide opportunities for cost
sharing. His last comment was that he would be willing to say a qualified "maybe" on their
interest in cost sharing. "There is always room for more," he said. As with vehicle OEM' s,
brake manufacturers try to respond to what their customers request.. This is thought to be a
major consideration in whether ABS suppliers participate in cost sharing activities. .

ADS Supplier No. 2

This Engineering Manager at ABS Supplier No.2 seemed concerned that this cost
sharing activity might change the direction of standardization that had already been
accomplished through SAE and TMC. This company is not interested in cost sharing activities
at this point in time. However, be stated that he would like to be contacted later to stay
abreast of activities related to diagnostics, especially related to brakes.

ADS Supplier No. 3

The ABS Principal Engineer at ABS Supplier No. 3 stated that his company is interested
in participating in cost sharing in providing manpower and hardware support. They would not be
likely to participate in monetary contributions. Their travel costs would be absorbed as part of
~ their contribution if they become involved. They would also be interested in development of
diagnostic scheme(s). The total amount of their contribution would depend on their other
commitments at the time. The company would, in all likelihood require sole rights to new
product or software development in return for their contributions. However, he stated that this
would not be an absolute requirement.

He asked if this would involve a personal computer (PC)-based system. He mentioned


that one of the diagnostic tool companies demonstrated a PC-based system in Scottsdale last
June. It did not have a standard keyboard, and it was not a laptop computer. The tool company
called it a menu-driven PC. Engine suppliers were demonstrating their software on a PC-based
laptop system.

Transmission Manufacturers

Transmission Manufacturer No. 1

The study team talked to two responsible engineering managers at this transmission
manufacturer regarding cost sharing. Even though transmission manufacturers do not have
much incentive to participate in cost sharing for on-board diagnostics, especially from the
perspective of roadside inspections, both stated that they would like to be involved. Even on
the topic of emissions, inspectors will not be able to tell anything by querying the transmission

180
Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

OBD. The other reason they would not have much to gain from participation is they are very
actively using SAE diagnostic protocols and feel like they currently do a good job with
standardization. This company also deals with the International Standards Organization (ISO)
standard and are evaluating the potential for its use.

Another point was that their transmissions already interface with all Class 8 engines and
do not need to be involved in cost sharing from that perspective. Also, their transmission
provides very sophisticated diagnostics, especially in comparison to all other transmissions that
generate diagnostic information. This transmission's current applications are not in over the
road trucks, but in stop and go applications.

A final suggestion was to go through SAE to do the implementation of this cost


sharing. There are already a number of participants doing similar things, and this initiative
could coordinate with them.

Transmission Manufacturer No. 2

The study team contacted two engineering managers at this transmission manufacturer
and both expressed an interest in participating in cost sharing. One of the comments that
explains their willingness to participate is that (according to them) this company has much
more of an engineering contingent than.other transmission manufacturers. Therefore, they
have the capability and the forces necessary to enter into cost sharing. They also own interests
in two diagnostic tool endeavors. The company is constantly involved in development of new
products and wants to stay abreast of developing technologies.

Transmission Manufacturer No. 3

The General Manager of Automotive Electronics stated that his company is very
interested in cost sharing. However, he was unavailable for further comments such as conditions
upon which they might need agreement.

Diagnostic Tool Manufacturer

This diagnostic service tool manufacturer is willing to participate in cost sharing. Their
product already has the largest market share of diagnostic tools for Class 8 trucks and in other
automotive applications and offers interchangeable cartridges. Their Vice President of Sales and
Marketing stated that his company will don~te one of their hand-held diagnostic systems for use
on this project. However, specifics of what might be available depend upon new products that are
on the verge of being introduced.

Motor Carriers

Owner-Operators

Owner operators own one or more vehicles and operate either as independent motor

181
Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

carriers or. under lease to a motor carrier. In thetypical scenario, the owner is also a driver of
one of the trucks. Once the number of trucks in an operation exceeds three to four, the
owner's time and energies are usually spent in managing the operation, as opposed to driving.

Owner-Operator No. 1

Fleet Information. This Maryland-based owner-operator is a husband and wife team,


although she is currently not driving due to a knee problem. She provided inost of the
information for this study due to her availability. This couple currently owns one truck with a
Detroit Diesel engine; they owned a Cat non-electronic engine before this one. They haul
museum pieces, art work, and furniture, so their gross weight usually does not exceed 29,452 kg
(65,000 lb).

They did own five trucks, but they had too much trouble keeping drivers, so no~ they
only have the one truck. The tractor is a 1991 model and it has ABS. They expect to trade it in
1995. When she drove one of the trucks, she had a Peterbilt with 445 hp Detroit Diesel engine
that had 1,126,300 km (700,000 mi) on it and the engine had never been rebuilt. Their trailer is a
box van with a reefer unit. She described it as being like a moving van that is refrigerated so as to
provide climate control for their cargo.

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tooflnformation. They think the diagnostics


provided on their Detroit Diesel engine are great, although for other than fairly routine
maintenance, they take their truck to aservice facility in nearby Baltimore. One exception is that
her husband does the brake work himself, because he will not allow anyone else to do it. For oil
changes, they use Truck Stops of America because of the "hassle in disposing of used crankcase
oil."

Comments on Roadside Inspections. Each inspection delays her truck from 1.0 to 1.5
hours. The company they are leased to requires its own full inspection every three months --
besides the roadside inspections. In Oklahoma, she says they give a receipt or a sticker which
tells other officers that the truck has been inspected and the date of the inspection.

She thinks weigh-in-motion (WIM) and other high-tech systems are great, and, if used
properly; they can reduce delays to trucks. One improvement she encouraged was for all States
to have the same rules and be consistent on everything they do. She emphasized that especially
California has their own rules and enforce them according to their own desires. On one trip, she
was stopped in Truckee, California and passed the inspection there, but a subsequent California
inspection on this same trip found a cracked wheel. She claimed that rough California roads
caused this wheel to crack and cause her truck to be put out of service. As an example of
inconsistency between another State and the "cracked wheel" situation in. California, Nebraska
inspectors found a cracked wheel on her truck and did not fine her. She is in favor of newer,
more efficient methods of doing inspections, but not if these methods are misused as revenue
. generators.

182
Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

She claimed that her truck should have been stopped for inspection much less frequently
than many others because of how well it was maintained. When tire tread is at 50 percent, they
replace the tires. When the steering reaches 70 percent of tolerable slack, they get it corrected.
She said her husband hauled torpedo fuel for seven years; so he is extremely cautious. She does
not agree with roadside drug testing. She is required to go through drug screening twice a year,
and likened it to "big brother" telling her what to do.

Comments on Cost-Sharing. The husband of this team is interested in cost sharing, but
he is not willing to contribute money, and he will make the final decisions based on specifics of
the situation.

Owner-Operator No. 2

Fleet Information. This owner operator currently operates three tractors and eight
trailers. His newest tractor is a 1989 model, but none of them have electronic engines. He stated
that he is not necessarily opposed to electronic engines now that they have been out a few years,
but the "fully electronic" engines became prominent in 1990, after he had purchased his last truck.
His is a dry box operation, primarily in a 10 State area and more specifically in New York State;
even though he has credentials to operate in all 48 States.

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. This owner operator did not
have electronic engines, so he did not have information related to diagnostics.

Comments on Roadside Inspections. He is "dead-set" against the use of electronics for


roadside inspections for a couple of reasons. The main reason voiced was that an electronic
system on the truck could have a fault stored in memory and the inspector would not have to
verify that it was valid. All he would have to do is read it and issue a citation to the owner. A
complaint that this owner reiterated was that States in the "red" (insufficient revenue to cover
costs of State government) have a tendency to charge (fine) trucks for higher ticket items as
opposed to less expensive items. Sixty percent of the States are in the red, according to him;
examples are California and New York. States in the "black", on the other hand, are more
rational in the way they issue citations. Examples he gave were Ohio, Florida, and Alabama. He
stated that California has raised its fines 300 to 500 percent in the last two years. An example is
log book violations at a current cost of$500. This could include even a minor error. He says
they look for something they can process in high numbers and that are also high cost to the
trucker. If they check only log books and other paperwork, they can process three to four times
as many trucks per day as they can if they give a full inspection.

He went on to say that this research, if it recommends electronic inspections, may cut
inspection time in half so that truckers will be fined that much more. He believes this would cost
far more than he could afford in fines. At the time of an inspection, the trucker would have to
prove his/her innocence and the inspector just has to find a fault stored in memory. This owner
would not have as much difficulty with this if the inspection occurred at a garage where faults
could be investigated fully and false fault codes could also be determined. If his truck is put out
of service along the roadway somewhere, it will cost him $500 to get it towed to a service facility.

183 '
Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

He says the driver would have to keep a diagnostic. tool with him/her all the time and constantly
check the electronic system. .

A full inspection for this owner takes from 30 minutes to 1. 5 hours, depending on how
thorough the inspection is. The paperwork alone takes from 5 to 15 minutes. Brakes take from
15 to 30 minutes. One of the complaints he had was the inconsistencies in inspections from, State
to State and from inspector to inspector within States. If the weather is inclement, he says they
are more likely to only check paperwork, but in good weather, they are more likely to inspect the
entire vehicle. He continued by stating that none of the 48 States conform exactly to the Federal
guidelines. Each has taken these guidelines and made them conform to what they wanted them to
be. In his 23 years in trucking, he has not seen consistency in these inspections.

Comments on Cost-Sharing. This owner operator did not want to participate in cost
sharing.

Owner-Operator No. 3

Fleet Information. This Maryland-based owner-operator owns two tractors that have
425 hp Cat engines, but neither of them are electronic. He is leery of computers and not having
the ability to control the truck. He is a "do-it-yourself' person and does all of his own
maintenance. He is very well read and bases his opinions of electronics in heavy vehicles on what
h~ has read and what his experiences are with computers and electronics on his personal car.

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. He does not have electronic
engines, so he had no experience with diagnostics. However, his other comments provided
insight into his perspective on electronics.

In the field of electronics, he feels that everyone has different ideas on how to
accomplish the desired end result. However, he is concerned when computers are required to
diagnose other computers, because a computer is only as smart as the human who programs
it. He is concerned about being stranded somewhere because of an obscure electrical problem,
and the computer shuts down the truck as a result.

He knows several operators who have trucks with electronic engines and stated that
they have discussed both pros and cons. The pros are cruise control, resulting in better driver
acceptance of electronics, and the variable horsepower potentia).. The cons for electronic
engines are electrical shorts and loose wir~s that shut down the truck and leave the truck
stranded. Drivers also do not like the feel of the gas pedal and the lag time between pedal and
response. He also feels that the operator should have the capability to override the electronics
so that he can .limp the truck off the roadway. If this were available, .he might consider an
electronic engine.,

He does not have ABS and does not have strong feelings either for or against it.
However, he was curious regarding compatibility of the different types of ABS systems
between the tractor and trailer. He may pull as many as five different trailers at different

184
Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

times on a cross country haul. He admitted that he did not know if compatibility would be a
problem if his tractor had Bendix brakes and the trailer had W ABCO brakes.

Comments on Roadside Inspections. This owner believes that Commercial Vehicle


Safety Alliance (CVSA) inspections are essential to keep unsafe vehicles off the road, although he
also believes that enforcement is not as strict on local vehicles as over the road types. He thinks
inspections are comprehensive, as long as officers follow CVSA criteria. This owner loses very
little time due to roadside inspections because he operates at night. He does not favor the use of
radio frequency (RF) because he feels that there is already too much government involvement and
he "... does not think the broadcast would be honored."

Comments on Cost-Sharing. This owner would be interested in cost sharing


opportunities.

Owner-Operator No. 4

Fleet Information. This owner qperator has one tractor that has a Series 60 Detroit
Diesel. He chose the Detroit Diesel because they were the first to come out with electronics, and
he felt that they had the edge over Cummins, Cat, and Mack. He has approximately 167,3 36 km
(104,000 mi) on the engine. This owner operator pulls a tank trailer and hauls-chemicals for
water treatment and sewage treatment plants. He is -a short haul trucker and operates within a
3 86 km (240 rni) radius of the Baltimore, Maryland area. He is very impressed with the enhanced
, capability of the engine to run the compressor used to pump the liquid.

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. All the service on this tractor
is done by dealer maintenance; however, this owner is considering getting a hand held diagnostic
reader in the near future. He is extremely pleased with the electronic engine, partly because he
has had only minor problems when the truck and that was when he first received it. There was a
loose wire to the sensor in the radiator, and the truck shut itself down on two occasions,
indicating overheating, when the problem was merely the sensor wire. Once that was fixed
everything has been fine. His average fuel mileage for the year is .11.1 km ( 6. 9 mi) per gallon,
which is outstanding given that he also runs the compressor off the engine.

The main pros of the electronic engine are cruise control and the power take off for the
compressor. Also, when purchasing a preowned vehicle equipped with an electronic engine,
the buyer has a record of all the faults and services. He also feels that electronic engines are
the only way trucks will be able to meet fl:lture emission requirements.

Comments on Roadside Inspections. This owner advocates anything that will


enhance the inspection process. His single objection to inspections is that they are so erratic
that they defeat their purpose. In 1992 his truck was inspected 3 times. In 1993 his truck was
not inspected at all between January and September and then in September his truck was
inspected 3 times in two weeks. The one thing that could help the process is speeding up the
paperwork, which may take twice as long as the inspection.

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Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

Comments on Cost-Sharing. This owner wants to be contacted later to consider the


. specifics of cost sharing.activities.

Owner-Operator No. 5

Fleet Information. This owner-operator, located in San Antonio, Texas, currently has
two over the road trucks that operate coast to coast. Both of these trucks are equipped with Cat
3408 electronic engines, and he is very satisfied with their service.. He cautioned that he has not
had either of his tractors very long, so this study might benefit from someone with more
experience with electronics. The older engine has only 370,070 km (230,000 mi) on it.

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. This owner does not own a
service tool for performing djagnostics. Any maintenance that is required on these two trucks is
done by a service center, usually in San Antonio. The only problem he has had with the two
engines was a defective cable on one that was covered under warranty. Once the cable was
replaced, the problem was solved.
- -
Comments on Roadside Inspections. This owner advocates having inspections done at
his office in Texas. This would involve the owner being notified in advance that the vehicle
1 inspectors were coming and the owner would have the trucks at his facility. He stated that a big
problem with inspections is the loss of time experienced, which varied from orie. to three hours
depending on ho'Y many others were ahead of his truck. He commented that the long queue of
trucks at inspection facilities is also dangerous when it extends back to the mainlanes.

The owner stated that California issues an inspection sticker for both the truck and trailer
that covers a time period of six months following the time of the inspection. He sometimes gets
his truck inspected immediately when he arrives at a California port of entry if that truck's
schedule can accommodate it because it can save time in the long run. Many of his loads are on a
set delivery schedule, so time lost during inspections sometimes causes the truck not to arrive
during the prearranged delivery date. It is more difficult to get unloaded on the following day.

Comments on Cost-Sharing. The owner is interested in participating in cost sharing


activities but he did not specify limitations. He simply stated that he would consider details that
might be proposed at a later date. He seemed receptive to mounting a new device on a truck for
test purposes.

Owner-Operator No. 6

Fleet Information. This Missouri-based owner-operator is currently leased to a company


with 7 5 of its own trucks and 50 additional owner operators. He currently operates only one
tractor-semitrailer, neither unit of which is equipped with ABS. The tractor is a new 1995
Kenworth with a Cat 3406 electronic engine. He has operated as an independent for the past 12
years and has been in the trucking business for over 20 years. He admitted that he has an
exceptionally good route situation in that he travels from Kansas City to Portland, Oregon, then

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Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

returns to Kansas City, and he hauls loaded in both directions for his lessor, which is a meat
packing company.

Comments Regarding Maintenance and Diagnostics. This owner operator is very


happy with electronic engines in general; he began operating Detroit Diesel electronic engines in
1989. Electronics allow him to check his own fuel mileage, and when he hired drivers to drive his
other units. before he sold them, they would allow him to set the top speed and check the fuel
mileage of other drivers. He has his own Kent-Moore diagnostic reader that he purchased for use
on his previous truck that was equipped with a Detroit Diesel Series 60 electronic engine. He
plans to buy a cartridge for this system to be able to diagnose the Cat engine. He has been told
that he only needs to buy a cartridge costing $475 to be able to diagnose the Cat engine.

Comments Regarding Roadside Inspections. Owner operator No. 6 stated that if


inspectors are only looking for mechanical defects, that is acceptable to him. However, there is
other information they would have access to that he would not want them to see. This includes
hours of service and speed information stored in the computerized system.

This owner operator stated that he operates as legally as he possibly can but sometimes
there are situations that would cause him to lose money (loads) if he operated strictly "by the
book." For example, when a receiver demands that a load be delivered at a specified time and the
shipper delays loading the truck, he might be forced to operate for a time period longer than the
designated limit of 10 hours to get the load to the receiver in time.

He stated that the length of time required for roadside inspections depends on the type of
inspection being done. Sometimes, the inspector will simply walk around the truck and perhaps
look briefly underneath, taking 10 to 15 minutes. At other times, perhaps once per year, the
inspector might give the truck a complete inspection and that will require 45 minutes to one hour.

The owner operator provided explanations related to why he only gets the full inspection
once a year. He stated that traveling the same route repeatedly gets inspectors familiar with him
and his vehicle and he travels a part of the country that does not do as many inspections as other
parts of the country. Finally, he keeps his truck clean and he, as a driver, is also clean and neat.

Comments Regarding Cost Sharing. This owner operator is interested in cost sharing
opportunities.

Owner-Operator No. 7

Fleet Information. This New Jersey-based owner-operator has one tractor with a Detroit
Diesel Series 60 engine. He travels approximately 209,170 km (130,000 mi) per year. Neither
the tractor nor the trailer are equipped with ABS.

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. This owner-operator does not
own a diagnostic service tool. He believes that standardization of diagnostics is important
because he feels that it would save time when he is out on the road and needs a mechanic. The
mechanic could diagnose the problem quicker and would have the correct diagnostic tool. Goals

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Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

should include making the service tool affordable for the owner-operator and providing the
necessary training rather than being required to return to the dealer for all problem diagnosis and
maintenance. Another comment was that the diagnostic tool should be repairable and not "throw-
away."

Comments on Roadside Inspections. He believes that the inspectors and inspections


should be consistent throughout North America. Inspectors should be trained professionals who
know what they are doing. He also believes that inspectors should always have a sticker for the
truck to indicate when it was inspected and that it passed the inspection.

This owner-operator believes that the government does not generate the revenue it once
made, so inspectors attempt to make up for lost revenue by increasing fines. He also asserted that
donations by truck companies to enforcement agencies seem to result in these companies' trucks
being stopped less frequently. Finally, he stated that roadside to vehicle communications via radio
frequency (RF) seems to be a good idea.

Comments on Cost-Sharing. This owner-operator is interested in cost-sharing


opportunities, although he was not specific in what he would be willing to contribute.

Owner-Operator No. 8

Fleet Information. This Kansas-based .carrier operates eight power ~nits that travel an
average of217,215 km (135,000 mi) per year. All engines are Caterpillar 3406 electronic
engines. None of these units have ABS.

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. This owner believes that
standardization of diagnostics is very desirable because it would save time and money.

Comments on Roadside Inspections. She stated that her units lose two to three hours
per week per truck because of roadside inspections. She believes that the speed of inspections
will only improve if the quality of the inspectors improve. This owner was not in favor ofRF to
communicate inspection information "on the fly."

Comments on Cost-Sharing. She is interested in- cost-sharing, although she did not
identify any specific areas of involvement.

Larger For-Hire Motor Carriers

For-Hire Carrier No. 1

Fleet Information. The shop foreman for this San Antonio auto carrier stated that they
operate 12 tractors and 12 trailers. They recently purchased a new Freightliner with a Detroit
Diesel Series 60 engine. This is the only electronic engine in their fleet. They expect to purchase
two additional tractors with electronic engines by the end of the calendar year. For-hire carrier
number l's primary service area is the State of Texas. Pulli_ng an unusually heavy trailer reduces

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Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

their fuel mileage when compared to other fleets pulling lighter trailers. None of their tractors or
trailers are equipped with ABS.

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. Their cost for the Pro-Link
9000 system was $1,300, but they feel they were justified in buying this system to troubleshoot
their two additional units when they arrive.

Comments on Ro~dside Inspections. The shop foreman does not get much feedback
from drivers regarding roadside inspections. A vehicle jnspector in a Southeastern State recently
issued a warning for a faulty shock absorber, but he also issued the driver a sticker to inform other
inspectors that the problem had been identified and that they need not issue another- warning for
the same problem.

Comments on Cost-Sharing. The owner of this auto carrier came in at the end of the
interview and stated he .would be interested in participating in cost sharing. The only specific idea
discussed was operating a new diagnostic device for a limited test period.

For-Hire Carrier No. 2

Fleet Information. This San Antonio carrier currently operates 12 tractors and 14
trailers. None of the tractors currently have electronic engines, but this carrier has operated them
in the past. His coverage area is lower 48 states; however, they typically travel from Texas to -
California and from Texas to the east coast. In other words, they exclude the northeast and the
_Dakotas. They generally haul produce to the east coast and
-
general commodities to the west
.

coast.

The owner has 3406B Cat engines now, but he operated two Detroit Diesel Series 60
engines for a while. The reason he changed back to mechanical engines was that he simply did
not like electronic engines. He had to keep reminding drivers to let the computer do the work.
They did not get the fuel mileage they should have, perhaps because he had them set to run 119
kph (74 mph) top speed and because of drivers not driving them properly.

His two Detroit Diesels were in T600 Kenworths, so they should have been very fuel
efficient. P ACCAR claims these are their most aerodynamic tractors and should perform
efficiently. It should be noted that his drivers drive alone and their idle time is at 51 percent.

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. The two Detroit Diesel Series
60 engines were the only ones the owner had experience on, but he did not have a service tool to
diagnose problems. All they used was a card that listed the fault codes and corresponding codes
displayed on the instrument cluster. His two biggest problems with these electronic engines was
driver accept~ce and sensor failures~ Faulty sensors cost money. Otherwise, he had few
signific~t problems with them. For major maintenance, he took the trucks to a local service
center.

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Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

Comments on Roadside Inspections. Consistency in inspections is very important. He


-had a trailer which had a tire blow out and damage a cross member. When he took the trailer to
be inspected, the Texas Department ofPublic Safety (DPS} would not pass it because they said it
had frame damage. He complained to DPS and they had four inspectors-to independently
evaluate the trailer. Two passed it and two did not, which was a significant concern to him. He
believes that electronic inspections could remove some of this subjectivity.

- On the subject of using radio frequency (RF) to download inspection information at


highway speeds, he commented that he needs more control over _speed now and would not have a
concern about this speed information being available to inspection personnel. He stated that ports
of entry (POE's) do this now by checking the time the truck entered the state and the amount of
time required to travel to another known point. If the speed exceeds a reasonable amount, the
driver can be cited for speeding.

He thinks problems that might be anticipated with electronic sensors for-inspection


purposes would include failed sensors. However, removing the human (subjectivity) factor is
even more important to him, so the positives outweigh the negatives. He would ~dso like to be
able to add on-board weighing systems to his trucks and be able to monitor the temperature in his
refrigerated trailers as they haul their load. There is currently a beeper system they are
considering that would beep him if the temperature inside a trailer gets above 40 degr~es.
- .
When asked if his drivers encountered multiple inspections, he responded that one female
driver was stopped six times for inspections between Texas and Boston. These delays made her
late. for her delivery. He also stated that with 25 percent of their mileage in California, only 3-
inspections of a total 402 inspections with problems occurred in California. He stated that most
carriers say California is bad about finding something wrong with trucks. He is definitely in favor
of transparent borders.

How much cost is associated with roadside inspections? He stated that it was not enough
to quantify, although it would appear in a few cases (once or twice a year) that his drivers might
be delayed enough to miss a load and have to wait until the following day to get loaded. He
admitted that some drivers use inspections as a reason for delay when it was actually something
else.

Comments on Cost-Sharing. This owner stated that he would be interested in


participating but not in providing money. He did not commit to a particular activity, although he
stated that he is willing to install devices on trucks for testing purposes.

For-Hire Carrier No.3

Fleet Information. This Portland, Oregon motor carrier has some units with WABCO
ABS and a few with electronic engines, although their experience with electronic engines is -
limited. This tanker operation began in January of i991 and expanded gradually to 14 power
units today. Their tractors are primarily Freightliner, with a couple ofPACCAR units.

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Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

This carrier's trucks use tachographs and they are evaluating Cadec, Argo, and Rockwell
recorders for use in six new units currently on order. One special use of recorders for this -
company is keeping a log of deliveries of petroleum products. This General Manager ( GM) has
used automatic slack adjusters on his units successfully for several years -- even before he was
affiliated with this company.

Until the recent order of six new power units, this carrier was a Cummins powered fleet,
but this order will include Detroit Diesel Series 60 engines. His total fleet will then consist of 20
power units and 20 tanker trailers. Tanker trailers are more critical for ABS because of the
hazardous materials they carry and because they are unloaded part of the time. They leave the
plant loaded and return empty. Both tractors and trailers are equipped with ABS.

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. This GM was uncertain as to


the amount of tire wear that had been reduced by ABS systems, but was certain there were some
savings. This carrier contracts with the local Freightliner dealership for maintenance rather than
do it themselves. Their justification includes environmental concerns, workmen's compensation,
and size of the fleet (too small for their own maintenance).

Comments on Roadside Inspections. The GM was actively involved in convincing


TMC members of the need for a standard service tool to diagnose engine problems. He told
Detroit Diesel representatives that if they did not make .their engine compatible With his current
reader, he would not buy their engines. He made the point that all three engines plus ABS should
work with one reader.

He stated that they have not experienced problems with drivers tampering with engines.
However the nature of their business is not as conducive to tampering as other operations. Their
drivers are usually near their base, making three or four loads per day, traveling within 150 miles
of Portland. Much of their travel is intracity travel, so the incentive to tamper with the engine for
performance enhancement is less than that for an over the road driver. Also, their drivers are paid
by the hour and they are rewarded if they do everything right, including not exceeding the speed
limit. They purchase engines with 435 hp and their gross weight is 47,600 kg (105,000 lb). They
have used tachographs to monitor road speed and engine speed.

Roadside inspections currently take 30 to 40 minutes on each vehicle; the frequency of


these inspections varies considerably. Tankers hauling hazardous materials are often preselected
instead of being a random choice so their frequency might be greater than another trailer type. He
had no complaints about how much time his trucks were delayed for inspection. He cited a recent
example where a critical item in the tractor's steering had failed and the inspection detected the
problem. He would much rather that be found than have a crash. He repeated a complaint
already stated regarding measurement of slack adjustment. The current out of service criteria says
the maximum allowable stroke is 51 millimeters (2 in). Some inspectors mark the adjustment _
using chalk which can introduce significant error in the measurement. Reports often say 1 3/4
inch or 2 1/4 inch (not in eighths of an inch). He feels this is an indication of inaccurate
measurements.

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Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

Comments on Cost-Sharing. The General.Manager stated that because he has all


. maintenance done at the local Freightliner dealership, his participation might not be as valuable. as
someone else who does their own maintenance. However~ he is interested in participating if he
thinks he can realize a benefit from the participation. He will listen to a more detailed. proposal
but would reserve final colllltlitment until details are available.

For-Hire Carrier No. 4

Fleet Information. The company is a crude oil hauler based. in Oklahoma. Of the 15
total tractors in their fleet, all have Cummins engines and four of these are electronic engines.
They have two additional tractors ordered, and these will also be equipped with electronic
engines. They are basically very satisfied with the electronic engines and their performance.

MainteJ!ance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. They do have their own
diagnostic tool; however, they have had problems learning how to use it. When a truck cannot be
diagnosed or a new probl_em comes up, the company sends the truck, a mechanic, and the
diagnostic tool to the dealer, and the carrier mechanic watches dealer mechanics to learn the
- '

process.

Comments on Roadside Inspections. They are opposed to inspectors using hand held
diagnostics to assist them in conducting roadside inspections. -

Comments on Cost-Sharing. They do not wish to participate any further.

For-Hire Carrier No. 5

Fleet Information. Oklahoma-based carrier number 5 has over 30 trucks with


electronic engines. They have both Caterpillar 3176 engines and Detroit Diesel Series 60
engines. The company has used electronic engines since 1990, and management is generally
very satisfied with them.

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. They use diagnostic service
tools, but they have just recently received the ECAT from Caterpillar and are not very familiar
with it. The company has experienced a multitude of problems, but these are often the result of
drivers who either do not understand or do not like electronics. When these drivers are out on the
road and they experience a problem related to electronics, there may not be qualified service
facilities available nearby. Small service centers are often incapable of repairing electronic
components, so the driver has to spend more time searching for qualified personnel to do the
repair. This can cause additional delay, resulting in increased cost.

There also seems to be a problem with sensor quality. This.carrier named a particular
brand of sensor as having quality control problems, and they have also experienced problems with
the sensor socket corroding. The company spokesman cited an example of sensor failure that was
very costly. A problem resulte~ in loss of crankcase lubricant and the engine sensor failed to note

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Appendix C: Results ofCost Sharing Interviews

the loss of oil and failed to shut down the engine. The driver tried to limp the truck in and ruined
the engine.

This company spokesman believes the next most important thing that needs improvement,
after quality control, is training. Manufacturers do not provide enough training, so continuing
education is needed. Another need for standardization is in the placement of the Electronic
Control Module.
Comments on Roadside Inspections. This carrier is supportive of the idea of using
diagnostics for roadside inspections

Comments on Cost-Sharing. This carrier would be willing to participate in data


collection and future testing.

For-Hire Carrier No.6

Fleet Information. This Oklahoma-based for:.. hire carrier is a construction materials


hauler and heavy equipment hauler. It has 33 tractors, with the majority equipped with electronic
engines. Their trucks have Caterpillar E-model engines and they operate in 37 States.

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. They do their own


maintenance using the ECAT hand held diagnostic tool, and they are a member of the Caterpillar
maintenance program. They are very satisfied with their electronic engines, and they believe that
these electronic systems have features that can enhance the safety of the vehicle.

Comments on Roadside Inspections. Their main safety concern is driver fatigue, and
they believe that this is the number one cause of accidents. It is impossible for the company to
know when a driver is tired or overly stressed. However, they expressed very strong sentiments
toward reevaluating hours of service criteria and continued research in driver alertness. They
were not aware of anyone who was currently addressing this issue.

This company is interested in VORAD (Yehicular .Qn-Board Radar) collision avoidance


systems. They were aware that some carriers are testing this equipment. However, they are also
concerned that the driver could be overloaded with equipment and not focus attention on the road
where it should be. They are also interested in satellite tracking; however, they are not
considering adding this equipment in the near future.

They feel that, with deregulation, motor carriers will need to be very cost conscious, and
conservative companies will survive the immediate future. They were very supportive and
interested in improving roadway inspections. They feel that the inspections are very essential
from a safety point of view, but they can be, and often are, very subjective. Anything that can
make the inspections more objective will be welcomed.

Comments on Cost-Sharing. The company is interested in participating in future


research.

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Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

For-Hire Carrier No.7

Fleet Information. This Oklahoma-based carrier has 40 Freightliner tractors that have
Caterpillar electronic engines, and they use the Caterpillar hand held diagnostic tool to diagnose
their engines. They began using electronic engines in 1988 to pull their refrigerated vans.

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. They are generally very
satisfied with electronic engines and their capabilities. However, they have had problems with
the quality of the sensors provided .in some cases. There has been a recurring problem of
voltage spikes causing sensor failures. There have also been times when the Electronic
Control Module (ECM) has failed and the maintenance people have not b~n able to determine
the reason.

the company would like to see more sharing of information and education on .the
"bows and whys". Electronics manufacturers should provide information on how and why
something happened, not just that the event occurred. Company spokespersons strongly
encouraged standardized fault codes and digital readouts rather than blink codes. .The time
required to count the number of blinks was viewed as a negative factor.

Comments on Roadside Inspections. The company spokespersons were supportive of .


the idea of electronics being used in roadside _inspeetions. However, this will result in limited
payoff u~less more trucks were equipped with e~ectronics.

Comments on Cost-Sharing. The company would be interested in participating in any


future testing or data collection efforts.

For-Hire Carrier No. 8

Fleet Information. This Oklahoma-based tanker operator has 40 tractors; all are
equipped with L 10 Cummins and 3176 Caterpillar electronic engines. They started using
electronic engines in 1989.

Maintenance and. Diagnostic Service Tool Information. They do not have any
diagnostic tools because they think the tools are too expensive. When asked what they
considered too expensive, they stated they could afford a diagnostic tool that cost in the hundreds
but not in the thousands. They did not explain why they thought diagnostic tools cost much more
than they really cost.

They like the electronic engines, and they feel that Caterpillar is the better engine of the
two. For example, one sensor on the Cummins engine is underneath and very close to the
turbocharger, which gets very hot. The sensor is plastic and keeps melting; besides, quality
control on sensors appears to be poor. Simple terminals used as connectors cannot withstand the
vibration.

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Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

They believe standardization of diagnostics would be a positive move. They would also
like to see standardization of basic parts such as oil, water and fuel filters.

Comments on Roadside Inspections. They would support having inspectors use hand
held diagnostic tools if that would improve inspection quality and consistency. They also believe
that inspectors need to be certified and receive the same instructions across all States and regions
of the country before becoming certified.

Comments on Cost-Sharing. The company has indicated it ~ould be willing to


participate in. future studies.

For-Hire Carrier No.9

Fleet Information. This Oklahoma-based carrier is a family owned and operated


company that specializes in hauling fresh fruit and veget"ables. They have 43 trucks that are all
equipped with electronic engines and satellite tracking. Fourteen of the engines are Caterpillar
and the balance are Cummins. They have had electronic engines since 1992.

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. The company has hand held
diagnostic tools for both engines. The only problems they have experienced with Cat engines
are with timing sensors, and on the Cummins engines they have had some unexplained ECM
problems. One significant need that this spokesman emphasized was training for persons
working with the electronic systems. The electronics change often, requiring updates at
_regular intervals. The company spokesman thinks that standardization is desirable, especially
of fault codes. He also expressed that digital readouts are better than blink codes. They are
currently installing "tire sentries" on truck tires, w~ch are new tire pressure monitorir~.g devices
marketed by Fleet Specialties.

Comments on Roadside Inspections. He was supportive of using diagnostics on


roadside inspections

Comments on Cost-Sharing. This carrier would be willing to participate in future


studies. The company is very technically oriented and progressive, especially for a small
company.

For-Hire Carrier No. 10

Fleet Information. This Oklahoma-based carrier has 43 Class 8 trucks, all with Cat
electronic engines. They purchased 18 of these in 1989, 15 in 1991, and 10 in February 1994.
This is a truck load carrier who hauls construction materials such as sand and gravel. They are
extremely happy with the engines especially with the improvement in fuel consumption. They
have experienced a 1.6 to 3.2 kpg (1 to 2mpg) improvement in fuel consumption over the
mechanical engines.

195 !
Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. The carrier uses ECAT
diagnostic equipment. They experienced early problems with speed sensors, but this was
attributed to an OEM problem in the sensor and transmission. The tractors are equipped with
Fuller transmissions. After initial problems with sensors were corrected, the engines performed
satisfactorily for the first 804,500 to 965,400 km (500,000 to 600,000 mi). However, after that
threshold, the early engines developed problems with oil-consumption. Later versions of these
engines have experienced loss of power with this mileage.

Diagnosing problems in these engines is not particularly difficult as long as the fault is
straightforward and fits a fault code. However, if the problem happens to be outside the defined
symptoms, the computer does not recognize the problem. He stated that mechanics have had to
develop new techniques to deal with electronics. The carrier is enrolled in the Caterpillar
maintenance program. The maintenance superintendent predicted that small company
maintenance operations will become obsolete in the future.

One thing the maintenance superintendent would 'like to see is more explanation from the
diagnostic tool company explaining how and why fault indicators occur. The sensors are too
often just follo:Mng fault tree logic without explanation.

The company likes information that is available from the engine ECM. For example, the
Cat 3176B trip data recorder records fleet data and driver data. However there is one flaw that _
needs to be addressed. If the battery is disconnected without auxiliary power, the entire history of
the truck i~ lost. The engine company needs to design and build a permanent memory that cannot
be erased.

The maintenance superintendent expressed the need for a proximity sensor, or a collision
avoidance system, to be installed on their trucks. He believes this could eliminate the hazards
associated with blind spots. They also need additional sensors for brake monitoring, and these
could serve a dual role if they could be used for roadside inspections and investigation of
accidents involving brake failure. '

Comments on Roadside Inspections. They have no problems using diagnostic tools for
roadside inspections, especially if they could make the inspections less subjective.

Comments on Cost-Sharing. They would not commit on cost sharing in general terms;
however, they stated they would like to be put on the list and when a specific opportunity came
up they would consider cooperating.

For-Hire Carrier No. 11

Fleet Information. This Texas-based carrier specializes in oversize/overweight loads.


The company has 46 tractors; 41 of these are company owned and five are leased. Of the
company owned tractors, five are equipped with eleetronic engines. Three are Detroit Diesel
Series 60 and two are Caterpillar 3406B rated at 425 hp. All future trucks purchased by this
carrier will have electronic engines.

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Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

Maintenance and piagnostic Service Tool Information. The company does most of .
its own maintenance work with the exception of electronic engines. When these engines need
maintenance, the carrier takes them to a maintenance facility that has diagnostic equipment.
The company does not have its own diagnostic equipment because of the cost and the time
required to train their people. They somehow have the notion that diagnostic equipment costs
approximately $25,000 to $30,000 and that required training takes six months. They stated
that if a hand held diagnostic tool were available for approximately $1,000 or less, they would
purchase it. (Actual costs for some units are in this range.)

They proposed the following three changes in on-board diagnostics: reduce the cost so
as to be affordable for small operators, sensors for brake adjustment, and sensors for
emissions. They believe that brakes are the number one mechanical maintenance problem and
that driver fatigue is the number one safety problem. In their many miles of operation, they
have had only two fatal accidents and both of them were due to driver fatigue. In both cases,
the drivers falsified their logs to indicate that they had sufficient rest periods. To quote the
manager, "You can tell drivers what the policies are and what to do but you can't be in every
truck to make sure that they are complying." With regard to the need .for emission sensors,
they are worried about future enforcement of the air quality laws and how they are -going to be
applied. They ~elieve that the current emissions testing and associated technology is too
subjective.

Comments on Roadside Inspections. They .were also receptive to the idea of using a
hand held generic diagnostic device by inspectors. They are in favor of anything that will
reduce the time of inspections and keep violators off the road. They are also concerned about
the time required to conduct inspections because a trip from Houston to Laredo, Texas may
involve as many as four inspections. This has increased markedly since local law enforcement
agencies have been given authority to conduct inspections and inspections being viewed as a
source of revenue. They also encouraged inspections becoming more consistent.

Comments on Cost-Sharing. This carrier was not interested in cost sharing.

For-Hire Carrier No. 11

Fleet Information. This Houston-based motor carrier is a subsidiary of a larger


corporation which has oil production and refining divisions. The transportation company
transports crude oil, chemicals, and special fuels using a fleet of 72 tractors and 73 trailers. Forty
of the tractors have electronic engines, and they are leased from Ryder Leasing. The tractors
have Detroit Diesel Series 60 engines. Twenty-six of the tractors with electronic engines are in
crude oil service, which requires 24 hour a day, 7 day a week operations in some harsh
environments. The electronic engines have performed very well and the company is pleased with
their performance.

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. The company does not do its
own maintenance; however it supervises the maintenance performed by Ryder. They are
satisfied with diagnostic capabilities that are available, but they believe that standardization

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Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

will make it even better. A suggestion promot~ by the company representative is an


.improvement to tire maintenance, since tires are the second most expensive item on the truck
after the engine.

Comments on Roadside Inspections. They are in favor of using diagnostics in


roadside inspections

Comments on Cost-Sharing. This carrier would be willing to participate in future


studies and data collection.

For-Hire Carrier No. 13

Fleet Information. Houston-based carrier no. 13 has 75 tractors, the majority of


which have Cummins engines. They have also used Caterpillar engines in the past. The
company does JlOt have any electronic engines at this time. The company recently placed an
order for 25 replacement vehicles with Detroit Diesel Series 60 electronic engines, but these
new vehicles had not arrived at the time of this interview. All future purchases at this time are
projected to be Detroit Diesel Series 60 engines.

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. The co~pany is attempting


to standardize their fleet so that maintenance will be simpler and more efficient. This carrier
is also purchasing the hand-held diagnostic device (DDEC) that was recommended by a local
distributor and service center. They believe that future engines will all be electronic, and that
in order to stay competitive they need to start using electronic engines. This company is
especially .interested in electronic systems that can record the history of a fault.

Comments on Roadside Inspections. This company spokesman was not opposed to


using a diagnostic tool for roadway inspections providing that inspection time is not increased.
He stated that in~pections are necessary to ensure safety, but inspection delays are costly.

Louisiana inspection personnel issue a 90-day inspection sticker to a truck that passes an
inspection with no faults. At one time this carrier was making trips almost daily from Houston to
Baton Rouge, so their trucks were involved in this program. Once the sticker was issued, the
truck would not be stopped for routine mechanical inspections for a period of 90 days. They
advocate this program because it rewards companies who are complying with the inspection
standards.

Comments on Cost-Sharing. This spokesman stated that he could not commit the
company to cost sharing, but he believed that they would participate. He was especially receptive
to the idea ofdata collection and testing new pieces of hardware or software.

For-Hire Carrier No. 14

Fleet Information. Carrier No. 14, located in Washington State, operates 106 power
units thatpull exclusively refrigerated vans. Of the 45 electronic engines owned by this carrier, 26

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Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

are Cummins, 18 are Detroit Diesel, and one is Mack. This carrier operates in Nebraska and 14
other Western states. The Maintenance Supervisor believes that the Detroit Diesel electronic
engine diagnostics are advanced because they were the first to introduce them. However, he
predicted that the other engine manufacturers will improve to the point that they "will be exactly
alike except for the paint. i This carrier purchased its first two electronic engines in 1990; these
were Detroit Diesel. They operated these trucks with team drivers for 26 mqnths and 884,950
km (550,000 mi) before trading them for new trucks.

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. Cummins supplied this carrier
with a diagnostic tool but riot the additional cartridges necessary to be compatible with the other
electronic engines. Detroit Diesel, on the other hand, provided them a tool (NAPA) that is
interchangeable with other engines. The NAPA tool is very similar in appearance to the l\1PSI
tool. It has several adapters and cartridges for use on other engines. If the carrier buys an
electronic engine, there is no significant cost for training mechanics because engine manufacturers
usually agree to train mechanics .

Before this carrier started operating electronic engines, they stocked $1,200 worth of
injectors in inventory. With the new diagnostic capability, cylinder cut-out tests are being used to
replace a single.faulty injector when needed instead of replacing all six. Proper diagnosis relies on-
the proper use of the manuals provided for the systems. At the distributor, standard replacement
times are used to estimate the amount of time to charge for a particular task on the engine. This
Maintenance Supervisor thinks that diagnosis times are less with electronic engines than they were
with non-electronic engines. Drivers generally are the first to identify engine problems in this
operation.

Their drivers were more willing to use cruise control once_ they were better informed
about its advantages. When cruise control was first used, drivers complained that the engines
lacked power. Actually, the Detroit Diesels have 400 hp with the cruise on and 355 hp with the
cruise off. Cummins does not provide this incentive for cruise control. All of their drivers are
given the same instructions on how to operate the engines for optimum performance. This carrier
tries to always carry full box loads.

Comments on Roadside Inspections. Roadside inspections are not a significant problem


for this carrier. They rarely receive out-of-service citations.

Comments on Cost-Sharing. No comment on cost sharing

For-Hire Carrier No. 15

Fleet Information. This San Antonio-based carrier currently operates 118 tractors, all
with Detroit Diesel Series 60 electronic engjnes. Their service area covers 32 States, including
the West, Northwest, and Midwest. They are not using ABS on any units. This carrier is mostly
a truck load carrier, usually food commodities. They offer a full service to the customer's door.
They get 14 to 22 tractors through their maintenance facility every day, and management wants
75 perc~nt of them finished that day.

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Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. This maintenance vice


president believes that codes for similar faults should be the same across all engines and other
components. They should be able .to use one off-board diagnostic reader for all of the various
systems being used on large trucks. One problem they have experienced with their P ACCAR
tractors is in the potentiometer used for throttle control. The defect had to be corrected by
P ACCAR, but this was problematic in that their parts are not available in some locations.

Comments on Roadside Inspections. They lose 15 to 30 minutes during roadside


inspections. His trucks experience delays at inspection locations even. if they have no faults,
because they must still wait in line. He would like to get a ~eport from his driver even if no faults
are found, but he does not. Enforcement personnel do not always give a report if no problems are
found. The reason he wants reports is that he logs all deficiencies by vehicle, and he can detect if
excessive deficiencies occur in a particular system (e.g. lamp violations).

He made some useful suggestions that would help carriers track inspection outcomes and
keep quality components on their vehicles. One of the problems he has in keeping track of
violations is that some states (e.g. California) use different code numbers than the US DOT uses.
So he has to look them up to input them into his database. .

Comments on Cost-Sharing. This can?er is currently testing a steering devi~e that


attaches to :the drag link to place a correction on the steering system to correct for pavem_ent
cross-slope. It is like a rudder correction on aircraft. It places a slight force to the left and can be
adjusted to suit the application. Also, the carrier is testing 50 transpondersfor the Advantage 1-
75 project, but he is not highly impressed with the results of the weigh-in-motion (WIM) and
Automatic Vehicle Identification (AVI) systems currently being used. The maintenance vice
president stated that many of the Advantage I -7 5 WIM reports are not accurate. He said he
thought the service charge to him for use of these systems was $5 to $6 per truck at each check
station. Even with its problems, he stated that he thought it would get bet~er as technologies are
improved. Another aspect ofthe Advantage I-75 project allows him to send a message to a
driver, but he does not see this as a useful tool.

This carrier has also participated in tire tests; these require four years to track tires from
cradle to grave. They track per 0.8 millimeter (32nd-inch) of wear for mileage. So, they are not
opposed to testing new devices as long as it fits their schedule and as long as someone is liable for
failures.

For-Hire Carrier No. 16

Fleet Information. This San Antonio-based carrier is currently operating both Caterpillar
and Cummins electronic engines. Some of Cummins are.E-CHEK and PT PACER diagnostics
that are quite simple in comparison with newer engine sophistication. One of the features that
the maintenance supervisor likes to check is modification of engine parameters. They do not use
passwords but he does not make changes in torque and horsepower available to any of his
mechanics. Ninety percent of this carrier's trailers are tanker trailers, with the remainder being
end dump trailers. They operate a total of 150 tractors in all, with 80 maintained in their San

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Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

Antonio facility. Of these 150 engines, 110 of them are electronic. The carrier's coverage area is
48 states.

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. The carrier just received
shipment of a new Peterbilt with a Cat 3406E electronic engine. It will be limited to 1700 rpm so
drivers will not like it. All of his drivers try to take the engine to its maximum rpm before
shifting. Even though drivers will not like it, this engine will get an additional32,180 km (20,000
mi) in tire wear over older high-revving mechanical engines. Another advantage of this engine is
integrity of the frame due to less stress. They set the speed at 101 kmlh (63 mph) on all their
trucks with electronic engines. He believes that the days of 130 kmlh (80 mph) trucks and
"cowboy jack rabbit" starts are over. Fuel mileage for electronic engines is 1.6 kpg(1 mpg)
better than for non-ele~tronic engines.

Failures they have experienced are often simple, but detecting intermittent sensor failures
and loose connections are still time consuming. Dash lights generate a "55" signal to indicate that
systems are functional, when in fact there is a problem. The mechanic must be very alert and
aware of what he/she is looking for.

Comments on Roadside Inspections. He does not get input from drivers on roadside
inspections.

Comments on Cost-Sharing. This carrier would probably be willing to participate in


testing of diagnostic devices. They have participated in a number of tests to date. They are
_currently testing some tires and two Eaton transmissions. They have been testing two "Super 10"
transmissions since early 1989. They have tested Bridgestone tires several times and Pennzoil for
a period also. The usual agreement is that someone else supplies the test product (free of charge
to the company) and the carrier maintains records and provides reports of results. He simply
keeps separate records on these vehicles.

For-Hire Carrier No. 17

Fleet Information. This North Carolina based carrier currently operates 80 Detroit
Diesel Series 60 electronic engines; their total number of power units is 172. Carrier has
purchased all electronic engines since 1989. Their trucks are equipped with 350 hp engines so
they have enough power to run on cruise control. They use Rockwell transmissions, brakes,
clutches, and axles.

Maintenance and Diagnostic Se..Vice Tool Information. There was little training cost
associated with the DDEC system used by this carrier because mechanics were able to take the
manuals supplied with the diagnostic systems and train themselves. The Maintenance Supervisor
prefers the DDEC system over. another competing engine because of excellent manufacturer
support. Their specifications for new trucks includes attention to the top gear ratio to allow them
to operate at the speed liinit without losing fuel mileage.

This carrier's drivers like some elements of electronic engines; however, they do not like
the fact that they cannot personally tamper with the engine to improve their performance. Drivers

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Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

resort to influencing mechanics to increase their engine's performance unless management does
not safeguard engine security codes. The Maintenance Supervisor maintains tight control over
these codes to discourage mechanics from changing the engines' performance characteristics. He
can use this technique to trace engine tampering problems back to the responsible mechanic and
take remedial action.

Tire wear is increased by approximately 30 to 40 percent over non-electronic engines.


The increase is assumed to result from the use of cruise control, which reduces gear shifting .. This
carrier typically hauls furniture from North Carolina in the outbound direction and returns with
general freight. Eachload of furniture only weighs approximately 6797 kg (15,000 lb), whereas
each load of general freight weighs approximately 19,936 kg (44,000 lb). The Maintenance
Supervisor thinks this imbalance maybe detrimental to tire wear. This carrier is interested in
purchasing ABS, although it does not currently operate ABS on any of its trucks.

Comments on Roadside Inspections. One problem this carrier had with roadside
inspections was due to their trucks being equipped with chrome wheel covers. Inspections
required removing the covers (at a cost of$200) to check for cracks. They are solving the
problem by replacing the chrome with aluminum wheels. The Maintenance Supervisor believes
that using a diagnostic tool at inspections will expedite the inspection process.

Comments on .Cost-Sharing. No comment on cost sharing ..

For-Hire Carrier No. 18

Fleet Information. This Oklahoma-based carrier is an auto transport, oil field, and box
van company. It has 250 total tractors with 200 having electronic engines. The company has
Detroit Diesel, Caterpillar, and Cummins engines.

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. The company is generally


pleased with the electronic engines, and the engines are improving. The first generation of
electronic engines was poor, so there has been a definite learning cutve for the manufacturers.
Additional training is needed for their company personnel.

There is also an industry problem with diagnostics and diagnosing a problem. Often the
driver gets stranded in a remote area and does not know how to respond to a fault code. This
spokesman likes the new Volvo method, which shows the fault in plain English. Codes in English
are definitely better than blinks, and standardizing the fault codes across manufacturers is
desirable. Standardization of the diagnostiC equipment is also desirable; the company is currently
using different tools for each engine type.

He stated that the amount of iriformation generated by the electronics should be enhanced.
It should tell more than just the fault that was detected. They like the way Caterpillar provides
information on what was happening just prior to and after a fault occurred.

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Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

Comments on Roadside Inspections. A generic reader would be helpful, but the


company does not like the idea of a roadside inspector using a reader. They are worried about ~
conflict with log books leading to additional violations. They like the idea of a sticker
program as currently used in several States. This is often like running a business with 50
different countries.

Comments on Cost-Sharing. The carrier would be willing to participate in future cost


sharing activities, although no resctions were stipulated.

For-Hire Carrier No. 19

Fleet Information. This Arkansas-based carrier operates 304 power units and the
same number of flat-bed trailers. They haul steel, so they are classified as a truck load carriero
They will be up to 345 tractor-semitrailer units by the end of calendar year 1994. They have
one other maintenance facility in Gary, Indiana. The distance each truck travels in a year's
time is 160,900 to 193,080 km (100,000 to 120,000 mi).

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. This carrier only has one
engine type and no ABS at this time. They operate exclusively Detroit Diesel engines and
their diagnostic tool is the MPSI Prolink 9000. They are also equipped with QualComm,
which has its own diagnostics, but the director of maintenance stated that it did not provide as
much detailed information on mechanical problems as the Pro~ink does.

This carrier does not use ABS yet on their fleet even though they are not against the
concept. They have not experienced jackknife problems and they are not convinced that 100
percent of all the details have been worked out on ABS for large trucks.

One of the advantages of electronic engines cited by the director was fuel mileage.
They experienced a 1.6 to 2.4 kpg (1.0 to 1.5 mpg) increase in fuel mileage when they
converted from non-electronic to electronic engines. He believes it is very important to
integrate the various diagnostics residing on the vehicleo Examples he gave were engine,
transmission, and ABS. He state4 that Spicer is coming out with a transmission in which the
top two gears are electronic.

Comments on Roadside Inspections. The director expressed concern that fault codes
might show up when the truck pulls in and the code might not be safety related. Currently,
the driver calls in to ask maintenance what to do when a malfunction indicator lamp (MIL)
tells the driver to "CHECK ENGINE". Many times, the driver is instructed to drive to a
repair facility rather than stop where he/ she is at the time.

The director did not seem to have a problem with allowing a radio frequency (RF)
transmission in order to reduce the number of times his trucks get stopped for inspection. He
was familiar with the Advantage I-75 project in which attempts were being made to reduce
duplication of stops and delays. All of their trucks have CVSA stickers but they still get
stopped, in some cases, more than once just passing through one State. Most of the problems

203
Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

experienced are with light bulbs out. He could not remember a serious mechanical problem
. sucp as brakes that had pu~ one of his vehicles out of service. He admitted that there might
have been problems with driver log books or other things beyond. his control but the
mechanical condition of their equipment is excellent. They rotate their trucks on a 48-month
basis, so they do not operate old equipment. In a recent report from the State of Missouri
which stated that their typical out-of-~rvice percentage was 24 percent, this carrier was at
only four percent violations (and so less than four percent out-of-service). The director stated
that his shop has very good mechanics, and his maintenance personnel do almost all of their
own work rather than sending it out to others who might not be as competent.

Comments on Cost-Sharing. This carrier participates in a variety of tests and they


would probably want to participate in this one. However, the director was careful to state that
they currently only operate one electronic device on their trucks (the engine) and they only use
one engine manufacturer. They would be very willing to consider participation in testing.

For-Hire Carrier No. 20

Fleet Information. Carrier No. 20 is an Arkansas-based carrier which currently


operates 375 tractors, each of which average 160,900 to 193,080 km (100,000 to 120,000 mi)
per year. All of these tractors are company owned, and all have electronic ~ngines. Sixty of .
these tractors have Cummins N-14 engines, while 315 have Detroit Diesel.Series 60 engines.
Their coverage area is nominally the entire 48 State area, but their common routes take their
trucks primarily in Texas and Oklahoma, and States to the east of these two States. This
carrier does not currently have any trucks or trailer.s with ABS, but they have 150 new trailers
on order with ABS. They are a truck load carrier with all dry vans.

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. This carrier uses a


Compulink system with their Cummins engin~s and a MPSI Prolink 9000 with their Detroit
Diesels. This carrier's service manager does not think diagnostics will ever be 100 percent
standardized because engine manufacturers will continue to have certain proprietary items that
they will not allow others to access. None of the four men interviewed at this carrier knew the
initial cost of the diagnostic equipment.

There is little training required for the diagnostics systems they use. In fact, that which
is necessary will probably be provided by the manufacturer at no cost to the carrier. The
service manager believes that the time required to diagnose a problem using electronic
diagnostics is slightly longer than non-electronic methods.

Comments on Roadside Inspections. This carrier's service personnel were against the
use of diagnostic devices for roadside inspections. The reason they gave was that a false call
could cause a truck to be placed out of service when there might be nothing wrong with it--
except a false code. Some codes such as "ENGINE OVERSPEED" bring up other faults, and
roadside inspectors might not be aware of this. Defective sensors are already causing
problems, and with systems that would be needed in roadside inspections, there would
probably .be proportionately more. Electronics are good for shutting the engine down when

204 '
Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

there is a serious malfunction, but they concluded that sensors are simply not reliable enough
yet for use in roadside inspections.

Comments on Cost-Sharing. This carrier's vice president for maintenance and


operations stated that they would probably not participate in cost-sharing activities. He went
on to say that other types of participation would depend on the specifics such as the number of
his trucks needed in the test (assuming mounting hardware on trucks is the type of
participation). He wanted to know how many trucks it might require-- whether it might
require one truck or 50 trucks. One of the problems this carrier would face in a test of
components on their trucks is that the trucks do not necessarily come back through this
particular facility in Ft. Smith on a regular basis. The vice president would evaluate
participation on whether they anticipated a return on whatever investment they would be
required to make. The carrier is not a controlled environment as some carriers might be.
Their trucks might be in California, then in Florida, then in Canada, for example.

For-Hire Carrier No.21

Fleet Information. This Washington-based carrier operates 320 of their own trucks and
200 owner-operator trucks. Of the total number of 520 trucks, 250 of them are powered by
electronic engines. The number of these engines, listed by manufacturer, are shown below.
Coverage area for this carrier is coast-to-coast.

Detroit Diesel 10
Caterpillar
3176 50
3406B 30
80
Cummins (N-14 & L-10) 160

TOTAL 250

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. The Maintenance Supervisor


stated that classroom training for his mechanics is only 30 to 45 minutes. He believes there is no
significant difference in diagnosis time between electronic and mechanical engines. Their service
tool is supplied at no additional cost and supply updates are provided by the OEM. There is a
slight tire wear advantage with the use of cruise control. There are no ABS in this fleet, but they
plan to specify ABS on their next order ofl)ew vehicles. Fuel mileage now is averaging 10.1 to
10.3 kpg (6.3 to 6.4 mpg) on their 10 newest trucks, with their next 50 oldest trucks averaging
9.98 km/h (6.2 mph). They usually operate in a truckload situation, pulling 16.15 m (53 ft)
trailers or Rocky Mountain Doubles (12.2 meter (40ft) front trailer and 7.2 m (25ft) rear trailer)
combinations at 47,575 kg (105,000 lb) gross vehicle weights. They also operate some triple
trailers, so their mileage is expected to be lower than some carri~rs.

Comments on Roadside Inspections. This carrier had some complaints concerning


roadside inspections, particularly in California. If an out-of-service situation occurs, the carrier's

205 '
Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

cost to get the truck towed to a repair facility is $500. Part of the problem was not being able to
disagree with their accusations. Each inspection requires only 12 minutes, accordin_g to the
Maintenance Supervisor~

Comments on C~st-Sharing. No comment on cost sharing.

For-Hire Carrier No. 22

Fleet Information. The total number of tractors being operated by this Arkansas-based
carrier is 880, 110 ofwhich are owner-operators. They are a truck load carrier with 1,200
refrigerated trailers, and their standard combination is Freightliner tractor and Trailmobile trailer.
The carrier will soon receive shipment on Cummins M11 electronic engines that are lighter .
engines than previous engines. In this purchase, this carrier has also reduced the tractor
(conventional) cab length by 200 mm (8 in) (3.05 m to 2.85 m (120 in to 112 in) bumper to back
of cab [BBC]) and this, along with the lighter engine will reduce the tare weight by 453 kg (1,000
lb): Their coverage area is nominally 48 States, but they do not haul much in several States,
including: Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The number of
electronic engines they currently operate by manufacturer is:

Series 60 Detroit Diesel 260


Mack .-77
Cat (trial) 7

They purchased two 3406 Cat engines in 1992 and five 3176 Cat engines in 1993 on a
trial basis. They just added 165 W ABCO ABS systems this year, which resulted in an increased
cost of $1,200 on each new vehicle.

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. Driver and mechanic


acceptance of electronic engines was poor at first. However, the company has just installed
QualComm in all their units and it was the worst in terms of driver acceptance. Drivers saw it as
a means to spy on them. It works by driver and dispatcher "messaging" each other. Dispatcher
(and others) send a message to the driver; then the driver responds by sending a message back.
He/sh~ does this by using a keyboard inside the vehicle. Some drivers still occasionally call in by
telephone if it is convenient such as at a truck stop.

Comments on Roadside Inspections. The vice president of maintenance stated that he


does not receive feedback from drivers on roadside inspections, and another person who was
knowledgeable on this subject was unavailable. This vice president does administrative work and
deals with budget matters such as "suggesting" specifications to their home office in Florida.

He stated that Missouri and Illinois are the most difficult to get through without being
cited for overweight violations. Their trucks can weigh elsewhere and are.legal, then go through
one of these two States and they are illegal. Apparently, their scales were not calibrated the same
as in other States. Also, some States allow a tolerance on weights while others do not. He stated
that there ~e 19 States that still have a kingpin law. In one instance, they could have moved their

206
Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

trailer tandem forward and passed the kingpin law but it would have made the trailer tandem
overweight.

Comments on Cost-Sharing. The vice president of maintenance stated that there is no


way they could take on any more work for their maintenance personnel because they already
work 50 to 60 hours of overtime per week. Therefore, they would not be able to participate in
cost sharing activities involving maintenance personnel. Their home office added 300 additional
vehiCles from a separate operation but did not add more mechanics.

For-Hire Carrier No. 23

Fleet Information. North Carolina-based Carrier No. 23 has a total of 968 tractors that
are subdivided into 776line haul units and 192 pick-up and delivery units. The line-haul units can
be further subdivided into 136 team (multiple driver) trucks and 640 single driver trucks. The
team units travel321,800 to 402,250 km (200,000 to 250,000 mi) per year. The line haul units
travel160,900 to 201,125 km (100,000 to 125,000 mi) per year. The city delivery units travel
16,090 to 48,270 km (10,000 to 30,000 mi) per year. This carrier also has 22 pick-up and
delivery single unit trucks. The pick-up and delivery engines have 210 hp and the team trucks
have 310 to 330 hp. Cummins is their primary supplier of electronic. engines, but they also have
Caterpillar and Detroit Diesel electronic engines. This carrier has 48 terminals located in North
Carolina,. Tennessee, Kentucky, Cincinnati, Chicago, Los Arlgeles, San Francisco, and San Diego.
They operate from coast to coast. Drivers seem. to "love " the ABS used by this carrier. The
carrier utilizes five Allison automatic transmissions in their pick-up and delivery operations. A
more practical alternative to the fully automatic transmission for over-the-road operations is to
make- only the top two or three gears automatic, so that the electronics would decide when to
shift at highway speeds.

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. The Cutn.m.i.ns hand-held


reader (ECHEK) can do at least some of the diagnosis on all three engines. T~ey do not have the
complete Detroit Diesel (DDEC) system due to the short time of possession of this engine. When
the Caterpillar engines first arrived, they were not as responsive as the other two. Their
mechanics "tweak" the engines by changing the torque curve and leaving the horsepower alone.
The ABS appear to give the brake linings a longer life. Electronic engines increase fuel economy
by utilizing cruise control, and the additional cost for training mechanics is minimal. However,
they do not have many experienced mechanics and mos~ of the engine problems are first identified
by the drivers. Detroit Diesel sensors work a little better than the others, but the sensors are the
weakest part of the system. This carrier will increase their inventory of electronic engines because
their policy is to trade their units in after four years.

Comments on Roadside Inspections. Preventative maintenance keeps this carrier from


excessive inspection delays. Inspectors realize that this carrier has a reputable maintenance _
program and that they will typically not find problems with their vehicles.

Comments on Cost-Sharing. No comment on cost sharing.

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Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

For-Hire Carrier No. 24

Fleet Information. Carrier No. 24 is a North Carolina based carrier with 1,022line-haul
power units that cover 241,350 km (150,000 mi) per year. This carrier is a less-than-truckload
(LTL) carrier, and 95 percent of its trailers are 8.5 m (28ft) dry vans. They haul general freight
in these dry vans, and they also operate 49 refrigerated vans. This earner operates four
maintenance shops, with coverage ar~a for trucks serviced at this facility being primarily east of
the Mississippi River. This carrier has only four Cummins electronic engines at the current time.
The Vice President of Maintenance did not buy electronic engines based on a thorough cost
comparison; he purchased them because he had no other choice.

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. This carrier's existing non-
electronic turbocharged Cummins engines operate1,287,200 to 1,609,000 km (800,000 to
1,000,000 mi) before requiring major overhaul. The carrier does not use satellite devices to
communicate with or track their vehicles. Their preventative maintenance is computerized and set
at 24,135 km (15,000 mi) intervals. If the driver does not identify a problem, the only
maintenance performed is a fluid check. The driver cannot drive the truck.away unless the
mechanic has signed off, indicating that the vehicle is cleared. Driver feedback on electronic
erigines indicates that drivers do not like the cruise feature and they have complained about some
of its other features. There was no significant cost to the carrier for mechanic training on the new
electronic engines.

Comments on Roadside Inspections. Delays caused by roadside inspections are


minimal. This carrier has not experienced an emissions inspection, but it owns a dynamometer
. .

that might be modified to conduct its own emissions tests if required.

Comments on Cost-Sharing. No comment on cost sharing.

For-Hire Carrier No. 25

Fleet Information. This Little Rock, Arkansas operation is actually three individual
operations combined; these three can be separated into long-haul, intermediate-haul, and short-
haul. The short haul operations are similar to pick-up and delivery (P&D) service, according to
the company's president. The number of tractors in each of the three sub-elements of the
company are as follows:

Long-haul 690
Intermediate-haul 240
Short-haul . 154

This carrier purchased their first electronic engines in 1991. Currently, 75 percelli of their
engines are electronic engines and they have a few ABS systems. They typically move tractors
with higher mileage into the progressively shorter distance operations (i.e. long-haul to
intermediate to short haul). The president stated early in the meeting that there is no way to

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Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

/ justify the costs associated with continued increase in electronics on trucks. This includes the
presumed proliferation of electronic devices for diagnostic purposes.

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. Diagnosis with electronic


engines is quic~er than for mechanical engines; however, this carrier is losing mechanics because
they do not like electronics. The company is beginning to realize that there is a shortfall in the
number of mechanics available. Drivers do not like these electronic engines as well either because
of information retrieval that reveals too much of the operator'sdriving behavior. The drivers call
these engines "tattle-tale" engines. The president admits that some of the parameters are useful to
him and oth~rs in management positions. As examples, the engines store information on speeds,
overrev, and idle time.

Comments on Roadside Inspections. This company president was very outspoken and
was generally unsupportive of high tech equipment. He expressed several times in the interview
that the random sampling method of roadside inspections continues to work fine and trying to
inspect more vehicles and reduce duplication of inspections would not be a worthwhile goal. He
did not think his vehicles experienced duplicate inspections to the point that it was a significant
problem. He also stated that inspecting more of the vehicle population was not necessary.

He thinks carriers police themselves in the area of emissions as well as safety in general.
He added that when the engine is not running efficiently, it will cost the carrier in'fuel mileage at
the same time that it is causing excessive pollution. Therefore, profitable carriers will have an
incentive not to pollute excessively and will not need Federal intervention. He believes roadside
inspectors should not be given a powerful electronic tool to do inspections bec;:ause they would
possess too little understanding of what the results actually mean. His company has recently
undergone two DOT audits that he says were very unfair. The DOT records showed them failing
half of the inspections they had undergone, or 42 of 84 total inspections. The president claims _
that -his company records show that during this time period there were over 600 inspections rather
than the 84 claimed by DqT.

This company president did not believe that all electronic devices on a truck would ever
communicate with one ce1;1tral device for data access. He thinks this will never happen because of
the myriad of possibilities for various components on the vehicle. Competing OEM's would be
required to diwlge some of their "secrets" in order to make a system like that functional, and this
information exchange is not likely to happen. He stated that he thinks some of this high-tech
development is intended to keep engineers and computer personnel working as opposed to
improving carrier productivity and profitability.

Comments on Cost-Sharing. He did not say an emphatic "no" nor an emphatic "yes."
He stated that it depends upon what it is and what the emphasis is. If it is done with regulatory
goals in mind, it would probably not be_very agreeable and they would not participate in_it.
However, if it promoted the economic well-being of the carrier, he would definitely consider -
participating in it.

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Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

For-Hire Carrier No. 26

Fleet Information. This Ft. Smith, Arkansas-based carrier has the following numbers of
Class 8 truck engines:

Cummins 100
Mack 375
Detroit Diesel 1,014

TOTAL 1,489

Carrier No. 26 also has a total of 12,975 trailers, most of which are 8.5 meter (28 foot) trailers,
and all are dry vans. They are a LTL carrier that operates in 48 states. They cover 427 million
km (265 million mi) per year in their over-the-road operations. They do not have satellite
tracking devices, nor do they currently have any. ABS.

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. A weakness of the current


diagnostic systems is that information provided across all engine manufacturers is not the same.
The vice president of maintenance and equipment prefers to have diagnostic information
generated in plain English instead of in blink code form. Also, older mechanics are still not -
comfortable. with.the electronics. He thinks there is lots of computer power not being harnessed
in the engine ECM. Even though he had some concerns with electronic diagnosis, he felt like
diagnosis is better with electronics than without it. He stated that the electronic diagnostic
systems give mechanics a better start at solving problems than no diagnostics.

He is very much in favor of standardization of diagnostics (and other items on the vehicle)
across manufacturers. He did not speculate on who should be responsible for a common interface
on the vehicle for all electronics, although he thought it should be done. He also was very candid
in saying that the engine manufacturers, for example, will not be willing to give up information
about their product in order for a COJ?lllOn interface to function.

This carrier has purchased one hand-held service tool with interchangeable cartridges for
each of their maintenance facilities. He did not know whether they had to buy a separate device
for each of the engine types.

This vice_ president is leaning away from PC based service tools. One reason was that a
specific tool for a specific task is easier to teach than a PC based tool. He is not keen on changing
engine parameters even though that is possible with appropriate clearance with the engine
manufacturer. He does not want just anyone to be able to change an engine's torque/horsepower
and he perceives this as a negative element associated with electronically controlled engines.

Comments on Roadside Inspections. The vice president noted that the current opacity
test results used for emissions testing in heavy trucks seem to differ on cloudy days as compared
to clear days. This gave him some concern, although on-board or off-board tests that are
objective might be acceptal?le.

210 !
Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

This vice president did not know how much time his trucks are delayed during roadside
inspections, because drivers do not report to him about such matters. He does se~ citations that
their trucks receive, but he does not otherwise get involved in this element. He did state that
inspectors are inconsistent in how they choose trucks to be inspected. In some cases, his trucks
get passed on through and in others, they do not. He stated that if he had six trucks out of a total
of 10 that passed through an inspection station, some would send his six on their way and in other
cases, some of their trucks would get inspected.

He thinks there is some potential for using RF at Ports of Entry to check identification of
vehicles. However, security is a big concern of his. If the device tells.the authorities that all bills
are paid for this vehicle, someone else will want it and will try to steal it. His trucks- already have
had problems with stolen license plates, permits, and fuel. Also, the location of the transponder is
an important issue. It cannot be mounted on the bumper, because of damage potential. This
carrier's management is also against anything being attached to the windshield. Ohio and other
states require decals, but if the windshield gets broken, they must replace it. There is also the
~sibility factor of a decal hiding a part of the driver's field of view (especially with multiple
decals). If one State requires a decal, all the others can also.

It is important to this carrier that transponder technology be standardized. The vice


president is generally against Federal intervention but this is one issue in which he thinks they
should intervene. He stated that there are 60 items of information they must provide on a truck to
satisfy State and Federal requirements to operate their trucks.

Comments on Cost-Sharing. The vice president stated that his company would be
willing to consider cost-sharing in some limited ways. They would not contribute in the form of
cash, but could provide vehicles on which equipment could be installed. However, he cautioned
that with their coverage area of all states, they could not predict at any given time where one of
their vehicles might be. If the cost-sharing required that a vehicle be tested on a regular basis at
one location, that would not be feasible because of the nature of their operation. They have 338
terminals throughout their service area and vehicles are not domiciled at any particular location.

For-Hire Carrier No. 27

Fle~t Information. The number of Class 8 trucks operated by Arkansas-based LTL


Carrier No. 27 is 1,490 in over the road service and 1,619 in pick-up and delivery (P&D) service.
The carrier assigns one driver per truck so they have the same number of drivers as trucks. They
own all of these trucks. This carrier has undergone a significant growth process over the past few
years. The number of electronic engines currently operated is 1,290; these are all in over the road
trucks. These electronic engines are mostly Cummins with a few test Caterpillars:

Cummins 1,279
Cat 11

All of the tractors equipped with Cummins engines have blinking lights on the dash for
diagnostic purposes, whereas the Cat-equipped tractors do not. The total number of trailers they
operate is 6,798. All but 500 of these are pups, and all are dry vans. They also own 1,500

211
Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

converter dollies. In the fall of1994, they were preparing to test the first "western double"
combination truck completely equipped with ABS (including converter dollies). The operatit1g
area for this carrier is a 1O-S tate region with its center at their home office. The boundary states
are Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee, and Alabama.

This carrier was provided two diagnostic "boxes" with the Cat engines at no additional
charge. However, they purchased Compulink machines for each oftheir 15 shops throughout
their operating area. Because they bought exclusively Navistar International tractors, they will
also try some of the new International engines (DT-466) for P&D operations. This engine was
announced last year and will represent yet another set of diagnostics for this fleet.

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Toollnformation. The time of diagnosis is less


with electronic engines than with mechanical engines. However, their experienced mechanics
short-cut the fault tree provided by the manufacturer. They move quickly to the component
instead of checking all connectors and other minor elements before checking the major component
in the system. When they check this component and it is defective, they go ahead and replace it
immediately. This process reduces the time as compared to the manufacturer's process.
Afterward, they go back through the fault tree if necessary.

Driver acceptance of electronic engines is very good. When a driver gets a blink code
from the dash, the driver calls this i~ to-the director--ofmaintenance and he tells them what to do
about it. In some cases, they- proceed and in others they do not. The diagnostics give the
mechanic a good initial direction to start in solving the problem. This carrier is more likely to take
the Cat engines in to the dealer when a problem occurs than the Cummins because their mechanics
are not as farriiliar with Cat.

The carrier has trucks equipped with ABS so these systems are already equipped with
speed sensors that can be used for other purposes. The carrier is buying only Bendix systems
because they are- not convinced that the other ones are viable. The Bendix systems provide DC
power to brakes via the brake wire upon application of the brakes. Other manufacturers add
another wire through the seven-wire trailer connector. These brakes store_ fault codes and display
these codes on an ECM that is situated (piggy-backed) on the brake valve. Once a displayed code
has been corrected, a mechanic can place a magnet near the ECM to reset it. Then, when the
vehicle is driven faster than 11.26 kph (7 mph}, the system is reactivated. If the code does not
recur, the fault has been corrected. There is a malfunction indicator light (MIL) on the dash, on
trailer comers, and on dollies pertaining to the ABS system, although the director of maintenance
does not think the driver needs these. His opinion is that the driver's job is to drive and not be
concerned about the ABS. He stated that if the ABs fails, the brakes apply in the non-ABS
mode. This carrier is also testing QualComm.

For any electronic engine, the electronic diagnostics go through radical changes quite
often. He says this is the most frustrating part of electronic engines even though the changes
represent improvements. This means that continuous training is required to keep mechanics up to
date. In October 1994, this carrier will receive their first PC-based software for diagnostics from
Cummins. He believes this will improve the accommodation of changes, because currently, they
- must go to Cummins with each new software release to get their hand-held tools updated with the

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Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

latest software. They then bring the C?ff-board service tools back to their shop and update
everything.

Their Compulinks cost a couple of thousand dollars each, and with the PC-based system,
the Compulinks will be replaced. Cummins still sells them but they will eventually be replaced.
These Compulinks only carry one SC code at a time (this code tells the engine how to run).
Therefore, this carrier must go to Cummins to change the fault tree and everything else as noted
above. By the end of the 1994 calendar year, this carrier will have to change to a PC based
system. He emphatically stated that on-board diagnostics (OBD) should be standardized and that
OBD saves money overall when compared to a non-OBD environment.

Comments on Roadside Inspections. As a general statement, he said that- his drivers


have very few problems with delays associated with roadside inspections. Two reasons were
given. One is that his drivers drive the same routes often and inspection personnel become
familiar with them so duplicate inspections are usually not a problem. For example, a driver from
Kansas City to Chicago will depart Kansas City at 6 pm to arrive in Chicago by 6 am. He will
sleep during the day and depart Chicago at 6 pm to arrive back in Kansas City by 6 am. The other
is that his equipment is well maintained and inspection personnel know this.

. The greatest time lost due to inspections has beet\ associated with a blown tire that the
driver did not-realize had blown. This maintenance supervisor downplayed time lost due to
inspections due to QualComm being able to track the vehicle and know its arriyal time. However,
he admitted that it can.be a serious problem because there are pick-up and delivery vehicles
. awaiting the arrival of the over-the-road units, to include dock workers who load/unload. Just-in-
time deliveries are becoming more commonplace for LTL, as is already the case for Truck-Load
(TL) carriers.

He stated that RF would not be a problem for transmitting diagnostic information to the
roadside. Neither he nor his drivers would be concerned if speed were one ofthe parameters
being communicated because his trucks are set to run no faster than 96.5 kph(60 mph) anyway.
All of their equipment has Haldex automatic slack adjusters. When he worked for a large leasing
company a few years ago, customers would adjust only the back axle of the drive tandem and
trailer tandem. His mechanics would have to readjust them upon return of the vehicle.

This carrier is currently using the "pike pass" system to monitor trucks entering and
leaving their yard in Arkansas (Amtech transponders). QualComm has told him that Cummins is
developing software to interface with the QualComm communication system on-board, and it will
be able to monitor and transmit diagnostic information in real time. The maintenance supervisor
admitted that he commonly gets complaints from drivers of low engine power. When they get
this new feature from QualComm and Cummins, he can monitor the engine in real time to
evaluate complaints. He can watch turbo boost, engine rpm, speed, and so forth.

Comments on Cost-Sharing. In general, they would be interested in pursuing cost-


sharing activities if they perceive the activity to be in the proper direction. They might share shop
.time and they might mount equipment to be tested if it appears to be a rational proposal.

213 J
Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

For-Hire Carrier No. 28

Fleet Information. This truck terminal, located in Oklahoma, represents one of several
locations that. partially or fully service Carrier No. 28 trucks, which total4,000 in all.
Approximately 80% are powered by Detroit Diesel Series 60; the rest are Cummins and
Caterpillar.

Mainte~ance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. This company has nine service
centers located throughout the U.S., and these service centers are the only facilities that have
electronic diagnostic equipment to service their fleet. Terminals such as the one where the
interview occurred have no diagnostic tools but carrier personnel still conduct their own
maintenance on tractors there. They would like to see fault codes. changed from blink codes to
digitized codes, and they would also like to see active codes identified or differentiated from non
active fault codes.

This shop foreman was not particularly enthused over electronics but he accepts it because
it is the future. He feels that standardization is the most important thing that could be done to
improve electronics.

Comments on Roadside Inspections. He does not favor the use of on-board diagnostic.
devices for roadsid~ inspections.

Comments on Cost-Sharing. This carrier definitely did not want to participate in


additional activities related to cost sharing.

For-Hire Carrier No. 29

Fleet Information. This Arkansas-based carrier_has 8,000 power units, and practically all
are equipped with electronic engines. The average age of fleet is 1. 5 years; the carrier trades
tractors when they reach 321,800 km (200,000 mi). Practically 100 percent of the engines are
Cummins; some are L10, some are N14, and some are M11. They remain faithful to one
manufacturer for business reasons because they find that the manufacturer is more responsive to
their needs than if they buy from several manufacturers. They do not do this to achieve
standardized diagnostics, and they did it long before "it was fashionable." This carrier pushes to
improve technology.

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. This carrier has effectively
standardized its diagnostics capabilities by buying all of the same engines. One of the innovations
used by this carrier is an on-board computer that has greater capacity and a different interface
than other carriers use. The system has the capability of loading and off-loading information from
tractor to tractor, tractor to trailer, and tractor via RF to a receiver. The Director of Corporate
Services would like to see compatibility, but his systems will continue to do more than other
systems for some time. He is doing some of the paperwork via this system, but not driver logs at
this time. He would like to do driver logs at a later date.

214 '
Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

Comments on Roadside Inspections. This carrier has not calculated a cost ~ssociated
with roadside inspections. The director did say that each truck used 1.14 to 2.27 liters (1/4 to 1/2
gallons) of fuel for each stop for roadside inspections. He admitted that his trucks are probably
not stopped as often or for as long as some others because of the age of the fleet.

This carrier has implemented and tested transponders for some time, and they want to
influence the direction of this and other developing technologies for the overall good of the
trucking industry. They want devices installed on their trucks to be multi-purpose. He definitely
wants communications protocols used in transponders to be non-proprietary such as Hughes and
Mark IV currently are doing.

Comments on Cost-Sharing. This carrier is open to anything (with stipulations already


noted of shaping future of trucking). The director would not exclude or emphasize any particular
aspect of cost sharing. He mentioned that his company is currently planning a test of 200 tractors
and over 400 trailers using some innovative devices.

For-Hire Carrier No. 30

Fleet Information. Carrier No. 30 currently operates 3,600 line haul tractors and 6,100
tractors and straight trucks for pick-ups and deliveries. They have 27,000 pups, 2,600 long vans,
and 4,800 city trailers. Out of this tot~l inventory of vehicles, 850 of the power units are
electronic engines. This carrier feels that they provide a service to their clients. Their trucks must
deliver by a certain time or else the customer does not have to pay for the shipping. They have
very few units with ABS. This carrier believes that they have no choice but to purchase
electro~c engines because of the new enlission requirements. They do not have any automatic
tr~nsmissions in their fleet due to their high cost.. However, transmissions that split the top two
or three gears are attractive for over-the-road operations.

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. The hand held tool used by
this carrier has operated well, and carrier management is currently working with Detroit Diesel
and Cummins to obtain software that is compatible with an ffiM PC operating in WINDOWS.
The PC unit will be similar to the hand held units, but the capabilities should be expanded. Trip
information might be downloaded from the on-chip RAM versus buying a trip recorder. They
believe the PC system will cost very little more than the hand held unit system and it will be more
powerful. Utilizing software should make the standardization of the electronic diagnosis easier.
They have a higher need for standardization because of the variety of models in their fleet.

Comments on Roadside Inspections. Time is a critical factor due to the loss of revenue
if the vehicle arrives late at a delivery point. Common inspection delays occur when an inspector
is finishing another truck that has violations and their truck must wait. The process will not be
improved within the next several years anyway, because the vehicle will still. have to be visually
inspected. More variables are included when emission tests are conducted. Problems cited by
carrier management with the Ringlemann test include idling time before testing, angle of the sun,
and altitude.

215 .
Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

Comments on Cost-Sharing. No comment on cost sharing.

For-Hire Carrier No. 31

Fleet Information .. Carrier no. 31 is a leasing company that currently operates 40,000
class 8 power units, 70,000 diesel-powered straight trucks and 25,000 gasoline powered straight
trucks. The gasoline trucks weigh a maximum of 12,234 kg (27,000 lb) Gross Vehicle Weight
Rating (GVWR). Most of the Class 8 diesels are Cat and Cummins, with 1,200 Detroit Diesels.
They also have 300 to 400 Macks. This leasing company operates coast to coast, and some of the
fleet is equipped with ABS.

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. This leasing company is


equipped with all of the hand held diagnostic tools in multiple maintenance locations. Many are
shared between two locations in the same city. A problem with this is that one center needs one
and it is either being used or is located at the other center. When J1708 and J1587 came along,
there was not the comprehensive degree of standardization which was needed. For example, the
engine module retained its codes and ABS would retain its codes, but they would not necessarily
be tied together to a single data litik. On AB S, the Maintenance Vice President stated that not all
critical items are capable ofbeing monitored through the fault codes. One point he stated
repeatedly was the desire for an on-board data logger (desirably available at little or no additional
cost to his company), which might be another function assigned to the engine control module.
This carrier does not need a separate sophisticated expensive device like a trip recorder. It needs
something which can log activities from a multitude of different drivers. Then, at ports of entry,
this information could be made available to inspectors to satisfy individual State needs. Suggested
deterrents to tampering included standardization of interface plug, data format, and l~nguage used
in transmission.

There is an economic incentive for Carrier No. 31 customers to have ABS because they
are assessed a charge for a flat spot on a trailer tire (from skidding). The VP did not believe that
the user needs J193 9 any time in the near future. It will increase the cost to the user while 1922 is
fast enough today. He contends that systems today do not need the speed offered by Jl939.
When brake by wire is used, then J1939 will be needed for trailer brakes, but not for the tractor.
He believes that more time is required for diagnosis of an electronic engine than for a mechanical
engine. He commented that " ... too much time is wasted chasing ghosts." He is not in favor of
ABS on straight trucks because they are not needed. They should not normally be needed on the
tractor of a combination, because the driver should be able to sense when jackknifing begins and
correct the skid.

A PC-based service tool will not necessarily make the process any better. However, the
cost might be less if one 486 PC can do use all the software. One current problem is that the
computer does not allow the mechanic to trace a problem the way he/she has learned through
experience. It requires the mechanic to follow rigid steps to solve problems, whereas the
mechanic would skip around in the fault tree to find the problem in less time. So there is a
problem in the software requiring too many steps and being too rigid, not allowing the mechanic
to solve the problem based on experience.

216 '
Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Intervi~ws

Most codes that get logged today are false. There used to be 15 to 20 codes logged every
time the engine started or stopped. One engine manufacturer simply erased the logged codes
when the engine was shut down. The diagnostic system must log a fault when it occurs as well as
other pertinent parameters to assist the mechanic in diagnosing the problem. This "snapshot"
provides much more information than a code.

Comments on Roadside Inspections. On the question of time spent at inspection


stations, the VP do~s not see this as a big cost factor. If the inspection takes 10 minutes instead
of30 minutes, he does not think this is a big factor. "This means the driver spends 20 minutes
drinking coffee somewhere~" He has no apprehensions concerning information being made
available at inspection stations via radio frequency transmission, but there are details that need to
be worked out. He mentioned infrared as a possible high speed data medium which would not be
subject to interference like FM would be. The HELP demonstration requires less complex
iormation than this leasing company wants in their system.

The real issue with transponders is fuel taxes and other state imposed requirements. Even
ifthe truck is equipped with an electronic log, the only way the inspector can access the
information is by printing it out. The problem is in the format. l;'his VP does not think the
inspector needs to know some of the information. One example is the location the truck has been ..

He expressed the concern that if AB S fault codes are being transmitted by wireless
transmission, this must be as reliable as a roadside inspection. Details include when the
communication occurs(upstream of inspection point), does it need a separate unit to wake up the
system, and what is available to the inspector which is not available to the driver. If ABS
generates a fault c.ode critical to a roadside inspection, it should also be available to the driver.
The driver should be able to inspect the vehicle pre- and post-trip and identify any faults which the
inspector could find.

The VP went on to state that current out-of-service criteria indicate that push rods can
have a maximum of two inches of travel. Some brakes can be functioning satisfactorily at 54
millimeters (2 1/8 inches), while others are not at 50.8 miliimeters (2 inches). Current inspection
techniques might be enhanced by electronic diagnosis, but we must establish what the acceptable
regions are. For example, we know the acceptable heat range in truck brakes which is 400 to 450
degrees Fahrenheit maximum. We do not know how much variation there should be between two
brakes on the same axle to determine if one is not performing well. The National Transportation
Safety Board says five percent of accidents involving trucks are due to bad brakes. Other
estimates go as high as 15 percent,. but he think brakes are too often the focus of studies. Brakes
can be set to stop a loaded truck in 55 to 61 m ( 180 to 200 ft) but then they are dangerous when
the truck is unloaded (without ABS).

When asked what he felt about safety and emissions inspectors using diagnostic tools to
inspect vehicles, he responded that he was not sure that all States will agree on how to monitor
the vehicle. This might border on invasion of privacy when we "listen in" on driver activities and
enter the truck cab to retrieve information.

217 .
Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

It was obvious that this leasing company spokesman did not agree with the method which
California and other States are using to test emissions. He stated that if emissions are excessive,
the condition will probably coincide with poor performance and the driver will have an incentive
to get it fixed. The driver does not need a roadside inspector to tell him something is wrong. As
for the need to test the integrity of the engine's sensors for emissions control, he added that the
engine has redundant sensors anyway.

Comments on Cost-Sharing. No comment on cost sharing.

Private Motor Carriers

Private Carrier No.1

Fleet Information. This California-based carrier operates three power units which use
Cummins electronic engines. These three trucks together travel a total of approximately 370,070
km (230,000 mi) per year. Two of the three trucks are also equipped with ABS. These trucks
are so new that the owner did not know comparative cost information.

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. This owner had no opinion on
whether standardization of on-board diagnostics should occur or not. Goals Qf OBD should be to
reduce emissions and increase fuel mileage. ~

Comments on Roadside Inspections. This owner is content with the current inspection
techniques. In his State of California, roadside inspections in general are very thorough, and the
Port of Entry. (POE) inspections are very comprehensive. He stated that he loses little or no time
because of roadside inspections and because they cause little delay he is in favor of leaving them
as they currently are. However, he does not like the idea of inspectors being able to interrogate
his system as he drives down the road.

Comments on Cost-Sharing. Yes, they would like to be considered for cost sharing
activities. However, their maintenance is performed elsewhere, and. these maintenance personnel
should also be contacted. They would probably be responsible for the diagnostic device to be
tested.

Private Carrier No. 2

Fleet Information. Trucks at this California-based carrier travel a total of2.41 million
km (1.5 million mi) per year. They operate a total of20 power units, eight of which have
electronic engines. All engines are Caterpillar and the spokesman did not know the exact model
number of the diagnostic service tool(s). The Cat engines they are using are Series 3406 and
3176, and the tools may vary for each engine.

. Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information .. OBD saves them money
overall. They are in favor of standardization in order to save money and. training required on
Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

multiple tools. When asked what the future goals of on-board diagnostics should be, he did not
have an opinion.

Comments on Roadside Inspections. Techniques currently used to inspect heavy trucks


are effective, but they could be streamlined to reduce redundancy of multiple inspections of the
same truck. This person believed that inspectors are very thorough as far as the systems that are
included in a standard inspection. He estimates that his fleet loses 5.25 hours per ~eek due to
roadside inspections. This could be reduced by not stopping the same truck repeatedly. He
thinks the concept ofRF transmission of inspection information should be investigated.

Comments on Cost-Sharing. He is interested in cost sharing related to on~board


diagnostics.

Private Carrier No. 3

Fleet Information. This Arkansas-based private carrier operates 20 tractors, each


traveling 209,170 km (130,000 mi) per year. All of the 20 engines are Detroit Diesel Series 60
engines. This carrier does not operate AB S on any of their trucks.

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. Electronic engines have


improved fuel mileage by 2.41 kpg (1.5 mpg) to.approximately 11.3 kpg (7 mpg). _
Standardization of OBD is desirable, from this mechanic's viewpoint. When asked what the future
goals of OBD development should be, he responded that he likes them just as they are, and he
. recommended no changes.

Comments on Roadside Inspections. Roadside inspections are needed. The time


required for their trucks to complete a roadside inspection depends onthe driver's attitude. If he
has a bad attitude, it takes longer. This mechanic does not advocate eliminating roadside
inspections, but he believes the time required could and should be reduced. He commented that
inspections done in Tennessee are too slow and force the queue formed by waiting trucks to
extend to the mainlanes. This mechanic likes the idea ofRF transmission near weigh/inspection
facilities.

Comments on Cost-Sharing. This carrier is interested in cost sharing, but


implementation will depend upon the specific item being evaluated in the test.

Private Carrier No. 4

Fleet Information. This Arkansas-based carrier travels 1.9 million km (1.2 million mi)
annually with 22 tractors equipped with Detroit Diesel Series 60 engines mounted in Freightliner
tractors. This carrier does not use ABS on any of its units. Regarding OBD, the carrie~ did not
know that a service tool was needed; they simply used blink codes displayed on the instrument
cluster. The carrier representative stated that standardization would benefit a larger fleet more
than it would benefit his fleet. Future developments in OBD should include a problem he noted

219
Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

with the engine shut down technique. A warning is needed for the benefit of the truck driver~.
otherwise, he might be stranded when the shut down occurs.

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. This carrier has improved fuel
mileage by 2.01 kpg (1.25 mpg) by converting to electronic engines.

Comments on Roadside Inspections. Comprehensiveness of roadside inspections is


good. Inspectors are careful to check everything. Time lost due to inspections is approximately
1.5 hours total for all 22 trucks per week. Eliminating inspections or reducing time required
would be worth little to this carrier. IfRF transmissions were used at POE's, they would be
beneficial to this carrier.

Comments on Cost-Sharing. This carrier would be interested in participating, especially


if equipment is involved and they are asked to test diagnostic service tools.

Private Carrier No.5

Fleet Information. This Arkansas-based private carrier operates 27 trucks, each traveling
241,000 km (150,000 mi) per year.

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. Engines are either DDEC II .
or DDEC III. Standardization ofOBD would save little or nothing for this carrier. Because this
carrier does not use diagnostic service tools, the spokesperson did not suggest any goals for
future development of service tools.

Comments on Roadside Inspections. The amount of time required for this carrier's
trucks to be inspected at roadside inspections .appears to be reasonable, based on their
maintenance history. In other words, the spokesman seemed to think selection was not biased for
or against his company. He stated that RF transmission of information near inspection stations
would be oflittleor no advantage to them over the current-system.

Comments on Cost-Sharing. This carrier is not willing to participate in cost sharing.


They stated they are too busy to do this.

Private Carrier No. 6

Fleet Information. This private carrier delivers food commodities to a chain of grocery
stores throughout Texas. Their central distribution facility is located in San Antonio, Texas, and
so is their truck maintenance facility. They currently operate both electronic and non-electronic
engines; the number of these by type are shown below:

220 .
Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

Non-electronic 101
Electronic
3176 (Cat) 22
DDEC Series 60 101
31 OE Cummins 22

Total no. tractors: 246


Total no. trailers: 1200

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. This private carrier does all
the maintenance on all their (leased) vehicles. He had mostly Volvo tractors, and they do not
have any equipment with ABS. He believes that the three potential systems on the vehicle for
implementing diagnostics are: engines, transmissions, and brakes. They use Rockwell on-board
recorders and they do not use automatic transmissions on over-the-road trucks. They know that
their trucks stay in the top gear 96 percent of the time, so it would not be practical for them to
change over to auto transmissions.

For doing, injector work, electronic diagnostics are mandatory. For other tasks; diagnostic
capabilities are slightly quicker than without. The service manager has spent $14,000 on
diagnostic service tools. The time required for training mechanics is 8 hours per mechanic and 40
hours per instru~or.

This fleet service manager foresees a problem with a standardized diagnostic system.
Engine electronics change so rapidly that a common service tool today might ~ot be capable of
diagnosing a new engine. Also, he believes that engine manufacturers that produce their own
service tool provide their customers greater capability than is offered by a third party vendor. His
trucks each travel354,000 km (220,000 mi) per year, so he would probably need a new tool to.
work on a new engine before the end of a one-year time period. He added that he thinks the tum-
around time for new tools is greater than it should be for the buyer.

Another point he made with regard to a common diagnostic device on-board was that he
would need to keep the same trailer coupled to the same tractor in order to use a common
diagnostic interface on-board the vehicle. For his fleet, this just does not happen. His tractors are
1985 and newer whereas his trailers are 1971 and newer. He deduced from a replacement
schedule that it would take 23 to 24 years to replace all units. So stand-alone diagnostics are
better from his perspective.

Based on their experience,. on a horsepower to horsepower basis, electronic engines get


better fuel mileage than non-electronic engines. However, he stated that his shop personnel had
purchased/modified a Ford CLT tractor in 1979 (dubbed their "super truck") that achieved 16.4
kpg (1 0.2 mpg). Among other high tech devices, they designed and installed an on-board
weighing system (OBWS) for this vehicle. They operated this truck for a total of three years,
with the OBWS in use for 2.5 years. They had to troubleshoot some problems during the first
two or three weeks of its use, but then they experienced no problems. They installed sensors
under each spring so they knew what each axle weighed. He estimated the cost of this system for
hardware only was $12,000 to $15,000 in the early 1980's when they installed it. He expects that

221
Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

components would be much more readily available today. Labor involved totaled approximately
six man-months. He stated that the accuracy of this system was 0.2 percent on gross weight.

Comments on Roadside Inspections. When asked how much cost he associated with
roadside inspections, at first. he began by estimating the driver's time and delay per vehicle. His
drivers cost him $15 per hour and he has 246 tractors, so he said it might cost him an extra tractor
at most. However, he admitted that realistically they might have two roadside inspections per
month so inspection cost would be much less than the cost of one tractor.

He added that, in years past, Texas Department ofPublic Safety (DPS) officers came to
his maintenance facility to train. They asked what should be inspected and how to inspect it. He
stated that the Texas DPS inspection is more strict than the one used by the USDOT.

He seemed to be comfortable with the idea of extracting roadside inspection information


from his. trucks by RF. He said they are evaluating a system that has the capability of reading
information at their maintenance facility from a distance of five feet. It will be able to read tire
pressure, amou~t of fuel in tanks, yehicle mi, vehicle hours, and so forth.

Comments on Cost-Sharing. He said they would not contribute money, but would
definitely be willing to share in mechanic time or be willing to install something on their trucks for
test purposes. When asked how long he would be willing to run, for example a diagnostic device,
he responded it depends on the circumstances. His company had an agreement with Exxon for
eight years in which Exxon supplied their engine oil and company personnel kept records of
trucks and oils used. He added that the time length really depends on the "carrot" that is
involved. They have tested tires on their trucks with new tire rubber compound, as well as
alternate fuels.

Private Carrier No. 7

Fleet Information. This private carrier has its headquarters in Arkansas. Almost all its
electronic engines are3406 Cat; however, the carrier is also operating five Detroit Diesels and
five Cummins for test purposes. Thus, this carrier has standardized its fleet by buying the same
engines throughout. The Cat engines are Series B and E. Approximately 50 percent of their
current fleet of 650 total Qver-the-road type trucks is powered by electronic eng~nes. They have
been using electronic engines for 18 months and they like them. They have had problems with
driver acceptance; however, they are countering that in phase one of a two-phase program with
additional driver training to teach them advantages of these engines are and provide incentives for
reducing idle time and other wasteful practices. Phase two of this training involves discussing
recorded information from a selected time block and analyzing such things as amount of idle,
overspeed warnings, overheating, and low coolant.
~ . ~ --

_Their trucks travel217,215 to 225,260 km (135,000 to 140,000 mi) per year withthe
exception of team trucks, which tr~a.vel approximately 321,800 km (200,000 mi) per year. They
do not currently operate any ABS and all their trailers are refrigerated units, but they do not have
diagnostics associated with these Thermo King units. Their coverage area is. 48 States. This
company has seven terininals across the US located in Springdale, Arkansas, Russelville,

222
Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

Arkansas, Center, Texas, Wilkes Barre, North Carolina, Sedalia, Missouri, and New Holland,
Pennsylvania.

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. This company has diagnostic -
capability purchased from Caterpillar. The current software uses a Microsoft Windows operating
environment. Diagnosis is quicker with the electronic diagnostics capability compared to a non-
electronic engine.

This company used an Argo system for "diagnostics" for 6 or 7 years. It was limited in
memory such that it would not store data for more than 14 days (earliest version) or 21 days
(later version). Sometimes their trucks would stay gone longer than that and exceeded the
memory capacity. The Argo system was also limited in that it did not capture some of the data
currently available from the electronic engine modules.

He talked about some of the high-tech products being considered by his company, or
~eing used by another large carrier located nearby, or simply available to carriers today.
QualComm sells a unit now that interfaces with the engine to communicate diagnostic information
in real time via satellite, but the cost is $650 per unit. This is too expensive for this company, plus
adding this system results in duplication of diagnostic equipment already on the vehicle. This unit
was developed approximately four to five years ago before engine diagnostics had progressed to
current levels.

. Comments on Roadside Inspections. Most, if not all of this company's drivers complain
that roadside inspections take much too long and are duplicated by other states. As an example,
many loads go to California and these trips often involve inspections. The same truck that was
inspected in California often gets inspected again in New Mexico. California has begun a .
"voluntary" inspection in which the driver can pull into an inspection station to get inspected upon
arrival (e.g. at a port-of-entry) and get a sticker/receipt. If stopped again, the driver simply shows
the receipt and does not have to go through another inspection.

This fleet manager admitted he had never attempted to quantify the costs of roadside
inspections or the general cost of a large truck. However, he stated that he estimated $50 to $60
per hour. He continued by stating that ifa driver has to go through three inspections in an 8-day
shift (DOT limits drivers to 70 hrs in eight days), this is equivalent to 241 km (150 mi) (assuming
an average of80 kph [50 mph]). This loss oftime could be enough to be delayed at the delivery
point for more than the inspection time.

Comments on Cost-Sharing. He is interested in participating in cost sharing although he


did not specify anything in particular even after being presented options. He went on to say that
his company had not used the high tech items that are becoming available but their new
management wants more of this equipment to be used. The company is just starting to use
satellite tracking systems on their trucks. They seem to be focused on driver training to mak:e the
best of their (engine) computer systems.

223
Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

Private Carri~r No. 8

Fleet Information. This Arkansas-based carrier has a total of750 power units, ~25 of
which are equipped with electronic engines. These trucks travel a total of 64 million km (40
million miles) on an annual basis. Tractors use Mack engines, and some of these tractors are
equipped with ABS. This Maintenance Supervisor worked in law enforcement, then with another
large private carrier before becoming involved with the current carrier. His law enforcement
activity probably caused him to be more safety_ conscious than some others interviewed.

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service Tool Information. He stated that diagnostics


need to be standardized and that there were advantages and disadvantages to increased electronics
on heavy trucks. On the positive side, his trucks are achieving better fuel mileage than their non-
electronic units. He said that one goal for heavy trucks should be to attain a fuel mileage of 16.1
kpg (10 mpg) by the year 2000. On the negative side, he stated that driver acceptance was
somewhat of a problem if he sets the top speed at 96 kph (60 mph) and other trucks can.travel
faster.

. Comments ori Roadside Inspections. He does not oppose the use of on-board
diagnostics for roadside inspections, but he did not favor what he felt was discriminatory
treatment. He did not believe that all carriers are treated equally either in being selected for
inspections or in the way they are inspected. Inspections cause this carrier very little fast time, but
he would still favor being able to use RF to communicate inspection information with the roadside
and not have to stop.

Comments on Cost-Sharing. He is interested in cost sharing, but he would have to


consider each item or activity on its own merit.

Jrivate Carrier No. 9

Fleet Information. This Arkansas-based private carrier operates 3,000 plus tractors and
17,600 trailers; the number of tractors with electronic engines is 2,300. By the end of calendar
year 1994, this private carrier will trade the remaining 700 non-electronic engines for tractors
equipped with electronic engines. They do not currently have any units with ABS, but they do
have automatic slack adjusters on tractors. This spokesman anticipates that in a year or two they
will try their first ABS. Their tractors are almost exclusivelyNavistar, and Navistar's standard
brakes are Rockwell. The Rockwell auto slacks have had malfunctions in their rubber boots, even
though they have supposedly remedied the problem now.

This manager has been with this private carrier since 1977; at that time they operated 57
trucks. They have traditionally used Cummins power units, but in 1991 they purchased Detroit
Diesels equipped with electronic diagnostics for the first time and also purchased 50 conventional
cabs for the first time. In 1993, they purchased 1,300 additional Detroit Diesel electronic engines,
and in 1994, they purchased 1,099 more Detroit Diesels. The diagnostic capability did not play a
significant role in the decision to purchase electronic engines.

224 '
Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

This carrier's management currently uses the odometer as the basis of payment for drivers
and for other purposes, but they might consider using the engine's Electronic Control Module
(ECM) for these purposes. Drivers for this carrier get paid well, according to. this manager, and
they are part of the decision process. However, they did not like the electronic engines at first
because of their different torque curves. These drivers were accustomed to engines that have
maximum rpm range to 2, 100 rpm, and the newer engines only reach 1,800 rpm.

Maintenance and Diagnostic Service T~ol Information. This private carrier


standardized diagnostic capabilities by purchasing all their electronic engines (except a few for
test purposes) from the same manufacturer. However, the spokesman stated that this decision to
stay with the same manufacturer was not necessarily just because of diagnostics.

This private ~arrier is currently testing two Dana "Automate 2" transmissions. One of the
two drivers really likes them but the other one does not. With these Dana transmissions, if the
truck is traveling 63 kph (39 mph) or faster, the driver does not have to shift; the transmission
shifts automatically. Diagnostics with this transmission use the MPSI Prolink 9000. The cost of
this Dana transmission is $1,500 to $1,700 more than their manual transmissions.

The carrier has. tested QualComm satellite systems, but driver acceptance was very poor.
Their drivers are considered "managers" onthe road, and as such are allowed.more latitude in
making decisions than most drivers. This might be the reason they do not like the satellite link
because they repeatedly complained that they were being spied upon. The carrier has tried some
high-tech equipment to help them be more efficient. One example is the Dana transmissions. In
. Oklahoma, their operation uses transponders to keep their trucks moving through toll plazas
where their aocount is debited with each truck passage.

Comments on Roadside Inspections. This carrier spent $44,000 in fines in one year for
all of their trucks that had faulty equipment. He stated that California is very strict about
inspection of trucks. This carrier's vehicle maintenance group provided information on costs of
roadside inspections due to delay and out of service occurrences. They apparently conducted
~orne detailed evaluations based on driver input and cost of driver plus equipment to derive an
estimated cost. The average delay experienced by this carrier's drivers at roadside inspections is
30 minutes. Based on a delay of30 minutes and travel speed of96 km/h {60 mph), the cost was
estimated to be in the range of$35 to $50 for each truck inspected.

Comments on Cost-Sharing. This carrier would be interested in participating in cost-


sharing, but the company spokesman did not specify what form this might take. They have tested
other equipme~t in the past and would do so again.

Agencies

Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance

Two persons provided viewpoints on the use of standardized on-board diagnostics for
roadside inspections. The first is involved at the State level with commercial vehicle safety, and

225 ;
Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews

he served as chair of the CVSA committee. The second is a member of the management staff of
the CVSA.

This spokesman chairs the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Policy and Planning
group ofthe Commercial Vehicle Operations (CVO) section ofiTS America. When asked about
the use of OBD for roadside inspections, this CVSA representative responded that ". . . it
makes perfect sense to me." With the historical growth in the number of trucks at four percent
per year and little or no increase anticipated in the number of enforcement personnel, he thinks
this is a means of staying abreast of the need that will undoubtedlyoccur.

This man is currently involved in a number of commercial vehicle projects in his home
State. The State government is currently participating in a number of initiatives related to
commercial vehicles. Two example topics he mentioned were out-of-service criteria and testing
of an infrared brake system. He suggested that this current study or the follow-up study with
implementation of cost sharing activities might benefit from contacting him.

The second interviewee provided very useful insight from the perspective of being
directly involved with motor vehicle inspections. He spent22 years in the (formerly) Bureau
of Motor Carrier Safety, which is now the Office of Motor Carriers._ He commented that the
concept of a standardized electronic diagnostic device would be a benefit to inspectors and to
carriers in their maintenance operations. However, he cautioned that with new diagnostics or_
anything new there must be a significant emphasis placed on training of inspectors because of
the relatively high turnover rate.

At the time of the meeting with this CVSA representative, they were doing two things
to improve the efficiency of inspectors: 1) issue decals which are good for 90 days (reduces
the number of repeat inspections on the same vehicle), 2) premier carrier program for limited
carriers who qualify.

Society of Automotive Engineers and The Maintenance Council

Researchers contacted a number of persons in the trucking industry who are currently
involved in ongoing efforts to standardize on-board diagnostics. Ongoing efforts toward
standardization-of on-board truck electronic systems are perhaps the most noteworthy activities
currently underway within both the SAE and TMC. The heavy truck industry has been faced for
some time with the challenge of communicating among a number of existing and planned
electronically controlled components sourced from different manufacturers on the heavy truck
vehicle. As a result, lengthy joint efforts to establish recommended practices in the
communications area by the SAE and TMC have developed a communications standard that is
present on most heavy vehicles today.

The recommended practices for communications on the heavy vehicle that are associated
with on-board diagnostics are the J1708 (hardware standard) and the J1587 (software standard).
The J1708 (Serial Data Communication Between Microcomputer Systems in Heavy Duty Vehicle
Applications) is the hardware protocol for the low speed serial data link that describes the wire

226
Appendix C: Results of Cost Sharing Interviews ,

size, type and length, electrical parameters and protocol for messages. The J1587 (Recommended
Practice For Serial Data Communications Between Microcomputer Systems in Heavy Duty
Vehicle Applications) is the data format for the low speed data li~. It is a software standard
based on the J1708 hardware standard.

The data bus itself is the single wire or set of wires used to transmit information between
the electronic components or sub-systems of the heavy duty vehicle. Ongoing SAE/TMC
standardization activities are concentrating much effort on development of the high-speed bus,
Jl939. It will be used for speed-critical data exchange between components such as engines,
automatic transmissions, and anti-lock brake systems.

Further, these industry groups are currently developing a new standard for recommended
practice, J193 9, which will be capable of handling real-time data. This standard is anticipated to
eventually replace the J1587 standard for communication of diagnostic information. J1939 will
probably coexist with the slower J1708/J1587 based data link used for information monitoring for
the foreseeable future. The increasing penetration of intelligent electronic-based devices on the
heavy duty vehicle will likely result in most if not all vehicles within the heavy truck market having
one or more controllers with a data link capability.

227 <
APPENDIXD

INTERVIEW MATRIX FORM


STANDARDIZED VEHICLE CONTROL AND DIAGNOSTIC DEVICES
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TYPE I APPLICATION
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ENGINE MANAGEMENT
fuel pump I injection timing
a
coolant temp
coolant level
oil temp
N
w oil pressure
......
crankshaft ~ilion/velocity
exhaust emissions (CO, SOx)
exhaust emissions (Opacity)

BRAKING SYSTEM
drum temp I delta temp
shoe wear I thickness
line pressure I delta pressure
ABS I anit-wheel spin
air compressor monitoring

SUSPENSION SYSTEM
spring deflection (overload}
active suspensions
vibration (loose wheel)
weigh-in motion

Figure 16. Interview Matrix Form

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