Faulty ISO7638 Line Can Cause Fatal Accidents
Some drivers aren’t aware of the role Of the ISO ABS / EBS Susie!
aide automotive have seen recent reports in the media of articualted truck drivers knwloedge of the ISO 7638 Susie.
We offer credit to the below article to Don Bur Ltd.
There is disturbing evidence to suggest that some drivers aren’t aware of the role and critical importance of the
ABS ISO7638 line for articulated trailerswhilst in transit or, more worryingly, are deliberately leaving it disconnected.
The EBS/ABS ‘Suzie’ connection provides electrical and data feeds to the trailer’s ECU or ‘brain’. The ECU then controls the anti-lock braking system (ABS), load sensing (LSV), roll stability (RSS) and suspension control which regulates the correct trailer ride height and, in turn, the overall trailer height.
So why then might a driver leave it disconnected? There are, surprisingly, a couple of reasons. Firstly, the roll stability system (RSS) automatically applies the brakes if the trailer is going too fast round a bend. This has an impact on both speed and fuel economy and, if a driver is either in a rush or targeted against fuel consumption, they might be tempted to disable this ‘inconvenient’ feature.
The other apathetically induced reason is that it just “doesn’t seem to do anything”. Indeed, when the driver pulls away, his/her brakes and lights will appear to work. What the driver may not understand is that they are more likely to experience jack-knifing, aquaplaning, brake lock, rollover, bridge strike and, more commonly, the fact that the 44T rig just won’t be able to stop as quickly when trying to avoid that pram that’s just peeked out from a line of parked cars.
So, just in case there is any lingering doubt, failure to connect the
ABS ISO7638 line correctly results in the risk of catastrophic, life-threatening accidents. If the driver fails to use the line/ ‘Suzie’ correctly and there is a collision in which someone is killed, then the driver can face a charge of manslaughter.
aide automotive market a ISO7638 cable with fault indicator, so as well as having the cable correctly connected a driver can also be notified of any faults within the system. Again an electrical fault could have the same catastrophic effects as the ISO Susie cable being non connected.
ISOCheck lights bright RED when a fault is identified, if good to go the ISOCheck is continually lit bright GREEN.
ISOCheck tests a trucks’ ISO sockets in order to help identify ABS or EBS faults.
