Truck Parts and Service | Heavy Duty Trucking, Aftermarket, Service Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/723429
24 Service Bay standard with MY 2017 trucks, far ahead of next year's August 1 deadline. Both Bendix and Meritor WABCO have enhanced production capabilities of their ESC systems to meet the demand boom, and are working to train OEMs, dealers and fl eets on the functionality and requirements of the systems. For the most part, electronic stability control is a maintenance and service-free system. Andersky likens the product to other electronic systems found in vehicles, such as a radio. So long as the compo- nents used by the system are well main- tained—in ESC's case, that means tires, brakes, ABS sensors, etc.—the system will do its job when called upon. "You don't replace your stereo every year," he says. "As it is with a lot of electronic sys- tems it's either going to work or not right off the bat," adds Harrington. "So once it's on there and working it's going to go." In the aftermarket that won't lead to many new part sales, but that doesn't mean the system can be ignored, either. ESC systems are susceptible to damage from roadside debris and accidents— "the system cannot prevent tripped rollovers caused by hitting a curb, sliding into a ditch or traveling on a very soft shoulder," Lambie says—and also can be negatively impacted by improper service on other components. Andersky notes alignments, frame service and other front work as services that may require recalibration of key ESC sensors — done using free diagnostic software from Bendix. "If you do a front-end alignment, you need to recalibrate the steer angle sensor. If you move the sensor on the frame rail, you need to put it back in the same spot with the same orientation and recali- brate," Andersky says. "Recalibration is easy with our free, downloadable ACOM software." Lambie agrees, and says proper "diag- nostics software is needed to calibrate or diagnose the system" during a service event. And this level of caution will become increasingly more important in the future, as more tech-based safety systems are introduced and adopted for Class 8 trucks. Just like stability control was built upon existing ABS technology, Har- rington says it's likely ESC will be used as a building block for even more safety systems. Some of which may not even be mandated. "NHTSA is starting to encourage OEMs to voluntarily make [safety sys- tems] standard" because building regula- tions takes too long, he says. In either case, experts are confi dent the enhancements will be accepted by the industry. Safety is an end game everyone can agree on, Harrington says. "The industry has shown no pushback [regarding ESC]," he says. "Everyone seems to recognize the value of safety." There are other tangible benefi ts as well, Lambie says. "The technology advancements with self-learning will save manufacturers time and cost in the validation and ap- plication process, dealers save inventory costs due to fewer parts to stock, and fl eets reduce downtime due to more likely availability of parts at the dealer for a part replacement or the elimination of the need to reprogram the ECU every time the fl eet has a truck and/or trailer confi guration change." T R U C K P A R T S & S E R V I C E | S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 6 Today's stability control systems are built on top of existing ABS technology, and rely on carefully positioned sensors to evaluate vehicle performance in real time.