I have a 2011 BB with both a VGT brake and an Allison transmission retarder. I haven't had any experience with the trans retarder. How noticeable is the brake assist and does it have an indicator to show that it's activated? The VGT works great and the message center on the dash shows when it's activated. Any info would be appreciated.
We have a few transits with retarders. They work great! We have had zero problems with them. Ours have an on/off switch next to the little joystick that lights up when it's in the on position. There is also a big red light next to it that lights up when the retarder is activated. I think our newer ones display in the message center as well. The joystick adjusts from just a little braking assist to a lot of braking assist. We are surrounded by hills so anytime going out of the county we use it, but you could even use it on a normal flat route as well. It would just take a little change in driving habits - just let up on the accelerator instead of pushing the brake pedal. I'm sure you could really extend the normal brake life.
Thank you, I had a driver write up that it didn't work. The switch to turn it on/off works but it doesn't feel like it's doing anything and no other lights come on. I wasn't sure how to check the operation.
If it is working, you definitely will be able to feel it - especially with an empty bus. And it should have some kind of indicator when it is activated. There is a resistance module that changes the resistance at each position of the joystick. On our BB transits, it is under the bus under the drivers area. If you have the Allison software, I think you can check the different resistances. We did have one of the modules go out before.
Allison transmission retarder
Posted - 05/09/2017 : 2:09:15 PM
