Bad thing about a big truck!

[Tosch88]

Good luck finding a shop that has the computer software & someone with knowledge to use it under the same roof. My cruise hasn't been working on Classic. Take it in to a decent shop about an hour away. They hook it up to the computer & start looking at parameters in the ecu. 4 hours later service calls & says how much you want to spend to find the problem? What? Parameters look wrong but we having a problems getting the correct ones? I tell them to download a new updated program into the ecu instead of messing around with the old one learning on my dime. They call back an hour later well your shift solenoid is bad on the top 2 gears & thats whats causing the cruise not to work. I ask what about the parameters? They were just fine in the end so they said at the time. So I spent $500 to have them F around in my ecu when they should've pulled the codes to begin with. Order a shift solenoid & then call me to tell me I don't need it because they found a broken wire that controls the solenoid. On top of that after they fixed the wire the cruise still don't work. We can keep on looking in the ecu but we have to have Freightliner on the phone at the same time to tell us if the parameters are right or not? I thought the parameters are good & why can't you reflash the computer. We forgot to ask Freightliner about that?WTF! I told them to put it back together as I'm not paying someone to learn how to trouble shoot. $700 later, I still don't have cruise but my shift solenoid for the top 2 gears is working in auto (I was just manually splitting). All I want is my cruise to work. $700 is a lot to spend to not have your cruise working. I program Snowmobile ecu's all the time, although they don't have cruise, it can't be more complicated than a idle air circuit system. Need to find a Detroit Diesel Guru, that works on ECU's all the time, if thats even the problem. I think its crazy to spend $1000 to find out what a problem is before even fixing it. The service manager called & said sometimes these things take a few days to figure out. I said whoever pays $2400 to figure a problem out is nuts, I could figure it out in a day if I had the computer to hook to the truck & Freightliner on the phone to anwer my questions why can't these guys do it that work on the trucks all the time.

[j&l]

was this at a truck stop?

[Tosch88]

Never have someone work on a truck at a truck stop period. Maybe a tire in an emergency situation. It was at a good shop for parts changing apparently but not for troubleshooting. They are a Freightliner & Mack dealer, but mainly a truck service center as they don't have a large sales inventory. I guess I should've know when there oldest tech looked to be in his 30's. Not saying there not good at what they do know but the know replacement for an experienced (old boy) mechanic that's been there done that a few times. Which in this case is what I need & they seem to be hard to find in Michigan.

[j&l]

what area of michigan and you are right about truck stops they have a hard time with oil changes let alone any thing else

[Tosch88]

Not to far from you, in Lapeer, Mi. Been to Cummins Bridgeway once, never again. Diesel Truck Sales is who has it now, good guys for most things, just not much more then parts changers or computer goffers.

[j&l]

for a old boy mechanic you could try severn service in birch run they do good work there number is 989-624-4670

[cosgo]

I feel your pain.... nowadays you cant even trust the dealerships anymore. I had one of my trucks in on monday of this week, and when wednesday rolled around and they couldnt help me, i drove my ass over there pulled that truck right out. screw them, i didnt pay a penny. brought it to another shop on wednesday, and was all put together thursday morning. thats the way it should be done.

[Tosch88]

I told them to put it back together and leave it alone. I went & picked it up tonight (paid my bill for them fixing nothing oh a broken wire that took 5 minutes). This is the second place I have tried since owning a bigger truck. I haven't been home much so it sucks to spend your time home screwing around trying to fix a problem because there isn't anyone out there that knows how to do the job right or wants too. I guess I'll drive without cruise until I get time to fix it. Nice waste of 3 days in the shop.

[LBZ]

I can call my local guy around here to see if he has any ideas? Though if he does it would still be a pain to roll down this way at any point. But let me know if you want me to as I will be up there tomorrow.

[ColoradoRVHauler]

On a big truck never allow a dealer to do work on the engine or computer. Take the truck to the engine dealer. Cat, Cummins, Detroit. You will find you have much better luck getting your actual problem fixed. Truck dealers hire people right out of school and train them. Generally on each shift there are only 1 or 2 qualified people there. The rest are learning.... So its simple only let them work on the truck. There are many drivetrain speciality shops and of course the engine dealers to fix the mechanical part of the truck. And yep even some of the engine dealers hire a bunch right out of school. If you run west, take it to Stewart and Stevenson in Denver. They are one of the best Detroit shops in the nation.

Carey

[pmmjarrett]

Cruise control problems is most likely NOT the ECM.

Most likely the clutch switch, brake switch, dash switches, speed sensor or a broken wire.

Does the truck have a Jake Brake?
If it has a Jake brake is the jake working?

If it has a Jake and it's not working either, or you don't have a jake, check the clutch pedal switch.... very common.

Pittsburg Power is also a very good shop. One of the best diesel shops in the country.