We have become aware of a number of 3rd party drivers that are not connecting the EBS (ISO 7638) line before travelling.
It appears to be a deliberate action but the reasons are unclear.
Of the experienced drivers here, does anyone have any theories on why this might be?
Please PM me if you feel uncomfortable posting publicly.
We have no intention of blaming any driver. We just want to understand why.
I can’t offer a reason but I know that the cabs of modern HGV’s give off an annoying warning if it’s not connected.
Actually, we sometimes unplug ours when fuelling up as they fit perfectly in the handle. It’s not that is it?
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stuwozere1:
I can’t offer a reason but I know that the cabs of modern HGV’s give off an annoying warning if it’s not connected.Actually, we sometimes unplug ours when fuelling up as they fit perfectly in the handle. It’s not that is it?
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Thanks for the response. At the moment, it could be any number of things. We’re trying to establish if there are any common practices or trends due to lack of awareness or advice.
A few years ago I supplied a new trailer, sorry not a DonBur, to an owner driver I might add with over 30 years experience as an OD plus a few before as a driver, he was soon complaining that the auto lift front axle wasn’t working, the trailer was checked over and all OK, but it still didn’t work with his unit, much head scratching followed until it was noticed that he didn’t have his EBS line fitted, at all. Where is it he was asked, in the side locker he said, do you know how much they cost, I’m not paying to replace an unnecessary item when it gets nicked. Education followed but it stayed in the side locker.
It likely to be down to the over sensitive anti trailer roll over part of the electronic braking system, place I worked at a few years ago had some new Dennison skellys with the antiroll system fitted which was very sensitive to the point that an empty 20 foot container in the middle would have the trailer braking going round a roundabout, some drivers wanted it switched off which may or may not have been, but the easiest way for the driver to deactivate it is to remove the EBS lead.
stuwozere1:
I can’t offer a reason but I know that the cabs of modern HGV’s give off an annoying warning if it’s not connected.Actually, we sometimes unplug ours when fuelling up as they fit perfectly in the handle. It’s not that is it?
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+1…
I now use the Adblu cap which is a perfect fit for our fuel pump.
I have known drivers disconnect the EBS lead deliberately to increase cornering speeds with auto braked trailers.
simple.they are a pain in the ■■■■,so leave them off…also…if you get stopped and the ans/ebs lead or leads are unplugged,then you get an instant prohibition.
as soon as you plug them back in,then 2 mins later you get another letter lifting the prohibition and the vosa jobsworth looks like he has earned his wages from you and hopefully buggers off to look elsewhere without keeping looking at you to find something else thats wrong…works that way for me. 
acd1202:
A few years ago I supplied a new trailer, sorry not a DonBur, to an owner driver I might add with over 30 years experience as an OD plus a few before as a driver, he was soon complaining that the auto lift front axle wasn’t working, the trailer was checked over and all OK, but it still didn’t work with his unit, much head scratching followed until it was noticed that he didn’t have his EBS line fitted, at all. Where is it he was asked, in the side locker he said, do you know how much they cost, I’m not paying to replace an unnecessary item when it gets nicked. Education followed but it stayed in the side locker.
Thank you for this… quite staggering!
weeto:
It likely to be down to the over sensitive anti trailer roll over part of the electronic braking system, place I worked at a few years ago had some new Dennison skellys with the antiroll system fitted which was very sensitive to the point that an empty 20 foot container in the middle would have the trailer braking going round a roundabout, some drivers wanted it switched off which may or may not have been, but the easiest way for the driver to deactivate it is to remove the EBS lead.
Thank you. We did suspect this and this seems to be happening more on 16’+ double decks. Interestingly, the last occasion we were investigating had strong winds. To avoid RSS activation if the trailer starts tipping, your comments would make sense. I wonder if this is a common thing?
yourhavingalarf:
I have known drivers disconnect the EBS lead deliberately to increase cornering speeds with auto braked trailers.
We had also suspected that but found it difficult to believe. Thank you for the feedback.
dieseldog999:
simple.they are a pain in the ■■■■,so leave them off…also…if you get stopped and the ans/ebs lead or leads are unplugged,then you get an instant prohibition.
as soon as you plug them back in,then 2 mins later you get another letter lifting the prohibition and the vosa jobsworth looks like he has earned his wages from you and hopefully buggers off to look elsewhere without keeping looking at you to find something else thats wrong…works that way for me.
Interesting. When you say they’re a pain, is that because of the tricky clip that has to be applied or is it just that it’s another (5th) line that doesn’t really affect the trailer anyway?
I can’t answer your question of why the lead is being deliberately left unplugged, but, the Don Bur moving deck trailers at our place apparently have problems with the socket on the trailer coming apart when the ebs lead is pushed in. Anything to do with this?
Dimlaith:
I can’t answer your question of why the lead is being deliberately left unplugged, but, the Don Bur moving deck trailers at our place apparently have problems with the socket on the trailer coming apart when the ebs lead is pushed in. Anything to do with this?
A damaged socket could certainly be a good reason for a disconnect but I guess you would see this when coupling up? (Aside from an ABS warning light in the cab?)
If you get damaged parts, I would also think it would be a compliance/service call to action to get it replaced? These are standard ISO sockets that are fitted right across the industry. There’s nothing special about the Don-Bur deckers.
I understand that leads and sockets get damaged. In the cases we are looking at, the leads are deliberately being left uncoupled.
Thanks for the feedback. It’s really appreciated.
We have had ABS and then EBS suzies for over 20 years now yet we still get the same lame, old, nonsense excuse trotted out about the cab warning light being on: “because it’s only a compatibilty problem between the unit and the trailer… so it’s OK to take it out.” And we are hearing this not just from the ignorant office staff but from the ‘skilled’ fitters and workshop managers whose job it is to fix the problem.
Don-Bur:
dieseldog999:
simple.they are a pain in the ■■■■,so leave them off…also…if you get stopped and the ans/ebs lead or leads are unplugged,then you get an instant prohibition.
as soon as you plug them back in,then 2 mins later you get another letter lifting the prohibition and the vosa jobsworth looks like he has earned his wages from you and hopefully buggers off to look elsewhere without keeping looking at you to find something else thats wrong…works that way for me.Interesting. When you say they’re a pain, is that because of the tricky clip that has to be applied or is it just that it’s another (5th) line that doesn’t really affect the trailer anyway?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
just an unnecessary pain that is only a constant irritation if your cracking on.
the clip has nothing to do with it though that in itself is something to ignore even if you wanted to plug it in.
if your working for tesco where your paid to do your shift as a rolling roadblock then you will never know if its plugged in or not,but ptjerwise if your not hanging about then there is a train of thought that its less hassle just leaving it unplugged which brings us back in a circle because its a pain…pt it in the same box as lane departure/adaptive braking ect…it all works well when a robot is battering around a track in stuttgard where the plan is for robots to drive,but put it into trucks where humans drive and its just another reason to bale out of the industry as quick as possible and leave it to the stobart type lemmings.
When doing some agency work for tesco’s (fridge boxes) we used to sometimes disconnect the EBS/ABS when reversing into somewhere tight as the anti collision sensors picked up on naturally close things and jammed the brakes on very sharply.
Never when on the public highway tho, not sure who’s trailers they were.
Don Bur…Worst trailers I have ever had the displeasure to use, in almost every way…So pleased that I now work at a place that does not use them.
Tude:
Don Bur…Worst trailers I have ever had the displeasure to use, in almost every way…So pleased that I now work at a place that does not use them.
A successful long standing British manufacturer comes on the site to ask drivers for information on a particular subject which makes a change from some of the BS on here and you post that generalised crap which has nothing to do with the topic. [emoji849]
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I suspect due to intermittent warning light that can come up repeatedly while driving. (Mainly seems a problem with DAFs in my experience)
Can be quite annoying when your driving and every 30 secs it warns you about the abs.
But still seems pretty stupid not to connect it.
Silver_Surfer:
Tude:
Don Bur…Worst trailers I have ever had the displeasure to use, in almost every way…So pleased that I now work at a place that does not use them.A successful long standing British manufacturer comes on the site to ask drivers for information on a particular subject which makes a change from some of the BS on here and you post that generalised crap which has nothing to do with the topic. [emoji849]
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Yes…I will still attest to their products being mostly difficult, and not user friendly, like they were designed by somebody sat behind a desk who has never actually done the work for which they claim they were designed for.