Question About Freightliners

Alright well im in Tennessee at the moment and it is humid and warm, I dont have an APU , so i am headed to bed shortly and was wondering when the idle shuts off when it reaches 70, what are the chances of the key being left in the on position draining my battery to where i cant start it. Ill be up at 2am ish and right now it is 78 degrees out.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

If you have the idle-air and set it properly it will not drain your batteries. In fact, if the set temp is 70 it will actually automatically turn on when the ambient temp goes too far out of range. Also, if and when the batteries get low the truck will turn itself on to recharge them.

Its a pretty sophisticated system, play around with it.

There are 2 basic modes of opti-Idle. Mode 1) "battery protect" mode. This mode has 2 functions. A) starts and recharges battery when it gets to critical levels. B) maintains block temperature. When it is really cold out, will start truck to warm the engine. Mode 2) "Thermostat" mode. This mode incorporates the features from the first mode but also maintains temperature in the cabin. There are 3 ranges: 3 degrees, 7 degrees, and 10 degrees. Once the temperature hit the set limit from the chosen temperature, the truck will start up and run the A/C or heat. note: you must have the controls in front and back set to what you want. Turn fan full up and either full heat or full A/C.

example: you have the thermostat set to 70 on A/C mode. Once the temperature hits 73, 77, or 80; the truck will start up and run at a fast idle. Within a few minutes of starting up the A/C will begin running. Once the temperature in the bunk are gets to 70 degrees the A/C will shut off and the truck will return to a low idle. After a minute or so the truck will turn off.

I do not recommend using 3 degrees. Since the thermostat is in the corner near a vent. Once the A/C / heat turns off there will be some equalizing of temperature. That could result in a fluctuation of 2-3 degrees within a few minutes. Using 3 degrees basically ends up with your truck starting back up every few minutes. Really annoying and wasteful on fuel.

Yeah we dont have the idle air on our trucks, simply idle or no are the choices with this truck, lol. But i do wish i had idle air though, it would have made a much easier decision, lol.

If you are in a cascadia you have opti Idle. Opti Idle is set by having the truck turned on, transmission out of gear, place range selector to "high", and engage cruise.

You have a digital thermometer in the sleeper area correct? It should say "Detroit Diesel" on it. If you have it, you have Opti-Idle. Just set your opti-Idle. Set your temperature, and leave it be. It will take care of the rest. Your truck will start and turn off as needed.

And how would i do that with an automatic transmission? And the only thing i have in the back is the Digi-Maz D1000. I have an 2016 Auto freightliner.

If you are in a cascadia you have opti Idle. Opti Idle is set by having the truck turned on, transmission out of gear, place range selector to "high", and engage cruise.

You have a digital thermometer in the sleeper area correct? It should say "Detroit Diesel" on it. If you have it, you have Opti-Idle. Just set your opti-Idle. Set your temperature, and leave it be. It will take care of the rest. Your truck will start and turn off as needed.

For automatics you place the transmission in Neutral. No need to worry about the high range. While truck is running place selector to neutral, then engage cruise. you should get a flashing yellow "IDLE MGMT" light on the console. When the truck shuts off on its own, that light will become solid. Opti-Idle is engaged at that point.

Hey chef, how did it work out for ya? Just started with Schneider and finished up my first week. I can tell some hot night are on the way and am a bit worried about it. Thanks!

That also does not work, lol, but thank you for telling me the ways, lol.

For automatics you place the transmission in Neutral. No need to worry about the high range. While truck is running place selector to neutral, then engage cruise. you should get a flashing yellow "IDLE MGMT" light on the console. When the truck shuts off on its own, that light will become solid. Opti-Idle is engaged at that point.

It has been pretty good so far, a bit stressful learning the right way to do things or just getting into a rythm i should say. But i am liking it. I was in Alabama yesterday and it was 90+ degrees down there with high humidty slapping you right in the face, lol. How was your first week? You head out with a TE this week correct?

Hey chef, how did it work out for ya? Just started with Schneider and finished up my first week. I can tell some hot night are on the way and am a bit worried about it. Thanks!