HaulinRoans

Hi y'all,

I've been a huge fan of my Jacobs e-brake up until just recently, when the vacuum pump went out at 49K; however, it was still under Jacobs' warranty (100K), so I had a new pump installed at the dealer (where the original brake was installed). I also had to have a new ABS module put on, because something shorted mine out. Had to pay for that one.

Now, the Jake vacuum pump actually quit working about two weeks prior to the ABS module going haywire, so I'm guessing these things are not related, just coincidence. But if anyone thinks they are, please enlighten me as I'm here to learn.

Soooo, got my new vacuum pump put on, and everything was fine---for about 1000 miles. Then, same thing as before, I switched on the brake, the red light came on, but nothing happened when I took my foot off the go pedal. Otherwise, the truck is fine.

What's going on here?? Has anyone else had a pump that just quit working when it was brand new? The only thing that I was doing that was a *little* unusual was that I'd made several trips down a fairly bumpy gravel road---but as ranch roads go it wasn't that bad. Could I have rattled something loose? Surely, they're made for that kind of use... aren't they?

I don't actually know that the pump is not functioning, I'm just assuming that's what it is since this is exactly how it acted the first time. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance!

Smokeman

Check the connections on your exhaust brake solenoid and make sure it is activating. Sounds like a connection issue to me.

You could also put a vacuum guage on the pump and check that. If I recall the instructions say not to run the pump to atmosphere so don't run it with an open line.

If that all checks out you could apply vacuum to the brake actuator to verify it is working as well.

Should still be under warranty right?

Jeff in TD

If you go over here, you can download the installation manual, which I believe contains a trouble shooting section.

http://www.jakebrake.com/support/par...obs_product=42

I wonder if you have a worn through or separated hose somewhere?

You could hook the pump directly to a vacuum gauge to see what you get, or with the engine not running, you could hook a mity-vac hand pump with gauge into the hose that attaches to the pump and see if you can build/hold vacuum against the electric solenoid valve... You could also unhook the hose to the exhaust valve it's self at the electric valve, and see if you can build vacuum against the diaphragm of the exhaust valve...

LVTony

Smokeman is right. If the pump is run while open to atmosphere, it will break. Check for a cracked line or bad connection. If the line is okay, check the electrical connection for the solenoid.

HaulinRoans

Thanks for the input! I've had to be away from the computer for a few days or I would've gotten back to you sooner. I will check out these leads and hopefully can get to the root of the problem. I miss my growling brake!