Ok, well I recently bought a 2004 (not 2004.5) Dodge Ram 3500 4x4 Cummins, and the previous owner had installed a Bank's Exhaust Brake. When I contacted the previous owner, he said that the brake had always worked great, and that it worked when he sold it. However, from day 1 it has not worked for me. I took it into 4WheelParts in Dallas twice, and the first time they did nothing, and the second time they replaced a burnt out relay, but the brake still doesn't work. 4WheelParts supposedly ordered a new CBC (mini computer) for the brake from Bank's, but it still hasn't come in. All fuses are good.

Any ideas on what in the world could be going on?

 

If you wan't the mini computer You can have mine for free. (I am 99% sure I didn't throw it)I got the banks brake for my old 04 And I kept blowing out gaskets behind the turbo I plan to put in my 06 it should work I will just have to put in a shifter switch and control it manualy.

 

try taking it some place other than four wheel parts might be a good start. maybe somewhere that specializes in diesels. just my .02

brett

 

X2 on brett's recomendation

 

Would switching it to a Jacob's exhaust brake be an option? Not sure if they attach to the same spot in the exhaust, but I assume it pretty close. Last I saw, the Jacobs was like $750 or so. Maybe most will poo-poo the idea, but I like things that work, so sometimes starting over (with a new unit) and spending some money is the way I go.

 

I am not sure if the ones for the 3rd gens are the same as the second gens but I had to send my puter in to have it reprogrammed one time for no apparent reason. I do not like my Banks brake, I do not like it at all. It is complicated, expensive to buy parts for, and doesn't have near the retarding power of the PAC or Jacobs that are in my buddies rigs. For the price I think they are a complete waste (seems to be a patern with this brand). If I were you I would ditch it and go with something else before it drives you nuts. Don't get me wrong an EB is an absolute must and I hate running with mine turned off (better than a poke in the eye) but IMO there are better options. Then again maybe I have just had a bad experience with mine.

 

I'm sure your right, but I hate to spend the money to get another brake when I could (theoretically) fix mine for little to no cost. But we'll see...

 

Pretty much the same reason I haven't gotten rid of mine yet. I patiently wait for the day it croaks so I can take it the range and

 

Haha, I definitly feel your pain on this one!

 

Just fyi, my mini-computer (Bank's CBC) had apparently been blown. After replacing it my brake is in perfect working order, and works really well! Thanks everyone for the input. Also, just fyi, 4WheelParts charges $150 to order a new CBC from Bank's.

 

Don't feel bad. I have been fighting a short in mine that I couldn't locate for more than three weeks. Driving around without your brake for that lond sux.... I finally decided to take it to an auto electric shop and let the pros take a crack at it.

It wound up costing me an hours labor for them to hook everything back up and tell me that they could not recreate the problem. I went thorugh much frustration and two boxes of fuses before I gave up and they couldn't get it to blow one.

Oh well at least it work now

 

Thats pretty weird, so your Bank's Brake still doesn't work? I know that they can take forever, but the guys at 4WheelParts in Dallas did a good job of totally tearing down my system to locate and fix my problem. You might give them a try. They only charged me for 1 hours labor (around $80) when my truck was in there for about 12 hours total (over 3 seperate trips) so it wasn't too bad.

 

Actually I finally gave up and took it to an auto electric shop hoping they would have better luck than I was having. Of course they "couldn't recreate the problem" and after spending $55 to have them tell me I was imagining things it has worked just fine ever since.

 

weird, at least it works though

 

They probably stumbled across a loose connection and wound up putting it back together better.