Allison Transmission, a global supplier of commercial duty fully automatic transmissions, has developed a new service life indicator that will offer financial and environmental savings to operators. Calibrated to the specific operating requirements of each vehicle, Allison’s electronic monitoring system detects when maintenance is required and alerts the driver or maintenance manager. The new prognostics feature is the first of its kind and will be available for truck and bus applications.The service life indicator can help increase operational cost efficiency by providing a simple and effective fleet management tool for three key areas: oil, oil filter and selected internal components.
“The user-friendly prognostics system provides improved lifecycle costs and assists in efficient planning of vehicle maintenance when used with any Allison-approved TES 295 certified fluid,” says Steve Spurlin, Executive Director, 3000/4000 Transmissions and Application Engineering.
Allison’s advanced warning technology system determines fluid life and alerts when a fluid change is required. The oil life monitor helps commercial customers achieve better environmental management because oil is only changed when necessary, so operators get the maximum oil life, while protecting the transmission system.
The filter life monitor alerts when the transmission’s fluid filter needs to be replaced and may help extend filter change intervals. This can improve associated costs. A transmission health monitor detects the operating condition of selected internal components for increased control over maintenance and servicing. This new system has been thoroughly field-tested in major city bus fleets, concrete delivery fleets and with other demanding applications.
Transmission operating parameters such as operating time, output revolutions and shift density are monitored and fluid life is automatically adjusted accordingly. When service is due for Allison 3000, 4000 and Torqmatic Series models, a spanner icon is illuminated on the shift selector’s digital display to alert the operator.
In addition to information about the oil level and diagnostics, the operator can check the status of all three prognostics by toggling through the shift selector’s display. For 1000 and 2000 Series models, a separate transmission service light to alert the operator is required. This helps fleet managers plan maintenance requirements to prevent unscheduled repairs and downtime.
