SeeBrake displays the push-rod and timing measurements in the app over Bluetooth, at the end of a brake event. Once connected, and the brakes are applied and released, the measurements of the brake push rod travel and timing will be captured and sent to the phone.
The SeeBrake app will collect all brake data, display the results and make a determination of the overall condition of the vehicle brakes.
Each brake is calibrated for the size of the air canister and taking initial readings. Each controller in the SeeBrake system will read all of its brakes and determine if each brake is within limits or if not, by how much.
SeeBrake also records the time it takes for each brake to reach its full position. From that data, one can see if a brake is dragging or stuck. It is also important to know that the trailer brakes are engaging before the tractor brakes.
Status Screen
This is the first screen that is displayed. It shows the status of each brake.
The first line is the title of the screen, Status Screen.
The second line is the overall status of the vehicle, Normal Status.
The next line will be the name of the unit as entered in the Scanner Screen.
Following the name will be the table of axles and the brake status of the left and right brake of each axle.
If the brake is within adjustment, then the color is shown in Green.
Following this table will be the brake status of the trailer, showing its name and the status of the brakes.
Reading Screen
The Reading Screen shows the brake data in a numeric form. Each value shown is the actual measurement, in inches.
Each unit is shown with the name at the top of the table and each axle shows the Left and Right values.
This screen only shows the measurements. It does not provide an indication of limit violation, as that is shown on the Status Screen.
Timing Screen
The information shown on this screen is a measure of the brake response time. It is a measure of how long it took for the brake to reach its full position.
In general, there is no means of knowing what the limits are in time to travel. What can be determined is a relative comparison between brakes per axle and brakes from the trailer forward.
Once results are obtained on a properly functioning brake system, then the technician can look at these numbers to see if a brake is taking way too long to engage on the right side versus the left side.
The SeeBrake application can be set up to look at the differences per axle and mark a slow brake with a cautionary color of yellow.
If the value is awfully close to zero, it may be an indication of a brake that is not moving. Either it is stuck at the rest position or at its maximum position. In either case, the push rod measurement may be within adjustment limits, but there is still a mechanical issue to attend to.
Normal Status
If all of the brakes are within limits, then the overall status is normal. The banner will display the message “Normal Status”.
When all brakes are within the proper limits, all of the boxes will be Green, and the status will be displayed as “Normal Status”.
Each unit that is connected will show up in the Status Screen in the order in which they are scanned.
The information is shown as a table of axle numbers and a colored box for left and right side brakes.
The table will accommodate the number of axles as reported by the SeeBrake system on that unit.
The screen can be scrolled vertically to view all axles if there is not enough room on the screen for all axles.
Out of Adjustment
If one or brakes are out of adjustment, but not enough of them to reach the 20% threshold, then the banner will display the message “Out of Adjustment”.
The brake is shown in Yellow, to indicate it is out of adjustment by 1/8”.
If the brake is shown in Red, then it is out of adjustment by ¼”. At least one brake status can be either yellow or red, depending on how far out of adjustment it is, to show this message.
When this message is displayed, it is time to confirm that a brake is out of adjustment. The brake should be adjusted by a trained technician. Once adjusted, test the brakes again. It should clear the message and go back to “Normal Status” and all Green.
Out of Service
If 20% or more of the brakes are out of adjustment, then the banner will display the message “Out Of Service”.
This screen shot shows two brakes that are out of adjustment by ¼”. That is 2 brakes out of 10 that are out. This is equal to 20%.
This can also occur if one of the steer brakes is out of adjustment. It does not matter if it is out by 1/8” or by ¼”. If it is out, then the vehicle is Out of Service.
Each Red brake counts as 1. Each Yellow brake counts as 0.5. Two Yellows count as a Red. If the number of Red divided by the number of brakes is less than 20%, then vehicle is NOT in Out of Service.
The number of Yellow brakes is rounded down to an integer value. If three brakes were at Yellow, then it would be 1.5 Red brakes, or 1 Red brake. Four Yellow brakes would be 2 Red brakes.
The SeeBrake application does the determination of OOS.
This is critical as the vehicle should not be operated with the brakes at this level of limit violation.
This would be the time to visually verify that indeed the brakes are as indicated by SeeBrake.
Repairs and adjustments should be made by professionally trained technicians.
Stuck Brake
In the Status Screen, a brake that is stuck high after the brakes are released will be shown in Orange.
This status color is also used if during a brake event if a brake does not move.
Brakes that are stuck low are detected during brake measurement. A brake that is stuck high will be detected after the brakes are released.
The notification will be visible This is a critical condition that requires immediate attention. The vehicle should be pulled over and the brake inspected, particularly if the vehicle is moving.
If the vehicle is traveling with a stuck brake, the SeeBrake app can send a text message to designated cell phones to alert others of a dangerous condition, who in turn can contact the operator by other means.
Once the situation has been resolved, get a new reading by applying the brakes. The indication of a stuck brake will not clear without a brake test.
If the parking brakes are active during this time, all engaged parking brakes will show as stuck. Again, not critical if the vehicle is not moving.