The Electronic Lock Indicator (ELI™) provides an additional safety check to the coupling process, reducing the potential for improper locking, component damage, and downtime.  The ELI system allows the driver to manage the coupling process from inside the cab as a supplement to the visual inspection and pull test procedures.

The ELI system is designed with durable, impact resistant, and environmentally sealed sensors integrated into the fifth wheel top plate's locking mechanism.  The sensors determine the coupling activity of hte locking mechanism and relay the information to a control module, prgrammed with SAF-HOLLAND's patented SmartSystem™ technology, located in the cab.  The control module evaluates the entire sequence of the coupling action and displays the result in the dash, or remotely at another convenient location within the cab.

Requiring no driver input, the easy to understand "read out" in the display let's the driver know when the fifth wheel is ready to couple, when it's properly coupled, and when there has been an improper attempt or other problem.

ELI SENSOR LOCATIONS

The ELI system uses durable, impact-resistant and environmentally-sealed magnetic proximity sensors installed on the fifth wheel top plate to verify the fifth wheel and kingpin locking sequence. They relay this data to the driver in “real time” through an icon-based display in the driver’s side-view mirror, on the dash, or integrated into the dashboard. The system also continuously monitors this critical connection.

The ELI system automatically starts when the tractor starts. It immediately diagnoses the coupling status without any need for driver input.

If a tractor is not connected to a trailer and the fifth wheel is in the “ready to couple” position, a yellow fifth wheel icon appears on the display.

If the fifth wheel and kingpin are securely locked, the driver sees both a green fifth wheel and a lock icon that remain visible for several minutes.

If an improper or high coupling occurs, a blinking red fifth wheel icon and unlocked lock icon appear and remain on until the problem is corrected.  Any time the built-in system diagnostics identify a coupling problem, the red icons appear and remain visible until corrected.
 

ELI DISPLAY OPTIONS

The Electronic Lock Indicator System can be integrated into the dashboard, or mounted on the dashboard in a display box.

OPTIONAL DATA DOWNLOAD CAPABILITY

The ELI System also has an optional data download capability, which stores data from the most recent 250 coupling attempts.  This data can be downloaded and displayed on a laptop PC, using a download cable, and available software.  The data is summarized and displayed showing the number of successful couples, total coupling attempts, success ratio (average number of attempts per couple) and the most consecutive number of unsuccessful attempts. Details of any failed coupling attempt can be displayed showing the sensor states and sequence that caused the error.