Air-Weigh is removing the redundant ABS fault light circuit from its on-board scale and multiplexing products.

The company said extensive testing showed its system could co-exist with the PLC4TRUCKS fault lamp protocol. The circuit will still be available as an option for operators of long-combination vehicles who want to provide ABS failure warning in the cab.
Federal regulations currently require the transmission of ABS faults from the first trailer to an in-cab warning light. PLC4TRUCKS is the accepted industry standard to achieve this. Air-Weigh made a number of significant changes to its own propietary multiplexing network to ensure the PLC4TRUCKS system could transmit its signal to the tractor.
Air-Weigh has been multiplexing its on-board weigh scale data between the tractor and as many as three trailers since 1995. Its WireLink product line is a stand-alone multiplexing transceiver that is powered by, and communicates over, the existing blue wire in the standard J-560 connector. No second connector between tractor and trailers is required.
Air-Weigh’s frequency-shift key FM technology is a private communications network that enables it to reliably control and monitor any number of trailer-mounted functions, such as lift axles, dump valves, auxiliary lights and hydraulics. Up to 24 channels of control and monitoring are available. The company says it has some fleets using all 24 channels for trailer devices.