Medium-duty truck maker Mitsubishi Fuso Truck of America, Inc. unveiled what it calls an Idle Limit System (ILS) option for controlling engine idle times that added to any of its 2012 through 2015 model-year Canter work trucks.
The OEM said its ILS programming can be set at the time of programming to shut the engine down after three, five or ten minutes of idle duration and since the system employs existing switches and sensors, no additional hardware is required.
MFTA emphasized, however, that ILS will cancel engine shutdown if the truck is operating in any advanced-idle mode, as might be required by a transmission power take-off [PTO], engine clutch pump or chassis-engine-driven refrigeration compressor.
If no advanced-idle operation is detected, the ILS will shut the engine down after the prescribed duration, if the engine has reached normal operating temperature and the transmission is in “Park” or “Neutral.”
“More and more jurisdictions are enacting idle-limiting legislation, and we realize this puts a burden on the operators of our medium-duty trucks,” noted Todd Bloom, MFTA’s president and CEO, in a statement. “Our new ILS option will provide Canter owners who operate in those jurisdictions with a simple solution. At the same time, many fleets may be interested in ILS to help them reduce fuel consumption and contain fuel costs – which is important to providing lower cost-of-ownership.”