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Issue 01 en

ZF automatic gearbox

ZF 4/5HP502/592/602 C

Function description

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N
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Contents

Contents
General ..................................................................................3

Gearbox type plate ..................................................................................5

System design ..................................................................................7

Gearbox design ..................................................................................8

Torque converter ..................................................................................9

Planetary gears ................................................................................10

Retarder ................................................................................11

Angle gears ................................................................................13

Control unit ................................................................................14

Gear changing ................................................................................15

NBS ................................................................................16

Drive mode selector ................................................................................17

Warning and indicator lamps ................................................................................18

Diagnostics switch with lamp ................................................................................19

Kick-down ................................................................................20

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 General

General

Introduction
This function description applies to automatic
gearboxes with the designation ZF 4/5HP502/
592/602 C. The gearboxes are available with
four or five gears and three torque levels.
The gearboxes have a retarder as standard and
are equipped with a torque converter.
An electronically controlled hydraulic system
carries out the gear changes. The gearboxes are
constructed with a combination of mechanical
and hydraulic gears.

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An integrated pump supplies pressurised oil
both to the hydraulic system and to the gearbox
lubrication system. The oil is cleaned by passing
it through a filter. This filter must be renewed at
regular intervals. Refer to Workshop Manual
group 0.
As this description deals with several similar
models of gearboxes, the appearance of
components may differ slightly from what is
shown in the illustrations. The location of the
components may also vary.
There are several generations of gearboxes. In
order to know which generation the gearbox
belongs to, see section Gearbox type plate.
To reduce the effects of any discrepancies due to
different variants, the Work and Function
descriptions are as general as possible.

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General

Differences between generation 1 and 2

• A new electronic control system, ZF

designation EST 46C.
• The control unit communicates with other
control units in the vehicle via CAN
communication (Controller Area Network).
• The retarder control unit is excluded and is
now included in the gearbox control unit.
• Retarder solenoid valves V501, V503 and
V504 are excluded and replaced by a
proportional valve.
• This booklet describes generation 2 with
designation ZF 4/5HP502/592/602 C.
Generation 1 with designation ZF 4/5HP500/
590/600 is described in separate booklets,
refer to Workshop manual group 5.

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 Gearbox type plate

Gearbox type plate

When contacting ZF representatives, please

refer to the ZF designations indicated on the
gearbox type plate. The type plate is either
located on the side of the gearbox or on top of
the gearbox.

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The type plate is located on the side of the
gearbox or on top of the gearbox.

The type plate indicates:

1 Type designation

2 ZF part number
3 Scania part number
4 Total gear ratio (1st gear and the highest
gear)
5 Speedometer sensor pulse number
6 Total gearbox oil quantity
7 Lubrication oil quality according to ZF.

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Type plate

The type designation on the gearbox type plate

describes how many steps or gears the gearbox
has, torque level and what series or generation
the gearbox belongs to.

• The first digit 4 describes the number of

steps or gears the gearbox has.
• Letters HP stand for Hydro Planet.
• Digits 50 in the three-digit number stand for
the torque level the gearbox is capable of.
• Digit 2 in the three-digit number stand for
what series or generation the gearbox
belongs to.
• Letter C means that the gearbox control unit
communicates with other control units via
CAN communication.

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 System design

System design

5 1 6 2 14 3

ZF EDC
11 7

12

8
10

13

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9

1 Drive mode selector S520 8 Temperature sensor T505 for retarder

2 Control unit, gearbox E502
3 Control unit, EDC
4 Oil temperature warning lamp O500
5 Retarder switch S525. The switch may
alternatively be located in the central
electric unit S526.
6 Retarder lever S43
7 Electrical connection for solenoid valves
and frequency sensor in gearbox.
9 Proportional valve V76 for retarder
10 Accumulator solenoid valve V502
11 Accelerator pedal sensor D35 with
kickdown switch B26
12 Service brake valve with potentiometer for
retarder.
13 Speedometer sensor T20
14 Connection for ZF trouble shooting
equipment.

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Gearbox design

Gearbox design

1 Input shaft 15 Solenoid valve housing

2 Intermediate wall 16 Turbine frequency sensor
3 Clutch A 17 Oil sump
4 Clutch B 18 Retarder
5 Gearbox housing 19 Oil pump
6 Planetary gear 1 20 Torque converter
7 Planetary gear 2 21 Lock-up coupling
8 Planetary gear 3 22 Turbine shaft
9 Speedometer sensor
10 Driver
11 Output shaft frequency sensor
12 Clutch F
13 Clutch E
14 Clutch D

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 Torque converter

Torque converter

An hydraulic torque converter transmits engine

torque to the gearbox. The torque converter
amplifies engine torque when starting and assures
smooth transmission of power.
An hydraulic torque converter is less efficient than
a mechanical transmission.
Therefore there is a coupling that locks-up the
torque converter turbine shafts with the pump
wheel shafts as soon as a certain engine speed has
been reached in first, second and reverse gears.
Torque is then transmitted entirely mechanically.
This is known as the lock-up position. In higher
gears, this coupling is always engaged, which
means that torque is transmitted in the same 1 Pump wheel
manner as in a mechanical gearbox. 2 Turbine wheel
The torque converter comprises three parts: pump 3 Stator wheel
wheel, stator and turbine wheel. The pump wheel 4 Input shaft
is situated on the input shaft and acts as one half of 5 Lock-up clutch
a clutch. The pump wheel is cup-shaped and
consists of a number of curved vanes.
The turbine wheel has the same design as the
pump wheel, but is situated on the output shaft.
Both the cup-shaped wheels are placed with the
openings toward each other. In the space between
them is the stator, which is also a wheel with
curved vanes.
When the pump wheel rotates, the oil is set in
motion between the pump and turbine wheels. The
centrifugal force of the oil transmits the torque
from the pump wheel to the turbine wheel. If the
difference in rotation speed between the pump
wheel and the turbine wheel is large, the stator
wheel, which is mounted on a freewheel, produces
a torque boost to the turbine shaft.

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Planetary gears

Planetary gears

The gearbox contains three planetary gears.

These are connected via disc couplings to the
gearbox shafts and to each other. By engaging
or disengaging different combinations of disc
couplings, engine torque is transmitted via the
planetary gears in different ways, resulting in
different gear ratios.

1 Planetary gear 1
2 Planetary gear 2
3 Planetary gear 3

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 Retarder

Retarder

The gearbox is equipped with an integrated

retarder.
The retarder consists of a stator and a rotor and
functions according to the same principle as the
torque converter. The rotor always rotates at
engine speed. The retarder brakes by hydraulic
oil being forced into the retarder. This has the
effect of braking the rotor and output shaft.
When retarder braking is requested, via the
brake pedal or retarder lever, the accumulator
solenoid valve opens and a pneumatic piston
forces the oil into the retarder. In order to
regulate the braking action of the retarder, there
is a proportional valve to control the pressure in
the retarder.
Braking with the retarder generates a great deal
of heat. The heat is cooled off by a heat 1 Retarder
exchanger connected to the engine cooling
system.
When the retarder is not used, it is emptied of
hydraulic oil. The hydraulic oil is stored in an
accumulator.
The retarder can produce very high braking
torque. In order to avoid uncomfortable braking
or wheel lock the control unit reduces the
retarder output on gears 1 and 2.
If the vehicle is equipped with ABS and one
wheel is about to lock, the ABS control unit will
send a signal to the gearbox control unit, which
will then stop sending brake signals to the
retarder.

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Retarder

Activating the retarder

The brake pedal activates the retarder when the

retarder switch is on.
The switch may alternatively be located in
either the central electric unit S525 or on the
instrument panel S526.
The braking action increases the harder the
brake pedal is depressed. As soon as the wheel

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brakes are applied, the retarder provides full
braking power.
Switch S525

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Switch S526

The vehicle may also have a combination of 0

manual and automatic retarder operation.
When the retarder is activated and the brake 1
pedal is depressed with full force, the required 2
brake torque is at its most.
3

IMPORTANT! The retarder is powerful and 4

only brakes the driven wheels. In vehicles RETARDER

without ABS, it may be unsuitable and in 5

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certain cases extremely dangerous to use this

brake on slippery road surfaces. The retarder lever has six settings for different
brake torques.

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 Angle gears

Angle gears

In order to save the maximum amount of space

when installing engines and gearboxes, there are
various designs of angle gears and angle gears
with drop.

Angle gear
The angle gear changes the angle by 80° in case
of a transversely mounted engine and gearbox.

Angle gear, 80°

Angle gear with drop

The angle gear with drop changes the angle by
80°, allowing the propeller shaft to be lowered by
around 200 mm in case of a transversely mounted
engine and gearbox.

Angle gear with drop, 80°

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Control unit

Control unit

The gearbox control unit E502 consists of a

microprocessor programmed to monitor and
control the gearbox to ensure correct gear
change timing and brake timing from the
retarder.
On vehicles with EDC the gearbox control unit
communicates with the EDC control unit via
CAN communication.
By compiling information from gearbox
sensors, drive mode selector, engine speed and
current throttle actuation, the control unit
determines which gear should be selected. It
also assists when braking with the retarder. The
control unit also controls the entire gear change
process and monitors the gearbox control
system. The gearbox control unit also controls
the retarder.
The control unit continuously monitors rotation
speed changes by means of various sensors and
then compensates in order to obtain good and
smooth gear change quality.

Note: Connect all wires to a new control unit

before turning on the voltage with the starter
key.

When contacting ZF representatives, please

refer to the control unit as EST 46C, as stated on
the label on the control unit.

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 Gear changing

Gear changing
Gears are changed up and down by engaging or
disengaging the couplings by means of
hydraulic pressure. The control unit sends
signals to the solenoid valves in the gearbox
hydraulic system for gear changing or retarder
braking.
The control unit also monitors that the slip time
is correct, i.e. how long the discs slip against
each other during the gear change. If the slip
time is too short, this results in hard gear
changes, and if it is too long the discs wear out
quickly. The slip time is regulated by the so-
called modulation pressure.
If the slip time is too long, e.g. due to
insufficient oil level in the gearbox, the
depressed button in the drive mode selector will
flash.

Gear changing programs

There are two gear changing programs, one for
performance and one for economy driving.
The performance program is set as standard. By
connecting or disconnecting clamp A in the
front central electric unit connector C874, the
gear changing program can be changed.

• Connected = the prestanda program

activated.
• Disconnected = the economy program
activated.

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NBS

NBS
Certain variants of ZF automatic gearboxes have
a function known as NBS (Neutral Bei
Stillstand, i.e. neutral when stationary). This
function disengages the rotating gearbox parts
from the output shaft provided that:
• first gear is selected
• the accelerator pedal is in idling position
• the foot brake or bus stop brake is applied
• the speed of the vehicle is less than 3 km/h.
The service brake only needs to be applied with
light pressure, 0.8 bar, in order to activate NBS.
The NBS function yields lower fuel
consumption, especially in city traffic with
repeated stopping and starting. Gearboxes with
NBS can be identified by looking at the 10-digit
code on the gearbox type plate. If the third digit
from the end is a 5 (xxxx xxx 5xx), the gearbox
has the NBS function.

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 Drive mode selector

Drive mode selector

The drive mode selector S520 informs the
gearbox control unit of which gear or which
gear changing program the driver has selected. R
• R = Reverse gear. N
Note: Reverse gear can only be selected if the D
vehicle is stationary.
2
• N = Neutral. Used when starting the engine,
for long stops and parking. 1
• D = Normal forward drive mode. All gears

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are used.
• 2 = Forward drive mode. All gears except
top gear are used.
• 1 = Forward drive mode. Only the lowest
gear is used.
If you press button 1 or 2 when driving, the
gearbox changes down as normal when you
reduce vehicle speed. It will not change up when
accelerating.
Certain types of drive mode selectors only have
the R, N and D buttons.

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Warning and indicator lamps

Warning and indicator lamps

Warning lamp, high gearbox oil

temperature
Braking with the retarder generates a great deal
of heat. If the temperature sensor in the gearbox
oil sump senses that the temperature is above
106° C, a red warning lamp in the instrument
cluster comes on. Before the lamp comes on the
retarder is reduced so that the gearbox will not
overheat.

Flashing lamps in the drive mode

selector
The gearbox has a warning system which warns
of serious faults to the gearbox and its control
system.
If a fault occurs, the diagnostic lamp and the
depressed button on the drive mode selector
S520 will flash.

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 Diagnostics switch

Diagnostics switch with lamp

The diagnostics switch is used to read fault

codes that may be stored in the control unit
memory. The fault codes are flashed out by the
lamp. The switch is also used to erase fault
codes.
The diagnostic lamp is connected in parallel
with the drive mode selector. Therefore, the
diagnostic lamp comes on as soon as the voltage
is turned on with the starter key.
If there is an active fault, the depressed button
on the drive mode selector will flash to warn the

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driver and consequently so will the diagnostic
lamp.
The fault code memory can store a maximum of Diagnostics switch
ten fault codes.

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 Kick-down

Kick-down

The kick-down switch is closed near full throttle

actuation. The kick-down switch is always
located in the accelerator pedal sensor. Refer to
Workshop Manual section 14.
Kick-down is used to change down a gear, e.g.
when overtaking. Kick-down can also be used to
delay changing up. Holding the accelerator
pedal in kickdown position avoids letting the
engine lose power by changing up on an upward
slope.
B25 Throttle actuation switch (idling)
B26 Kick-down switch
D35 Potentiometer

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