2nd 80 Series triple locked (1 Viewer)

[DR71]

I decided I didn't want to mess up my '97 too much in the woods and found a one-owner, triple locked '94 in Atlanta with 300K that had just been posted and was, luckily for me, poorly worded about lockers. After reading the description on CL 10 times I realized what he was saying. Glove box is stuffed full of records, interior is good, only driver seat has a tear, clear coat is bad, but never wrecked, no dents and absolutely no rust. All I want to do to this one is lift it and put some Mud terrains on it. I drove to Atlanta yesterday to check it out and discovered the lockers will not engage (lights flash) and center diff and abs don't illuminate either. Needless to say he came down even further and I just couldn't say no given the overall condition. My question is : Could the problem be the switch on the T case? I have been reading up on what to look for, but ended up more confused. Any help would be great. Thanks

 

[IanB]

What's up with the Colorado plates on the front and Tennessee on the back?

 

[DR71]

He bought it new in Colorado, lived in Knoxville, TN for several years then recently moved to Atlanta. In TN these tags are permanent so he never changed it.

 

[Malleus]

I must be living wrong. I never get these deals

Could be anything from dash switch to locker solenoid. I'd bet on the locker itself. Not expensive to fix, but you won't know until it's yours.

EDIT: Sorry, I misunderstood your post. I'd test the solenoids first, since they're usually nasty inside and are a common failure point. Fairly easy to clean and return to reliable operation.

 

[incogrhino]

Keep playing with it.I got mine to work. Your in low right? Or do the cdl switch and 7 pin mod. Is easy and makes it easier to work with. I put mine up on 4 jackstands and used my boot to put drag on the one tire to lock it if it didn't grab right off the bat.

 

[DR71]

I must be living wrong. I never get these deals

Could be anything from dash switch to locker solenoid. I'd bet on the locker itself. Not expensive to fix, but you won't know until it's yours.

EDIT: Sorry, I misunderstood your post. I'd test the solenoids first, since they're usually nasty inside and are a common failure point. Fairly easy to clean and return to reliable operation.

Thanks. Will do, but what about the fact the central locker and ABS lights don't come on. Wouldn't that indicate the problem is likely further up the chain? T case switch?

 

[Rifleman]

I too own a 94, and had problems with my front and rear lockers not working when i bought it. Check the transfer case switch first, it's very common for them to get gummed up from non use. One other problem I'll point out on my truck. After i did the switch and got the rear locker working, my front locker would still not work. After taking everything apart to make sure the actuator wasn't full of rust, and testing it with a 9 volt battery per the FSM i found my problem. The wiring harness running down the front fender to the actuator had a short in it. After doing some reading I've found other 94's that had problems with that wiring harness too. So if you get everything else working, but not the front locker, and seeing as your truck is a 94, you might want to check that harness.

 

[DR71]

Keep playing with it.I got mine to work. Your in low right? Or do the cdl switch and 7 pin mod. Is easy and makes it easier to work with. I put mine up on 4 jackstands and used my boot to put drag on the one tire to lock it if it didn't grab right off the bat.[/QUOTE
Was going to try some more S turns tonight and try and engage it, but I doubt its going to be that easy.

 

[DR71]

I too own a 94, and had problems with my front and rear lockers not working when i bought it. Check the transfer case switch first, it's very common for them to get gummed up from non use. One other problem I'll point out on my truck. After i did the switch and got the rear locker working, my front locker would still not work. After taking everything apart to make sure the actuator wasn't full of rust, and testing it with a 9 volt battery per the FSM i found my problem. The wiring harness running down the front fender to the actuator had a short in it. After doing some reading I've found other 94's that had problems with that wiring harness too. So if you get everything else working, but not the front locker, and seeing as your truck is a 94, you might want to check that harness.

Thanks. The lockers were used only one time according to the PO, so lets hope it will be that simple. The harness is increasingly a likely problem from what I am reading. Going to start by bypassing the switch on the T case then checking the switch itself, then solenoids then harness.

 

[Malleus]

Thanks. Will do, but what about the fact the central locker and ABS lights don't come on. Wouldn't that indicate the problem is likely further up the chain? T case switch?

Yes, unless both bulbs were bad. I distrust bulbs for troubleshooting

 

[DR71]

I need my f%@!* head examined

Yes, unless both bulbs were bad. I distrust bulbs for troubleshooting

Great point. It is a 23 year old truck

 

[Malleus]

MY troubleshooting plan is similar to the FSM's, unless I know there's an easy, most-likely root cause: inspect at the end of the function chain and work my way backward. I only trust functionally operating components as correct; gears must mesh properly, solenoids have to move when energized, circuits must have continuity, etc.

 

[Lemhicruiser]

Pretty sure you have a VC on this year. Mine was bad and my cdl would not lock. If cdl does not lock neither will your front and rear. I chased my cdl locking problem for months before figuring out it was a bad VC.

 

[Malleus]

Pretty sure you have a VC on this year. Mine was bad and my cdl would not lock. If cdl does not lock neither will your front and rear. I chased my cdl locking problem for months before figuring out it was a bad VC.

Yes there is a viscous coupler on the '94. Could be, but...

How would you know if it was bad without testing everything else first? My first impulse would not be to pull the xmsn.

 

[Desert Dino]

The grill is of older model???

 

[DR71]

The grill is of older model???

No, thats a '94 grill on US models. Changed in 95 with the airbags if I am not mistaken

 

[DR71]

Will know if its the T case switch shortly

 

[DR71]

The switch was bad on the T Case. The front now engages but the rear does not, will figure it out this weekend, but the harness almost looks new. Ordered new birfs and Dobinson suspension today. Going to start clean up, running board and brush guard removal tonight. Thanks everybody for your help.

 

[IanB]

The switch was bad on the T Case. The front now engages but the rear does not, will figure it out this weekend, but the harness almost looks new. Ordered new birfs and Dobinson suspension today. Going to start clean up, running board and brush guard removal tonight. Thanks everybody for your help.

The rear is toothed more coarsely than the front, meaning it needs more differential rotation between the tires before it will engage. Try it in gear on jackstands and drag a shoe or something on one rear tire to slow it down and see if it will engage that way. Obviously be very careful doing this, probably best to have someone remain in the driver's seat and another helper apply some drag to one rear tire.

 

[DR71]

Update: Both lockers are working.

The rear is toothed more coarsely than the front, meaning it needs more differential rotation between the tires before it will engage. Try it in gear on jackstands and drag a shoe or something on one rear tire to slow it down and see if it will engage that way. Obviously be very careful doing this, probably best to have someone remain in the driver's seat and another helper apply some drag to one rear tire.

Will do. Thanks!