Center Diff Locker not behaving

[College Cruiser]

So in january I had my CDL actuator/motor fail. I ordered the replacement part through Sam Stewart at Lowe toyota ( huge props to him and his dealership, I was able to get a really great discount) and installed it with the help of my uncle and a lift yesterday. The install was tricky yet went well, but upon testing it under the correct circumstances, the light on the dash for the locker and traction control didn't come on. We could here the tick from the passenger foot well as well as the motor turning the gears when we listened below the truck. It also didn't seem like it was locked when i tested it on dirt. Is there something that could be wrong with the locker inside the transfer case or just that the lights chose this moment to quit? Anything else I should check on?

I don't see how the install could have gone wrong, as there really is only one way the gears can mesh and still have the bolts line up, so at this time I don't believe the actuator or the gearing is messed up.

 

[College Cruiser]

Any thoughts?

 

[bluecruiser]

How do you know it's not working? Are you not feeling binding on asphalt?

 

[College Cruiser]

There is no binding or tire skipping on slow turns on pavement. I also took it to a dirt/gravel parking lot and I was not able to here any tire slipping or any differences from when the diff button was not pressed. I will test how the power is being sent around when we get some snow here this week, but from as far as I can tell the CDL is not engaging properly.

I did have the transfer case taken apart by a toyota dealership in Grand Junction in late December as I had a large leak. Is there a possibility they did not install the gearing or locker correctly?

 

[uHu]

Did you put it in in the right position? If the cdl is in the locked position, the actuator (internal contacts) has to be in the locked position when you install.
Just asking.

 

[College Cruiser]

Could you elaborate on that a bit more? When we installed the actuator, the diff was not in the locked position. Are you saying that the CDL actuator may have been in the locked position before the install? We had assumed it would have been manufactured and sent to us in the unlocked position.

 

[bknblk]

Another great CDL related thread with very helpful information is the following:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/100-series-cruisers/471320-center-diff-light-out.html

I've been having similar difficulties, and people seemed to say the problem rests on one of the three sensor switches installed into the center differential. I had cleaned the two rearmost sensors with no change, and I just got around to wrestling with #3 which is the sensor closest to the engine and sits on top of the diff. away from the other 2.

After a thorough cleaning (no bench test) and installation with dielectric grease on contacts, the "VSC off" light and CDL light now engage on the dash as the CDL engages and functions

Good Luck!

 

[College Cruiser]

Thanks for the link! What do you mean by bench test by the way?

I will give that a shot and clean them up when i get a chance to go down to my uncles shop again in a week or two. I had assumed it was something mechanical as the lights not working correlated completely with the actuator failing, but I'll clean those up and see if that helps.

Thanks!

 

[bknblk]

Testing the sensor simply means using an electronic tester to measure the load on the sensor when it is removed from the vehicle (in an open or closed position) to ensure function. See this link:

http://garage.monkeeworks.com/cdl-sw/the-fix/ohm-test

If it fails, then it either needs cleaning or replacing. In my case, just a thorough cleaning seemed to rejuvenate it without buying the $70+ part. You can always re-test before re-installation to ensure it should function.

Embedded within the first thread link I gave (on previous post) is this link with the information I found most helpful:


http://garage.monkeeworks.com/cdl-sw

Let us all know how it works out!

 

[uHu]

Could you elaborate on that a bit more? When we installed the actuator, the diff was not in the locked position. Are you saying that the CDL actuator may have been in the locked position before the install? We had assumed it would have been manufactured and sent to us in the unlocked position.

Looking at the FSM, seems the locked position is the standard for removing and fitting DL actuators. But there is nothing critical about the position I suppose, as long as you check that the movement of both the diff.lock gear and the diff.lock actuator is correct, all the way from locked to unlocked position, and they are matched correctly when installing, it should be OK.

 

[College Cruiser]

Is there any way of manually engaging the locker with the actuator removed? I will take out and clean the sensors as well as remove the actuator again and check everything because at this point it can't hurt haha. Thanks for the info.

 

[uHu]

Is there any way of manually engaging the locker with the actuator removed? I will take out and clean the sensors as well as remove the actuator again and check everything because at this point it can't hurt haha. Thanks for the info.

There are some threads on this...
Just turn the idler gear by hand, while you (by foot or assistnt) move one of the roadwheels (which are free in the air) a few inches to let the gears engange.

 

[College Cruiser]

I'll give this a shot when I take it apart. I may engage it manually and remount the CDL in the locked position, then drive it around to make sure the locker is working mechanically. We just got a good amount of snow here and I checked the CDL to see if it was engaging with the possibility that the sensors were out, and its definitely not engaging. Interestingly the traction control won't turn off either which I guess only turns off if the CDL actually physically locks?