Front diff light

[Jimmy B]

Had the rig out the other day and was running it with the front and rear diffs locked(on a dirt road,in low range, first gear, straight line no turns) and when I went to disengage the front diff, the light is still lit,except it is very dim.Could this be a warning or possibly just a electrical gremlin?.Tried everything to get it to go out,pulled and pushed the locking lever several times, Unlocked hubs ,drove forward -back,turns, 2wd, 4wd,transfer in 4wd hubs locked- unlocked but its still dimly lit.
The shop manuals I have unfortunatly do not have any info on the cable locking diffs so I am not really sure how they work compared to a limited-slip.I have the small factory owners manual but unfortunatly it is Japanese.
Thanks James...

 

[Tapage]

James .. the front lock function fine .. ? engages, disengages fine . ? maybe is only a light ( electrical conector ) issue ..

 

[Jimmy B]

Yes David the diff seems to disengage and engage when you move the lever,you can feel the front end skip or jump from the traction on gravel road, the steering wheel almost wants to pull out of your hands when trying to turn when diff is locked,seems normal when not locked.
Just have had alot of electrical gremlins lately,first ac stopped working ,then the truck sometimes will not turn off with the key,I have to push the stop lever on the side of the pump and now this,I can handle anything mechanical but electrical gremlins drive me nuts..

 

[Tapage]

well it seemns that you know what is your way, I start the throubleshooting, with the locker switch and lights in the dash.

 

[CruisinGA]

Similiar thing happens with the front diff on my 80, you can obviously tell when the locker is engaged and disengaged, but there is likely a short in the sensor wiring, hence the light is often erroneously lit. I wouldn't sweat it unless it bothers you.

 

[A2B in a TLC]

Hi Jim,

It was good to see you a few days ago. Can't wait for you to FINALLY get that truck on the road..

As I said, the same happened briefly on my '88 BJ74. The light would not go out after I disengaged. I did the engage/disengage a few times. Then I disenaged and drove backward, then forward. It finally went out. No problems since and that was last summer..

Bruce in Tsawwassen

 

[PacToy]

the truck sometimes will not turn off with the key,I have to push the stop lever on the side of the pump and now this,I can handle anything mechanical but electrical gremlins drive me nuts..

I have seen this a few times with BJ74s. I have no idea why this sometimes occur but every time it has happened the motors will shut down on it's own after 2-3 minutes. Almost like a turbo timer. It didn't occur every time either just once in a while. Have you let it run and see what it does?

By chance does your engine blow more exhaust than the average 13B-T? Reason I ask because both BJ74s that did run a bit after turning the ignition off smoked more than usual. I have no idea on what the problem is but just a observation that I made.

Sorry to hear of your troubles. I hope you get that thing in tip top shape because you got a solid cruiser there.