Front locker stuck/staying engaged

[Phildoh]

Got the slee 6" kit all installed, along with new seals in the front axle, part time kit and the cdl switch as well. After all was said and done, turn the key on and the front difflock light is on. cdl switch works normal, as well as rear locker, and when the hubs are engaged the front locker is definitely engaged. Anyone ever run into this? I know abs and difflock are two separate circuits, but do they tie together anywhere. The reason I ask is that I didn't put the abs rings on the new shafts, knowing that I don't want abs, so I removed the harness off of the axle, and just left the sensors in place to seal up the holes. Help is much needed on this one, got me stumped

 

[Phildoh]

Anyone?

 

[veiloctane]

I am assuming you have electrical factory lockers...

locker should work like this

besides the obvious of checking the electrical connectors and fuses you should hear the actuator move when the locker switch is enabled and disengaged.

the front wheels need to be-able to slip to disengage/engage the locker (as shown in the youtube video above).. you can jack one wheel up and turn it the opposite way to disengage the locker you should hear a click.

if the actuator is frozen and not moving you can unblot the locker asembly and unlock it manually pushing it with a screw driver. maybe it is time to do a rebuild. as found in this post https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/repairing-differential-e-lockers.570087/

I also found on youtube a air powered actuator possibly a alternative to a failed electric actuator but I have not seen much info on this

 

[White Stripe]

Was it working before for sure?

 

[Phildoh]

Thank for the heads up guys! I've never had an e-locked (factory) 3rd out before so I went in with a little bit of know how and the rest was noob for sure. After the fact I read that its best to engage the locker in locked position before removal, which I didn't do. When the 3rd was out we set it up with jumpers to make sure it worked OK, which it did, and put it back in in the locked position. It wouldn't unlock after all was repaired/replaced and back on four wheels, with cycling all the switches (front/rear diffs and cdl mod) so I let it sit one more day. As I'm recovering from a Harley wreck, myself working on it is truly a challenge, and two of my best buddy's came and helped me put this thing together, both ase techs, one a master tech, and wheeling guru. He came by last night and pulled the actuator, and said it was stuck, so he gave it some persuasion, and put it back in, saying it wasn't moving freely, but all was well. Afterward, fired it up, cycled it through all settings and it engages/disengages normally now. Thanks for the video, now I understand how these actually work. My only knowledge prior was Detroit and ARB lockers. Again, recovering from a wreck, I can only stand for about ten, maybe fifteen minutes at a time, and getting under my rig at the moment is close to impossible. I was on the edge of losing my life February first, and this is all a learning curve. Destroyed leg, femoral artery bypass, compound femur fracture, skin grafts, rod in my femur, physical therapy AND a new rig are a lot to take in within a few months. Top it off with a beautiful 16 month old daughter, and a caring, loving fiance and its close to overload. Here's my leg as of this morning, which looks great from what it was. I won't post the hospital pic so you guys don't lose your lunches! Thanks for the help, I'll be tearing into the rear axle in a month or so and this info will help a bunch at that time too!

Thanks again,
Phil

 

[JuliosLX450]

Hot dam man, looks like a brutal accident you had.
So, I pulled the exact same move as you.
Pulled the 3rd with the locker disengaged and installed it with the locker engaged.
Tried a bunch of things to get rid of the light and disengage and nothing worked. Finally pulled the actuator (tried to pull it before but felt like it was getting jammed on something - turns out the guide pins were rusty) and manually disengaged the locker and everything is back to normal now. I still need to cycle the actuator but other then that, it was an easy fix.

 

[LINUS]

Glad you figured out the whole 'clocking' thing for the actuator & solved it.

As an aside I pulled a move similar (not as severe!), but crushed both tibia / fibia in the L leg as well - got alot of screws & Ti plate in now, did mine in 07/'14 & just finally walk 'normal' as of 07/'16. Still lots of 'dead spots' where nerves aren't working.

Once you figure out your way to jump in the seat, the fact we all have an automatic trans is a Godsend, I swear!

Took forever in PT before I could either stand on that leg/balancing or even stand long too, let alone walk longer than 1 mile.

You get a new appreciation for what we all take for granted, hunh?