Rear Lock still flashing -> solved ✅

[TheComedian]

Sooo, I still have a problem.
Before I flew to Mexico a few weeks ago, I cut off the sensor for the rear differential and tied the cables together.
With this the flashing didn't go away (I thought it was the position sensor -> the one with the two cables) but I got a solid glow of the ABS light -> so even worse

So today crawled back under the car and disconnected the two cables again.
The ABS light is gone again and the diff is still flashing.

Joa now that would not bother me much (I take the diff even off-road actually not here) but unfortunately I can no longer switch to 4low which is probably due to the flashing diff....

Now I need your help. How do I get rid of this?

 

[CharlieS]

I would expect the 4wd computer to sense an error condition if you have disconnected any cables/sensors that it relies on. Once it senses an error condition, lights flash, and you are prevented from shifting into 4lo. The behavior you describe makes sense.

What cable did you first cut/tie together and later disconnect? The ABS sensor wires? A rear diff lock wire?

Do you have a factory rear differential locker on the 200 in your part of the world? We don't get a factory rear diff lock on the LC in the US, so you may not get many responses from the mostly US based crowd on here. I don't have any wires on my rear diff (that I can remember, at least).

To fix it, I think you. will need to repair or replace the harness and possibly whatever the harness plugs into (since it was likely the source of your original error).

Silly question? Are you in Neutral when you try to shift into 4Lo? Mine doesn't like it when I try to put it in 4Lo while in Park or a drive mode.

 

[TheComedian]

I would expect the 4wd computer to sense an error condition if you have disconnected any cables/sensors that it relies on. Once it senses an error condition, lights flash, and you are prevented from shifting into 4lo. The behavior you describe makes sense.

What cable did you first cut/tie together and later disconnect? The ABS sensor wires? A rear diff lock wire?

Do you have a factory rear differential locker on the 200 in your part of the world? We don't get a factory rear diff lock on the LC in the US, so you may not get many responses from the mostly US based crowd on here. I don't have any wires on my rear diff (that I can remember, at least).

I just cut the wire from this sensor that detects the rod inside of the transfer (tought there is a cable broken when i removed it in summer to seal the whole thing new).
I didn’t touch the ABS wiring or anything else.

And yeah this LC has a factory rear diff since he was imported over some corners from Toyota Gibraltar -> its the Africa Version with manual shifting
You can’t directly buy a LC200 from Toyota since nearly 10-12 years here in Europe.

Hm but maybe its a similar problem to middle diff problems.

Is there maybe a way to reset the 4wd unit?

 

[CharlieS]

Thanks for explaining. That sounds like a dream land cruiser for lots of us here - manual and locking rear differential! What a great vehicle.

I'm going to speculate that you need to fix or replace your rear differential actuator, or at least the sensor. If the 4wd computer can't sense the position of the rear diff lock, it likely to go into an error mode, light up dash lights and prevent you from shifting from 4hi to 4lo.

You can look up parts diagrams for international models on the Partssouq webbsite. Using your year and model you should be able to identify the part numbers and get replacement parts from them.

LAND CRUISER 200 | Toyota Parts Catalogs | PartSouq

For owners of the Toyota LAND CRUISER 200, we have collected all quality auto parts in one place. Choose the part by searching by part number and get fast delivery!

partsouq.com

 

[CharlieS]

This may be useful information: OEM rear locker in 200 series? - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/oem-rear-locker-in-200-series.1009561/post-11210790

The factory rear differential locker used in the 100 series is the same as the one used in other ROW market 200 series. That may make it easier to source parts.

This looks like the actuator (US market 100 series): Actuator Assembly - Toyota (41450-60070) OEM Toyota Actuator Assembly For 1998-2002 Toyota Land Cruiser

1998-2002 Toyota Land Cruiser Actuator Assembly 41450-60070 | Toyota Parts Center

Save Big On This OEM Toyota Actuator Assembly, Part #41450-60070 for 1998-2002 Toyota Land Cruiser. Wholesale Prices, Fast Shipping. Order Online or Call 866-596-1970.

parts.olathetoyota.com

ACTUATOR, DIFFERENTIAL LOCK SHIFT 4145060070 | Toyota Parts | PartSouq

Quality parts for Toyota auto with fast delivery here! For a fast search using the part number 4145060070 - ACTUATOR, DIFFERENTIAL LOCK SHIFT

partsouq.com

 

[TheComedian]

But the not working actuator shouldn’t be the problem since he wasn’t working bevore…
Is there a way to reset all controll units? If this doesn’t helpt I should maybe readout the errors.
Oh and a few minutes ago I found a broken fuse for the sub battery…

 

[CharlieS]

You could try reading codes with Techstream.

Since we don't have rear factory lockers on the 200 here, I haven't worked with this system, and don't have much to offer.

Other computers in the 200 don't like it when sensors are disconnected, and if there is an issue with the item (locker actuator, in this example) the ECU senses it and goes into an error state.

We have center diff locks here that cause similar behavior, and you need to fix the underlying cause to resolve it.

I'm out of ideas. Good luck!

 

[bronc076]

I confirm what Charlie said about an unhappy computer making other things not work, last week my center diff lock was blinking because I bumped the button while driving and my cruise control would not work. After I stopped for gas and shut the truck off/on everything worked fine. One computer bit of unhappiness affects other things.

OP, on a separate note I saw in another post of yours a Rosenheim (RO) plate on your truck. You live in a beautiful part of the world! I worked on the kaserne at Bad Aibling back in the 1990s for about 3 years and lived in Schonau, I love Bavaria!

 

[CharlieS]

I was looking at another post, and saw this diagram. If your vehicle has this "Rear Differential Lock Cover with Position Sensor", I'd be inclined to test and replace it if it is out of spec. Even if the actuator doesn't work, this sensor is likely what tells the ECU where the shift fork is positioned.

I'd also use a multimeter to test the wire harness. Who knows whether you have a broken wire?

This is interesting too: rear diff locker will not engage - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/rear-diff-locker-will-not-engage.1065528/post-11733561

 

[lx200inAR]

But the not working actuator shouldn’t be the problem since he wasn’t working bevore…
Is there a way to reset all controll units? If this doesn’t helpt I should maybe readout the errors.
Oh and a few minutes ago I found a broken fuse for the sub battery…

The "Sub battery" fuse is for the towing harness (i think pin 4 on the 7 pin connector), at least in the USA, that's what it's for.

 

[TheComedian]

I confirm what Charlie said about an unhappy computer making other things not work, last week my center diff lock was blinking because I bumped the button while driving and my cruise control would not work. After I stopped for gas and shut the truck off/on everything worked fine. One computer bit of unhappiness affects other things.

OP, on a separate note I saw in another post of yours a Rosenheim (RO) plate on your truck. You live in a beautiful part of the world! I worked on the kaserne at Bad Aibling back in the 1990s for about 3 years and lived in Schonau, I love Bavaria!

Yeah I’ll try to male a reset of the car tomorrow. Hopfully this helps maybe.

OP
Hehe good to hear. Yes it is pretty nice here. I think the base closed in 2004. I still remember that when I was smaller from time to time was bowling there.
I am live in Feldkirchen

 

[TheComedian]

I tried now to use the switch by hand. Looks like he is working fine (if he isactivated the ABS turns off)…

 

[CharlieS]

Since engaging that rear differential position swich turns off the light, that tells me it is probably working. I say probably because I don't know what normal is for that switch.

When you say manually pressing the switch turns the ABS off, do you mean it lights up the ABS warning light on the dash? If so, my thinking is as follows:

I'll assume that the wire harness and connector are good since you can get the light to turn off by manually deperessing the plunger on the sensor wired up using your test rig.

If the switch is working while installed, then the system is probably working as designed and is warning you that your rear locker shift fork is probably in the wrong position. I'm speculating that means your locker is engaged (turned on).

While you could probably bypass the switch, it might be a bad idea. I'd want to make sure the locker is disengaged - bypassing the switch could lead to other, more expensive, damage.

My thinking is that if you get the error light when the sensor is installed or the connector is unplugged, it is likely a normally closed switch, and the circuit is opened when the switch is engaged. You could just jumper the two wires to test this theory.

 

[TheComedian]

Since engaging that rear differential position swich turns off the light, that tells me it is probably working. I say probably because I don't know what normal is for that switch.

When you say manually pressing the switch turns the ABS off, do you mean it lights up the ABS warning light on the dash? If so, my thinking is as follows:

I'll assume that the wire harness and connector are good since you can get the light to turn off by manually deperessing the plunger on the sensor wired up using your test rig.

If the switch is working while installed, then the system is probably working as designed and is warning you that your rear locker shift fork is probably in the wrong position. I'm speculating that means your locker is engaged (turned on).

While you could probably bypass the switch, it might be a bad idea. I'd want to make sure the locker is disengaged - bypassing the switch could lead to other, more expensive, damage.

My thinking is that if you get the error light when the sensor is installed or the connector is unplugged, it is likely a normally closed switch, and the circuit is opened when the switch is engaged. You could just jumper the two wires to test this theory.

The rear diff lamp is still flashing. Just the ABS light comes on when the lock is fully in (or when the switch is pressed down). Since this switch only have two cables there are (normaly) just two positions who count.
I already bypassed the switch what gives just the information to the car that the lock is inside (switch activated). Doesnt change anything and 4low is still blocked/ dont reacting to the 4high-low switch.

So it looks like there are now two options left. 1 is that there is a fault in the ECU and 2 is that maybe the actuator also gives some informations back and needs to be opened (what sadly means I have to remove it from the car and I need to seal everything again…)
On Tuesday I will visit a workshop to checkput the OBD2 data and I rly hope its Nr.1

 

[TheComedian]

So, I could now eliminate the problem for the moment . Today I have read the error memory without result.
During the engine oil change I had an idea. After it must be all in all the actuator (I have also measured the last few days all the fuses) I thought "hey the part just plug me times" and yes it is the actuator.
Unplugged = the flashing is gone and I can also switch back to 4low and back without problems.

Now that I know for sure where the problem comes from (and how to solve it for the moment) I will disassemble the component and then revise it.

 

[bronc076]

Glad you figured it out!

 

[TheComedian]

The actuator is done.
Only small pieces are left of the engine.
So I'm going to fill the whole thing up with some sealant, screw it together and then reassemble.
Sometime in the future I might be willing to spend 500€ for a new actuator.... I have used the rear lock so far anyway in any situation.

 

[El Cid]

My differential light is flashing as well. I'm happy to just replace the actuator altogether, but is there anything else it could be? It doesn't seem to be driving bad, which tells me it's just the sensor going off because it's getting a read. But I'm curious if I need to look at something else.


Glad yours is fixed!

 

[TheComedian]

My differential light is flashing as well. I'm happy to just replace the actuator altogether, but is there anything else it could be? It doesn't seem to be driving bad, which tells me it's just the sensor going off because it's getting a read. But I'm curious if I need to look at something else.


Glad yours is fixed!

The flashing light of the locker comes from the actuator. So first I would try to just disconnect him to see if the loght goes away. If it goes away it’s the actuator itself. If not you have something electrical elsewhere.
The sensor is (as I see) only to for the ABS. But maybe they work also together. In case you can remove the sensor and press him (the oil level in the rear diff is lower than the sensor).

If your actuator is in a good condition you try to open him to see if maybe something is stuck or just dirty.

 

[Godwin]

The actuator is done.
Only small pieces are left of the engine.
So I'm going to fill the whole thing up with some sealant, screw it together and then reassemble.
Sometime in the future I might be willing to spend 500€ for a new actuator.... I have used the rear lock so far anyway in any situation.
View attachment 2828875View attachment 2828876View attachment 2828877View attachment 2828878

Lot's of good info in the 80 series forum on rebuilding locker actuators. One issue that crops up is the magnets with the electric motor become unglued from the housing and simply regluing the magnets to the housing corrects the problem. I suggest you clean it and try rebuilding it, nothing much to loose at this point.