Rear Locker fooling

Got a question. If anyone knows I'd be very happy. In my 2002 tacoma you could ground a wire and I could use the rear locker whenever. Is there anything I can do to fool my 2019 tacoma so I can use the locker in 2wd or 4 high??

 

Welcome to the forum! Nothing as easy as the 1st gen, but 2 low mod (link) will let you run it in 2wd low range... GL!

 

@BigWhiteTRD has done the most leg work.
To my knowledge, no one has attempted it.

 

I appreciate it.

 

Welcome to The Forum!

Good luck!

 

There have been a few people that have looked into it, but it's looking like it's going to be a pain for the third gen.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/rear-diff-lock-anytime-mod-3rd-gen-development.537810/

 

By the way, welcome to TW!

 

Sorry, been out of it for awhile.
The comments above are spot-on.

(The only really practical method of doing it currently is to take locker control away from the computer and do it manually only. But I do not recommend applying 12v to the locker, although it MIGHT be ok to do so.)

 

The tricky part on the 2016+ models is that the 4WD Control Computer controls both 4WD actuation as well as differential locking.

It's hard to do much to one system without affecting the functionality of the other. It would be nice if you could simply wire it up like the 2WD trucks, but they just use the same 4WD ECU and you can't really run a second one just to control the rear diff, since much of the communication is done over CAN.

Taking away locker control from the computer and applying 12V is, at this point in time, I think the best option for having full control over the locker, but if you do so, you need to be very aware of when you try to engage it and what is happening when you do. Applying 12V to the locker is what the computer does to engage the locker of course, but it monitors other factors including the differential lock position switch, etc., and has various fail safe strategies in place so as to not damage components on the truck.

Jeff

 

you can do the air locker anytime mod. All you have to do is purchase and install an air locker

 

Using an air locker is pretty much the equivalent of rewiring the stock e-locker to manual control, plus you need to add switches and a compressor. Ignoring potential strength differences of course.

Jeff

 

All correct, except the 4wd ecu doesnt apply 12v to the diff lock coil. It uses a pwm controller to apply 12v with a reduced duty cycle. So the coil never actually sees 12v in our trucks from factory. Can they take 12v all the time with 100% reliability, I dont know?

(Per my memory, approximately 77% duty cycle when the ECU is trying to lock the rear diff and the feedback switch shows diff unlocked. Approximately 50% duty cycle when the ECU is trying to maintain the diff locked and the feedback switch shows diff locked.)

 

PWM controllers do not lower peak voltage. They do reduce average current (power) so in this case it would not be the coil could not withstand the constant voltage, possibly the constant current could destroy the coil.

 

This is an important factor I didn’t mention, though from looking at the reference values and waveforms it appears to be 100% during lockup and approx. 50% while locked.

Building a controller that would switch from 100% to 50% duty cycle based on the position switch input would be relatively straightforward. Probably already exists to be honest.

The coil can definitely handle the voltage and current, but it could potentially reduce it’s expected lifespan.

Jeff