Had Rear Axle Serviced - Diff Lock Doesn't Work

I had my 2012 TRD off road with the OEM E-locker serviced at a shop for rear axle main seal and wheel bearing replacement, which I believe involved extensive disassembly of the axle. The E-locker now is non-functional - if I engage the idiot light flashes but that is all. No indication that it is even trying to lock. I tried creeping back and forth with and without steering, even driving several miles but there is no engagement (and yes, I am in 4 low etc...) I check the function of the locker every couple months or so so I am pretty sure it was working before the service, although I guess it could be an unlucky coincidence. The wires look connected but that's all I can tell, I haven't taken anything apart.

Is there any obvious/easy troubleshooting I can do before I bring it back to the shop? Things that might have been screwed up when it was put pack together. I plan to get a second person to confirm whether the solenoid is trying to engage or not. The shop has good reputation but I want to arm myself as much as possible against getting the runaround when I bring it back. Thanks!

 

Unless you have a reason to mistrust them, I would talk with the guy who did the repair work.
Dishonest shops aside, people make mistakes. He may have let a questionable part slide to save you money or knowing the part is unavailable. Communication is a tool, just like a wrench.

 

Sorry if I came off as overly cynical - as I said this shop has a good reputation (and a 1yr warranty on their work) so I am hopeful they will look at it in good faith - but it's still better to be armed with a little knowledge about what mistakes might have been made.

 

Easiest and most obvious troubleshooting you can do is idiot-check it. Crawl under there and see if anything is blatantly amiss.

I.e. make sure the actuator is plugged in and not damaged lol. E-lockers aren’t the most common thing so the tech may have simply hooked everything else up and forgotten to connect the wiring harness.

had a similar situation when I had my frame swapped on my old Trailblazer. They did pretty good work overall, but forgot to connect the fuel filler neck to the tank. Found out real quick when I tried to fill it up after getting it back. I just popped it on, tightened the clamp, and Al was well. But i still let them know about it because honest feedback is important.

edit: just caught where you said you already looked at the wires. Try unplugging and checking for damaged pins. Then plug back in and make sure it’s all the way in. Hope ya figure it out soon.

 

Im having trouble finding the thread I wanted to link, but if you search around you should find a few good threads about the 2nd gen e-lockers. From what I recall it is pretty easy to get the shift fork out of alignment when reinstalling. Which will result in no operation

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...d-installation-of-e-locker-3rd-member.193828/

 

I'm guessing it was disassembled while unlocked, but was reassembled locked and now the computer is just confused. It's as easy as taking out the actuator and shifting the gear inside the axle over with a screwdriver. That said, I would just take it back to them and have them diagnose it.

 

Trust is hard to come by these days.

 

Simply removing the axle will NOT cause your issue.
Are you in 4L when trying the locker?

You’re going to need to do some testing at the 4WD ECU to see where the problem is.
Something is telling the ECU to prohibit the function of the Locker.