2nd Gen E-Locker issue, Won't Turn off. Help Appreciated.

Hello,

So, this past weekend I went up a rocky gravel road with some boulders I had to crawl over so like you would expect I engaged the rear locker. Soon afterwards (5-10 minutes) I made a tight turnaround on the road and disengaged the locker when exiting the trail. Not 1km down the road the diff lock light started to flicker, not flash but almost like there was a short, after 1 minute the traction control off, ABS and differential lock light all lit up so I pulled over, limped it home 2kms and the differential lock is definitely engaged and will not disengage. Any suggestions?

Keep in mind I was not in 4WD HI/4LOW when this happened, I was in 2WD, under normal operation this shouldn't be possible? When I try to put it into 4LOW and click the button to disengage it nothing happens, the light doesn't even flash like it's trying to disengage it just stays solid. 4WD HI/4LOW still engages and disengages perfectly normally. Bad actuator? Never had an issue with the rear locker up until now.

The truck is a 2009 Toyota Tacoma Access Cab TRD Off-Road.

The only mods that would be good information are that it's got a 3inch lift and 285/75/R16s. No electrical mods.

Checked all the interior fuses related to the 4WD system and diff lock operation and nothing is blown, are there engine bay fuses related?

 

Given the area where you live- I would gamble the locker actuator needs to be taken apart and cleaned up. Its not the best design and they do corrode internally overtime. luckily they are fairly straight forward to rebuild and you really don't need anything besides some sealant and dielectric grease

 

Yep sounds like time for a rebuild, or you’re off on the teeth where it engages. Have you ever had the differential or locker motor removed before?

 

Differential has not been apart, locker has never been out. I'm the 2nd owner and have full service records since new. Just disconnect the connection and the lights all go away so it's clearly an actuator related issue. Switch works as it's suppose to when the sensor to the actuator is disconnected and there is power going to the connection. I guess it is rebuild time!

 

It’s super simple to remove and clean. You’re probably not getting the full travel of the motor all the time so that’s why it’s hanging up in the locked condition once in a while.

 

Well this is the first time It's happened. Luckily I was only 10 minutes away from my house and limped it home. I'm going to pull the actuator off tomorrow and take a peek.