Grey wire mod

Another way to see if it's engaging it to take it off the housing and engage it while you can see the gears of the motor.

You have to be careful when re-installing the motor though. You must make sure to set the motor to disengage/off. Then make sure you pull the fork in the axle housing away from the center to the "unlocked" position.

I took mine apart when I was trying to figure out why mine got stuck in the locked position (Burnt wiring). Ever since I re-installed mine it has locked and unlocked smoother and faster than ever.

 

Are you sure about this? "Once engaged, you can go as fast as you like?" If you are only to use it, while in 4Low, why would you use it going 40 or 50 MPH? Is it possible to go over 5MPH, and have it on? I know you are supposed to turn it on below 5MPH, and not over, but once turned on, you can go drive around on the highway and such at speeds greater than that???

 

You can on a highway that's straight or anything that isn't a sharp turn. If you try to turn at a decent speed with a locked rear differential on pavement (no give in terrain) one wheel will spin faster than the other resulting in faster tire ware in 2wd. Now try to drive with a locked rear diff in 4 high on pavement and you will likely risk drivetrain binding. Having a locked rear outside of 4wd is more for having fun than anything.

 

I was just thinking about driving to the mtns with snow, etc. I was just afraid to drive any faster than 5MPH with it on. Good to know that I can do 30MPH or so with it on, and not break anything.

 

Yeah i think it isn't recommended to run 4 high and the locker on in snow though, someone correct me if I'm wrong. I think it can cause the truck to behave unpredictably. You are safer either being just in 4hi, not locked, or 2high locked (behaving like a rwd car).

 

Right right. Yeah I would not drive in 4Hi with the Locker actuated. Just in 2WD,with it on, or 4Lo. Thanks for the input. Greatly appreciated.

 

If the locker was disengaged when you pull it off you just need to replace the actuator the way you found it when you put it back on, correct? As long as you didn't try to disengage/engage the actuator while it was off?

 

How do you know what the issue is if you don't engage/disengage to actuator(gears) when the motor is off of the housing?

If you don't do that then there is no point in removing the locker motor. It's not hard to line everything back up, just a little trial and error for about 5-10 minutes.

 

Oh I know I was just asking just in case because I was pulling my non-working actuator and replacing it with a known working actuator from a donor truck. Tested out my grey wire mod tonight finally too

 

Once engaged the speed limit is however fast the truck will go. I'm sure Pre-runner guys in the desert have gone much more the 40 or 50 in the sand with it locked.

 

Did the mod. Locker worked great for a while. Now wont disengage. Any ideas?

Figured it out. wet connectors. nevermind....

 

Just did this mod as well works great

 

I dont know where you heard that , you can safely run your locker in 4hi or just in 2wd, if anything just dont have it engaged on pavement, either the locker or 4x mode..

 

I wasn't saying it would be bad for the truck, just thought I heard that the truck wouldn't behave like you want. I haven't tried to run locked in 4 much to see how the truck responds.

 

Drove in 4hi locked often over the Summer. Absolutely no problems with how it responds on dirt. Does what it's supposed to do, better control.

I refuse to use my locker in snow and ice. That would be the only time that running a locker would not be a good idea in my opinion. Only time lockers are good is in winter conditions is if it's strictly snow with soft ground underneath it.

 

Alright, so lastnight I grew a wild hair and decided to cut the wire, Ive had my truck for 4 years just didnt want to cut the wire, I grounded the only grey wire in my plug. I grounded it as soon as it comes out of the plug so I know ive got the right wire, but when I hit the button the light just flashes and I hear something engage in my dash but I cant hear the locker engaging. back last summer was the last time I locked my rearend in 4lo and it worked fine, you could hear the locker engaging. but when i hit the button the light just flashes slow. used to in 2hi if you hit the button it would flash really fast. I dont know whats going on...

 

You sure you didn't ground the wrong end ?? Easy to do & most have done the wrong end first (myself included)

 

Also, try to cycle through 4hi, 4lo, and the locker once a month. Keeps things running smooth.

 

The grey wire coming out of the plug, I removed all of the tape covering the wires. and pulled the grey one out of the bunch and cut it about 4 inches from the plug. then attached my new wire to the end coming out of the plug and grounded it. correct? or do I ground the opposite end of what I done? the last time i engaged it was last summer. we are in about 4" of snow and weve had a really cold winter where i live so im thinking it might be froze up right now. cause i have put it back to stock and everything functions properly but the light never engages solid when in 4lo but i havent acutally tried the wide s turns to make my truck flex a little either. I dont know what is going on. how likely is it that it could be froze from the weather we have right now? my truck stays outside.

Now just to clearify, everything to this moment is plugged back together like it came from factory. when the truck is put in 4lo and the RRDIFF switch is pressed the light comes on and flashes like its supposed to but the locker never engages. the light continues to flash. when the truck is in 2hi it flashes about every 3 seconds instead of every second like it always has so i know the connections are good, the locker just isnt engaging at all right now.

 

Newest update on the locker situation. My actuator was corroded and full of mud sand dirt and rust. took a little bit of prying to get it off my axle but took it apart soaked the insides real nice with some liquid wrench and the piles of rust and corrosion started falling out. then took the spring assembly the whole armature thing out of the housing and cleaned it all up really good. and the actuator works like a charm. just one little problem, when I put it back into the axle it wouldnt engage the rack that locks them together. so we pulled it back off to find a nice crack also in the top part of the housing where the little stater and worm gear are located. so I am taking it to the shop teacher at the school tomorrow to see if he can weld it back together. he said it should be fine. but other than that I should have my Grey Wire Mod, and fresh working locker back on and functioning by Tuesday! haha its been an adventure.