OEM rear locker question
 

So I just got a 97 T4r that has a dash button that says RRLocker. I pushed it and a dash light was blinking saying rear locker.
My question is, is it supposed to blink? How can I tell if it is locking?

Two easy ways to test if the locker is engaged.

1. With locker button pressed, parking brake off, jack up one rear wheel and try to rotate it by hand. If it turns then the locker is not engaged.

2. Find a parking lot (not gravel) and drive a few very tight circles. If the locker is working you will feel and hear the rear tires slipping and chirping as they break traction.

The locker will NOT engage unless you are in 4LO. In 2WD and 4HI, it will just blink. If you want to use the locker in 2WD and 4HI, you can do the easy "grey wire mod". You can do a search and there is a lot of info on this. However, the "grey" wire is only grey on Tacos, it's a different color on 4runners, but I don't remember what color - I do know it's like red with a yellow stripe, or maybe blue with a red stripe... something like that.

Thanks for the help, now I am going to go try it out. So when in 4 low and the locker button pressed, will the dash light blink or stay light or what?

In 4LO, once you press the locker button the light should stay lit once it engages. If it continues to blink in 4LO after driving a few feet, then you have an issue.

Its pin # 8 Blue/Red here is the link that I used for my retrofit all info needed is there.
Retrofit Electric Locker

Thanks for that link. I want to test this thing out ASAP.

Sorry I quoted the wrong post but that is the 4lo ecu safety mod or gray wire mod for 4runner very nice mod to have but I would not disable the 5 mph safety.

Sorry to be dumb, but before I grind anything- Whats the right procedure to put it in 4 wheel drive?

DO NOT TURN ON PAVEMENT WITH THE REAR LOCKER LOCKED!!!! Unless you feel like buying some new parts. It "should" skip. But it could also break things. If you are going into 4lo to try out the locker, I would do the following.

Find a dirt road
put truck in "N"
put transfer case lever into 4Lo
Push rear locker button.
put truck in to drive
Drive forward.

The rear locker light should stay on steady once the locker is engaged. You can turn if you are on a loose gravel road. If it does not engage, the actuator can be removed and cleaned up. They will typically stick if they are rarely used. Once it starts working regularly for you, you should try to engage it a few times a year to keep it working properly.

Exactly what I wanted to hear. Thanks..

Not a problem. That is what we are here for. And for the record, if I let someone drive my LX450 and they locked the rear and turned tight on pavement...:wtf: well that is a good way to get a punch in the face. Ok, I am not a fighter so maybe I would have someone else do it. But I would definelty want to. Good luck and good find. That truck will have greater resale because of that switch. KBB and NADA may not say so but if you market it on websites like this, it would go pretty quick. To add an aftermarket on-demand locker, you are looking at $1000 with doing the work yourself. When I bought my LX450, the values were all the same with or without lockers. But watch which ones are for sale for 2 months compared to 1 week. If i was to buy another Runner, I would probably go for one like yours. Relatively cheap, good capabilities in stock form, and easy to mod and find parts.
J

I worked at ARB for 5 years. One of the standard tests after fitting an air locker is to drive the vehicle once around the parking lot and test the engagement. You will NEVER break anything doing this as a quick test. You will hear and feel the tires chirp within a second or two and then you turn the locker off. You continue the turn to ensure it has disengaged properly. It's easy and harmless. Of course you're not going to start doing laps of a lot in low range and locked rear, that's stupid and pointless, but a 10 second test to check operation is perfectly fine.

Not that the parking lot method is going to grenade the diff or anything, but you could just jack up the rear and spin the tires. Obviously they will turn the same direction if it's locked.

Agreed, but there are 2 points to make.
1) ARB is the pretty much the strongest locker on the market. Factory E-Lockers are not quite as strong. They are definitely not junk, just not an ARB.
2) If some one is not sure what a Locker is, they are probably not familiar with how they work. One or two quick turns may mean the same to them as doing doughnuts.

Until the OP is up to speed on there function, it may be better to be in "safe mode".
J