Need Rear Locker Acutator
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NachesPass4x4
Member
Is it toast or does it just need fresh grease and the contacts cleaned? I don't have much hands on experience with Elocker issues but I know there is alot of info out there about rebuilding the actuators.
I got an Aisin SAT009 from Rockauto a little over a year ago for mine. Looks like $395 there currently.
1999 TOYOTA 4RUNNER 3.4L V6 Differential Lock Actuator | Shop Now at RockAuto
It's one of those things you need to use every so often to keep it moving and limbered up. And the housings are fragile, and tend to capture moisture behind them, they get corroded and they're extremely difficult to remove without damaging them.
There are far cheaper knock-offs around, I haven't been brave enough to try one: Rear Differential Lock Actuator 41450-35031 for Toyota 4Runner FJ Cruiser
1999 TOYOTA 4RUNNER 3.4L V6 Differential Lock Actuator | Shop Now at RockAuto
It's one of those things you need to use every so often to keep it moving and limbered up. And the housings are fragile, and tend to capture moisture behind them, they get corroded and they're extremely difficult to remove without damaging them.
There are far cheaper knock-offs around, I haven't been brave enough to try one: Rear Differential Lock Actuator 41450-35031 for Toyota 4Runner FJ Cruiser
I opened it, cleaned it and reassembled. A guy in my area took a look as well. Said he thought it was the actuator as well. Just replaced the actuator. Nothing. Going to do a separate post. Appreciate you chiming in!
An Update.
Problem 1. Based on this video, - YouTube (looks like it's using the same switch I have), pressing the top of the switch is supposed to lock it. Pressing down on the switch is supposed to unlock it. Mine isn't doing that. Pressing down, is locking it (cog spinning clockwise when it's facing you). Pressing the top of the switch spins the cog counter clockwise, which is the direction to unlock. It's completely backwards.
Problem 2. With the actuator out of the differential but attached to the harness/switch (and the cog set to 12 o'clock),, which ever side of the switch I press, the actuator moves. But it won't go the other way. So if I press the unlock button first, it spins. But if I then press the lock button nothing happens. Conversely, after I recenter the cog to 12 o'clock, If I press the lock button first, it spins the other way. But if then press the unlock button, nothing happens. So, regardless of whether I press the top of the switch or the bottom of the switch, pressing the opposite does nothing. I'm stumped.
I removed the actuator, centered the gear at 0-5 degrees = locked (the cog marker at a little past 12o'clock). Then I set my desktop 12v power supply to 2v so the wheel would move slowly. It works in both directions on the bench.
Any ideas. It really seems like this dark_illusion wiring harness is the culprit. Wondering if he wired it incorrectly. I bought it directly from him; not used. Might anyone have any pics of the wiring attaching to the switch?
TIPS:
1. if the gear goes too far clockwise, I couldn't get it back to center (0-5 degrees = approximately 12o'clock) whether using truck wiring or on my bench power. So I repeatedly removed the black metal lid to the rotor/commutator. don't! When you do, the springs will push the brushes out of their shafts and it's a royal PITA to keep them in while trying to reinstall the rotor/commutator. Instead, just loosen the black lid's screws. Then open the face of the actuator, center the gear marker to approximately 12 o'clock and reinsert. This is much easier.
2. If you already removed the rotor/commutator and the brushes and springs flew out, use a small pick to push the spring in. then slide the brush back in. Then use your thumb on the wire connected to the brush to keep the brush from shooting out. Then use one hand to press against the face of the brush while you wrap the brush wire around the far side of it's sleeve. This will keep the brushes in place long enough for you to slide the rotor back in. Note, if you remove the rotor, you will have to remove the face of the actuator, remove the gears and then seat the rotor and reinstall the gears. That's what makes the first tip so much easier.
3. From what I can tell, when the actuator gear is facing you, spinning clockwise = locking; spinning counter clockwise is unlocking. If you're testing the actuator before installing, there are 2 rows of pins; one w/ 2 pins and one w/ 3 pins. ignore the 3 pin row. For the 2pin row, if the positive is on the outter pin and the negative is on the "middle" pin (in the 2 pin row), the actuator cog will turn clockwise = locking. If you put the positive on the "middle" pin, the cog will turn counter clockwise = unlocking. the higher the voltage you use, the quicker the cog will turn. I use 2v. it made it easy to align at 12 o'clock.
Problem 1. Based on this video, - YouTube (looks like it's using the same switch I have), pressing the top of the switch is supposed to lock it. Pressing down on the switch is supposed to unlock it. Mine isn't doing that. Pressing down, is locking it (cog spinning clockwise when it's facing you). Pressing the top of the switch spins the cog counter clockwise, which is the direction to unlock. It's completely backwards.
Problem 2. With the actuator out of the differential but attached to the harness/switch (and the cog set to 12 o'clock),, which ever side of the switch I press, the actuator moves. But it won't go the other way. So if I press the unlock button first, it spins. But if I then press the lock button nothing happens. Conversely, after I recenter the cog to 12 o'clock, If I press the lock button first, it spins the other way. But if then press the unlock button, nothing happens. So, regardless of whether I press the top of the switch or the bottom of the switch, pressing the opposite does nothing. I'm stumped.
I removed the actuator, centered the gear at 0-5 degrees = locked (the cog marker at a little past 12o'clock). Then I set my desktop 12v power supply to 2v so the wheel would move slowly. It works in both directions on the bench.
Any ideas. It really seems like this dark_illusion wiring harness is the culprit. Wondering if he wired it incorrectly. I bought it directly from him; not used. Might anyone have any pics of the wiring attaching to the switch?
TIPS:
1. if the gear goes too far clockwise, I couldn't get it back to center (0-5 degrees = approximately 12o'clock) whether using truck wiring or on my bench power. So I repeatedly removed the black metal lid to the rotor/commutator. don't! When you do, the springs will push the brushes out of their shafts and it's a royal PITA to keep them in while trying to reinstall the rotor/commutator. Instead, just loosen the black lid's screws. Then open the face of the actuator, center the gear marker to approximately 12 o'clock and reinsert. This is much easier.
2. If you already removed the rotor/commutator and the brushes and springs flew out, use a small pick to push the spring in. then slide the brush back in. Then use your thumb on the wire connected to the brush to keep the brush from shooting out. Then use one hand to press against the face of the brush while you wrap the brush wire around the far side of it's sleeve. This will keep the brushes in place long enough for you to slide the rotor back in. Note, if you remove the rotor, you will have to remove the face of the actuator, remove the gears and then seat the rotor and reinstall the gears. That's what makes the first tip so much easier.
3. From what I can tell, when the actuator gear is facing you, spinning clockwise = locking; spinning counter clockwise is unlocking. If you're testing the actuator before installing, there are 2 rows of pins; one w/ 2 pins and one w/ 3 pins. ignore the 3 pin row. For the 2pin row, if the positive is on the outter pin and the negative is on the "middle" pin (in the 2 pin row), the actuator cog will turn clockwise = locking. If you put the positive on the "middle" pin, the cog will turn counter clockwise = unlocking. the higher the voltage you use, the quicker the cog will turn. I use 2v. it made it easy to align at 12 o'clock.
A little while back I spent more time and effort diagnosing why my locker wasn't working (it would lock, but not unlock), mostly because I'd put a brand new locker harness (from body to axle) the previous year, so I knew it couldn't be that (lol). The previous year wires had broken while I replaced the diff (rebuilt regeared 3rd member from ECGS).
Anyhow, since I was SURE it wasn't the wiring harness, I suspected everything else. And took the actuator off and bench tested it. And after ham handedly trying 12V+ and GND back and forth on the motor contacts (M1/M2), and seeing it move, I discovered a few things:
1) The motor contacts will move the motor too far. The factory ECU watches the limit switches (the sliding contacts on the spring loaded piece) and will stop the motor before it gets too far. If you just apply current the motor will eventually stop when it hits part of the case (or, partially slips by the hard stop and jams, which happened to me). But it can also get the actuator limit switches pas their normal range and into a position where it confuses the ECU - i.e. it's locked, you want to unlock it, but the limit switches already indicate it's unlocked because it's 'over locked'. Simply testing it can get it in a situation that requires disassembly and repositioning.
2) The actuator itself doesn't move very much at all. This isn't expected from the way it looks, the spring loaded center section has a lot of gearing on it, but very little of that is actually used. It just turns a small portion. The amount as governed by the limit switches is only about 1/3rd of a turn. It will turn about 1/2 turn between the mechanical stops (and possible jam), but will be outside the limit switch ranges then.
In my particular case, it turned out that the unlock limit switch wire was broken on my new harness. The old one failed after a couple of decades of use, the insulation cracks, then the wire breaks as it flexes. The new one looked like a rock had bounced off it, partially severing one wire, completely severing the unlock limit switch wire. Which the locker ECU saw as it being unlocked already, so it never tried to unlock.
Anyhow, since I was SURE it wasn't the wiring harness, I suspected everything else. And took the actuator off and bench tested it. And after ham handedly trying 12V+ and GND back and forth on the motor contacts (M1/M2), and seeing it move, I discovered a few things:
1) The motor contacts will move the motor too far. The factory ECU watches the limit switches (the sliding contacts on the spring loaded piece) and will stop the motor before it gets too far. If you just apply current the motor will eventually stop when it hits part of the case (or, partially slips by the hard stop and jams, which happened to me). But it can also get the actuator limit switches pas their normal range and into a position where it confuses the ECU - i.e. it's locked, you want to unlock it, but the limit switches already indicate it's unlocked because it's 'over locked'. Simply testing it can get it in a situation that requires disassembly and repositioning.
2) The actuator itself doesn't move very much at all. This isn't expected from the way it looks, the spring loaded center section has a lot of gearing on it, but very little of that is actually used. It just turns a small portion. The amount as governed by the limit switches is only about 1/3rd of a turn. It will turn about 1/2 turn between the mechanical stops (and possible jam), but will be outside the limit switch ranges then.
In my particular case, it turned out that the unlock limit switch wire was broken on my new harness. The old one failed after a couple of decades of use, the insulation cracks, then the wire breaks as it flexes. The new one looked like a rock had bounced off it, partially severing one wire, completely severing the unlock limit switch wire. Which the locker ECU saw as it being unlocked already, so it never tried to unlock.
The fact that both the new actuator and original actuator acted as you mentioned (getting stuck too far in the locked position) makes me wonder that something else may be at hand. My set up isn't using an ECU. Nor does my front eaton e-locker. I was fortunate enough to be able to return the new actuator. I'm wondering.....there's a second electrical connection to the rear diff. Some sort of sensor. I'm wondering what it is and what it does and if it's bad, whether it could be causing my problem. I also noticed the pinning for the old actuator and the new actuator (aisin SAT-008, which i believe was for the tacomas) were different. but again, both behaved the same way.
I've got to shelve this project for a bit. It's consuming too much time and I need to prepare for 3wks in the Silverton area coming up soon.
Appreciate everyone chiming in.
I've got to shelve this project for a bit. It's consuming too much time and I need to prepare for 3wks in the Silverton area coming up soon.
Appreciate everyone chiming in.
TucsonMike
Member
Hi,
Did u happen to see the video East Coast Gear has on how to phase the motor? We followed the video and it seemed to work.
Good luck
MikeM
Did u happen to see the video East Coast Gear has on how to phase the motor? We followed the video and it seemed to work.
Good luck
MikeM
There's a second plug with only two wires that hooks to the fork position switch, that simply indicates the position of the locker fork. I don't think it is normally used to control the actuator motor, more just to control the light on the dash. In a factory setup using the ECU, I think the ECU also can turn on the light, so it can be flashed when it's in transition.
The internal position limit switches are part of the 6 wire plug on the actuator itself. And any wiring scheme you're using needs to use those to stop trying to move the actuator when the limit switches say to stop. The front Eaton locker is simpler - just apply continuous 12V+ and it will lock (when the wheels move a little). But the locker actuator can't have continuous 12V sent to it, or the motor will move to far and either jam or damage it.
I didn't. Might you have a link?
TucsonMike
Member
I emailed u the link
Thanks
MikeM
Thanks
MikeM
TucsonMike
Member
I sent u email with link
JWaldz
Moderator
just for reference.. They have these on Amazon for cheaper than RockAuto and it's pretty quick shipping with Prime.
They're also Aisin. I bought one back in 2020 with no issues.
https://a.co/d/04aKwhe6
They're also Aisin. I bought one back in 2020 with no issues.
https://a.co/d/04aKwhe6
Thanks! Raises a question.
This is the one i actually bought and returned. I still have the original oem connector for the 99 axle and noticed the pins were in a different configuration vs the Aisin 008. I figured this may have been the reason for the problems I was experiencing. Does yours work as expected?
JWaldz
Moderator
Haven't tried it in a while but it worked when I put it in.
I also have retrofitted wiring, since mine didn't come with it from the factory. But it's still factory plugs and seems like it was all plug n play.
I actually don't drive the 4Runner all that much these days. Sad, I know haha.
