Power Wagon Registry

Yeah, it finally got me...

Went to play in snow yesterday. When the truck finally got stopped by 18" inches of snow in a corner, turning on the lockers resulted in the green and orange lights blinking and no locker actuation. The rear LDS was doing a stellar job, so we did get turned around once we powered thru the deeper snow.

So, I pulled the Dumbbar connector apart today and repplied more dielectric grease after cleaning the connectors. No luck...

The diff's were serviced in Dec, and it worked then, so it's time to go to the dealer. Yippy...



Dennis Miller "You can't order black coffee anymore. It's un-creamed..."

that sucks...good luck....beautiful pic

Not for nothing, but i would try cleaning the magnet first. It may be that simple. Maybe you will get lucky.

Refill with the cheapest full synthetic fluid. That way, if it don't work, your not out quite the $20 a qt anyway.

When my 07 did that the sensor was bad. Seems like AAM builds those with no regards to servicing them since it's part of the coil.

It might be nothing though. I know mine can be stubborn if I haven't used them in a while, especially in the winter.

I had a similar issue when I first bought the truck... I was the second owner and from the get go the lockers never worked right... Turned to find out it needed a locker solenoid up front.. They replaced that and things worked a little better but still goofy... Swapped in a new smart bar for kicks.. NO change.. Thankfully they did not charge me for the smart bar lol. They ended up saying the bulk harness had to be tested and repaired.. Which means in dealer words replaced... They could not find a replacement as they only made my version for 1 year.. Since mine is a 2005.. I ended up hard wiring the lockers and going with a evo disconnect as the electronic one never worked right either.. Related to the wiring problem as well LOL. Have had the truck this way for 2 years so far and love it!

I've owned mine since 2010 and the light has always been on. After 2 trips to the dealers getting shafted out of 500$ for a fluid change of the wrong fluid, replacing the smart bar myself I gave up. Light is still on. Every once in a while it goes out and the lockers will lock right in.

Does the swaybar disconnect work, does the 4WD light stay on when in 2WD, any codes? Hopefully this is all cover by your lifetime warranty, you sure are getting good use out of it, those are expensive parts with lots of labor to replace them!

AllanDickerson wrote:I've owned mine since 2010 and the light has always been on. After 2 trips to the dealers getting shafted out of 500$ for a fluid change of the wrong fluid, replacing the smart bar myself I gave up. Light is still on. Every once in a while it goes out and the lockers will lock right in.

What light has always been on?

Swaybar works fine as does the 4x4 indicator. The green and orange light blink when the rear locker is on, the front locker and green blink when it's selected.

Since I have the diode style bypass hardwired in, I'm trying to decide if I should remove it prior to taking it in. That would be a PITA to get out...

Dennis Miller "You can't order black coffee anymore. It's un-creamed..."

Did you mean a resistor bypass, as in locker bypass version #1? Take it out for sure!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The orange and green lights for the rear locker on mine coder.

Yeah, the resistor type, not diode. The splice point is tucked up in a very difficult spot to get into.

Dennis Miller "You can't order black coffee anymore. It's un-creamed..."

AllanDickerson wrote:I've owned mine since 2010 and the light has always been on. After 2 trips to the dealers getting shafted out of 500$ for a fluid change of the wrong fluid, replacing the smart bar myself I gave up. Light is still on. Every once in a while it goes out and the lockers will lock right in.

Mine blinks seemingly randomly too. Sometimes as it warms up the blinking starts and then stops 15 minutes later. I need to try smearing some dielectric when its a little warmer out, but my smartbar still works and the lockers do engage, but I dont get to regularly test them.

Pull your bypass so you can get a better idea of where the problem is. IDK what year your truck is. If it's an 05, all bets are off. Those things were horrible. I had one.

I would remove it so they do not try to void that warranty. Make a plug on the other end so it is easier to remove next time. You could use a flat four wire trailer plug and some heat shrink connectors. I can set you up with everything I used and mail it to if you like!

I ran mine using a weather pack connector I put under the brake booster. Then I ran the loom inside and under the dash. Then I wired it to a relay under the dash so I can use a lighted switch to alert me that it is still on. I can unplug both ends, cut my zip ties and remove the entire thing so there is nothing for them to find but a connector under the brake booster.

Mine is connected near the T'Case, and routed thru the shifter boot. It will be a bitch to get it looking stock again...

If I remove it, it will be permanent. Don't use it much anyway...

Dennis Miller "You can't order black coffee anymore. It's un-creamed..."

Any update?

Nope. I gotta bad cold this weekend, didn't feel like messing with it.

Dennis Miller "You can't order black coffee anymore. It's un-creamed..."

Finally got around to pulling off the covers again. Had it up on jack stands so I could test it. No movement in the locker at all. Buttoned it back up, and removed the bypass wiring. Will get it scheduled for service. It's due for the 90000 service, and has a blown tweeter as well.

Mark

What is it with all the locker light issues lately? Mine worked fine a few weeks ago just to test them out. Then they start flashing when not in use.

Dropped off the truck this AM, they found the dumbar is bad. So, of course, that's two weeks out...

So, they will do the other work I'd requested (90,000 service) and I'll have to take it back when it comes in.

Cactus Red wrote:Dropped off the truck this AM, they found the dumbar is bad. So, of course, that's two weeks out...

So, they will do the other work I'd requested (90,000 service) and I'll have to take it back when it comes in.

I'm intrigued to know the mode of failure on this....

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

I'll ask, but I doubt they know. Parts changer's plug in, replace what it tells'm to, and that's that.

A problem literally just happened on my 08 truck. I wasn't even using the lockers, then the Fr. & Rr. locker light started flashing and the Rr. only light wouldn't illuminate during the standard key on bulb test and then when I tried to engage it, nothing would work. I scanned for codes and received a C143B code, then I followed the factory service manual procedure and the conclusion from that resulted in a condemned final drive control module/smartbar. I started looking up prices and figured I would be hardwiring my lockers after seeing how much it was. After the shock wore off, I looked closer at the schematic diagram and decided to go one step farther and test continuity on all the wires between the switch and the FDCM and found that I was lacking contact on several of the wires. Then I started inspecting the harness for damage but found nothing. I looked at the diagram again and found that on my truck there is a connector in the harness between the two components (C137), searched the manual and found the location under the dash at the left kick panel, in front of the parking brake. I looked under my dash and found it and it looked connected, but when I tugged on it, it came unplugged. I pushed it back together until I heard it click and then retested all the wires for continuity. YES!!! Put everything back together and turned the key on, all the indicators illuminated correctly and no flashing lights. Drove it to some dirt to test the lockers and smartbar and everything functions like normal.

I just thought I'd share this with you, cause I know you're dealing with the same issue on a 3G. Yours may be the smartbar, as the dealer says, but it wouldn't hurt to check C137. Good luck!

Thanks for the info BLM Rig, it cant hurt to check the simple/free stuff. that's for sure