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JeanCote08

Junior Member
Joined
Jan 26, 2021
Posts
1
Reaction score
6
Location
Quebec
Ram Year
2013
Engine
Hemi 5.7
Send @Brandon-w a PM before you do that[emoji106]
Hi
I am a fresh little newbie here.
I unexpectedly found out about Brandon_w's TC locking switch about three weeks ago. I had abandoned long ago the search for a simple and inexpensive solution to this BW44-44 problem (or should I say bad programming issue).
Well, I received the switch yesterday and installed it in just a few minutes.
Gender swap succeeded!!! From a Sunday-school driver on big wheels, the truck finally became the real 4X4 it should have always been.

Now, when I want 4Lock, I get 4Lock. No matter what the executives at FCA decided would be best for me...

Brandon has crafted an elegant work around, and so easy to install. He did guide me quickly when I found out my setup was not as expected.
Highly recommended!
Cheers
JeanCote08
 
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RAMTRPR

"Enjoy The Little Things"
Joined
Sep 23, 2016
Posts
723
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468
Location
Brentwood, CA
Ram Year
2009
Engine
Hemi 5.7
If you have the 44-44 and want to swap to the 44-45 does it matter what gears you have installed? I have 4.56's currently.
 

duckman631

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2019
Posts
328
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228
Location
New Jersey
Ram Year
2016 Big Horn Crew Cab
Engine
Hemi 5.7 K&N Cold Air Intake.
Hi
I am a fresh little newbie here.
I unexpectedly found out about Brandon_w's TC locking switch about three weeks ago. I had abandoned long ago the search for a simple and inexpensive solution to this BW44-44 problem (or should I say bad programming issue).
Well, I received the switch yesterday and installed it in just a few minutes.
Gender swap succeeded!!! From a Sunday-school driver on big wheels, the truck finally became the real 4X4 it should have always been.

Now, when I want 4Lock, I get 4Lock. No matter what the executives at FCA decided would be best for me...

Brandon has crafted an elegant work around, and so easy to install. He did guide me quickly when I found out my setup was not as expected.
Highly recommended!
Cheers
JeanCote08

got mine from him Over a year ago. One of the best things I put in my truck. Quick easy install and now have true 4x4
 

NateSaint56

Junior Member
Joined
Nov 15, 2022
Posts
6
Reaction score
8
Location
Maine
Ram Year
2011
Engine
5.7l Hemi
So did anyone ever have any luck with swapping in a 44-45 into a 2011 with the 44-44? I saw someone on here attempted and had issues with the AlphaOBD finding the right settings. Just wanted to follow up because I would like to do this on my 2011.
 

Wild one

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2016
Posts
13,725
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23,399
Ram Year
14 Sport
Engine
5.7
So did anyone ever have any luck with swapping in a 44-45 into a 2011 with the 44-44? I saw someone on here attempted and had issues with the AlphaOBD finding the right settings. Just wanted to follow up because I would like to do this on my 2011.
I'd give Brandon-W's switch a try first if he has any in stock.You should be able to message him on here,if you search out his name
 

NateSaint56

Junior Member
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Nov 15, 2022
Posts
6
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8
Location
Maine
Ram Year
2011
Engine
5.7l Hemi
I did find the site. The kicker is I already swapped in the 45. Works fine going from 2wd to 4H and back. Haven't put it in 4L because I know the motor won't travel far enough back. I missed that part on this forum about the 2011s until after I made the swap. Not hard to change back if I need to. I just wanted a simple solution for plowing. I'm pretty good with wiring and electronics, so I may see if I can rig up something on the motor to pulse it back enough from 4L to 2wd.
 

NateSaint56

Junior Member
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Nov 15, 2022
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6
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8
Location
Maine
Ram Year
2011
Engine
5.7l Hemi
Right now with the 45 in I can go from 2H to 4L no problem. Which makes sense. With the 44 there are only 2 positions on that shaft for the encoder motor. The motor just shifts it from low range to high range and the brown wire locks in the clutches for 4x4(either H or L depending on the position of the motor). I'll see what I can come up with for programming with my OBD connector comes in. Worst case I'll just swap the 44 back in and use a relay with a switch to put 12V to the brown wire that controls the clutch solenoid.
 

NateSaint56

Junior Member
Joined
Nov 15, 2022
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6
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Location
Maine
Ram Year
2011
Engine
5.7l Hemi
Update, ended up swapping the 44 back in. Didn’t have any issues before other than the usual waiting for the wheel slip before locking. Didn’t want to mess around with programming and risk messing anything up. Instead I just made my own lockup switch that utilizes into the factory aux switches on the dash(I added the six switch pack when I bought the truck years ago). Just wanted something to reduce wear on the TC when I plow. So far works great. Tested it in the soft sand and locks like it should, and when disengaged it returns it to factory mode. The switches also only work when the truck is running to avoid draining the battery.
 

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Hemi395

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2013
Posts
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15,598
Location
Cape Cod MA
Ram Year
2013
Engine
5.7 Hemi
Update, ended up swapping the 44 back in. Didn’t have any issues before other than the usual waiting for the wheel slip before locking. Didn’t want to mess around with programming and risk messing anything up. Instead I just made my own lockup switch that utilizes into the factory aux switches on the dash(I added the six switch pack when I bought the truck years ago). Just wanted something to reduce wear on the TC when I plow. So far works great. Tested it in the soft sand and locks like it should, and when disengaged it returns it to factory mode. The switches also only work when the truck is running to avoid draining the battery.
I like the idea of using the factory aux switches for the tcase lock
 

NateSaint56

Junior Member
Joined
Nov 15, 2022
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6
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8
Location
Maine
Ram Year
2011
Engine
5.7l Hemi
I like the idea of using the factory aux switches for the tcase lock
I have a wiring diagram for this year aux switches. If you want then let me know and I’ll dig them up and add them to here.
 

dannoonan01

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Joined
Nov 25, 2022
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2
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6
Location
Michigan, USA
Ram Year
2013 1500 and 2016 Power Wagon
Engine
5.7 Hemi and 6.4 Hemi
Just completed the 44-45 swap on my 2013 Sport 5.7 Hemi. I picked up a used transfer case for 100 bucks from a local salvage yard. I bought a new 4x4 switch. I had to purchase Aplha OBD and the MX+ OBD Bluetooth module, but these also came in handy last weekend when I was troubleshooting the air suspension system. The only issue I had with the swap wasn't really an issue, but more of a strange occurrence. When I selected the BW44-46 with syncro for the transfer case, Alpha OBD did not give me a message that said it was "programming", instead it said the BW44-46 was the current transfer case and the program did not need to be changed. I played around with selecting different transfer cases, and it never gave me a "programming message". I just made sure Aplha OBD was seeing that the BW44-46 with Syncro was the programmed transfer case and went with it. Everything works like it should. I guess with the MX+ and Aplha OBD running on a newer Galaxy tablet, it didn't take anytime to complete the programming. Overall this was a pretty easy swap. Thanks to the original poster for providing perfectly written instructions!

On a side note, when I drained the fluid from the old 44-45 it was the worst smelling transmission fluid I have ever encountered. It smelled like pure burnt clutch and was completely black!
 

Xsen

Junior Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2021
Posts
25
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22
Location
Urals, Russia
Ram Year
2014
Engine
Hemi 5.7
In case anyone wondered, this absolutely works for swapping 44-45 to 44-44. One of the local owners decided that he absolutely needed the 4WD Auto function on his 2014 G/T. Replaced the T-case and the buttons, re-configured the BCM for BW 44-44 and that was it.
 

Mopar1987

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2015
Posts
226
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123
Location
Livingston TX
Ram Year
2014
Engine
5.7 hemi
Got everything swapped out minus the switch. Went to program and this keeps popping up….
 

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emjohn4

Senior Member
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Jul 25, 2012
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Ram Year
2012
Engine
Hemi 5.7
Do you have the security bypass cable for the 2018+ trucks? I think it was 2018 when that was implemented on the Ram.
 

Mopar1987

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2015
Posts
226
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Location
Livingston TX
Ram Year
2014
Engine
5.7 hemi
So. Fun fact. I needed the bypass harness to change bcm settings. The HPTuners bypass wouldn’t allow me to change those parameters. Also, I first clicked 44-46 with sync and it wouldn’t change anything and had a service 4wd. Was stuck in 4H. Redid it and clicked 44-46 and now it functions perfect and no service 4wd.
 
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