Front/Rear Diff Locker Issue

[RamFarmer]

I have just noticed in the past week that the light for my rear and front dif is flashing. I am just running 2wd and not changing to 4hi or 4lo.. I heard that it could be that smart bar on the truck. Wondering if anyone can confirm this or give me some more info on what this might be? And if this has happened to anyone else and what they had to do.. The light starts to flash about a minute after I start the truck up.

 

[56PW17]

The position for the locker switch is in axle unlock?

 

[Low_Sky]

Check for water intrusion in the smart bar electrical connector first. Sometimes it’s an easy fix of cleaning/drying it out, applying some dielectric grease. Have also heard of bent pins in that connector causing this.
Look for the easy/cheap causes before looking at the whole smarbar module as suspect. If you take it to the dealer they’re just going to start throwing parts at it, probably starting with the smartbar. $$$$


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[RamFarmer]

The position for the locker switch is in axle unlock?

Yes, the lockers are not engaged when this happening. But acting like they are "trying" to work

 

[RamFarmer]

Check for water intrusion in the smart bar electrical connector first. Sometimes it’s an easy fix of cleaning/drying it out, applying some dielectric grease. Have also heard of bent pins in that connector causing this.
Look for the easy/cheap causes before looking at the whole smarbar module as suspect. If you take it to the dealer they’re just going to start throwing parts at it, probably starting with the smartbar. $$$$


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Ill start there, take a look and see if that works. Thanks for the tip. Id rather not replace it if I can help it.

 

[Pwrwgn08]

after running through all the issues with the smart bar and related components, along with some other things i have found out a TON about these lockers and their lights. i had the same issue with my 2008 where the lights would flash for the front and rear lockers all the time. scanning with autoenginuity's scan tool the FDCM was seeing "implausable data from locker signal" and i would clear those codes in the module, just to clear the flashing lights for about 20 min. i have hardwired the lockers to relays under the hood and all that, and didnt think anything about the code pulling up because the lockers were bypassed. BUT come to find out a few 100 miles later that there was in fact an issue, after blowing a few fuses on the bypass relays i couldnt find the issue outside the pumpkin, so i took off the cover last sunday to find that the locker actuator(5175302AB) was shorted from too much metal collecting on the magnet that "senses" the locker position. (see picture arrow pointing to problem area) After owning this truck for a little over 2 years it never occurred to me that i should be servicing the rear end almost annually. and it shows with the amount of collection on the magnet. (thing that looks like a gray M&M in the circle). but after my mishap, the actual locker actuator is now smoked and i need to get a new one. :-( and these guys are not cheap ($476 is the cheapest i have found for direct mopar replacement) So please do yourself a favor and pull off the diff cover and clean that magnet, it should solve the flashing issue because the sensor will then see the correct spacing on the magnet and see that you are indeed "unlocked" because with the buildup of metal fragments, the magnet gets "closer" and then throws off the magnetic field that the sensor is looking for. The cleaning of the magnet cost roughly $65 for the fluid and about an hour of time. The gasket is reusable, and make sure to clean off any dirt on the pumpkin with a brush or something before pulling off the cover, it will save you some time of cleaning out the dirt that falls into the diff when it is apart.

 

[TxPWRWGN]

I just bought a 2011 and of course on the drive home the rear locker light starts to blink... I tested it in a ditch before I purchased and the front and rear locked up no issues. So based off of everything I’ve read, may be the smart bar or the rear actuator.. Not sure where to begin. Has anyone changed out the actuator themselves? Pwrwgn08 what did you end up having to do?

 

[Maligator]

after running through all the issues with the smart bar and related components, along with some other things i have found out a TON about these lockers and their lights. i had the same issue with my 2008 where the lights would flash for the front and rear lockers all the time. scanning with autoenginuity's scan tool the FDCM was seeing "implausable data from locker signal" and i would clear those codes in the module, just to clear the flashing lights for about 20 min. i have hardwired the lockers to relays under the hood and all that, and didnt think anything about the code pulling up because the lockers were bypassed. BUT come to find out a few 100 miles later that there was in fact an issue, after blowing a few fuses on the bypass relays i couldnt find the issue outside the pumpkin, so i took off the cover last sunday to find that the locker actuator(5175302AB) was shorted from too much metal collecting on the magnet that "senses" the locker position. (see picture arrow pointing to problem area) After owning this truck for a little over 2 years it never occurred to me that i should be servicing the rear end almost annually. and it shows with the amount of collection on the magnet. (thing that looks like a gray M&M in the circle). but after my mishap, the actual locker actuator is now smoked and i need to get a new one. :-( and these guys are not cheap ($476 is the cheapest i have found for direct mopar replacement) So please do yourself a favor and pull off the diff cover and clean that magnet, it should solve the flashing issue because the sensor will then see the correct spacing on the magnet and see that you are indeed "unlocked" because with the buildup of metal fragments, the magnet gets "closer" and then throws off the magnetic field that the sensor is looking for. The cleaning of the magnet cost roughly $65 for the fluid and about an hour of time. The gasket is reusable, and make sure to clean off any dirt on the pumpkin with a brush or something before pulling off the cover, it will save you some time of cleaning out the dirt that falls into the diff when it is apart.

View attachment 173858

I might've had you beat[emoji1787] mine looked like a damn porcupine

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