So, after wading through pages and pages search results....

What is the best (and easiest) method of controlling an elocker?

1. Buy the inchworm kit? some people say the inchworm method of wiring is wrong. Is it?

2. Build my own wiring set up? if so which set up should I use? I've seen about 5 different plans, and nobody really seems to know which one is best.

3. Downey cable conversion? Some people say they hate it, but other people I know say that Downey updated the design and now love it. Anybody actually have one work?

4. some other method I'm missing?

thanks!

 

Personally, I like the electric method of activation/deactivation. I bought the OEM relay box, ran the wires, and it works great. I like the look of the stock RR Diff Lock button, but that's just me. I also hooked up two LED's on the dash (Red and green) to let me know when I am locked.

My vote is to go electric, but as long as you can lock and unlock the thing it probably doesn't matter much.

 

hey christian,

ive read all of the writeups on wiring them and like joel, i am confused as to what actually needs to be done in terms of making your own control unit box. so instead of building your own control box, you just bought the stock elocker ecu?

so the parts are (from front to back):

(elocker ecu) to (some long arse wire/cable) to (elocker harness cable) to (elocker)

correct?

so most people make that long cable that plugs in between the elocker ecu and elocker harness cable, correct? did you make one?

i am not knowledgable enough to read those wiring schematics and it seems like the people who have made it are very proficient in electrical wiring diagrams.

lastly, do you have a writeup on how you wired those leds to show the state of the locker?

thanks,
bob

 

Bob et al –

Yep, you basically said exactly what I did. The key is to snag plugs and harnesses from the donor vehicle, if you can get them. There is a section of plug under the rear seats that you really need to do this right. Once you have all the right plugs, you can run all that wiring from the OEM relay box. Make sure you label everything correctly! I thought I had everything labeled right, then taped all the wires into a tightly wrapped bundle, only to find out something was wrong. I had to redo it all! So be sure to test it “loose” first.

Once you have all that in place, you can get the RR Diff Lock switch (3 wires) ran to the relay box. I simply used the B+ “on” wire to run my LED’s. I would never have done the LED idea if it wasn’t for two nasty holes left in the plastic piece that goes around the radio etc. after I removed one of those compass things. Anyway, I am happy I did that because I have the option of activating my locker at any time, and I want to know if it’s on or I accidentally push the button (you might want to put some kind of safety in place, such as an additional switch or a protective Plexiglas cover because the last thing you want to do is activate your locker at 70MPH!. Keep in mind that with this LED set up I am relying solely on the switch to tell me if the locker is (or might be) engaged. Ideally you would want to run the LED’s in line with the “locked” signal from the locker itself. I wasn’t about to deal with all that though!

I considered making my own system, but like you guys, I was pretty discouraged by all the schematics and ideas out there.

Sorry Bob, no write up. I probably should have, but I just didn’t feel like taking pictures during all this tedious work.

 

Yeah...

 

The price was right for making my own... I installed an ELocker into a 1st gen runner for my buddy. I ended up making a custom harness with no computer or anything like that. I used 4, 4 pin relays, a section of 7 wire trailor harness, a switch inside, 3 LEDs inside and away we went... works awsome!!!! Took a bit to figure out the diagram, but its not that bad if you spend a little time and talk yourself through it....

For the time it took mind you, I would like to know how the downey cable works....

 

Anyone have the diagram or a link to it?

 

Here you go.

http://carterswebsite.com/4runner/mods/locker/

 

http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/tech/electric_locker/

that is the page I used... If you go down to "my install" and look at the diagram using relays, that is very clost to my final setup.... the only thing I changed, was rather than using 2-6 pin relays ( cost and availability ) I used 4-4 pin relays. Rather than having a " Lock " and an "Unlock" relay, I ended up with a " + Lock " a " - Lock " a " + Unlock " and a " - Unlock "

None the less the setup was under $20 and took a few hours to wire all up....

 

Hey Praufet, do you have any pics of your truck?? I would love to see a 2nd gen with FZJ-80 wheels...

 

There ya go

 

Man... that looks deadly too!!!!

 

Once I can get some money, it'll be getting 4 link rear, lt front and either fox or king coil overs at all corners, plus custom f/r bumpers. I know I could go sway a way, call me vain, but I want the blue shocks to match the car.

And thanks for the compliment!

 

If you have a 3rd gen then the dash is pre-wired for the e-locker switch and factory dash lights. To utilize this you need the factory e-locker ecu which can be expensive if you don't have access to a donor vehicle. If you have the e-locker ecu, then this is the best write-up that I found and used: http://www.sonoransteel.com/phong/re...ic_locker.html

If you don't have a 3rd gen or don't use the factory switch and ecu then you will have to rig up your own activation indicator lights like Christian did.

If you don't want to fork over for the factory ecu you can build your own pretty easily. This is the best write-up I found for building your own ecu: http://67.122.16.97/carterman/4runne...er/#ELECT_MECH

 

Do you know if the 01 and 02 Runners are still pre-wired considering that the rear locker was not an option for these years?

 

i don't think all 3rd gens are prewired for the switch. mines not, unless its extremely well hidden. they probably all have the dash light though.

no idea about 01 and 02.

 

Yeah, mine wasn't wired for the switch - however, it did have the dash light...but I didn't take it to that level.

 

The dash took a little tearing into for me to find the pre-wiring for the switch and ecu. The connectors were taped up really well and hidden out of the way. At first I seriously thought that I didn't have it. After I downloaded all the wiring diagrams from http://techinfo.toyota.com I was alble to understand where and what to looking for. I doubt that there were serparate dash wiring harnesses for locked and un-locked 4Runners, but I definately could be wrong. It is interesting that the writeup I used happened to be for a 00 4Runner which mine is also.

There definately is a different wiring harness that runs the length of the body that connects under the rear driver-side seat to behind the front kick pannel on the driver side. Since I was originally un-locked I had to create that part myself as in the write-up.

As far as 01 and 02 models go, I don't know. It would depend on whether they redesigned the wiring harnesses or just carried the previous model forward.

 

Hmmm, maybe I should have looked a little harder...oh well. You might be right Brad - I just didn't see anything obvious.