Rear Locker + ATRAC

[Hotrodguru]

Yeah I'm still curious about the question posed above ^^

Regardless, I hit my local Radioshack to get some wire tap-ins and did this mod yesterday. Now I need to go back to doing some wheelin to try it out .

[Son of a Son]

just out of curiosity has anyone considered installing a small switch (breaking the blue/yellow and connecting it to black/orange when in one position and completing the blue/yellow circuit when in other position/s)?

[Tankota]

Son of a Son previously said:

just out of curiosity has anyone considered installing a small switch (breaking the blue/yellow and connecting it to black/orange when in one position and completing the blue/yellow circuit when in other position/s)?

You could go through all the trouble to do that, but why? You already have switches for both the ATRAC and Locker, and you can turn either on/off as you please with the mod. if you add a switch, all it will do is not allow you to turn on the locker if ATRAC is on in one position, and allow you in the other.

[cruiserlarry]

Tankota, myself, and several others have been beating the FJCs up while using the A-Trac mod for several weeks now with no ill effects - remember, you can still choose to use everything the normal way if you prefer, this mod just gives you an additional choice (or in toyota FJC-speak, another "tool" for your "toolbox"...). go ahead, take a chance !!!!

[chuckwagon]

Just chiming in to say I did the ATRAC+locker hack tonight. It was an easy mod, and the test was a success.

In my traditional tightwad style, I did the mod without going to radioshack to spend a few dollars...actually I was just too lazy to go down there and buy the cheap splicer!

All I used was an exacto knife, a soldering iron, and electrical tape.

[Jim_D]

I used a soldering iron

That's probably the best way to do the mod anyway. With a little shrink wrap and a bit of electrical tape it's extremely difficult to tell anything was ever touched.

Jim

[gsgmac]

Having done two of these mods (mine and Jim_D's) soldering is the way to go. The wires are pretty thin and connectors will have a hard time maintaining contact over time. Soldered joints of this type are not suseptable to water or dust contaimination, where wire connectors are. Both Jim and I wanted connections that would not fail, so soldering was the only choice.

Just a couple of tips:

***make sure your ignition is off and key removed, disconnecting the - battery terminal is not a bad idea either****

(don't need to juice any onboard computers)

1) Use a piece of black 20 gauge wire to extend between the two plugs, this will make the install much cleaner and result in less stress on the connection.

2) Remove the plastic cap (use a small screwdriver to disengage the 4 clips) of the VSC module (large plug), this will facilitate much better access to the blue/yellow wire and you don't have to cut the factory tape. The plug can be pulled out by pulling the white tab towards the front of the vehicle.

3) On the second plug (small one) push down the plastic covering as best you can and tie-wrap it to hold it in place. This plug can be removed by pressing the tab on the top and pulling it out (it is a tough one though).

4) Do not cut the Black/Orange wire, just strip about a 1/4" on insullation off and solder your extension wire to it, you'll have to use tape on this connection (electrical tape is only worth a sh!t if it is stretched and wrapped tight).

5) The best connection would be to cut the prevoiusly mentioned wire and solder the extension wire with the two ends of the blk/org wire and shrink wrap it. I would only suggest this if you are an experienced with soldering. There is not a lot of wire slack, so it does require some skill to solder three wire ends in the engine compartment, unless you have a third arm......

[Mtbcoach]

gsgmac - thanks for more details and "secrets" to this mod. I'm doing mine this morning and appreciate your insight. Can't wait to find a trial to test it out.

[Strike]

Strike previously said:

Did it!!

ryoung previously said:

Normally the ABS light is lit (ABS off) when the rear diff lock is engaged. After the patch, with ATRAC engaged and the rear diff locked, several have noticed that the ABS light is not lit.

Has anyone been able to confirm whether ABS is active or not in this situation? If ABS is still active, is this a problem? I can't imagine how it could be, but there are many well-functioning brains here that might know of a disaster scenario.

Hmmm.... I just noticed that in that pic. When I was wheelin' with the mod the ABS was off. Maybe it has something to do with the order of turning on the Locker and ATRAC. I'll check it out when I get my FJ back from the shop.

lllateralus has a MT and he has the same lights displayed as me. I dunno what's up with that.

lllateralus previously said:

[FJwidow]

strike i hope your "friend" wasn't involved in this mod in any way!!