Ok here's what I got. The differential was locking in and out with out the wires plugged up. I have it up on blocks and when I gave it a little gas the front wheels locked up and then they unlock. It does this without the diff plugged up. I plugged it up and no change, so I pulled it back out and took it apart. Everything looks brand new except for the armature plate. It does not appear to be bent just has two grooves in it. Not real bad but can feel pretty good with your finger nail. It already has the aluminum cage in it. When I put power to it now disassembled it seems to be engaging and disengaging ok. Could the armature plate cause it to lock and unlock with it unplugged? Can I resurface the plate with sandpaper? Also can I run a wire from the awd switch directly to the differential?

Thanks for your help on this.

 

Ok here's what I got. The differential was locking in and out with out the wires plugged up. I have it up on blocks and when I gave it a little gas the front wheels locked up and then they unlock. It does this without the diff plugged up. I plugged it up and no change, so I pulled it back out and took it apart. Everything looks brand new except for the armature plate. It does not appear to be bent just has two grooves in it. Not real bad but can feel pretty good with your finger nail. It already has the aluminum cage in it. When I put power to it now disassembled it seems to be engaging and disengaging ok. Could the armature plate cause it to lock and unlock with it unplugged? Can I resurface the plate with sandpaper? Also can I run a wire from the awd switch directly to the differential?

Thanks for your help on this.

 

You may be lucky on this one since it has the aluminum cage. Yes a magnetized,warped or worn armature plate can cause erratic operation with or without power to the front diff. Don't try to resurface the plate,not worth the effort. Just order a new one.This is a wear item.