Originally Posted by pos_lr3

Update:

Yeah, yeah... I get it... no pics, it didn't happen...

Here's the diagnosis of the solenoid's resistance...

​​​​​​

So, it was difficult to describe how the solenoid works with just words... I said... basically, it would be two horseshoes with a groove in the middle... How about a few pictures to help?


​​​​​​
​​​​​​
​​​​​​

As you can see, there is a notch in between the two forks of that clutch arm. How much force does it take to actuate the arm? Very little... the spring inside the solenoid is more than enough to counteract the default position of the forks (extended).

Here's a closer view of the T inside the forks...

​​​​​​
​​​​​​

So, what does the solenoid look like when it's removed?

​​​​​​
​​​​​​

Make note of the flexible gasket I'm holding... This part was stuck to the TB housing. While it was attached, it prevented any fluid from leaking out of the TB. Once I removed the solenoid, I lost about 3-4 oz of fluid... Here's a shot of liquid gold...



For those following along at home, TB = TC = Transfer Box = Transfer Case... Sorry, that's the UK way of looking at things.

Now, on to the update:

So, I felt I was in the best position to figure out what was going on with this solenoid... Let's see what we can sink out of the TCM...

10ma... that's all. Granted, when I hooked everything up, and tried to figure out the amp draw, I saw 1 ma when I turned the key on. Granted, this took me by surprise, until I thought about what was happening... So, basically I have a big coil (an inductor), and I have a bit of parasitic resistance from that coil (about 0.8 ohms)... So what happened? I have a series Resistor-Inductor circuit...

I recognized the exponential charge immediately, and I then waited for the final draw (source of the TCM)... 10 ma. Well, it looks like I need to update my coil prediction. I was hoping for a 1/4 - 1/8 amp draw, but it's looking like the TCM can only source 10 ma... 1200 Ohms. That's my new prediction.

We'll see what happens. I should get my new coil tomorrow. If there's something I didn't get a picture of that you'd like to see, let me know, and I'll make a picture.

Carl