Pajero 4th Generation Blinking Center Diff Lock Light

[desertdude]

2 hours ago, Frederic said:

Check underneath the front axle. Try to locate the black rubber hoses and inspect them. Pull back the rubber boot and clean the sensor. 
This, and removing the solenoid is about the only thing you can do yourself, if still the issue comes back you might want to take it to a workshop. 

Wait. Why is the vacuum driven actuator on the from diff?. Shouldn't it be on the transfer case? 

Unless it's a full time 4wd with 50/50 torque split and the front hubs only being engaged when 4wd selected. 

Like old school 4WDs where you had to get out and manually lock the hubs.

[Frederic]

6 hours ago, desertdude said:

Wait. Why is the vacuum driven actuator on the from diff?. Shouldn't it be on the transfer case? 

Unless it's a full time 4wd with 50/50 torque split and the front hubs only being engaged when 4wd selected. 

Like old school 4WDs where you had to get out and manually lock the hubs.

The Super Select 4WD system has a electronic viscous coupling and the front wheels are being disengaged by the actuator (like hubs). 

[desertdude]

16 hours ago, Frederic said:

The Super Select 4WD system has a electronic viscous coupling and the front wheels are being disengaged by the actuator (like hubs). 

So it is a full-time 4wd with a 50/50 torque split all the time so all 4wd components always being driven only with the front hubs disengaged.

Kind of counterintuitive for gas mileage savings if you ask me because technically you are always in 4wd. 

And if that's the case why not just leave it in 4H without LC like most modern full-time 4wd cars. 

Why even have a 2wd option then, literally forcing the system to be 2wd without any real benefit. Maybe just to dupe customers into thinking you can save on gas while in 2wd like regular part time 4wds 

Edited July 26, 2020 by desertdude

[Frederic]

8 hours ago, desertdude said:

So it is a full-time 4wd with a 50/50 torque split all the time so all 4wd components always being driven only with the front hubs disengaged.

Kind of counterintuitive for gas mileage savings if you ask me because technically you are always in 4wd. 

And if that's the case why not just leave it in 4H without LC like most modern full-time 4wd cars. 

Why even have a 2wd option then, literally forcing the system to be 2wd without any real benefit. Maybe just to dupe customers into thinking you can save on gas while in 2wd like regular part time 4wds 

Pajeros tend to be a bit thirsty, but I clearly notice the difference when driving in 2H on the highway as it runs  smoother and more quiet.

The Super Select System has more than proven itself over the years. So you don’t hear me complaining. 

[AliArshad]

@RohanH can you tell me the location or mechanic. I have recently bought a pajeor and seems like I have similar issue after 15 min drive the light starts blinking until I restart the vehicle. 

[Frederic]

6 hours ago, AliArshad said:

@RohanH can you tell me the location or mechanic. I have recently bought a pajeor and seems like I have similar issue after 15 min drive the light starts blinking until I restart the vehicle. 

@AliArshad this is a very common and known (minor) issue.

If the Pajero senses that the front wheels are not disengaged, it will throw this blinking light to notify you. As a first thing what you can do is go underneath the car where you will find the vacuum actuator looking like this:

Verify if the vacuum hoses are not loose or broken off. This is the first thing you can check before taking it to any mechanic. If the hoses are intact, look for the below mentioned common reasons:

Most common reasons:

1. Vacuum solenoids are stuck or defective. Around 250dhs in Habtoor and can be easily replaced yourselves. They are located next to the air filter box. Most mechanics who have worked on Pajeros can do this in 10mins.

2. Front differential sensor defective. Not so very common but easy to replace.

3.Stuck vacuum actuator:

We are not allowed to advertise workshops here as we want to keep the forum bias-free. I would recommend to approach your nearest car mechanic and discuss with him if he has experience with this issue. As you can see this is an easy fix and won't cost you much.

 

 

 

 

[PajeroDubai]

Thank you frederic for the great information shared here for Gen 4 Pajero center diff-lock light blinking, which helped me a lot to solve this issue. i joined here to just say thanks and appreciate your knowledge

[Marek]

Mine started blinking couple months back during one desert drive. But restarting the car did it for the next couple of days... But it comes back. And as Frederic mentioned - it's related to the vacuum system. Funny enough - ever since amazon delivered the part, I have not seen the blinking thing since. I keep the solenoid in the glove box so I can replace it if needed, but so far it didn't come back (since Dec). I told myself that I would replace it anyways next time I'm working on the car... and I forgot completely until I saw this post.

[BennyB]

If the REAR Diff lock is blinking what are usually the issues? I was testing the 4wd system on a 3.8 today and 4H, 4HLC and 4LLC engaged ok (from 2H to 4H it did require to move the car couple of meters to stop blinking) - but when i pressed the rear diff lock button the indicator just kept blinking no matter what i tried. 

[Marek]

mine is sorta/kinda lazy there too... and usually it takes a while to engage - sometimes I have to move a few meters forward so it engages, but it does it eventually. I am curious what can be the reason. let's hear from experts...