- Jan 25, 2012
- 30
Hello All new member who was referred over here from Trailvoy. Anyways here is what I wrote over there.
Ok a few months ago my wife's Bravada started doing the crow hopping thing while making low speed turns. Easy fix. I changed the differential fluids and the transfer case fluid problem solved. After doing this the Bravada ran down the road smoother than I can ever remember. In fact it was running so smooth I started to worry if the AWD was working or not.
Well I found out this week with our first big snow storm that the AWD is not working at all. I managed to get the car stuck a few times and all that would spin were the back wheels. Finally on the last time it was stuck the service AWD light lit up. Upon the next engine restart the light went out again.
Now that things are starting to warm up around here I finally got a chance to start looking things over. First off I had my father in law come over with his scan tool. Upon hooking it up and programing it into the Bravada we found code C0374, malfunction in the AWD system. According to the tool this code is set if the rear wheels spin for 10 seconds or more.
I was really hoping to find the TCCM dead due to my model year and the ease of the fix but alas I need to go deeper.
At first my father in law thought it might be one of the sensor's on the drive shafts. A quick trip in the remaining snow with the scan tool hooked up monitoring the drive shaft speeds confirmed they were working properly, and yes we cleared the trouble code before doing this drive. During the drive I demonstrated to my father in law that the front axle would not engage at all.
According to the scan tool the wire harness to the encoder motor may be to blame.
Since I don't want to get wet I haven't had a chance to crawl under the SUV and look at the encoder motor and harness. Heck maybe it came loose some how, but I figure I am not that lucky.
Anyways I suspect I most likely need a new encoder motor but I want to test it for proper operation before buying a new one.
So how do I do this. I have read I can remove it from the vehicle and apply 12 volts on the bench to see if it is working. How exactly would I go about doing this. I am pretty sure I can get it out of the vehicle but how do I test it?
Next off if it fails the test and I buy a new encoder motor from the local parts shop, O' Reillys, NAPA etc does it come with the encoder sensor?
Finally will I need to have the new encoder sensor programmed by a dealership?
Thanks for any help that can be provided.
Jerry
Updated question:
Is there any encoder motor brand or place to get them that is preferred over others? I am going off the assumption that I am going to find the wiring harness ok and am going to need the motor.
Ok a few months ago my wife's Bravada started doing the crow hopping thing while making low speed turns. Easy fix. I changed the differential fluids and the transfer case fluid problem solved. After doing this the Bravada ran down the road smoother than I can ever remember. In fact it was running so smooth I started to worry if the AWD was working or not.
Well I found out this week with our first big snow storm that the AWD is not working at all. I managed to get the car stuck a few times and all that would spin were the back wheels. Finally on the last time it was stuck the service AWD light lit up. Upon the next engine restart the light went out again.
Now that things are starting to warm up around here I finally got a chance to start looking things over. First off I had my father in law come over with his scan tool. Upon hooking it up and programing it into the Bravada we found code C0374, malfunction in the AWD system. According to the tool this code is set if the rear wheels spin for 10 seconds or more.
I was really hoping to find the TCCM dead due to my model year and the ease of the fix but alas I need to go deeper.
At first my father in law thought it might be one of the sensor's on the drive shafts. A quick trip in the remaining snow with the scan tool hooked up monitoring the drive shaft speeds confirmed they were working properly, and yes we cleared the trouble code before doing this drive. During the drive I demonstrated to my father in law that the front axle would not engage at all.
According to the scan tool the wire harness to the encoder motor may be to blame.
Since I don't want to get wet I haven't had a chance to crawl under the SUV and look at the encoder motor and harness. Heck maybe it came loose some how, but I figure I am not that lucky.
Anyways I suspect I most likely need a new encoder motor but I want to test it for proper operation before buying a new one.
So how do I do this. I have read I can remove it from the vehicle and apply 12 volts on the bench to see if it is working. How exactly would I go about doing this. I am pretty sure I can get it out of the vehicle but how do I test it?
Next off if it fails the test and I buy a new encoder motor from the local parts shop, O' Reillys, NAPA etc does it come with the encoder sensor?
Finally will I need to have the new encoder sensor programmed by a dealership?
Thanks for any help that can be provided.
Jerry
Updated question:
Is there any encoder motor brand or place to get them that is preferred over others? I am going off the assumption that I am going to find the wiring harness ok and am going to need the motor.