Daniel and all,

On Wed, 1998-12-02 07:35:59 EST, Daniel Bey wrote:

>                               How do I test the dif lock to see if it's
> working?

Secure the front wheels (using some bricks  if nothing else is at  hand)
lift the hindquarters of the van on jack stands,  so both rear tires are
off the ground.   Have the gear in  neutral, release the  parking brake,
start the engine to get  enough vacuum, and  pull the diff lock  switch.
Then hold the left  rear tire with one hand  and rotate the right  tire.
As I just mentioned in another posting the diff lock should engage after
a 60 degree rotation of the right tire at the latest.

Another method would be to set the van back in such a  way that one rear
wheel (mind you, only one!)   is well in  a ditch.  This wheel will have
only pretty reduced contact to  the ground and  thus little traction, as
will have the front wheel on the opposite side.  If you do it correctly,
and with the  diff lock not activated, when  trying to get out, the rear
wheel  in the ditch  should start spinning as should  the front wheel on
the opposite side, while the other two wheels should not move at all.

If you don't have a diff  lock or if  your diff lock doesn't work that's
the end of the story and you need somebody else or a  whinch to pull you
out.   If you do  have a diff lock  you should activate  it now, and the
rear tire not in the ditch should then  pull you out of  the ditch or at
least it should start spinning,  too (in the latter  case your diff lock
is ok, too, but you just did too good a job of setting her in that ditch
... :-).

> ...
>             Also the lights on the lock panels all light up, but does not
> change when I pull the knob out.

The diff lock panel is illuminated as your dash is.  And the three green
indicator  lights are slightly illuminated  as well, all  three of them.
You can control  the brightness using  the variable resistor  under your
head lights  switch.  However,  when the diff   lock engages,  the green
light gets really bright.  The difference is significant.

Sincerely
 Rainer

'89 Caravell GL Syncro 16"

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