TOD Malfunction ?

[maxw]

Driving throught the blizzard in Boston, my TOD goes to all lights blazing and then the TOD check light appears.
If it is a malfunction, I guess I'm best off in 4
all wheel drive in this mess and continue.
When I slow to a stop, the lights descend, but the check light keeps flashing and then as I acclerate I engage all wheels again.
I'm not too worried as I seem to be the only vehicle really sticking to the road.
Come to a stop, turn off the engine, restart and no TOD warning light.

Questions-:

If my tires are slicked up with heavy snow, does constant TOD operation in all wheel drive lead to any problems?

Does continual driving with TOD warning flashing and in all wheel drive lead to damage?

Does stopping and restarting engine "reset" the TOD?
Manual states to do exactly that : stop engine and then restart.

What do you guys think?

Thanks in advance.

[ISCE]

Hello fellow Marylander,

I was out this morning too, no TOD problems this time. I did however experience almost exactly what you are describing in the past. What I found out was I had my right side rims all packed with snow, and I think it just totally threw off the TOD. I have NO idea how all that snow got in there ;)

After stopping and cleaning out the snowpack the TOD went back to normal. Now, after playing I always clean out the rims before heading back onto the road and all is well. Never saw the Check TOD lights again.

Roads weren't too bad this morning, biggest problem was the 3 foot wall at the end of our cul-de-sac where we have yet again been plowed in! Still no plow down our street here. Took me a few times hitting the end to get through but I did.

Jay

[mbeach]

A little OT, but since it's your turn to be in deep snow, I thought that I'd share this with you guys.


My Ironman has been laid up for about 2 weeks now, thanks to heavy snowpack in the wheels.
A few weeks ago, I packed the entire rear of the truck with snow during a 600 mile drive across the interior. I mean, it was jammed in EVERYWHERE -I couldn't open the rear hatch, I couldn't even see my gas tank, the springs were packed as well as the wheels. But even worse, the brake calipers were packed with snow.

I broke out what snow that I could with sticks and scrapers (it was very cold, and laying on my back under the truck was not any fun.) I even parked it in a heated bay for 18 hours. A fair amount of the snow melted off, but the stuff in and around my brake calipers just melted and refroze. It continued this thaw-freeze cycle for a week until the rear calipers locked up altogether. This boiled my brake fluid and ate up the pads within a few miles.

So, now I'm looking at: New pads and rotors (all around, no sense in doing half), a total brake fluid flush and fill, and a new master cylinder (I think that the increase in line pressure thanks to the iced calipers lack of travel burst a seal). Either way, it's leaking now.
This isn't all bad this gives me a chance to get rid of my eBay cheapie pads/rotors (lecarautomobiles, avoid like the plague) and get the same good ones that we had on the Dragon (r1concepts).

Moral of the story:
Once you bust that snow out of the wheels and calipers, use some WD-40 or anything else that'll displace moisture. Use a lot, and let the calipers dry out before venturing back out into the cold.

[AndyC]

Wow I was returning from Portmouth, NH today and had the TOD mess up too but it would go in and out of Check. I pulled over several times to check it but had no idea on what it could be. I never thought of the snow/ice buildup in the rims. I was stumped as I got closer to home and the system seemed fine. I washed all the snow and salt/sand off and put it back in the garage. It was a late night and I beat. Now I check the site and what are the first 3 post TOD problems -- go figure. I did lock it into 4 low and it worked fine so I'm happy to hope/figure it was just the ice/slush in the rims.
Hopefully that was it I'll fine out tomorrow.


Driving throught the blizzard in Boston, my TOD goes to all lights blazing and then the TOD check light appears.
When I slow to a stop, the lights descend, but the check light keeps flashing and then as I acclerate I engage all wheels again.
Come to a stop, turn off the engine, restart and no TOD warning light.

[hugabone]

Im just now able to get on the PC because the power went out because of the snow storm. I was out Fourwheelin' this morning in the snow only to have my TOD go out on me afterwards. The check light started flashing. I figured maybe the sensors got wet but I didnt know for sure. After hours of the check light flashing, it finally stop but the front wheel drive indicator still wouldnt light. A few hours after that, the front wheel indicator started coming back on but would light up all over the place. Finally I pull in my parking spot and it seemed to go back to normal. Ill find out for sure in the morning.

[maxw]

Thanks guys. I tried cleaning out the wheel wells etc, but to no avail. So I took it to my merry Isuzu mechanic who suggested that there is some vacuum valve that sits near the axle and classically gets plugged up after a heavy snow.
If this is so, it suggests a rahter poor design for the TOD since after heavy snow or mud drivng, TOD will go on the blink. I guess if it assumes an all wheel drive mode then that is still safe, but I wonder if we can just get under the hood and clean it ourselves?
Any ideas? Anyone verify this?

[mbeach]

I routinely drive through (very) deep snow, and I've never had it cause difficulty with the TOD. The snow is normally very cold (dry) and it shakes off easily as soon as I get back onto the highway. Maybe the warmer, wetter snow that you are experiencing is the culprit?

The only time my TOD ever acted up was after a water crossing.

[AndyC]

Well I just took my VX and everything is normal. I got on it from a stop and the TOD kicked in as usually and went back to normal. I don't really think it was from the iced/slush build up from the highway, but maybe. I'll try to check things out better when I get the time but it's back to normal.

Andy

On the way home the highway was wet in the main lane (massive salt - since it was averaging 17 out). I rode in the outer lane most the way but switched over when it got mixed between ice an a little slush. My stock tires are getting a little to worn for that, so new skins are in the future. My problems started after I stopped for a pit stop.

[maxw]

OK, so I decided to get it looked at.
The mechanic said that the connection near the axle is protected by a rubber hood that was pushed back exposing the connections which were full of dirt and ice.
Apparently this is the most common culprit in TOD malfunction based on his experience with the ISUZU.
So it does not appear that build up of ice etc around the wheel wells and rims are the cause but that the connection is contaminated. He said one way of avoiding this is to isolate the connection and divert it so that there is no way of any foreign matter impacting on it.
I hope this does the job as in the years I have the VX, this is the first TOD malfunction.