auburn ECTED updated design???

ok so i finally took my new auburn ECTED out of the box yesterday to start planning the install, when i noticed something weird.

EVERY SINGLE PICTURE i've seen of the auburn ECTED has the electric locking ring on the opposite side of the ring gear. like in this picture. you can see where the 2 wires are coming out of the little blue tab.


well mine looks nothing like that. mine has the electric ring behind the ring gear plate, and is barely bigger than the size of the bearing race. so i've been searching for hours online, and i CAN NOT find any pictures of an auburn ECTED that looks like mine. so i'm wondering if they just changed/updated their design and i have one of the first ones, or if somebody had a seriously bad day at work and just screwed up everything on my locker from it's location to the parts.

anybody else have any experience with the ECTED that sounds like mine, or even seen one like mine??? if i have to i'll try to take some pics of mine real quick so you can see the difference.

scorpio_vette said:

If i have to i'll try to take some pics of mine real quick so you can see the difference.

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That would be mildly helpful..............

I just bought one last week for a D44 and mine is on the ring gear side. I think its the same as the one I put in my 8.8 a couple years back... I'll check when its light and warmer outside...




Wonder if your on to something or its just different for different applications??

What model axle is yours for?

CW

cwlongshot said:

CW

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yeah that's EXACTLY what mine looks like. thank god you posted that. i was starting to think i lost my mind or i was just really having such shitty luck. LOL

mine is also for a rear jeep dana44

yeah every picture on the net that i can find on google and altavista with tons of search terms always show it with the electric collar opposite of the ring gear. but mine is just like yours. with the electric collar behind the ring gear under the bearing.

i know auburn has a good reputation, but i'm starting to get a little nervous that i can't find any reviews/writeups about the ECTED on the internet except for 2 magazines that wrote about it when they first came out.

I was also wondering how well they were holding up. Would like to have one for my D30.

BlueCuda said:

I was also wondering how well they were holding up. Would like to have one for my D30.

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there is a guy in the club i'm in that has one in his front 30. i asked him about it, and he said that so far it's been working nice. i haven't had a chance though to really get into the nitty gritty about the locker with him yet.

I have had one in the rear of my TJ for almost two years. It sepnt about 6-8months of that as a DD. I LOVE the performance.

I have read the posts about it not being a "TRUE" Locker. its acted like a locker, performed like a locker and done everything I have asked of it.

Where I come from if it looks, and walks like a duck...its a duck...

The LS in this thing is top notch on the road!!

CW

cwlongshot said:

I have read the posts about it not being a "TRUE" Locker. its acted like a locker, performed like a locker and done everything I have asked of it.

Where I come from if it looks, and walks like a duck...its a duck...

The LS in this thing is top notch on the road!!

CW

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when engage the ECTED is fully locked. i've read that there is a electric traction device out there that supposedly just becomes more aggressive based on the settings, but i don't remember which one that was. but on their website, sales adds, the 2 magazine articles i found on it, and talking to the guy in my club all say that it is fully locked as if it were a spool when engaged.

Every locker has it's pros and cons. We make a decision and buy what we think is right for us. So congrats on your purchase. However, The ECTED can transfer up to 100% of torque by it's friction plates. Friction plates can slip. It is not a mechanical locking unit. As with any other friction differential, the clutches of the ECTED can wear and performance decreases with wear.

So, the ECTED might be a fine solution to some for a variety of problems. I think it has some good features myself. However, just because it has feathers and likes water, does not mean it is a duck. I have talked to Auburn, and even they shy away from comparisons to mechanical locker such as Detroits and ARBs.

Well both my D30 adn 8.8 were set up with the electro sol. NOT on the ring gear side. They both were on the opposite side.

And I got a little lost in the different post. SO the Brand new one you just got recently was for a D44 and it had the sol on the ring gear side?

ROBERTK said:

Well both my D30 adn 8.8 were set up with the electro sol. NOT on the ring gear side. They both were on the opposite side.

And I got a little lost in the different post. SO the Brand new one you just got recently was for a D44 and it had the sol on the ring gear side?

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yup. that's it. just like in the pics above. i wasn't sure if that was right or not since i couldn't find any pics of an auburn that looked like mine. but apparently it seems that's a new desing.

well a buddy just told me that for sure his D44 one he Just got this month last week actually, is like the top picture... Your saying your is like the sec picture??

The first pic looks like mine too:



On this one, you have to remove the electric ring in order to slide the ring gear over it.

this is what mine looks like. just like cwlongshots pictures show.

ok i just got off of the phone with auburn since they didn't return my e-mails, and i got all my questions answered.

1) the reason my (dana44) locker looks different from any of the once on the internet, is because it was just release beginning of this month and they haven't send any of the updated pictures to any of their suppliers yet.

2) it is in fact a TRUE locker when engaged, and not just a tighter limited slip. when the switch is turned on, it locks both wheels 100% just as if you were running a spool or other selectable locker.

3) on their website and other sites, it says that the locker can be controlled by the vehicles on-board electronics, and interact with things such as ABS, wheel speed sensors etc..etc...etc... BUT the reason i couldn't find any information on how to do that is because auburn decided not to come out with that feature after all. so basically 1/2 of the features currently advertised on the auburn website about the ECTED are not true. it is simply operator controlled, and is a limited slip when off and locker when on.

yaayy...now to go install it and try it out.

#1) EDIT I had in here that that is different then my buddies, but after interigating my bud he agreed that his too is like the second picture where the ring gear would Not slide over it. The sol is on the 'short' side.

#2) Yes it is a Electrical/mechanical friction induced locker. Meaning that IF the torque difference between one axle and the other is greater then the pressure applied to the friction plates then it no longer is a locker, even if it is engaged. That is the issue with this locker currently. I will say from my personal experience (I have them front and back) that they WILL slip. Given mine only have while testing if they are going to stayed locked, and the rear one while engaged popped/slipped about 3 times while making a turn and "locked". So basically the traction of a aired down 35 on the concrete opposed more torque difference between the axles then that which the locker has on the plates.

#3) kinda true. Non of the aftermarket ones are designed Yet to go in this application. But I believe that they make a few OE applications that are controlled this way? This could be wrong as this was mentioned a few times online only and I cant say for sure if that was true, but after reading thier web site and all, it makes sense.


I have to say that Auburn has been the equal to or the best customer service of ANY company I ever delt with! Very helpful.

scorpio_vette said:

ok i just got off of the phone with auburn since they didn't return my e-mails, and i got all my questions answered.

1) the reason my (dana44) locker looks different from any of the once on the internet, is because it was just release beginning of this month and they haven't send any of the updated pictures to any of their suppliers yet.

2) it is in fact a TRUE locker when engaged, and not just a tighter limited slip. when the switch is turned on, it locks both wheels 100% just as if you were running a spool or other selectable locker.

3) on their website and other sites, it says that the locker can be controlled by the vehicles on-board electronics, and interact with things such as ABS, wheel speed sensors etc..etc...etc... BUT the reason i couldn't find any information on how to do that is because auburn decided not to come out with that feature after all. so basically 1/2 of the features currently advertised on the auburn website about the ECTED are not true. it is simply operator controlled, and is a limited slip when off and locker when on.

yaayy...now to go install it and try it out.

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in #3 i was only talking about this specific locker. not all lockers in general.

as for #2, that's interesting. can't wait to try mine out and see. maybe you could call auburn and tell them that yours slips when locked and see what they have to say about it.

scorpio_vette said:

in #3 i was only talking about this specific locker. not all lockers in general.
.

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Me to, the ECTED that is. Since it is designed to take so many amps to fully pull in the clutches as tight as needed to "lock" it as Auburn feels is needed that is, then in therory you could limit the amps / volts to say 1/10 of what it gets now and it would for sure allow some slipage. And I am sure there is a graph that can applied to get how many lbs of force that is needed at a cirtain tire diam. to how much current, to keep it locked and such. I dont knwo if you know how the ECTED is designed to function, but its pretty simple.

scorpio_vette said:

as for #2, that's interesting. can't wait to try mine out and see. maybe you could call auburn and tell them that yours slips when locked and see what they have to say about it.

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I have to assume you dont understand how the ECTED functions? The sol can only create SO much resistance to rotation with the amount of friction it can apply.

I will add that it is CRITICAL to get the exact amount of additive in the fluid mix. Too much and it will not lock as tight and allow more slipage then if you get it exactly to where you no longer get "clatter" while turning and it not engaged.

I would recommend 1/2 of what you think it should have of the additive, then drive it and try to let it sit over night at least. then drive it again and let it sit. Your trying to get the clutched fully saturated with the mix. Then on the third day or so, if it clatters while turning add only a small amount more of the addive. Start with adding like a table spoon at a time till you no longer get clatter. At each add though you have to give it at least 2 days of sitting after mixed and driven at least once in there. Then like I said if it clatters then add another tablespoon, and repeat.

Or of course you can just add what the bottle says and hope for the best. You have to understand though that the additive is a slipping agent.

It is NOT ever mechanically/fully locked.

http://www.auburngear.com/oemdifferentials/common/literature/ECTED_Literature.pdf

LOL you got a little mixed up. #3 was talking about the on-board controls acting on the auburn. you said that some of the factory once might do it, but not the aftermarket once. and i said that i was just talking about the auburn in that instence.

as for how the auburn functions, i understand that. and while i'm saying that you wrong, i'm still not sure if i'm fully convinced. if the current alone was trying to hold the parts together, then i could see how you could overcome that. but in this case the magnetic current only causes parts to move, which in turn end up jamming together. here is an article with a exploded diagram that explains how it works when it's off and when it's on.
http://www.4wheelpartsadventures.com/pastIssues/0410-issue/041008t-ected-qt.html

besides......wouldn't there be the whole legal issue of "bait and switch" if auburn advertised it as a full locker, and in reality it didn't fully lock??? that's why i'm having a hard time understanding it a little. that would cause some major legal trouble if they advertised something it didn't do.