4wd Help Needed

[jsindorf]

My 4wd on my 99 Limited (auto trans) has worked perfectly -- up until this past week. Nothing startling happened to adversely impact it that I know of.

Today it was snowing hard, and a hill was unplowed and I pushed the button on the side of the 4wd shifter and after a few seconds of the indicator flashing (green wheels and orange dot) it stayed on bright and good. I got up the hill and pushed the button and the indicator flashed and went out. All good.

Later I had a deeper, more slippery area to go through, so I pulled the handle back to go into 4Hi L -- but the indicator didn't light up at all... nothing. I pushed in the button with the handle in 4Hi L and the green wheels illuminated (but not the orange dot).

So, I stopped, put the handle up into 4 Low and again nothing on the indicator light. If I pushed the button in, then I get the 4 green wheels but not the orange dot.

So... it sounds to me like a sensor or something is on the fritz. Have any of you encountered this? Where should I start looking?

(by the way, I did a ton of searching and found many posts about the 4wd not disengaging, but nothing that talked about this problem.)

Thanks in advance...

 

[giovannie23]

I believe speedy posted a thread with a how to video diagnosing your same problem early yesterday you should go to page 2 or 3 and you will find it good luck bro

Edit: heres the link
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/213900-flashing-4wd-light-repair.html

 

[4-Ripcord]

Later I had a deeper, more slippery area to go through, so I pulled the handle back to go into 4Hi L -- but the indicator didn't light up at all... nothing. I pushed in the button with the handle in 4Hi L and the green wheels illuminated (but not the orange dot).

So, I stopped, put the handle up into 4 Low and again nothing on the indicator light. If I pushed the button in, then I get the 4 green wheels but not the orange dot.

Not sure if this is the cause of the issue, but on the second time you went to use 4wd, you were doing things in the wrong order. You did them correctly the first time, but even when you want to go to 4Hi-L, you need to take the proper steps.

(for 99-00 limited) Before you move the 4wd lever at all, step one is to press the button to engage Awd (just the 4 tires light up green). Step two is to move the lever to 4Hi-L and the center orange light will light up for actual 4wd.

 

[volkinator]

Not sure if this is the cause of the issue, but on the second time you went to use 4wd, you were doing things in the wrong order. You did them correctly the first time, but even when you want to go to 4Hi-L, you need to take the proper steps.

(for 99-00 limited) Before you move the 4wd lever at all, step one is to press the button to engage Awd (just the 4 tires light up green). Step two is to move the lever to 4Hi-L and the center orange light will light up for actual 4wd.

Do you really need to push the button before moving the lever to 4hi-L? Mine has never had a problem with it. It'll go straight to 4hi-L (green wheels/orange light) and when I push it back into 2hi/4hi it goes back to 2hi. I've never had an issue so far with this. Once it's in the 4hi-L it doesn't care if the button was pushed or not...

 

[giovannie23]

Before moving the lever anyway the first thing that should be done is putting the truck in neutral am I wrong?

 

[jsindorf]

Hey giovannie23, That video by Speedy is good, but it's not my symptoms. My issue is the indicator not lighting in the H4L and L4 positions.

Is there an switch or sensor that I can check for this situation?

 

[jsindorf]

Here's what the manual says about how to shirt the 4wd (I wasn't doing it wrong)...

(c) Shifting procedure (lever/button type)
SHIFTING BETWEEN “H2” AND “H4”
To shift from “H2” to “H4”, reduce your speed to less than 100 km/h (62 mph) and push in the “4WD” button. If the indicator light does not come on when you push in the “4WD” button, drive straight ahead while accelerating or decelerating. If the indicator light flashes and the buzzer sounds when you push in the “4WD” button, reduce your speed or stop the vehicle and reset.

Never push the “4WD” button if wheels are slipping. Stop the slipping or spinning before shifting.

To shift from “H4” to “H2”, push the “4WD” button again to turn it off. This can be done at any vehicle speed. If the indicator light does not go off when you shift the transfer into “H2”, drive straight ahead while accelerating or decelerating, or drive in reverse.

SHIFTING BETWEEN “H2” OR “H4” AND “L4”
To shift from “H2” or “H4” to “L4”, stop the vehicle and put the transmission in “N”. With your foot holding down the brake pedal, move the front drive control lever. To shift from “L4” to “H2” or “H4”, stop the vehicle and put the transmission in “N”. With your foot holding down the brake pedal, move the front drive control lever. When the “4WD” button is pushed in, the transfer shifts into “H4”; when the button is left out, the transfer shifts into “H2” If the indicator light does not go off when you shift the transfer into “H2”, drive straight ahead while accelerating or decelerating, or drive in reverse.

 

[volkinator]

Before moving the lever anyway the first thing that should be done is putting the truck in neutral am I wrong?

Only when shifting to 4lo-L
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-g...rs-3rd-gens-transfer-case-awd-multi-mode.html

 

[s20004runner]

Do you really need to push the button before moving the lever to 4hi-L? Mine has never had a problem with it. It'll go straight to 4hi-L (green wheels/orange light) and when I push it back into 2hi/4hi it goes back to 2hi. I've never had an issue so far with this. Once it's in the 4hi-L it doesn't care if the button was pushed or not...

no, you don't. I tested recently on my 99 limited (because of another thread here recently) and i can pull the lever to 4hi-L position w/o the button and it engages.

However, I still follow the order (button) 4hi-H then lever (4hi-L).

I have no idea about OP's problem, but good luck.

 

[jsindorf]

Ok, we've discussed a few things... but nothing relating to my original post. Can anyone help? Here it is (again)...
My 4wd on my 99 Limited (auto trans) has worked perfectly -- up until this past week. Nothing startling happened to adversely impact it that I know of.

Today it was snowing hard, and a hill was unplowed and I pushed the button on the side of the 4wd shifter and after a few seconds of the indicator flashing (green wheels and orange dot) it stayed on bright and good. I got up the hill and pushed the button and the indicator flashed and went out. All good.

Later I had a deeper, more slippery area to go through, so I pulled the handle back to go into 4Hi L -- but the indicator didn't light up at all... nothing. I pushed in the button with the handle in 4Hi L and the green wheels illuminated (but not the orange dot).

So, I stopped, put the handle up into 4 Low and again nothing on the indicator light. If I pushed the button in, then I get the 4 green wheels but not the orange dot.

So... it sounds to me like a sensor or something is on the fritz. Have any of you encountered this? Where should I start looking?

(by the way, I did a ton of searching and found many posts about the 4wd not disengaging, but nothing that talked about this problem.)

Thanks in advance...

 

[giovannie23]

Have you used your 4wd since this has happened?

 

[jsindorf]

Yes, and I think it's working correctly -- but I'm a bit "particular" and would like the indicator light to glow correctly with the correct information.

Today, I found a nice snowy bank and my normal 2wd wouldn't get me through it. So I pulled down into 4Hi-L and crawled right out... so yes, I think it's working.