Help. 4lo beeping suddenly, can’t figure it out

[depth]

https://imgur.com/gallery/TAYQ7

07 v8 awd

Check engine light, 4lo, differential?, Vsc off, swervy icon, and vsc trac lights all came on at the same time with an obnoxious beeping.

I shifted into neutral, turned the dial from h4 to l4 and that got rid of the beeping but it comes back when I go back into h4. Don’t really want to be driving in l4 though. Any help?

Also it feels like my turning radius got cut in half

Update: I checked the wheel sensor lines and there were no cuts or breaks so I disconnected the battery, waited 20 minutes then reconnected the battery. All of the warning lights I had previously mentioned have now turned off EXCEPT for the 4lo. When in 4hi and drive I get loud beeping and blinking with 4lo. When in 4hi and neutral the blinking stops. When in 4lo the light stays solid and no beeping.

 

[Fern]

You would definitely know if you were driving in 4 low.
Have you checked for codes?

 

[DaGimp]

I have no idea if this applies to you, but if the tiny weak wire that connects to each wheels braking ABS system is broken all of those lights will light up.

I know from experience

EDIT : a lift will commonly stretch these wires to the point of breaking.

 

[DakotaDuke]

Maybe you need to read the manual

I don't mean to be a smart @$$, but I had to read the manual myself.

You need to be in neutral with your foot on the brake to shift into and out of 4-low. Anything else and nothing happens. I suspect this may be the cause of several people disassembling their 4-low/4-high actuators unnecessarily.

 

[depth]

I have no idea if this applies to you, but if the tiny weak wire that connects to each wheels braking ABS system is broken all of those lights will light up.

I know from experience

EDIT : a lift will commonly stretch these wires to the point of breaking.

I already checked those lines as I stated. I’ll re check them again but they looked fine.

 

[depth]

I don't mean to be a smart @$$, but I had to read the manual myself.

You need to be in neutral with your foot on the brake to shift into and out of 4-low. Anything else and nothing happens. I suspect this may be the cause of several people disassembling their 4-low/4-high actuators unnecessarily.

Been doing exactly that. Thanks.

 

[snhrph]

https://imgur.com/gallery/TAYQ7

07 v8 awd

Check engine light, 4lo, differential?, Vsc off, swervy icon, and vsc trac lights all came on at the same time with an obnoxious beeping.

I shifted into neutral, turned the dial from h4 to l4 and that got rid of the beeping but it comes back when I go back into h4. Don’t really want to be driving in l4 though. Any help?

Also it feels like my turning radius got cut in half

Update: I checked the wheel sensor lines and there were no cuts or breaks so I disconnected the battery, waited 20 minutes then reconnected the battery. All of the warning lights I had previously mentioned have now turned off EXCEPT for the 4lo. When in 4hi and drive I get loud beeping and blinking with 4lo. When in 4hi and neutral the blinking stops. When in 4lo the light stays solid and no beeping.

What were you doing when the lights and beeping started?

When you tried to engage 4Lo did it actually engage? Can you lock the center dif?

 

[depth]

What were you doing when the lights and beeping started?

When you tried to engage 4Lo did it actually engage? Can you lock the center dif?

Nothing. They just came on. 4lo engages fine but it’s just when it’s in 4hi that I’m having all lights and beeping. When I’m in 4hi I’m actually in 4hi and so on for 4lo.

Center diff locks and unlocks.

It seems like it’s a bad sensor or broken wire but I checked those again and no lines are broken. I also pulled fuses 19, 39 and 55 as they’re related to the lights and they looked all good. I’m stumped.

 

[aha2988]

It's either not shifting out of 4lo when you switch to 4hi (following the proper steps as mentioned) or the sensor is not registering 4hi position properly. I had this happen a while back I believe I put the vehicle in drive let it start rolling a bit (slowly like turtle slow) and then went to neutral, (lightly) tapped the brake to engage the brake pedal sensor and then hit the switch to 4hi. this allowed everything in the transfer case to line up and allow it to shift. Just a thought it may be a bad sensor but that seems rare. Could also be a seized actuator motor not moving the shift fork properly

 

[depth]

It's either not shifting out of 4lo when you switch to 4hi (following the proper steps as mentioned) or the sensor is not registering 4hi position properly. I had this happen a while back I believe I put the vehicle in drive let it start rolling a bit (slowly like turtle slow) and then went to neutral, (lightly) tapped the brake to engage the brake pedal sensor and then hit the switch to 4hi. this allowed everything in the transfer case to line up and allow it to shift. Just a thought it may be a bad sensor but that seems rare. Could also be a seized actuator motor not moving the shift fork properly

Just tried that a few times down the street. Nothing. I also loosened the 3- 12mm bolts holding the actuator to the transfer case and then jiggled it. Didn’t do anything. Also tried tapping with a hammer. :/

Is there a for sure way to tell if I am stuck in 4lo aside from being able to feel it? I’m starting to wonder if I’m stuck in 4lo.

 

[aha2988]

Just tried that a few times down the street. Nothing. I also loosened the 3- 12mm bolts holding the actuator to the transfer case and then jiggled it. Didn’t do anything. Also tried tapping with a hammer. :/

Is there a for sure way to tell if I am stuck in 4lo aside from being able to feel it? I’m starting to wonder if I’m stuck in 4lo.

high RPM"s at normal driving speeds, very aggressive acceleration but not a lot of speed through the gear ranges.

Careful with taking the actuator case loose you can't take it off without having the tcase out and split apart. There are seals on the outside of the case that can be "un sealed" for lack of a better word if the o-rings fall out of their grooves.

you can take the lower cover off the actuator case and see the condition of the electric motors. Also have someone turn the switch while your under the vehicle to see if they're turning. you can engage and disengage the center locker and get and idea of what the 4lo motor should be doing if the center locker is working.

 

[depth]

Ok so I took it to a 4wd mechanic and he couldn’t figure it out but his guess is that the actuator is corroded. He got me a few codes but doesn’t really do much to help...

P2772 and B1241

4lo mode will not engage. Though the beeping stops when I turn the switch to 4lo. Center diff Light will come on when pushed in 4lo but won’t come in when switch is on 4hi.

Another long quieter beeping has started that goes for like 5 seconds, then 5 seconds off, then back on, and doesn’t stop as long as the key is even in the ignition.

This sucks because it looks like I’m gonna be spending a bunch of money on a feature I don’t even use (4lo) just to get rid of the beeping.

 

[aha2988]

Ok so I took it to a 4wd mechanic and he couldn’t figure it out but his guess is that the actuator is corroded. He got me a few codes but doesn’t really do much to help...

P2772 and B1241

4lo mode will not engage. Though the beeping stops when I turn the switch to 4lo. Center diff Light will come on when pushed in 4lo but won’t come in when switch is on 4hi.

Another long quieter beeping has started that goes for like 5 seconds, then 5 seconds off, then back on, and doesn’t stop as long as the key is even in the ignition.

This sucks because it looks like I’m gonna be spending a bunch of money on a feature I don’t even use (4lo) just to get rid of the beeping.

You can do a little wiring trickery to stop the beeping if you've verified that the 4lo is not engaged. It sounds like maybe the actuator motor is not pulling the shift fork back far enough to disengage the sensor.

Its just a ball push sensor. Looks like the tip of a ball point pin but about 1" in diameter. When its depressed it connects the circuit, disconnect the circuit and the computer will register that 4lo is disengaged. Need to connect the circuit on the 4hi sensor to complete the check list. I may have the connected vs. disconnected backwards its been a while since I wired my sensors on the tcase I installed. I switched to a manual FJ tcase and put twin sticks in cause my actuator seized and there was no way I was paying 850 for a new one. you should be able to unplug the sensor and see what the lights do to verify what needs to be connected or or disconnected.

Check Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market for a tcase with actuator in your area to get the lowest cost on replacing. Its hard to verify if the actuator works but most LKQ part distributors warranty their parts so if it doesn't they will swap it out until you find one that works. I got my FJ case from a LKQ pull-a-part location in SC and its been great. Usually they don't bother removing the sensors either so it comes with everything just unbolt your old one and bolt in the used one.

 

[TowMeOut]

When I got mine stuck in 4Lo and ended up destroying the actuator I went through a bunch of iterations trying to troubleshoot. Among them was disconnecting the 4WD "computer" under the glove box. Several times I had the timing "not quite right" between the t-case actuator and the front ADD (I have the V6). The computer goes into some kind of error mode and stays there, seemingly no matter what.

I just made sure that the ignition was off, disconnected the 4wd computer, then waiting a few minutes before plugging it back in. This reset the error and let the system normalize.

It's worth a shot.....

 

[aha2988]

Ok so I took it to a 4wd mechanic and he couldn’t figure it out but his guess is that the actuator is corroded. He got me a few codes but doesn’t really do much to help...

P2772 and B1241

4lo mode will not engage. Though the beeping stops when I turn the switch to 4lo. Center diff Light will come on when pushed in 4lo but won’t come in when switch is on 4hi.

Another long quieter beeping has started that goes for like 5 seconds, then 5 seconds off, then back on, and doesn’t stop as long as the key is even in the ignition.

This sucks because it looks like I’m gonna be spending a bunch of money on a feature I don’t even use (4lo) just to get rid of the beeping.

Curious if you ever fixed this issue or confirmed what was wrong?