Dash Light 4WD

[RottnDogue]

I put my truck in 4wd for the first time since I bought it hmmmm 6 or 7 months ago and it didnt go into 4wd right away (rear tires broke loose). I put it in 4wd Low and then to high and it worked fine, I put in and out of 4wd many times to see if it was ok and everything seemed to work fine except the light (4WD dash light) stays on. I know when its not in 4wd by juicing the go peddle and the rear tires spin, and when its in 4wd by doing the same and rear tires not spinning and truck jumping forward ready to go. So Why does light stay on? Is it a fuse? Or something else..... Help... Its been Four days now.



Darren

 

[SS]

What you have is normal. After you shift into or out of 4WD, change your throttle position slightly. If you are at a stop roll forward or back a few inches or shift from forward to reverse. The front axle has a disconnect operated by vacuum that can not move when there is power applied or if the splines are not lined up. Look at the passener side of the front axle and you will see the disconnect mechanism from the outside - it's basically a big collar to connect the inner and outer halves of the axle shaft. When shifting into or out of low range, let the vehicle roll 2-3 mph, shift trans to neutral then move the transfer case lever. I'm not sure if it describes this above the visor or not.



Edit: My bad - see below - something is obviously wrong for the light to be on for 4 days.

 

[illflem]

It's not normal for the light to stay on for four days. The front axle collar may still be engaged but the front driveshaft isn't turning because the transfer case is in 2wd = no 4wd. The vacuum line to the collar servo on the top pass side front axle may be damaged/disconnected or the indicator light switch stuck, it is in the same location as the servo. If you jack one front tire off the ground and can't turn the wheel by hand the collar is still locked. If it does spin it is the switch or wiring, disconnect the electrical connector to the servo, if the light goes out the switch is stuck or bad. See what works and report back for further steps to take, the problem is probably electrical and will take different steps according to the symptoms.

 

[RobG]

My truck did this too the first time I used 4WD. The light remained on for like 2-3 days, but then it went off and it's acted fine ever since... including several more times of being in and out of 4WD.



Weird.



Rob

 

[SS]

my bad!

Sorry - I misread it when you said you shifted into low range and it worked fine and then you had pondered over it for 4 days.



I think the vacuum actuator on the axle is fairly easy to remove - just make sure you clean the dirt off first. You could try to manually move the collar with it off. Could also be a vacuum line - trace from the vacuum block on top of the transfer case up to the axle.



BTW - jacking up one wheel to see if it spins only works if the transfer case is shifted into 4WD (and then the collar should be locked anyways). Otherwise it just spins the driveshaft. I suppose if it's in 2WD and you check the passenger side, then the driveshaft should not be turning if the collar is disconnected. If it moves with the tire, then the collar is still locked. Or in 4WD if you check either side and it moves, then the collar is not locked.



I think it's recommended to cycle the 4WD system once a month.

 

[CTRam]

I would check your steel vac. lines from the axle back. I had one that wore a hole in the steel line just below the firewall, had the same symptoms. would shift in and out fine but didn't have enough vac. to activate the switch to turn the 4WD light off.

 

[EShaw]

4 WD Light

Sometimes things are not as complicated as we can imagine them to be. Make sure your lever is not partially engaged..... you will feel a detent... . Hope it works for you. Let us know what you find.

Eric

 

[hammong]

It's not a bad idea to put your truck into 4WD once a month or so, just to keep the spline surfaces smooth and keep all of the parts from sticking. I noticed that the more I use 4WD, the easier it gets to go into and come out of 4WD.



The only "problem" that I have is that sometimes when I pull back on the lever to go into 4WD high, that it'll grind. I let off the level, slow down a few MPH, then try again, usually goes in just fine. I've never seen a definitive answer on just how fast you can or can't be going when shifting, but it seems hesitant to go into 4WD over 10 MPH.



Greg

 

[Joe G.]

I had that problem when mine was new. It turned out to be the shift lever adjustment. Take care of the simple things first so check that adjustment before doing anything else. Mine didn't quite make it into gear unless I pulled back hard. The light came on but it was not in 4WD.

 

[RottnDogue]

Thank you for everyone's reply I will check into some of the suggested causes and solutions and report back.



Darren