4x4 light keeps blinking

ISSUE:

Truck engages into 4H, but the light will continuously keep blinking.
If i try to go back to 2WD it will NOT disengage, unless I turn off the truck & turn it back on then it will disengage.


TROUBLESHOOTING:

Soldered the connections on the small motor (worked perfectly for a week)
Replaced the 2 limit switches on the t-case actuator
Revised the t-case actuator & looked great


will continue troubleshooting ...

pics coming soon

 

continuous blinking means the truck was never in 4H all the way.

Are you putting the truck into 4H while moving? Often times if you try to switch to 4H while stopped it simply wont because things arent lined up.

 

It engages even though the light keeps blinking.

I tested it in the street & you feel it’s in 4x4 because it’s very difficult to turn

Yes, I always put it into 4H when I move the truck

I’ve literally tried forward & reverse & still no luck

 

again, if the light is continuously blinking the truck is not fully in 4H, while teeth might be engaged enough to link everything together, they are 1, either not engaged all the way or 2, your actuators sensors are bad. Both situations report back to the 4wd ecu that you are not fully into 4H.

 

Ok, which ones would be the sensors?

 

After I soldered the wires it was working perfectly

1 week later, it doesn’t want to work ...

I’ve already ordered a new Acuator hoping it’ll fix the issue

 

Mine did the same thing, I had to replace both of the actuators, it sounds like the front diff actuator is the problem, that’s how mine acted when it was the front diff not working

 

Hmm that’s annoying

I soldered mine & it was all good but now it’s messed up again

I just ordered a new one online

Hoping this fixes the issue

 

Fixed mine! You could also have a problem with the diff, after I experienced all these problems found out my 4lo was blown

 

Ok so the new actuator did nothing

4h engages, but the light continues to blink & when i turn it back to 2H, the truck will not disengage & the light will keep blinking

I jacked it up & saw all 4 tires spinning but the light was still blinking

If I turn it to 4LO, the light will blink & the truck starts to beep


Currently running out of options

 

Mine did the beep too, I went into the transfer case and put it back into 2hi manually and then put the actuator on

 

which actuator did you replace?

 

Front diff

 

It’s weird because w the old one, if I tried 4LO, the 4H light would just keep blinking

W the new one if I try changing to 4H, it will try to go to 4LO but the 4LO light will blink & beep because obviously I’m not fully engaged in 4h

 

sounds like your tcase actuator is the culprit. Id try to "resync" everything on that actuator. Pull it off make sure the tcase is all the way in 2hi and put the actuator all the way in the 2hi position (and solder the motor leads while its out) then go from there.

 

There are those 2 switches on top of the t-case actuator that go bad.. also these:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/how-to-trouble-shoot-4x4-actuator.263525/
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/4x4-issues-front-diff-actuator-or-t-case-actuator.358059/

My 06 got stuck in 4wd, found corrosion on the tcase actuator, and it seems like it's going to be an expensive fix. If I buy a new actuator it turns into a ton of labor to pull apart the transfer case to get the timing right (8-12hr of labor quoted), or I get a new transfer case+actuator, which is less labor to install, but more expensive parts. It can't be that hard, can it? Considering a used tcase with a similar amount of miles, and doing it myself, but who's to say the actuator on that won't fail in a similar fashion? WWJD if jesus was in this situation and wasn't trying to drop $3k on this?

 

Swapping a tcase yourself is no big deal. I'd go that route

 

Did troubleshooting yesterday

I just plugged in another front diff actuator & I saw the fork moving & engaging just fine. We also confirmed that the t case actuator works because we hear it moving

Also tried a different ECM & still no luck

And I bent the 3 little prongs up to make better contact

Next guess would be these 2 sensors here on the t-case actuator



PFA **

 

Replaced the sensors today & nothing

Still same issues. Truck will not engage into 4x4 fully & the light will constantly be blinking

 

Someone has to shine some light here ... I can’t be the only person who’s gone thru this bs