Jump to content

4WD light stays on?

skiezo
 Share

Recommended Posts

skiezo New Member

skiezo

Posted
Posted

Hey guys,new to this forum and glad I found it. Lots of useful and great helpful information here.

Now on to my issue.

I have a 2001 Sierra SL 4WD ext. cab. It is a 5.3 with an automatic. It has a manual 4WD level,not the push button. This is a second vehicle, not my primary driver.

The other day I was taking the wife to work in some snow/ice and had to use 4WD at some points.

All was fine and when I shifted into 2HI the little 4WD light on the dash stayed on. The truck does disengage as well as engages into and out of 4WD manually by the floor mounted lever but the lite will not go out.

What would be the issue as I do not like the light staying on all the time.

Any help as to the cause as well as a fix?

Thanks Brian

 

kstruckcountry Senior Enthusiast

kstruckcountry

Posted
Posted

If the light is still on, the front axle is still engaged. I'd assume the actuator is bad.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

skiezo New Member

skiezo

Posted
  • Author
Posted

So even tho I can disengage the transfer case via the lever on the floor the front axles can still be engaged.

When it is in 2wd via the lever it is not in 4wd. That I know as I was driving in snow/ice and lost traction on some hills,but when I put it in 4wd it is in 4x4.

Is there any way to check to see if the front axles are engaged or disengaged?

kstruckcountry Senior Enthusiast

kstruckcountry

Posted
Posted (edited)

Yeah that's right. If you can have someone watch the front driveshaft you'll know for sure. It shouldn't turn when it's in 2 wheel drive. It's the driveshaft from the transfer case to the front axle.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited by kstruckcountry
CapitalTruck Senior Enthusiast

CapitalTruck

Posted
Posted (edited)

The current flow to the dash light is controlled by the actuator in the front differential. Your transfer case might not be in 4wd, but my best guess would be that your front axle is still locked in, hence, your front driveshaft is still rotating. Like the other poster said, your front actuator is probably shot.

Edited by CapitalTruck
skiezo New Member

skiezo

Posted
  • Author
Posted

OK thanks.

Will it be ok to run the truck like this for 50 miles or so? On my old F150 I would leave the hubs "locked in" in times of inclement weather. I do have another vehicle to drive but will need to take the wife to work if we get all this snow that they are calling for on Thursday.

CapitalTruck Senior Enthusiast

CapitalTruck

Posted
Posted

I don't think it will kill it for a relatively short time period. At least the transfer case is disconnected so there is no power going to the front axle. I would try to get it fixed so excessive wear doesn't occur in the front diff.

  • 3 years later...
tbeevrs Enthusiast

tbeevrs

Posted
Posted

Did you ever figure out what was causing this?  I've got the same exact problem on my 2007 Silverado.  I disconnected the actuator and the light stayed on.  Going to check and see if the front drive shaft is turning tomorrow.

carnau Enthusiast

carnau

Posted
Posted
4 minutes ago, tbeevrs said:

Did you ever figure out what was causing this?  I've got the same exact problem on my 2007 Silverado.  I disconnected the actuator and the light stayed on.  Going to check and see if the front drive shaft is turning tomorrow.

Is your 2007 an classic body style truck?

tbeevrs Enthusiast

tbeevrs

Posted
Posted
52 minutes ago, carnau said:

Is your 2007 an classic body style truck?

Yep, sure is

carnau Enthusiast

carnau

Posted
Posted
57 minutes ago, tbeevrs said:

Yep, sure is

Is it saying Service 4 wheel drive or anything on the dash?

tbeevrs Enthusiast

tbeevrs

Posted
Posted
Just now, carnau said:

Is it saying Service 4 wheel drive or anything on the dash?

Just the light saying it's engaged is on.  I can engage it into 4 Hi and into 4 Low and back to 2WD and the light stays on.  Could it be the sensor?

carnau Enthusiast

carnau

Posted
Posted
47 minutes ago, tbeevrs said:

Just the light saying it's engaged is on.  I can engage it into 4 Hi and into 4 Low and back to 2WD and the light stays on.  Could it be the sensor?

In your glove box there are a list of RPO codes. 

Should say NP# 

  • 4 years later...
Ramian17 New Member

Ramian17

Posted
Posted
On 1/14/2018 at 8:22 PM, carnau said:

 

 

 

 

 

Anyone find the answer to this riddle. I have the same problem 2006 Sierra 3500 manual T case light won't go out. New front axle actuator, and a new t case selection switch. Light still on. Tried disconnecting both, separately and together. Light still one. Thanks for any help. 

  • 2 years later...
Sullya2016 New Member

Sullya2016

Posted
Posted

I have a 2006 Silverado with the same issue. Brand new front diff actuator. 4wd engages and disengages as it should but the light stays on. The indicator will only go off if I unplug the actuator but im no electrician by any means at all so

definitely in need of guidance of where to go from here 

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Latest Articles

  • Posts

    • Atlas
      OCI, not when but why?

      By Atlas · Posted

      People mislead themselves. Statistics are highly useful indicators.   Here's the tie-in to this thread. If an oil sample tests shows a wear indicator of 7 using cheaper ACDelco oil, and a wear indicator of 2 (lower = less wear) using a particular brand of Mobil oil, and wear has a linear relationship with engine lifespan, anyone could assume that Mobil is reducing wear by more than 50% (let's just say a 200% reduction for you red state people trying hard to do math) which leads to increasing engine life by 2x. Perhaps, in a vacuum, by itself, when dreamed by AI.   Yeah?! That's what the statistic is saying, isn't it?   No, it isn't. It didn't come out and say engine life is doubled. That's a very bad assumption, and a case of severe myopia by assuming something potentially untrue about the only data point in focus.   Average cost of a new car is 50k. You bet it is.   The median cost of a new car is more like 35k. Expensive cars are skewing the perception that "average" now means a $50k price of entry for a very average automobile. And that's not true. People who don't understand statistics twist the living heck out of them to mean all sorts of things they don't actually mean.   "Average" new car payment is $1000/month. Yep, it is. And in that number are all the $35k new car buyers who bring significant equity, and the $25k new car buyers who finance the car for a month just to get a rebate, and then pay it off. Know what isn't in that number? All the payments made by people who don't finance a car.   Picking one's own data point (don't have a car payment, never paid $50k for a new vehicle, my house cost $170k, I afforded a middle class lifestyle on $4.50/hr) is just a data point. Just like earning $25/hr in an area where the median home price is almost $1 Million is a data point. In fact, it's a lot of data points given that 80% of the US population lives in/around major cities. They're not idiots; the vast majority of them do it to make a living because that's where the big money is.   The highs have become higher, lows have become lower, and how your personal mileage varies is not truth for an entire country. At the same time you can't NOT acknowledge the data. While it doesn't paint YOUR personal picture, it certainly tints the reality that you also live in, as does your single data point.    
    • ShotgunZ71
      Poll: Does your truck have the rear window leak?

      By ShotgunZ71 · Posted

      Glad you had success with it. I did as well, but about 5-6 months later it returned. Tried again, same result. This was after the dealer made several attempts and never even got it to slow down.
    • KARNUT
      Gas Prices

      By KARNUT · Posted

      3.15 Kroger’s in Montgomery Tx
    • TheGeek
      Will not stay in Reverse

      By TheGeek · Posted

      I have a LTZ and it has the shifter in the console, which I like, but, every now and then, it will not stay in Reverse. I go through all the motions, hold the button in, push the shifter forward and watch the dash.  The big red R comes on and also the back up camera.  Then, it just pops out of Reverse with the shifter all the way forward.  So then the game begins.  Back and to Drive, Reverse.  This goes on 8 - 10 times. Very frustrating. Had it back to the dealer and they replaced some kind of computer, but it is now happing again. It is so bad, my wife will not drive the truck, she is afraid of being stuck somewhere.    Anyone else with this PIA problem? 
    • KARNUT
      OCI, not when but why?

      By KARNUT · Posted

      I see where you’re going and I can appreciate that. Statistics can be misleading because of the word average. They say statistics show the average cost of a new vehicle is about 50k. The average monthly payment is close to 1000 dollars a month. That’s statistics for you. I know very few people who pay that. 

  • GM-Trucks.com Clubs

  • Popular Contributors

×
×
  • Create New...