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d**n 4x4 Switch


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Needed 4x4 the other night to back the trailer into a snowbank to load the snowmobiles.

Load sleds and lock everything down for the night.

 

Take off the next morning for a 280 mile trip. Get about 150 miles into the trip and turn off for a gas/piss break. Turn the corner at a stop light and feel the tires binding and clunking - it was then my dumb ass remembered that I had to use 4x4 the night before. Sure enough look down and the switch is on 4x4.

 

I am sure I burned up a few extra $$ is gas.

 

Would it hurt to put a little bit brighter light to khow when it is on!

 

I miss the old 4x4 buttons.

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yeah i miss the idiot light in the cluster...half my year is spent in 4wd, so I also forget once I hit the dry highway out of town

 

well now I dont feel like the only one who does this. or when I get on the highway I shift to 2wd, then get off and into an intersection and slip and spin when trying to take off again.

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I have actually posted this EXACT same message on the HP Tuners forum to see if one of their guys knew how to get that light to come on but they said it was not. I did it on my old 2005 Silverado, when it was in 4x4 there was a light on the dash, and I know that the same light is on the dash of the NBS trucks but for some reason it is disconnected. It is probably connected to the manual transfer case some how. Which is pretty stupid, the little 4x4 bottlecap is directly behind the steering wheel and you cant see the dang thing unless you intentionally look for it. In my opinion the light should work on ALL the vehicles when they are in 4x4 and it should be obvious. I get a light that tells me that my engine is not running (easy fix and pretty obvious that it is not) but I cannot be reminded that I am still in 4x4? Drive a bunch of miles on the highway and you will destroy the front end. I usually find out when I try to turn into a parking lot and it sounds like the truck is trying to eat itself.....

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Glad I'm not the only one noticing this 4X4 indicator thing! It borders on being unsafe to check which mode I'm in because I have to look so far away and down from the road ahead. Also those of us who have the auto HVAC controls down below the radio stack above the center console know that it's impossible to tell by the tiny, tiny indicators where you have the air set to come out,.. vent, defr, floor, etc. . You'd think they would be getting better at ergonomics like this over the years instead of worse.......

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So the NBS trucks dont have that orange 4 wheels on a chassis in the upper left cluster? dang. My truck has the manual transfercase but I can feel a big difference from 2wd to 4wd engaged.

Oh its there. Does it turn on when you are in 4wd, no. You only get the Pinhead sized amber LED that is hidden behind the steering wheel.

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  • 1 year later...

I found this old topic by searching. The lack of a 4x4 indicator on the dash is driving me nuts and I think that the lack is a product defect, especially if there is already one there and it's just not hooked up.

 

I found myself going down the freeway in 4x4 and have no idea how it got switched in -- perhaps I moved it while cleaning the interior. No idea how far I drove with it that way, either. I just happened to peek around the steering wheel and saw it. I usually have the DIC displaying MPG and did not notice anything unusual. Now I'm thinking I'd better have the drive train checked out. :lol:

 

Other than that, I love the truck.

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It is possible to modify these things to do what you want. I do this sort of thing all the time, add a light or make a light brighter or dimmer.

 

You would just need to find an automotive "electrical guru". You could drill a hole somewhere in the dash and add an LED light. Or add a bracket/box down below the dash with an LED in it.

 

Then order a factory wiring diagram manual (service manual set) from a GM dealer and tie into the wiring. Or provide these diagrams to an electrical guru so he could figure out how best to tie in the LED light. This would be important because you would not want to "overload" certain types of lighting circuits. This could damage an electronic module if you tried to draw too much amperage to power the LED. Also you would use a resistor in series with the LED like 750 ohms to around 1K ohms depending on how bright you wanted it. This also limits the amperage draw.

 

Another thing you could do is come up with some sort of reminder system. Maybe place a magnetic/velcro statue on the dash each time you place it in 4x4. Then remove it when you take it out of 4x4. Of course you would need to remember to place the statue up there! :)

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It is possible to modify these things to do what you want. I do this sort of thing all the time, add a light or make a light brighter or dimmer.

 

You would just need to find an automotive "electrical guru". You could drill a hole somewhere in the dash and add an LED light. Or add a bracket/box down below the dash with an LED in it.

 

Then order a factory wiring diagram manual (service manual set) from a GM dealer and tie into the wiring. Or provide these diagrams to an electrical guru so he could figure out how best to tie in the LED light. This would be important because you would not want to "overload" certain types of lighting circuits. This could damage an electronic module if you tried to draw too much amperage to power the LED. Also you would use a resistor in series with the LED like 750 ohms to around 1K ohms depending on how bright you wanted it. This also limits the amperage draw.

 

Another thing you could do is come up with some sort of reminder system. Maybe place a magnetic/velcro statue on the dash each time you place it in 4x4. Then remove it when you take it out of 4x4. Of course you would need to remember to place the statue up there! :)

 

A resistor draws amps too. It will limit the power to the LED but won't prevent amperage draw.

 

If the light is there and comes on when you start the truck, maybe many of you can complain to GM and they will fix it. I know there have been several issues and people have said to complain to GM and if enough people do they might fix it.

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I haven't noticed an indicator light on the dash on startup but I wasn't looking for it either. But, if it does go on just before cranking that must mean that it's connected to the system. I wonder if Justin has/can find a way to activate the light when 4x4 is on. Either that or maybe there's some pins someplace that need to be jumped :)

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If others see that light coming on (I don't know because I have 2wd and just read someone else saying that their light goes on) then it is hooked up to the system somehow. Since it's a computer controlled system, I don't know if there would be any jumpers, it's most likely in the programming.

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If it's just programming then I think that it would be easy *somewhat* to get that light on. Where I was going with the jumper idea was from the manual transfer case trucks with a floor shifter. Do they have a light that comes on when 4x4 is engaged? If so I was thinking maybe there would be a way of getting that to work on the electronic 4wd trucks.

 

On second thought, the indicator on the dash would probably come on (if it does at all) when that floor shifter is moved ie: sensor connected to/contacting shifter arm. Physical modification to a elec. 4wd truck is probably not an option. Just ignore my stupid ideas :)

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