2000 Silverado 4 Wheel Drive Not Working.

tobias · January 8, 2010

Pop open your switch and look at these points. If they are cracked and broken, you should be able to re-solder them and give that a shot.

It is my understanding that the bad solder/broken connections are the problem with these switches. Make sure to wick up the old solder and use new solder. Don't just remelt the old.

Baron55 · September 10, 2013

Daddy,

Thanks for the suggestion. My 2000 Silverado has been having a problem with not shifting in and out of 4 WD as well as high and low. I had read a few years ago that the switch box was an issue. I had taking it out and inspected it and replaced with no change. Took my truck to a shop and they said they fixed the problem, actuator sticking from non use. OK I bought that but then the problem continued. I have also been getting service four wheel drive for a few months. I check levels ect and everything was serviced per owner's manual.

Last week I changed oil ect and decided to drive in 4 wheel drive and low to throw the oil around. Got stuck in 4 low.... Finally got into 4 HI and started researching again. This time I removed the switch box, removed the solder and resoldered. I replaced the switch and everything works like new.

Thanks for the help!

Steve

gmtech4 · September 10, 2013

Daddy,

Thanks for the suggestion. My 2000 Silverado has been having a problem with not shifting in and out of 4 WD as well as high and low. I had read a few years ago that the switch box was an issue. I had taking it out and inspected it and replaced with no change. Took my truck to a shop and they said they fixed the problem, actuator sticking from non use. OK I bought that but then the problem continued. I have also been getting service four wheel drive for a few months. I check levels ect and everything was serviced per owner's manual.

Last week I changed oil ect and decided to drive in 4 wheel drive and low to throw the oil around. Got stuck in 4 low.... Finally got into 4 HI and started researching again. This time I removed the switch box, removed the solder and resoldered. I replaced the switch and everything works like new.

Thanks for the help!

Steve

fyi ,,,service 4wd doesnt mean the levels in the t case,it means a DTC is in the TCCM to be diagnosed

Edited September 10, 2013 by govtech4

sahls01gmc · September 25, 2013

I have similar issues with my '01 2500. It has the same switch in the dash, so I will start looking at that. I can hear the motor " enagaging and disengaging", although it probably is not engaging all the way. Would the dash switch not functioning properly cause the motor to not engage all the way? My next thought would be the shift motor, I've seen people with issues with that as well. This makes me feel better knowing I'm not the only one out there with the same symptoms.

YouNotMe · December 7, 2013

This happened to me too, but it wasn't the switch.

If you push a 4wd button and the light on the switch is blinking but never goes solid, get someone to help and crawl under the truck. Have the person push buttons and listen to everything switching. You should be able to hear the transfer case AND the front axle shift actuator working.

When I did this, I heard nothing from the front axle shift actuator. $85 and about 15 minutes to replace and everything works great!

There is a youtube video from 1aauto showing how to replace these which gives us amateur mechanics a lot more confidence

I had this thing in a transmission shop for a week and they couldn't even figure out what was wrong because they believed the computer that was telling them that everything was engaging..... derp.

-2000 GMC Sierra 1500 4x4

CapitalTruck · February 2, 2014

Not related, but with the manual transfer case trucks, the light on the dash shouldn't come on if the front axle actuator doesn't properly engage. The current for the dash light is dependent upon that actuator doing its job. Obviously this doesn't apply to the electric shift models as the dash light doesn't come on in 4wd high (if I understand correctly). I'm guessing that when people refer to dash lights in the electric shift 4wd models they are referring to the lights adjacent to the switch.

Edited February 2, 2014 by CapitalTruck

Countryboy5612 · June 17, 2016

Any Ideas????????

I have a 2003 Chevy Silverado lS 4.8l 4x4 with a a manual t case lever I can not get my 4 wheel to engage. Checked the fluid in the front diff and don't see any metal flakes or chunks. I put it on a lift and put it in 4h and drive and the front wheels do not spin but I can hear the t case chain and see the drive shaft spinning. When I engage 4h I can hear the actuator on the front diff engage but no tire spin.my indicator lamp on the dash comes on. I'm at a loss the only things I can think are the front diff actuator sounds like it's working but isn't or a total diff failure. But if I manualy spin the wheels I don't hear anything from the front diff. So I figure even though my actuator sounds like it's working it really isn't. Any ideas or conclusions I haven't thought of????

rgp717 · January 14, 2020

A bit late but it seems like the right place to put it.

I have a 2001 Silverado, 5.3 motor, Z71 with 4 wheel drive. Which does not work. I replaced the dashboard switch 2 years ago. Typically, I'm in 2Hi. If I press the 4Hi button, if flashed and then goes solid. I can hear the transfer-case-actuator making noise. I can also hear the front axle actuator making noise. But I don't believe it is in 4 wheel drive (no binding when making tight turns on dry pavement).

I was hoping it was a bad ground to the front axle actuator but it makes noise (I put the key on but did not start the engine; put the car in 2Hi successfully; removed the electric connector from the front axle actuator; pressed the switch for 4Hi; the 4Hi switch blinks but does not go solid; crawled under the car and connected the front axle actuator and it made noise; and the dashboard switch goes to solid 4Hi. But no 4 wheel drive.

One last thing:Put the truck in run (but did not start); pressed the brake and put transmission in Neutral. I simultaneously pressed the 2Hi and 4Lo buttons and held the press for 10 seconds. The dashboard 4 wheel drive switch does go to Neutral and the truck will roll freely. Put it back into 2Hi successfully.

I don't recall hearing any grinding noise last year so I'm hoping my transfer case is ok. My next thing to try is removing the front axle actuator and cleaning it up.

However, I am open to suggestions. Please.

Edited January 14, 2020 by rgp717

rgp717 · January 17, 2020

So, I read on another forum of a way to test the front axle actuator. Chock the back wheels, put the car in Run (don't start it), put transmission in Neutral, put on 4HI, raise the front tires (both) off the ground, and spin the passenger tire by hand.

If the driver tire spins in the opposite direction, then actuator is OK. If not, then replace actuator.

I tried this test, and my driver side did not spin. So, that means I need a new front axle actuator.

Has anyone ever heard of this test before? Do I really need a new front axle actuator?

davester · January 17, 2020

51 minutes ago, rgp717 said:

So, I read on another forum of a way to test the front axle actuator. Chock the back wheels, put the car in Run (don't start it), put transmission in Neutral, put on 4HI, raise the front tires (both) off the ground, and spin the passenger tire by hand.

If the driver tire spins in the opposite direction, then actuator is OK. If not, then replace actuator.

I tried this test, and my driver side did not spin. So, that means I need a new front axle actuator.

Has anyone ever heard of this test before? Do I really need a new front axle actuator?

It's more than you need to do.

Shift into 4wd, maybe move the truck slightly so the gears get into place.

Lift up one front wheel.

If you can't spin the wheel, you are in 4wd.

If you can spin the wheel, something isn't working right.

Reach under the truck and try spinning the front driveshaft with your hand. If you can spin it, there's a problem in the transfer case, Encoder may have failed if it's electric shift, chain broken are common things, but it could be other stuff.

If front driveshaft doesn't spin, then the problem is in the front diff. Unscrew the actuator in the front diff (put the vehicle up on jackstands for this). With the actuator removed, plug it back into the wiring harness, and see if it goes in/out as someone shifts in/out of 4wd.

If the actuator does go in/out,then something is broken inside the front diff, likely the passenger side stub axle or the locking ring (this is what the actuator moves).

If the actuator doesn't go in/out, then it could be the actuator, or a wiring/connector problem, or the sensor on the transfer case that isn't working.

Diagnose, then replace/fix what's broken instead of just throwing parts at the truck.

rgp717 · January 18, 2020

Each of those steps makes sense. Currently I believe my front axle actuator is bad (even though it makes noise when I engage 4HI). However, as soon as this bad weather clears, I'm going to try your suggestions. Thank you. I'll post back one way or the other.

rgp717 · January 23, 2020

Davester,

I was getting ready to try your experiments. But I have a question. So, I will start the car, press the button for 4HI and then I'll put the transmission in Drive to move it forward a bit.

Do I put the transmission in Park or Neutral or what when I lift the front wheel to do your tests?

rgp717

davester · January 23, 2020

park is what you want, so the vehicle doesn't move while you are doing the test. The tests are checking what's connected to rear of the transmission. If it rotates, it's not connected, if it doesn't, it is connected.

rgp717 · March 8, 2020

OK. Finally got a nice day and I got off my lazy butt. Put the Silverado in 4HI, drove it 50 ft into my driveway. Put it into Park and chocked the wheels. Lifted the driver side tire up and off the ground. Crawled underneath and could NOT turn the front driveshaft. So, next I need to remove the front actuator and see if it works or not. I'll post when I do that.