On my way home from work tonight I inadvertently hit the four hi button while adjusting the air vent that is next to the 4x4 control buttons. The service 4wd light came on.I pulled over and tried to put in back in 2 hi. I heard the usual click from underneath the dash. The clicking kept repeating until it went back into 4 hi. I was able to get it to stay in auto 4wd for awhile, but eventually all of the indicator lights on the buttons went out and wouldn't come back on and the service 4wd remained lit.

Obviously I'm going to take it to get it checked out, but I thought someone here might know something that I could do that I wasn't aware of. Also, assuming it's in auto 4wd, is it okay to drive? I drive quite a bit and need to at least drive tomorrow.

Thanks!!

 

If you remove the 4WD fuse and reinstall it, it should reset to 2HI. Beyond that, the Auto4wd transfer case control system is quite complex in its operation which makes it very difficult to trouble shoot with out the proper diagnostic tools.

 

Thanks, but pulling the fuse was one of the first things I did. I'll just take it in and get it checked out. Do you think it will be okay to drive?

 

Drive it a bit in tight circles to see if you get any binding in the drivetrain. If you do not notice any, then you should be good to drive it. If you do notice binding, you can disconnect the vacuum line to the front axle vacuum solenoid on the firewall which will disengage the front axle.

 

It's definitely binding. Where on the firewall is the solenoid. My knowledge here is fairly limited. Thanks!

 

Should be close to the center. It will have an electrical connection and two vacuum lines.

 

Thanks for the help! I wasn't sure if I needed to pull one or both so I pulled both. I hope that doesn't cause any problems. Thanks again!

 

So long as you remember where they came from and plug them with something (golf tees work great for this), you should be good. You probably could disconnect the electrical connection as well and done the same thing.

 

if it's a physical failure of that valve, it might be leaking vacuum when it should be in 2HI, thus partially engaging 4HI, so unplugging electrical in that case wouldn't have the desired effect ... if it's an electrical failure of that valve, plugging/unplugging probably wouldn't matter there either, would it?

 

In 2HI, the vacuum pressure is released at the transfer case. But he is having trouble getting it back into 2HI.