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i am new to this form and new to offroading..i am more of a drift guy... i have bought a 96 hilux surf which is a 4runner basicly..i have read so many threads about blinking lights but my problem is a bit different then them..
i bought the car month ago and the actuator was full of water therefore we had to rebuild it.now its working just fıne but ı am not sure i put its timing at right place tried it soo many times..if i move the lever to 4hL , N and 4L they work just fine and the light doesnt blink..however if i leave the lever at 4H and push the button all four wheels plus the CENTER LOCK (orange lıght) keeps blinking and doesnt engage.all the threads i checked were mentioning blinking wheels not center lock. i can hear the actuator working when i press the button.. but it starts blinking all four wheels plus the center lock from the moment i press the button..i tried the 46,6 mm timing for the actuator, also tried moving the shaft all in and get actuator hit its end..changed the front diff sensor. i really dont know what to do next..been reading but couldnt find any issues same as mine..i believe most of you guys get stuck in 4x4 or only blinking four corners not the center diff light..
Not sure if you have "multi mode 4wd" like the 99' Limited, but if so you have 2WD, a button to engage 4WD(open diffs), shift for 4H(locked centre DIff) -N- and 4L(Locked centre Diff) and *RR DIFF LOCK optional* (but only in 4L unless grey wired). In 2wd no lights on the dash illuminate, 4WD button depressed only green lights, 4H & 4L green and orange lights illuminate. They like to roll to engage properly(except 4L!), as do all the other features of the 4x4 system and will flash until properly engaged, and RR DIFF Lock likes it if you turn the wheel at a slow roll. Never tried using 4WD and 4H Like you described as they are not the same thing, you must be in 2WD when depressing 4WD button to use 4WD(open diffs), or shift to 4H
i have the 2h-4h at the same location and when you press the button it should go in to 4h(open diffs)..locked center diff and 4L is working properly by moving the lever...only when its at 2h when i press the button it doesnt go into 4h....as you said when its at 2H you press the button for 4H only the green lights should blink..but when i press the button at 2H all green lights as well as the Center orange light starts blinking..i have driven it nearly a mile to engage, drove it backwards.. tried everything but it doesnt engage..i dont have the rear e locker option..i dont know why but 4HL and 4L is working properly..can it be the VSV causing this problem??or maybe the timing of the actuator is incorrect?
Yes thats the multimode, my apologies H2-H4 = 2WD-4WD open diff, never liked the way they labeled it. Are you running all the same sized make tires, I had a blow out and had to put a smaller spare on the rear on some gravel roads, couldn't get 4WD to engage, but H4L worked fine, fixed the tire and H4(4WD) worked. looks like ya worn the 4WD print off the button, well used.
yeah man all the tires are the same...i really have no idea what to do with it...the center lock shouldnt light up when i press the button but it lights up and doesnt go in....i really need help to get over this issue..by the way i pushed the button yesterday, got under the car and tried turning the front shaft and it didnt move.whic means it goes in to 4h but the lights keep flashing..
Well it sounds like everything is working but the sensor(s) that tells you your in 4WD. Your actuator may be working, but maybe the sensing indicator isn't, front diff sensor could also do this but you mentioned it is new, i believe they work in combination, both sensors must be satisfied before 4WD light will go solid, and since your H4Lock goes solid it sounds like the actuator on the t-case.
when i press the button i can hear the actuator pushing that little shaft forward..but the thing is the lights starts flashing right away..so the actuator is working, maybe its timing is not correct but again why does the center lock light flashes..i really have no idea
I assume when you drive it in 4WD with lights flashing you are in 4WD, or is it only locking the front diff and not engaging the t-case?, you'll have to try a burnout or some spirited driving to confirm, or jack all 4 and put her in drive. Yes I don't recall if the orange lights up when engaging 4WD, I also think it only flashes the green wheels, I'll take mine for a spin to confirm later.
i believe its the opposite man, the tcase is engages but the front diff doesnt..will jack it up and try it this week.yeah only the green lights should light up when you press the button..but mine flashes all the lights..this was my car 15 years ago and bought it again after 15 years and i remember that when i pressed the button it was only flashing green lights and engage right away..
If thats the case it wouldn't engage the front diff in H4L or L4L either, and it would point you to the problem area. Maybe test the vacuum actuator on the diff and its corresponding vacuum lines and the differential vacuum tank in the driverside LHD wheel-well, you could pull the diff actuator and operate it to see. Mine is an Automatic trans 5vz-fe VZN185L-GKPZKA 4.3ratio with RR DIFF LOCK and here is my vacuum diagram and associated parts Scheme 4, yours should be on there to if it is a 96' Hilux 5vz-fe, but you can search your model code on this site.
Well I took mine for a drive and when in 2WD and pressing the 4WD button if I'm on the throttle or the brakes to much it definitely flashes the green wheels and orange centre diff and then engages illuminating the green wheels only, sometimes it will engage immediately and you don't see any flashing just green wheels illuminated. I guess since it was 15 years ago you don't remember it correctly, or we have a different 4WD ECU, i assume you have checked all the related fuses but thought I'd mention it since we tend to get tunnel vision when assuming certain components are to blame for the issue.
If all the lights are flashing (green wheels and yellow center) one of your sensors doesn’t match what the 4wd ECU “should” be seeing. That could be a sensor or actuator issue. A majority of the time it is the position sensor in the front diff, but there are 4 other sensors on the transfer case (2 lower on the drivers side and 2 up top in the passenger side) when all the lights blink it means there is a position error for the output selected.
If you can hear the actuator whirring and clunking that’s a good sign. If the actuator wasn’t making any noise it would be either a contact trace issue internally or a total failure. The first can be repaired, the latter is a costly replacement.
you can take the position sensors out and connect them to a multimeter and see if you lose continuity as you push the plunger in and out.
you can confirm that the front diff actuated by applying vacuum to the 2 sides of the diaphragm and feeling if it engages.
you can also test if you are getting proper engagement of the transfer case by jacking all 4 wheels off the ground, selecting 4wd and seeing if the driveshafts engage.
there is a bit of trial and error to finding the correct fault as you get the same error response from the system.
thank you for replying.
.i have changed the sensor on the front diff.
changed both sensors on the actuator.
checked the lower sensors on the gearbox.
couldnt reach to sensors on the top of the gearbox so couldnt check them yet..
when i move the lever to 4HLocked i am sure that its working..
the actuator on the transfer case was water damaged..we opened it and cleaned it.however i didnt know that it has a timing..i have tried so many timing combinations but i am not sure if i put it at the correct place..can it be the problem??
i have changed the one on the actuator, the one at the back..also changed the one on the front diff..didnt change others..if i can be sure its the sensors i will buy all of them because they dont come cheap but ı am not sure..really have no idea to place the issue..
02-25-2020, 09:14 PM
