4HI light keeps blinking

Hello everyone,

Frank from Northern Jersey here!

I have a 2001 Tundra TRD (190,000 miles) that I recently bought off of craigslist with some 4WD problems. So far I love the truck regardless of knowing if it is in 4 wheel or not lol.

The problem I was first having was having the 4HI light on the dash flashing and staying stuck in 4WD mode. I unfortunately made the mistake of opening the transfer case actuator as per a YouTube video explaining that the contacts may be oxidized, which they were.

After putting it back together on the car I now have both 4HI and 4LO flashing with no other lights on. I'm hoping it is just the contacts that are dirty and plan to fill in the empty spaces with solder this weekend.

Anyways, hopefully someone can help me with this situation as I have learned my lesson and will be staying away unless I know what I'm doing.

Nice to meet you all in advance!

 

Here is a picture of the plastic cap btw. Does anyone know how I can test that rusty motor?

 

I had the same issue. here's my thread documenting it.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/sol...-wont-disengage-4hi-and-4low-work-fine.32495/


TL;DR is, I had to tap on the transfer case actuator to get it to go back into place, and replace the front ADD actuator, which caused my 4hi issues.

 

I was actually just looking at your thread. Sorry to the mods for reposting it. I'll try everything in your post.

Thanks very much!

 

No problem! Happy to help!

 

After taking the transfer actuator apart and cleaning it and putting it back together I'm back to the drawing board lol.

4Hi light keeps on blinking. What is different between mine and your situation is that my car won't even go into 4Lo. When I push my 4Hi/2 button, I hear the motor in the front as you did, however when I try to switch over to 4Lo, no lights come on, and I hear nothing going on underneath. The light on the button or dash wont even come on for the 4Lo, just the flashing 4Hi light blinks.

Could this be caused by the front actuator as well?

 

P.S.: here is a picture of her

 

We may have to agree to disagree here. Opening stuff up to investigate is rarely a mistake. Many here would probably argue it's all part of the fun.

 

It sounds to me like your transfer case actuator is bad, especially if you aren’t hearing it move. Sucks, cuz there are kinda spendy.

 

Are both motors supposed to be making noise? I do hear the front making noise, I havent really gotten close to the actuator on the Tcase to listen though. I here the motor up front turn or spin when I press the 4hi/lo button in and out.

 

Yes. They should both make noise.

 

So I went ahead and tested if my 4 wheels were actually spinning.

With the 4hi/lo button out, the front two spun, with the button pushed in, only one side spun. So it does look like the 4WD is engaging. I'm going to go ahead and assume it is the ADD, as you and several others had the same issue and solved it once you either cleaned or replaced the front ADD.

I'll order it soon and keep the post updated! Thanks again for the help @Isaami

 

So another update to anyone following this post, as I'm confused and wonder if anyone has heard anything like this.

So I decided to put my car up on jack stands and test the 4WD system out.

2WD/4HI button is constantly blinking, car will not go into 4LO

Pushed the 2WD/4HI button in, spun the front tires, only one spins on both sides, with the button pushed out, I go and spin the driver's side tire and both spin in opposite directions, weird... isn't that button supposed to work the opposite way?

Now, making sure the car is secure on the stands, I turned the car on, put it in drive and tested it again. With the button not pressed in, the passenger side wheel spins alone. With the button pushed in, nothing happens up front, just both back wheels spin.

I've never been so confused in my life before as to what is going on lol. My first plan is to remove the front ADD, clean it, and put it back on to see if that changes anything. I'll keep the post updated.

If anyone else has any input I'd appreciate it.

 

I still think it’s your main actuator in the transfer case. That seems to me to be the issue, at the very least for it not going into 4low.

 

Been following this and have not had your problem yet, but have experienced the confusion of jacking the truck and spinning the wheel to watch them go in opposite direction. I even think both front and back spun in Park mode?

 

Also, once you resolve your problem, the manual says to engage the 4x4 on a regular basis to keep things lubed and operational. Thanks for posting your fixes here.

 

I only tested the front wheels when off the ground, with the car off. I will go ahead and check the back two as well. I don't recall if it was in park or neutral.

As for regularly putting it into 4WD, I have promised myself that I must do it at least once a month after and if the issue gets resolved haha. It's currently too cold to work on it outside but once the temps go up I'll be out there and updating this post again.

 

Another update: Tried hitting the button with a stick while the car was on the on position, motor not running, and only heard the front ADD working. The transfer case actuator makes no noise at all. Hit it with a rubber mallet and nothing.

I'm thinking Isaami is right, time to buy a T-case actuator. Found a used one on Ebay in working order for 300. Luckily mine has the cog access panel to remove the actuator.

I'll keep updating accordingly.

 

SOLVED:

So after all the experimenting and finding out the original part I wanted to order was no longer available I decided to just order a transfer case actuator without an access port for 200 dollars off of ebay.

I removed the black cap from the "newer" actuator, removed the black cap from the older one already on the car, installed the newer cap, just the cap, on to the car and there you go. Fixed!

Car now engages into 4hi and 4lo, and turns off with no lights blinking on the dash.

Once again thanks for all the help to everyone and I hope this post can help someone with the same problems in the future.

Symptoms of my problem: Dash would blink 4HI with 2wd/4hi button pressed in or out. 4Lo would not work at all, not even the light would come on. Front ADD motor made noise, but the rear transfer actuator made no noise at all.

 

Success!!! Good write up and details. I like the swap out on the caps idea.

 

Good! Glad to hear it!

 

Thank you for documenting all the details on your trials and the final results in solving this problem. It is bookmarked for future reference. This is the essence of this forum

 

Just throwing my ordeal in the mix. Maybe it’ll help someone now or in the future.....
same issue with my Tundra.... 2012 TRD... blah blah blah.
Blinking 4HI, WITH 4wd. Had a hard time getting back to 2 wd. My front differential actuator would make a beeping noise. A paycheck later and all is fixed.

 

Appreciate the info, can the cap be replaced without removing the unit from the truck, thanks.

 

In my specific model it can be removed *without removing the whole actuator*. Just remove three 10mm bolts and unplug the motor and it should come off with some force, careful with the O ring underneath it.

 

Appreciate it