Four wheel drive won't engage

C

CSC

New Member
Hi guys. This is my first post on the forum. I have a 99 Tacoma TRD with five speed manual tranny. When I shift into 4H nothing happens...nothing no blinking light, no solid light, no light at all. Similarly, the rear diff locker just blinks but does not engage. Any thoughts on working through the trouble shooting are appreciated! Thanks!
 
CSC said:
Hi guys. This is my first post on the forum. I have a 99 Tacoma TRD with five speed manual tranny. When I shift into 4H nothing happens...nothing no blinking light, no solid light, no light at all. Similarly, the rear diff locker just blinks but does not engage. Any thoughts on working through the trouble shooting are appreciated! Thanks!
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Welcome to the forum.
It could be the 4x4 actuator.
 
CSC said:
Hi guys. This is my first post on the forum. I have a 99 Tacoma TRD with five speed manual tranny. When I shift into 4H nothing happens...nothing no blinking light, no solid light, no light at all. Similarly, the rear diff locker just blinks but does not engage. Any thoughts on working through the trouble shooting are appreciated! Thanks!
Click to expand...
Welcome to the forum. Are you driving when you turn 4H on? You have to be moving for it to activate. You have to have the truck in 4L to activate the rear diff. If you haven’t used it or don’t use it often it can take up to 50 feet or so before it will lock in. Once it’s locked in unlock it and lock it and repeat a few times to see if it activates faster.
 
OR17TRD said:
Welcome to the forum. Are you driving when you turn 4H on? You have to be moving for it to activate. You have to have the truck in 4L to activate the rear diff. If you haven’t used it or don’t use it often it can take up to 50 feet or so before it will lock in. Once it’s locked in unlock it and lock it and repeat a few times to see if it activates faster.
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Thanks for the welcomes. I'll give it a try. I was not moving last I tried but seems like I'd at least get a blinking 4 wheel drive light.
 
I had the same issue in my 03, it was the actuator. About 350 bucks to fix, but I also read that you can take it off and apart and there is a power wire that often comes loose that you can just sauter back on.
 
Thanks Muffy20. I read the same and will be looking into that down the road. My issue turned out to be an electrical connection on the upper passenger side of the trans that was left unplugged by the dealer when they last worked on the trans :(.
 
On my 99 TRD as soon as I pull my 4wd shifter back from 2H to 4H my 4wd light symbol comes on. If you have auto lockers like 99's came with, most likely it's the actuator on the tranny case. I've heard thru the grapevine that if 4wd goes too long w/out being actuated the sensor will gum up and voila! No 4wd.
 
BIRDSLAYER said:
On my 99 TRD as soon as I pull my 4wd shifter back from 2H to 4H my 4wd light symbol comes on. If you have auto lockers like 99's came with, most likely it's the actuator on the tranny case. I've heard thru the grapevine that if 4wd goes too long w/out being actuated the sensor will gum up and voila! No 4wd.
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And this is why we recommend using it as often as possible.
 
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