2004 Toyota Tacoma 4X4 not engaging

Hello. I have a 2004 Tacoma and my 4WD is not engaging. In the past, when I shifted the lever to 4HI, I could hear something under the driver side door (around the transfer case) that sounded like a whirling sound. 4WD would engage normally. Now, I shift the lever to 4HI and I do not hear that sound. 4WD does not engage and light on instrument panel does not light up.
Any ideas are appreciated!

 

Ive always only bought the j shit t case and had manual hubs just for this exact reason! Not bashing you for not being like me! Lol. Ive just been lucky enough to always find the right truck with the right options, id get the electronic stuff too. Here not too long ago we got a 4runner for the girlfriend and we were amazingly able to find one with the j shift case which is pretty damn rare(atleast it seemed after a long and extensive search) and it not have that crazy center diff thing er whatever. I didnt even know the runners had such different configurations for the 4wd. But! It does have ADD though, so im gunna need to know this system now atleast at some point im sure...

Have you checked your fuses yet? I know with the push button on the shifter and having ADD its fairly important to exercise that stuff, its kinda a use it or lose it situation sometimes. Its somewhat common for guys to have various issues with that setup so im sure someone will be along shortly that'll know much more than me about it and will try and help ya out. If ya have a lil time you can search around a bit on here, there are threads quite often on here about the same thing. Might find some useful stuff??

 

I know what you mean .. my last toyota had manual hubs and it never failed me! Thanks for the note .. checked and fuses look good. A little more info .. I had this same problem last year, and then all of the sudden, the 4WD started working again. I wonder if something like a solenoid might be sticking?

 

Oh really, yeah i bet you're right. I do think there is a solenoid that engages the t case...

 

I literally just got my 04 Tacoma back from the mechanic and read a bunch of threads about actuators failing, I thought that was my issue...my 4wd light wasn't coming on...I could hear a noise on the transfer case which made it sound like it was engaging, but no light...they actually found that my switch on my transfer case, I believe there is four of them, was failing. They had to locate used parts, as I found out later they are no longer supported by Toyota. Something you may wanna check, and see if you can clean. If anyone knows of where to get these switches new by aftermarket manufacturers I'd love to know...part numbers are 84222 84222a 84222b etc through to f...my 84222b and 84222d failed.

 

I agree that the switches should be checked . When you shift the transfer case into 4x4 , the switch on top of the transfer case is responsible for sending 12 volts to the front actuator .
Remove the wiring harness plug at the front actuator and test to see if you have 12 volts with the key in the " ON " position and the transfer case needs to be in 4x4 .
If you have voltage , continue diagnosing front actuator
If no voltage , bad wiring from the transfer case to the front actuator or the step switch is faulty or no voltage going to the step switch .

The only way the light on the dash will illuminate is if the front actuator moves the shift fork on your front axle from the 2 wheel drive position over to the 4x4 position . There is a step switch on the front actuator that has to see that the fork moved to 4x4 in order for your light on the dash to come on .

 

This may sound stupid, as I know jack about testing for something like this, and since finding switches may require a trip to the scrap yard, what device do I use to test the voltage...newbie here will it show up on a computer diagnostic plugged into the dash?

 

A test light would be a good start http://www.paadps.com/continuitytester.aspx
The transfer case is " NOT " computer controlled . With this said , there will be no error codes when connecting a scanner to the Assembly Line Diagnostic Link under your dash ( OBD2 ) port

 

Like gearcruncher said a test light is a very handy lil instrument that will detect the presence of electricity, even down to very weak current, the light inside would be the limiting factor there. I use mine fairly ofen when trouble shooting easy jobs.

Now since you asked this question im sure it would be way beyond your skill/ability level as far as electrical work is concerned. But a multimeter is the tool to have! From simple shit like just finding any current like the test light does all the way to finding ultra specific amounts of current in A/C or D/C even ohm readings on some models. It can take some understanding of electricity to operate and understand what you're looking for and navigate all the different settings on the instrument. It took me a bit to get myself to where i could use one and know the how's and why's and where's. Heck and to be honest theres still a shit ton of stuff and settings that are over my head when operating it! Very handy tool for the collection though!

Thats what peeps most commonly use though when testing voltage and anything electricity wise...

 

Thanks for the advice! I'm going to check the voltage on the switches tomorrow and see what's there.

 

Thx bry832...definitely want to learn how to use one. I read a thread about someone using one to test the ohm readings on a switch for his transfer case, he cleaned them vs replacing them. I was wondering what the device was and it had to be a multimeter...since toyota doesn't want to support these parts for 1st gens anymore, it's high time I learn how to use one...no problem adding more tools to add to the collection

 

Thanks guys for the info. I'm in the same boat with my '99. Stopped working for about 4-5 months. I could still hear a relay clicking on I assume the t case, but no light and no power to front wheels. I would try it periodically and a month ago it just worked. Light came on and had 4x4, but it only lasted for 2 weeks and now I'm back to where I was. Now I have a point to start troubleshooting

 

Did you ever diagnose and fix this issue? Personally, my 4wd light comes on, but there's no front wheel drive. CV seems good as there's no clicking? wondering if the manual hubs aren't engaging even though they're locked.