4x4 light flashing

Hi there I'm new to the forum, and I just bought my first Tacoma but I'm having an issue with my 4x4. When I engage it with the truck on (park, neutral, drive) the light just starts flashing and the 4x4 does not engage. If I turn the dial back to 2hi the light keeps flashing. The only way I can engage 4x4 is to turn off the truck and turn it back on with the dial in 4x4. I mechanic told me it might be the 4x4 motor but I'm not sure since when I turn it off it works fine. If someone could point me towards a thread that talks about this or let me know things to check and try to fix this it would be greatly appreciated!

2005 Tacoma v6 double cab auto trd sport

 

are you rolling forward wheb trying to engage? My truck will do that to but if i roll forward it will engage.

 

^what he said, mine will usually engage when parked, but usually I just do it on the move anyway. Also, check your wheel direction, if your sawing the wheel back and forth while parked, stop and engage only when they are straightened out. This seems to work 99% of the time.

 

Read the manual

 

lets be a little more welcoming to the new member.

 

Huh? He asked for help. Best place is the manual. Explains how to use the 4WD.

 

My truck did not come with a manual, and I am sure that the OP's 2005 that was just bought probably didn't either. As I have experience with various 4x4 systems I have an idea what to look for, the OP may not.

Brokentaco10, I am not sure what you have tried or what your background is, but it is worth stating that the mechanisms that engage the front drive and the low range require some conditions in order to engage after setting the knob. My 2007 engages and disengages 4 high reasonably easily, but I usually have to roll a little bit after moving the selector and the truck needs to be rolling with the steering straight. With 4 low I have more trouble switching back to high.

Do not be discouraged if the 4x4 does not engage instantly, just play around with rolling forward a bit with the wheels straight until you get a feel for it. Rock Lobster's advice should work for you.

If there is nothing you can do to get 4x4 to engage, the best thing is to find someone with a similar truck and see if he can get it to work. The 4x4 could be broken, but I would not worry about that as a possibility yet.

 

There is a chart on the driver's side visor too

 

lets be a little more welcoming to the new member.

 

Thanks for the quick responses everyone! So I tried everything you guys said but still all it's doing is when I select 4hi, the 4lo starts flashing. This will continue until I turn the truck off

 

welcome to Tacoma World!

Check out this thread:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/4-wheel-drive-blinking-indicator-light.197091/

Common problem with our trucks.

 

Some are finicky. My manual I have to jam the clutch extremely hard to make it switch into 4wd modes. The auto I had was bad at first and I couldn't figure it out. then I engaged it while rolling during winter and it worked fine. Just mess with it and you will figure it out.

 

If this is the case, your problem may be a bit more complex than the original post implied. It may need to go to the professionals. 4lo should not be flashing when going to 4hi. It sounds like a wiring problem. Check the yellow wire mod thread and see if this was done - wires may be exposed and shorting out. Next look at the t case and make sure the wiring looks good there. that's about all the advice I'm good for right now. Good luck and welcome to TW!

 

Okay thanks guys it's going up to my mechanic in a day or two so I'll get him to look at it thanks for your help!

 

So I was playing with it today coming home from work and some times when the lights are flashing 4x4 is engaged but won't disengage. But if I start the truck in 4hi and then switch to 2hi it disengages fine. Not sure if this helps any