How To Trouble Shoot 4x4 Actuator

time to rid yourself of the electronics

 

Or the truck......

 

when I bought my new to me '14 in Oct '17....was a real PIA to get in & out of 4x4

I've learned that just taking it out & switching in & out seems to help

Use it or lose it is the saying......I may still address the issue and examine it...

 

I’m gonna remove it today and do this “fix” . Not going back to the dealer for another faulty part to have it go out in 2-3 months again . Although my friend totaled his 08 fj w/40k miles so the transfer case is an option if it isn’t damaged .

 

DO NOT USE DORMAN replacement parts..... I just uploaded a YouTube video on my front Diff Actuator troubles and fix. One owner 2005 Sequoia with only 70k miles. Flashing 4hi and wouldn’t engage between 2 and 4wd. Initial repair used a Dorman and it failed. OEM worked.

https://youtu.be/dF7Lo_woG-k

A new OEM Actuator was put in yesterday and truck now works back to normal. It was the Dorman part for sure!

Another video that shows that Dorman actuators fail and to only use OEM:

https://youtu.be/cFSgkQ9zW7I

 

Interesting. I cracked open my factory installed OEM front Actuator following its failure (see above post). 2005 Sequoia Limited. I really suspected to find water rust etc but nothing!! Clean! Yet it was still not working ....

I took a 12volt battery and touched the proper ends of the solder paths and the brushless motor spun like a top. I then tried the same but using the side pins that connect to the wiring harness, but no luck on powering the motor. Odd. I’m still wondering if there is a short between the terminal pins and the motor. Either way, new part is in and works great.

 

I have torn apart every actuator on my truck and each one had dried out grease. 2 of the 3 still functioned perfectly as far as the motor, but it wouldn't actuate. Once I replaced the grease and cleaned all the old stuff out, they worked great. I suspect that after the grease completely dries out it binds the motor enough to stop movement.

 

Ok sorry to keep adding to this thread but I cannot seem to figure out this ADD issues on our 2008 Tacoma. T case works and engages front axle but I can’t get it into 4wd, the light just blinks. We soldered the motor connections in the actuator and it spins when I jumper out to the battery. I thought I would try taking the actuator under the truck and hooking it up the wiring harness connector and then have someone switch between 2hi and 4hi thinking the forks should move but they don’t. Did I reassemble the ADD wrong after soldering the motor terminals? The forks would sometimes move once but I am thinking the forks should move each time the switch in the truck is turned?

 

Hello guys I need help
So I have a 2017 Tacoma off road with only 30k miles on ,
My 4h engaged and won’t go to 2wd or 4l , the light blinks but if I put it on 4h and turn it off and on it shows is on 4h but will start to blink when you try to move to 2wd or 4h ,
The Toyota dealer said it was the transfer case actuator , I feel that is the front differential shift actuator , right now I’m waiting to see if my power train warranty cover it.

 

you should be covered under warranty. Easy way to separate the two problems is to jack up the truck and engage and see if the front driveshaft is spinning. If it is, it’s not your transfer case actuator.

 

It won’t come out of 4h . Is all wheel drive all the time now . But you can tell is 4h specially on my driveway

 

turn off truck, put dial in 2wd. Start truck

 

It does nothing , the light does start to blink that’s about all

 

Well short of pulling the actuator and sliding the shift fork you are at the mercy of the dealer

 

I’m needing some help with my 4x4. I'm prerunner with 4x4 FJ conversion and for the second time in my conversions life the add switch isn’t working. The first time the fuse blew to the switch. This time not so lucky it’s that easy. I have checked all the powers and grounds to and thru the switch, tested the switch and everything seems ok. I pulled the harness at the add and tested ground ok. I read all 33 pages here and will pull the front add actuator off and see what's inside. My ADD is actuated by a DPDT momentary switch that I got from RST with the harness. 8 poles are used on the switch. ground, Pos, left in, left out, right in, right out. There are two more connectors on the end with positive and a yellow wire that runs to the add actuator. The yellow wire seems to be hot all the time and that doesn't seem right. That to me should be the limit light that turns the light on the switch indicating the actuator is actuated.

Side note, I also want to wire another indicator light in the dash since I can't see the dim light in the switch. Thanks

 

Linking to my recent post for same 4WD issues: Green 4wd and 4LO light constantly blinking.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/4wd-issues-please-help.669094/#post-23483165

In summary, I have:

Replaced the ADD actuator,
removed and cleaned out the transfer case actuator, confirmed that the motor works with bench test
tested the two position sensors in transfercase, both were good,
manually confirmed that the ADD actuator and transfercase are in 2HI position,
confirmed that the transfercase actuator is reinstalled with electrical contacts in 2HI position.
4WD dashboard switch is in 2HI position.


Yet I still have a constantly blinking green 4WD and 4LO lights as soon as I turn the key to on position. I hear the ECU click twice, then the lights immediately blink.

Anyone able to help?

 

take some voltage readings at the 4wd ECU and report back. Let us know what the switches are saying.

 

Will do.

I double checked the transfer case actuator out. There were some wear spots on the plate, so I cleaned those up. Bench testing sounded good, but when I applied power to it while installed it didn't have enough force to move the transfer case rod to 4HI or 4LO position. I could manually move the rod to these positions, and when compared to other videos it appeared it took the same amount of force as demonstrated in those videos. It also could not move it from 4HI or 4LO to the 2HI position, I had to return it manually.

Therefore, I replaced the transfer case actuator today. Sounds great when bench testing, and when installed an power is applied it moves the transfer case actuator rod through all positions and back again. However, the 4WD/4LO lights are still blinking. I have read that the transfer case actuator connectors have to be lined up appropriately with the contact points in the housing.. Does anyone have any pictures or recommendations so I can be 100% sure I have those in the correct spot? Thanks!