Blinking Transfer Case Warning Light... (1 Viewer)

[hankinid]

...has happened upon startup twice in the last 2 weeks. In fact, the transfer case is not in neutral, but she won't shift into Low Range when parked in neutral with the parking brake set.

First time, I was able to kill the light by simply stopping and restarting the truck. Today a quick stop / start didn't work. Drove about 4 miles into town for gas and the warning light did not re-light when I started the truck. Got home, and could get to L4 and back to H4 with no issues.

A search showed one post 2 years ago with no resolution at the dealer as dealer could not dupe the issue.

Any thought would be appreciated.

Tks.

Steve

 

[TonyP]

Is it the center diff lock light or the actual H4 light?

 

[hankinid]

Is it the center diff lock light or the actual H4 light?

Center diff-lock light. I forgot to mention that using the diff-lock switch does nothing.

Steve

 

[FatHero]

"Center diff-lock light. I forgot to mention that using the diff-lock switch does nothing."

My 2008 200 has been doing that for years (center diff lock light). When I am diligent about locking the diff for a short run on a dirt road every couple of weeks all is fine, but then I get slack and that diff light will blink (without actually having the diff locked). Turning off the engine and restarting seems to do the trick as you mention, but sometimes it takes a couple of tries.

Just a week a ago it took about 8 tries to finally get it to lock/unlock consistently because I had not engaged it for a couple of months. One of the techs where I get my rig serviced says that locking it once in a while will help keep everything lubed and work well.

My 100 is actually a little better about it, but will also get finicky after ignoring it for too long.

Perhaps you were thinking of this post?:
Flashing Center Diff Lock Light 200 Series

On page 2 a couple of members mention the same thing, just locking it every so often seems to keep the system happy

 

[hankinid]

Thanks, FatHero. You could be right...she had a bunch of diff-lock and unlock action this winter, but nothing in the last 3 or so months. I've got 3 miles of private gravel road running along the irrigation canal...plan is to exercise the 4wd system every 2 weeks or so...gotta' make sure it will work once the snow hits.

 

[steenh]

Mine did that a couple of times in the first year or so when I bought it at 60k. Hasn't happened in the last two years... must be getting off pavement just enough these days!

 

[Malleus]

x3. My switch gave me hell this winter, because I hadn't used to low range enough. Trash accumulates on the sensor and it doesn't work. I haven't taken it apart to find out why (and have no desire to do so in this life). Use it regularly and it will love you.

 

[hankinid]

Thanks for the replies...NO issues after exercising the 4wd system.

 

[drmwvr]

Mine '10 (92k mikes) has been doing this lately. Seems to be more prevalent when I park my 200 in the evening and then I start it up in the morning in "cooler" weather. After driving at normal speeds, the flashing light disappears at the next start up. I have exercised the diff lock and it works but that has not eliminated the periodic flashing light episodes.

 

[linuxgod]

Had this happen to me again this week. The fix is:

1. Drive it until the vehicle warms up
2. Turn the vehicle off
3. Restart the vehicle and the light will likely be off
4. Put it in 4Lo
5. Lock the center diff
6. Drive a bit
7. Unlock the diff and go back to 4Hi

If the CDL flashes during steps 4 or 5, put the vehicle in P, turn the engine off and restart it. Once the CDL flashes in my experience it won't clear until you turn the vehicle off and the system has a chance to re-self-test. I had to go through 3 or 4 restarts before mine worked cleanly again.

As others on the forum have mentioned, exercising it seems to help. If you can find a dirt road (or in my case a gravel alley) so you can run it for a bit once a month that's ideal. I try to engage 4Lo and the CDL monthly since I don't get to offroad too often, but even still mine just had this issue (probably because I'm only really running it for a few hundred yards).