Suzuki Forums banner

4WD light always on

13K views 16 replies 4 participants last post by  ChiefZuki 
#1 ·
Quick question regarding the 4wd light. The owner said it has been on for about the 7 years they owned it. I would like to diagnose this problem so I can be sure when I'm alone that I'm out of 4x4 without driving down the road. I have a Haynes manual but they lack details on where the wire routing starts. Just wondering if anyone has had this problem before and the best way to go about fixing it without tracing back wires. Thanks :)
 
#2 · (Edited)
First - letting us know what vehicle you're asking about improves your chances of getting a helpful answer - later model Jimny's are very different to the earlier vehicles.

Second - I doubt there's a way to troubleshoot this without tracing wires.

On the Sierra/Samurai the 4WD light is controlled by a switch on the transfer case - the switch could be defective or the wire shorted to ground - start by checking the switch, and if that's not it - get tracing ...

Oh - a good diagram might help - if it's a Sami, check Ack's FAQ.
 
#3 ·
Hello, thanks for the feedback I apologize I wasnt more specific.
It is a 1986 Samurai conv. If tracing the wires will solve my problem then so be it, I guess what I meant by saying I didnt want to trace wires is that I wanted a general ideas of where the wires might be or what to look for once I am tracing said wires. In the wiring diagram in the Haynes manual it gives the colors of the wires so I can look out for those. I will trace back power and ground from the tcase sensor and see what I come up with.. thanks
 
#5 ·
As Fordem says,"the switch is located on the top of the transfer case". Go under the Sami and look to the top of the transfer case. The switch can be unplugged. I believe the wires to the switch are blk and blk/Bl tracer. Guess is you have a bad switch or a wire is grounding out.
 
#6 ·
What they ^^^said.
A buddy bought a Sami that had been cobbled together
from several years of them. Mixed square holes with
round ones in the dash,(round 86to88,square late 88 on)
We found that the dash lights were not all compatible
through the years. His 4X4 dash light was not really
related to the transfer case. Turned out that the lamp
behind the 4X4 symbol was really the check engine
lamp and it was on all the time because of the Suzuki
re set switch on the steering tube.
Once reset the lamp went out but was not affected
by the transfer case switch.
Someone had switched the dash gauge panel with
another that fit but the circuits were not compatible.
Just sayin'
 
#7 ·
Thanks for the advice, I tried to trace the wires today but they went up into a spiral of other wires and I didn't have much time to keep looking at it. Is there any known spots for grounds? Hate to sound like a pain, I know that might be a difficult request.. I posted pics below of the only loose wires I could find. A red wire by the fuse box, and two different wiring harnesses in the engine bay have nothing to plug to. My biggest question is to what these might go to


 
#9 · (Edited)
The light is on all the time, so you're not really looking for a loose wire - more for a short to frame, although, it's entirely possible to have both - if a previous owner disconnected the wires during his troubleshooting.

According to the diagrams at Ack's FAQ, you're looking for a 2 wire connector - black (ground) and blue with a black tracer - I seem to be seeing blue on that connector, but not blue with black.

It really might be easiest to pickup the wiring underneath near the transfer case, or near the transmission tunnel
 
#13 ·
Oh and by the way those loose wiring plugs are in the engine bay. I can't seem to figure out what they went to as I couldn't find any other loose plugs.. I don't know if they came stock with an a/c condenser? As that could be the case, I don't have a compressor
 
#10 ·
Thanks for the advice, I can try to trace them again. Those pictures I took of the loose wiring harnesses were in my engine bay near the drivers side headlight. They're unrelated, but I posted the pics to see what could come of it.. When I traced the wires from the transfercase, they went up into a bunch of other wires taped up, going into the cabin I presume?
 
#11 ·
In this particular case the 4WD switch wires go to the dash cluster - how I would approach it is to find the switch and disconnect it, if the light goes out, the switch is defective - or - something on the transfer case is triggering it when it shouldn't.
 
#16 ·
I'm slightly confused now, didn't you say there was no a/c compressor? If you mean warm air from the heater out the lower vents, and room temp air out of the dash vents, I think that's normal.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top