push button transfer box help!

Hi I'm going to look at a 56 plate jimny which has the push button transfer box but there is an issue, the seller says the 4wd light flashes but doesn't come on. I know on the old jimny's the 4wd light would flash and not come on if the vacuum hubs had a leak etc but obviously you knew you were in 4wd as it was a big ol' lever to move into 4wd or 4wd-L.

So my question is if the light doesn't come on how can i tell it's in 4wd and will i be able to select 4wd low? I dont mind fitting manual hubs but I want to check the solonoids and the transfer box actually work even if there isn't any drive at the hubs!

Many thanks!
Mark

Remove the front hubs and put it in 4wd, have someone move it forward in 1st very slowly whilst you lay next to it where you won't get run over and watch the front prop. If it's in 4wd the front prop will turn. If it's not in 4wd the front prop won't turn.

Kirkynut

I confirm kirkynut's advice on this, as I did the same test today.

My Jimny was made in 2006 with electronic ("push-button") transfer box. My vacuum system is leaking at the moment.

When I am in 2WD, the front prop shaft does not rotate when the vehicle is moving.

When I select 4WD, the green light flashes indefinitely (because the vacuum system is leaking and can't do its task).
However, while the green light is flashing, the front prop shaft DOES turn while the the vehicle is moving.
That means that the transfer box did its part of the task when I touched the 4WD button (it connected the front prop shaft to itself). But the front wheels are not connected to the driveline as my vacuum system does not work.

The idiotic thing about the push-button Jimnys is that you can't cancel the 4WD engagement process once you invoke it!

That means, if your vacuum system is not working (like in my case), and you select 4WD, the vehicle will stay in the "quasy 4WD" with green blinking light indefinitely. That means the the transfer box will get connected and stay connected to the front prop shaft and the front differential, but the front wheels will be freewheling. The only way to return to ordinary 2WD (to disconnect the front prop shaft from the transfer box) is to somehow first complete the 4WD engagement process, and then to disengage it by pressing 2WD button.

Pressing 2WD button while the green light is flashing (4WD engagement has not completed yet) will have no effect. Nor will restarting the car.

I had to drive in that "quasy 4WD" mode for days and hundreds of kilometers because I could not cancel it, until I figured out today how to fool the 4WD controller to think that the vacuum is working. I fooled it by temporarily blocking the exit of the solenoid valve which sends the locking vacuum to the wheels. That tricked the 4WD controller into "completing" its 4WD engagement process (green light continuously lit), so the 2WD button was finally operational again - the 4WD controller finally acknowledged my touch of the 2WD button and disconnected the front prop shaft and returned to ordinary 2WD mode.

I hate push button Jimnys.
One additional (verified) practical issue with them is that accidental activation of 2WD/4WD/4WD-L buttons can occur when you are fiddling with ventilation controls during driving, and that can be very damaging to the car!

What's going to be next? Touch-screen 4WD selection with multi-touch and 3D gestures???

Thanks so much both for the replies.. I figured that might be the case.. I'm gonna take a gamble on it. Block off the vacuum pipes, fit manual hubs and hopefully the 4wd light will work..

help!!!

took a punt and I have a feeling I might loose

I looped the connector for the vacuum system as I knew the hub lines were leaking.

No change to the behaviour:

When I press the 4wd button I hear a whirr by the transfer box, the 4wd light flashes then a few seconds later I hear another whir and the 4wd light flashes again..

It kinda feels like it's trying to engage 4wd, fails and then the solonoid is moving it back..

Where do I go from here? Any help appreciated!!

That sounds like a problem in the transfer box itself, not in the vacuum system for the front wheel hubs.

Unfortunately I have no experience with transfer boxes, but at least you got a direction where to head from that point on.