Drivetrain help please...

[Rummelicious]

I have an apparent electronic problem with my transfer case. I replaced the switch on the dash board and gained nothing. The transfer case appears to have a mind of its own. What is the next componet you would replace? Advise on how to diagnose? When i seek 'transfer case' in this forum, i find nothing. Point me in a direction, and i would sure appreciate it...

 

[jason78]

For me the source of these types was the encoder motor. This is the motor that shifts the transfer case between each selection. It is a somewhat common problem. It set me back about $580 to have the dealer fix it. Supposedly, you can sometimes just get away with replacing a sensor but most of the cost is labor so I just paid the extra $100 to replace the whole motor and be done with it considering I was at about 150K miles when it went out. My dealer did a Tech2 scan and pulled some codes that led them to this problem although I pretty much already knew what the problem was after reading up on the forums about this type of problem. As I recall it is either the switch or the encoder motor that causes these problems and you have already replaced the switch so I would suspect the encoder motor.

Like anything, it can be done DIY but I looked at the how-to and decided it was too much of a B**CH for me to try and do without a lift. Plus wanted the warranty on the work and part.

---------- Post added at 01:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:35 PM ----------

Forgot to mantion- For me it started with the 4WD engaging when I started the truck once then didn't happen again for a year. It started happening more and more often so I decided I had better just get it fixed before it tried to engage 4LO when I was on the highway or something like that. Not sure what caused it to go as I rarely use 4WD and baby my truck.

 

[Rummelicious]

Thanks

Very appreciative of your reply, i could not find anything. I am/was also entertaining the repair myself, but can tell what I have learned i probably wont. Thank you for the information

When we start the Tahoe, sometimes it is in LO 4x4. It was fine all summer long, but now that we have used AWD a couple times this winter we are having trouble again...

 

[jason78]

Very appreciative of your reply, i could not find anything. I am/was also entertaining the repair myself, but can tell what I have learned i probably wont. Thank you for the information

No problem, good luck with getting the problem fixed. Just start searching for "Chevrolet encoder motor" and you will see alot of info here and in other forums about it. Not sure what years were the "bad years" for this problem. Happened on my '05 Z71 Silverado.

As I already said, what pushed me to go ahead and do the repair was the risk of safety or transmission issues from it deciding to shift to 4LO while on the highway. Also, I have heard of them doing all kinds of other crazy stuff too once they start acting up.

I guess that is the downside to Electronic Shift 4WD.