The 4wd engages randomly after sitting overnight. Sometimes this happens after driving for awhile. The 4wd high & 4wd low lights sometimes blink when this happens. Any suggestions as how to fix or what causes this problem...
The blinking lights are a signal from the GEM computer that the 4WD system has a problem. Most of the time it is a disagreement in the data from the front and rear driveshaft speed sensors, either from a failure of the sensor, a bad electrical connection, or crud building up on the inside gear (tone wheel) that the sensor looks at to get the speed. These are mounted on the transfer case and would be the first place to look.
Essentially, the Control Trac system watches the speed difference between front and rear wheels and if the rear seems to be going faster than the front (slipping), then it increases the duration of the transfer case clutch engagement puls to increase the amount of power to the front wheels in 10% increments. When the rear is equal or less than the front, it starts backing off again. If it gets to fully engaged (like when selecting 4WD-Hi) and the rear still seems to be faster than the front, it realizes that is not possible, flashes the lights, and disengages the 4WD. Good luck, it shouldn't be a big deal to repair.
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