4wd lights flashing after starting

I have a 2015 Jimny Land Venture (K6A - 660cc) Automatic. Since beginning, i didn't have any issues with 4WD and it was used only once or twice a year, as this is my daily driver. However, couple of days ago, when i tried using 4WD, i noticed that the lights were blinking and 4WD was not engaged. Took the car to my usual servicing place and they had a look. The vehicle was hoisted and when 4WD button was pressed front drive shaft was turning, but the wheels were not locking. Upon further inspection, the mechanic noticed that the vacuum pipe on one side was broken. He removed the broken part from the original piping. it was around 1inch in size. Then he plugged the same pipe back to the wheel hub. After this fix, the 4WD system started working again without the indicator blinking.

However, after couple of minutes, both 4WD High and Low indicators started flashing rapidly without any cause. It doesn't matter if the engine is in idle or in the driving mode, the blinking lights will appear in a couple of minutes after ignition. This happens regardless of the driving mode( 2WD, 4WD or 4WD-L). It has been 2 days since this started happening, and still the same. Is this an error code that needs to be cleared through a diagnostic tool? or is this indicative of another issue?. I have seen forum topics on somewhat similar issues, specially related to vacuum leaks. But since the only change the mechanic did was to remove the broken part from the original pipe and refitted it, i am not sure if that can happen.

If anyone has seen a similar issue or can offer some helpful tips, please respond.

Hi,

Sorry to hear about your problems with the 4WD system. The original problem was the vac pipe leak, the 4WD light flashing is the classic sign and your mechanic found the broken pipe.

I now suspect you have another problem as I think that both lights flashing is a sign something isn’t right.

You could look in the wiki, it has a very good description of the 4WD system here

www.bigjimny.com/mediawiki/index.php/4WD..._failure_diagnostics

but I think this was written more for the Gen3 although I am sure much of it (possibly all of it) is still relevant to your model.

There are a number of sensors and a 4WD controller, any of these could be giving a false signal or you might have a problem with the transfer case.

The other issue is the controller and 4WD system can get out of sync, although the wiki doesn’t have details of the symptoms or how to fix it, removing the battery with it in 2WD might do it.

Finally my selector switch in the dashboard developed a fault with the switches, it tried to go into 4WD and 4WD-L on its own, I did get some weird flashing lights and made a temporary fix by removing the selector switch then got a new one.

Good luck finding the problem.

Robin

Mine has been blinking all over the place from freezing water inside. I think that blink occured when vacuum pipes or solenoid was freeze plugged and there is no feedback to the vacuum sensor that pipes are open and vacuum is ok with 4wd engaged.

But not sure as mine is not so easy to diagnose from the caotic blinks. I found my problem with a bag of warm water held up against the solenoids.

I would check if pipes are open and vacuum is ok. Disconnect vacuum pipes at the solenoids and down at the hubs when the car runs, and you will hear the suction to check. Get a mate/wife/daughter to switch between 2wd and 4wd while you check.

Thanks for the info DrRobin. I revisited the mechanic and we checked the vacuum line. No leaks were detected. However, something interesting happened. When the vacuum lines were removed from the wheel which had the broken pipe, the lights are no longer flashing, but comes right after the pipes are refitted.

Some grease and gunk was also seeping from that same wheel. After reading the article you linked, i think it might be the actual culprit. The seals and bearings are being replaced. So let's hope for the best!

HI Yakuza, thanks for the info. I am located in Sri Lanka. So low-temps are probably not to blame here

I found out that when pipes are disconnected from the wheel, the lights won't blink. But as soon as they are refitted, it comes back.

Also, i noticed some grease was leaking from the same wheel. So going to replace the seals and bearings. Hopefully that will solve the problem. if not, will have to revisit the piping.

Okay, so i have added new Oil seals, bearings and the swivel seals to both front wheels. Still the issue is there. However, i have been reading on the forum, and thought of doing some simple tests. I jacked up the Wheel where the vac pipe was originally broken and then tried engaging 4wd. it was properly locked and i could not turn the wheel by hand. Then after about a minute, the flashing began, but the wheel was still locked and i was able to release it by slecting the 2wd switch, even when the lights are flashing. I also noticed that when the lights are flashing while i was driving, i could first select 4wd and then switch back to 2wd to temporarily get rid of the flashing. it will go away for about a minute, and will flash again.

Then, i found this pdf for checking the vacuum system  www.bigjimny.com/images/documents/Check_the_vacuum_system.pdf , and there it mentioned about a vacuum monitoring switch with an air filter. it was mentioned that this air filter is easily blocked and should be easy to clean. So i started looking for that. and to my surprise, i found that the foam in that filter is completely missing. i have attached an image here pointing to the missing foamy part. Could this be the root cause?. i would like to start with the simple things before digging into the electrical stuff. As i anyways have to replace those, will be ordering some new filters.