2005 Tahoe LT Service 4WD

[cronan]

Hi all. I'm thankful that they're are people out there to converse with about my Tahoe problems. 2005 Chevy Tahoe, about 135,000 miles on her. She has been well maintained however recently she has been giving me trouble. I live in Maine and have been utilizing the 4WD lately. I turned the car on the other day to be greeted with the "traction control off" icon illuminated; "stability system disabled" flashed across the screen and shortly after driving it "service 4WD" came on the screen as well. The 4WD buttons to the left of the dash were not illuminated.

~~~~~~Side note, just had the battery and alternator replaced about 2 and 6 months ago respectively..........service tire monitor has been flashing for quite some time. I've ignored it because I feel that I'd be able to tell when my tire PSI is low. (please please correct me if I'm wrong and if that message means more is going on)............service air bag has been on for a few months. I have no accidents with the truck (knock on wood) and money is thin so i've been driving carefully and we drove for years without air bags so i'm putting that off until i can afford it as well.~~~~~~

I got in the car yesterday and nothing was wrong with the 4WD as if it fixed itself. Leads me to think something electrically or sensory is wrong. I got in the car this morning and the TC (traction control) light was on again, and the truck had defaulted to 4L and I was unable to switch back to 2WD. Check engine light then came on.
I parked it in the driveway for a few hours, came back out and turned it back on. 4WD system appears fine again, check engine light is on.

I know its a really friggin long story, just want anyone who can help to get the most info from me.

WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON WITH THIS TRUCK? thanks for any and all help guys.

 

[whip]

I had a somewhat similar issue with my 2005. My "Service 4WD" light would come on, I would get the switch showing 4H when I hadn't pressed anything, etc. etc.

I tried two things to rectify it. First, I cleaned the grounds that I was told are the grounding wires to the 4WD electrics. They are both located underneath on the frame beneath the driver's door. Climb underneath, and you will see two bolts with wires coming off of them. I removed the bolts and cleaned the mounting surface and the connectors. I then put it all back together.

I also changed out the 4WD selector switch. I have heard that they can be problematic. I found the switch online at Amazon for $30. Napa had it for $80. Autozone had it for $150 and the dealer wanted $200. Since it is a vital piece in the drivetrain I decided against going cheap. The switch itself only took a few minutes to change out and required no tools. There are some you tube videos on how to do it.

After doing both of those things my 4WD issues seemed to have gone away. I don't have a whole lot of miles on it since doing this but so far so good.....