In my previous thread I was confused about which switches did what, and am pretty certain that none of my switches work. The real shame being that I had the trans/transfer case out of the truck two months ago but did nothing about troubleshooting the switches. Partially out of apathy and partially because I didn't plan on reinstalling it that day, a buddy came by and offered to help me "toss it back in", and off we went. Next thing I knew the thing was bolted in and shortly thereafter I realized the opportunity I had just missed.

So, I can put the transfer case into neutral and typically nothing happens however the other day when I was flushing the trans fluid I was cycling the PRNDL though all the gears before the final fluid top off and as I went through Reverse back to Park I got a split second grinding followed by a loud incessant beeping. First I thought the trans was damaged however after noticing the warning lamp with the two gears and the X through them I looked in the manual and it said this was an indication that the transfer case was in neutral. Sure enough I pulled the lever back into high and the light went out and the beeping stopped. Since then I've put the transfer case in neutral a couple times and nothing happens, no light, no beep. I've also locked the diff and the corresponding light in the instrument cluster does not light up. I presume the diff lock switches are defective as well.

My question is this, the manual states that HDC will only engage when the transfer case is in Low, however there doesn't appear to be a light to tell you that you're in Low range. Does HDC look to ensure that the Hi/Lo switch is in Low, and only then will HDC engage? Meaning that if your switch is bad you won't actually know it until you try the HDC? My plan is to hijack the circuit with some manual switches to tell the various computers that I've engaged Low or locked the diff.

 

yes, there is a HI/LOW switch. No, I have never seen a dash light for it. Dash lights for unlocked/locked and HDC.....

search of this forums reveals:
https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...missing-27792/

 

The lights sometimes don't come on until you've driven for a few yards. If you just shift in and out of the ranges without moving they might not come on.

 

Thanks for the link XRAD. I wish that was my issue. Not knowing I could simply disconnect the trans/transfer subharness inside the truck and lower the unit with all the wiring attached, I painfully disconnected all the switches prior to lowering it. I reconnected them all before putting it back in place, which saved hours and plenty of skin, but none of them started working again. Certainly could still be a poor connection however rather than go through the pain (physical and financial) of redoing that job, or replacing the switches, I'm going to re-purpose a couple factory switches and install them near the HDC switch to manually tell SLABS I'm in Low, and the cluster that the diff is Locked.

Thanks Mollusc, I'll give that a shot before doing anything. I have driven across a field in Low and Locked, more than once, and still haven't seen any lights but it's a cheap thrill to try it again.

 

There won't be any warning light for t-case neutral if you're driving around. The light for locked is obviously an issue though.

 

Depends on how much 'pain' you want to avoid. You could remove the center console and drill out the underlying panel rivets, and then have pretty good access to the switches and connectors....not that bad a job....

 

Meaning if I'm in neutral I won't be driving around?

Interesting idea XRAD! I already traced out the connector and know which wires I need to splice into for my switches. To do this I need to remove the center console so maybe I'll drill out the panel on my parts truck first to see what that's all about. I wanted to remove it to offer it for anyone converting a non-CDL truck anyway. Good suggestion.

 

You can get to the connectors for this part of the harness under dash. But if you do pull the console, take a look from top down, it's much easier:





and then when you replace the metal cover, put it on TOP of the tunnel and fix with self tapping screws...

 

Exactly. You're looking for a neutral warning light. If you're driving, you're not in neutral.

 

I think what happened was that the transfer case was halfway between neutral and Hi and while cycling through gears it popped into neutral. I heard a quick grinding noise and then the dash light came on and the beeping started. That was the only time this happened however, every other time I've intentionally selected neutral I haven't had the light or the chime come on.

Thanks for the pics XRAD. How complicated is it to slide the panel out when it's attached from below?