Okay, I ended up taking it to the shop and letting them install a new encoder motor. That got it out of 4WD. It switches back and forth between 2wd and 4wd high, but I cannot get it to go into 4wd low. The shop says it is a problem with the transfer case, but as much as I paid to have the encoder motor replaced, I really want to make sure its the transfer case and not the encoder motor. Does anyone have any ideas on this? Thanks.

 

Same thing happened to my 2005 Silverado 1500. The service 4WD warning came on in the dash and it wouldn't shift into anything but 2H. Read your thread, followed the instructions to turn ignition to the 'On' position, waited until all the lights stopped blinking and then started the engine as normal. BAM! Fixed the 4WD issue (as well as the remote keyless unlock) - weird. Until last Sunday. The Service 4WD warning came back on and I re-tried the aforementioned procedure with the ignition switch. No luck. Back to where I was before with a strange twist: now it stays in Auto 4WD and won't switch from that. I also cleaned and replaced the ground wires a while back and that fixed it for a while. Broke again.

Does anyone have a better answer than replacing the transfer case motor? I can't help but think this whole thing is electrical. Maybe I'll replace the Transfer Case Control Module next...

 

I couldn't see where you had replaced your encoder. Even though a lot of forums talk about the push buttons and cleaning the grounds, that never did anything for me, but both of those options are cheaper than the encoder, so it wouldn't hurt to try them. The transfer case is pretty expensive. I think the encoder is usually the culprit. You can have your code pulled at a transmission shop, when I did, it actually had the word encoder in the message. I just don't use mine anymore. I figured it out and basically, for every 4 times I push one of those buttons, it costs me an average of $800. I just drive around the mud holes or get a running start or if I have to, I will pay for a tow. I'm just not wealthy enough to push those buttons.

 

Did you find a solution to your problem. I'm having the exact same problem on my 2004

 

Yes. Ordered the new shift motor through Amazon (cheapest place to get it) and installed it myself. Worked perfectly. I chose to leave the drive shaft in place, which was a mistake. Would have been infinitely easier to remove the shaft to have access to the upper bolt. Spent more time than necessary, but its DONE!

 

Thank you for the help looks like I'll be ordering that. Is that the motor on the bottom passenger side of the transfer case?

 

I think so. It's the only one and if I remember correctly, it's on the front of the transfer case.

 

Is this the one?

 

Yes, indeed.

Chris

 

Did you have to have it flashed? I got charged 600$ to replace this part on a Tahoe cause they said it needed to be flashed. Not sure what that means. Lol