89 b2600 remote freewheel

so i bought this truck almost a year ago and the previous owner had the transmission and tranfer case rebuilt, but the 4x4 light on the dash is always on. i know the car is not in 4wd because every time it rains i do burnouts at every light, %90 of the time by accident anyways when i put it in 4wd with the lever the light stays on (duh) and the trucks rpms are a little different, and the truck feels different too. however...

while in 4wd when i try to push the remote freewheel button A: the light doesn't come one and B: the button pops right out immediately. my question is does 4wd actually work without that button being pressed in?

i went on the beach last summer and was stopping and going in deep sand over and over and never once got stuck so im assuming it does work, but at the same time...

a way i was thinking about testing this was jacking the back end of the truck up, place jackstands, get in, activate 4wd, and see if the front wheels are grabbing at all.

also i know some trucks are like this but after going from 4H/4L to 2H do you need to do any weird procedures? like back up 15 feet or whatever?

thanks!

No, all you need to do is come to a complete stop, select 2wd on the transfers case, THEN press the RFW switch. As soon as you start driving a few feet, the front axles will unlock. There is nothing directional (forward vs reverse) about the system. As soon as you start to roll either direction, it should unlock.

The old backing up routing is for trucks that had automatic hubs. Your truck doesn't have them. It has automatic locking front axles and it's up to you to unlock them after you are in 2wd and have stopped.


If that locked light is not out, then you've been driving around with the front end locked. Not a good thing to do while on the road. So make sure you unlock it. If you press the RFW switch and the light doesn't go out, then you need to figure out why. If most likely because a vacuum line is loose, cracked, or off the solenoid or actuator. If not that, then maybe the solenoid is bad or is not getting power.