Odd 4wd issue. Been battling for a while.

[e46_330i]

To start, yes I have pulled fuses, checked wiring over and over, unhooked negative terminals, etc.

See if you guys can answer this. 04.5 LLY. 4wd lights (HI/LO) just blink when trying to engage. I can hear actuator try to engage 4wd (with truck off) twice then light stops blinking. No service 4wd light. No ecm or tcm codes related. Front diff has fluid and t-case has 2 qts of 5w-30 Mobil 1 in it and the pump rub kit from MA. I have yet to find anyone with this problem before. Don't want to throw parts at it. Dash switch is fine, swapped it with a known working one. Thoughts? Thinking weak encoder motor and/or actuator

 

[fast03]

Probably

 

[e46_330i]

Just tried putting tcase in neutral per someone else's recommendation and no lot. Blinks red while it tries going into neutral then stops. Pulled front diff actuator and had my old lady push 4wd hi and lo. Actuator didn't move. Assuming its this metal rod inside that is supposed to move?



Would a bad tcase or encoder motor cause this actuator to not work? Or is it for sure this. Double checked all wiring. That's all good.

 

[e46_330i]

Bump.. Swapped in a known working actuator and that one doesn't work either. What sends this thing signal to engage? Would a bad encoder make it not engage?