98' Rodeo 4WD engaging at will...

Ok, here's my new found problem. I have a 98' Rodeo LS 4WD and the 4WD is trying to engage on its own. I can be driving at lets say 30 mph when the 4WD light starts blinking and sometimes a "whining" noise can be heard on the transmission.

My quick fix has been to actually press the 4WD button and engage 4WD then ride for a couple of seconds and depress the 4WD button to disengage. It works fine but a couple of minutes after that I'm back at square one with the light blinking.

Other than this, the transmission is working fine, no gear slipping and no problems. Please tell me is a bad switch or some sort of cheap fix (solenoid) and not the whole transmisson.

Dennis

I think theres a place in the engine compartment where you have to check the fluid for the 4wd shifting system. Maybe its low on oil??

You can pull the switch out of the dash and unplug it to test your therory
-Ryan

Dennis- Like Ryan says, pop that switch out & see if 4x4 still engages itself. The whole pod that holds the cruise/4x4/foglight switchs pops out. Unplug the 4x4 switch to see if that eliminates the problem. If not, you have a short somewhere on the harness to the transfer case and/or shift on the fly actuator. This does not have anything to do with the transmission.
G/luck
Joel

I just purchased a used 98 Rodeo and the first time I was pulling my boat out of the water I had to use the 4WD to get up the slimy ramp. When I tried the disengage the 4WD it did the same thing you are describing here, the light kept blinking and made a whinning noise and would not disengage. I pulled over and with the button released just by coincedence I made some tight turns at a very slow speed right to left and back again and the hubs (or whatever that is that locks the 4WD in) disengaged and the light stopped blinking. Everything returned to normal. I am not sure why it would not disengage(maybe something needs lubed) but the tight turns seemed free it up and let it completely disengage. Hope this helps, I am new to this board and I am finding it very useful, Thanks everyone!!!