4WD Trouble Light

The 4wd trouble light started blinking ......

Just took it to the shop. Its a 04 Santa Fe 3.5L 4WD with 48200 mi. At first
the dealer stated that the warranty would not cover any problem because it
was with the drivetrain rather then the powertrain, which does not make
sense. After waiting for a hour and a half I was told that the problem was
traced to a wire harness that runs down the inside of the SF. That there was
a TSB on this but my car was the first one they encountered with this
problem. Was told that all the seats will have to be pulled to get to the
wiring. I am curious about what the problem was and what was the number of
the TSB ? I was told before leaving the dealer the this would be a warranty
repair ?????

Anybody ever had this problem ?

 

I've not seen nor heard of this issue. Nor can I find any TSB
relating to it (unless you've also got an ABS lamp coming on). Your
four wheel drive is actually controlled by a coupler on the rear
differential, not in the transfer case. The driveshaft for the rear
wheels is always turning, but the coupler keeps it disconnected from
the rear differential until front wheel slip is detected.

If the problem had been with that coupler or the differential, I'd
expect that would have been covered by the powertrain warranty. The
wire harness, however, is not considered part of the powertrain, and
is covered only by the bumper-to-bumper warranty.

 

It turned out to be a wiring issue. When I was driving it home from the
shop, the check engine light came on. It was 0128 Fuel temp sensor circuit
A. I am wondering if when the shop corrected the 4WD wiring problem that
they did something to the fuel temp sensor wire ? never had the code before
and I don't believe in coincidences.

Can't win for losing
Striker....

I've not seen nor heard of this issue. Nor can I find any TSB
relating to it (unless you've also got an ABS lamp coming on). Your
four wheel drive is actually controlled by a coupler on the rear
differential, not in the transfer case. The driveshaft for the rear
wheels is always turning, but the coupler keeps it disconnected from
the rear differential until front wheel slip is detected.

If the problem had been with that coupler or the differential, I'd
expect that would have been covered by the powertrain warranty. The
wire harness, however, is not considered part of the powertrain, and
is covered only by the bumper-to-bumper warranty.

 

Not knowing where they were looking and where they worked on the wire,
it's hard to say. Since the engine runs and the connector for the
sensor is the same as for the fuel pump (if my memory is correct),
it's a safe bet the connector is plugged in. If you want to have a
look, you'll need to remove the left rear seat and go through the
access panel in the floor.