Time to bitch (again)

[StG58]

So, I've got this '99 Suburban. 7.4 litre, 4l80e transmission, NP246 transfer case, locked corporate 14 bolt. Great truck. EXCEPT FOR THE ELECTRONICS THAT CONTROL THE TRANSFER CASE!!! It just causes me no end of grief. Man I hate that push button POS. Is there a manual conversion? Noooo... Unless I swap to an NP241 / 32 spline. If I could find the guy that designed the electronics, I'd really yell at him. Who in their right mind would saddle an awesome transfer case with crappy, unreliable electronics? Seriously.

That is all. There, feel better already.

 

[tworley]

My 00 Silverado had one and every now and then it would go thru the motion and not engage. Happened rarely, but enough to annoy me.

 

[Chris]

Gotta be thankful for the manual lever transfer cases in the TJ. I hate that push button bullshit in newer vehicles (and some older ones too).

 

[Blackjack]

So, I've got this '99 Suburban. 7.4 litre, 4l80e transmission, NP246 transfer case, locked corporate 14 bolt. Great truck. EXCEPT FOR THE ELECTRONICS THAT CONTROL THE TRANSFER CASE!!! It just causes me no end of grief. Man I hate that push button POS. Is there a manual conversion? Noooo... Unless I swap to an NP241 / 32 spline. If I could find the guy that designed the electronics, I'd really yell at him. Who in their right mind would saddle an awesome transfer case with crappy, unreliable electronics? Seriously.

That is all. There, feel better already.

The 246 has to be the worst transfer case ever designed and the electronics do not make it any better. We deal with so many of those every winter it is ridiculous.

 

[rasband]

Gotta be thankful for the manual lever transfer cases in the TJ. I hate that push button bullshit in newer vehicles (and some older ones too).

This is among the reasons I prefer the analog Jeep to others, the mechanical engineering is incredible when compared to the shotty software that may require updates... that you have to pay for...

 

[Chris]

This is among the reasons I prefer the analog Jeep to others, the mechanical engineering is incredible when compared to the shotty software that may require updates... that you have to pay for...

I agree. The JLs are crazy. In order to add LED headlights to them, you have to actually have the dealership use their software to program them to the PCM and enable the "LED headlights" option within the PCM itself.

It's the same for other modules on the car I was told. For instance, if you want to replace the ABS module, you can't just swap in a new one, you have to have it coded with the VIN number so that the ECU in your JL accepts it, otherwise it won't work.

This is how it was with my BMW. You couldn't really do a lot of work on it yourself, because you needed the special software the dealership had in order to do things like this. It was a real pain in the butt.

 

[OldButStillJeeping]

^^True that. When I bought the wife her 2014 328d M Sport. We realized it didn't have the angel eyes / halo headlights AFTER we brought it home. Doh! Dumb move on my part, but seriously, why option an M Sport but don't do the bitchin headlights!!
So I took it back to the dealer and it's not just the headlights that needs changing. It was $3,000, for a few hundred dollar option.
We lived without.

 

[rasband]

^^True that. When I bought the wife her 2014 328d M Sport. We realized it didn't have the angel eyes / halo headlights AFTER we brought it home. Doh! Dumb move on my part, but seriously, why option an M Sport but don't do the bitchin headlights!!
So I took it back to the dealer and it's not just the headlights that needs changing. It was $3,000, for a few hundred dollar option.
We lived without.

That’s crazy, my 2011 328i xdrive had the halos, and it was mostly bare, in terms of “upgrades”, otherwise.

 

[Chris]

^^True that. When I bought the wife her 2014 328d M Sport. We realized it didn't have the angel eyes / halo headlights AFTER we brought it home. Doh! Dumb move on my part, but seriously, why option an M Sport but don't do the bitchin headlights!!
So I took it back to the dealer and it's not just the headlights that needs changing. It was $3,000, for a few hundred dollar option.
We lived without.

It’s not just that either. You can’t even put a new battery in a modern BMW without having it programmed to the vehicle. My mom was furious when she found this out on her 2011 328Xi.

 

[OldButStillJeeping]

So, I've got this '99 Suburban. 7.4 litre, 4l80e transmission, NP246 transfer case, locked corporate 14 bolt. Great truck. EXCEPT FOR THE ELECTRONICS THAT CONTROL THE TRANSFER CASE!!! It just causes me no end of grief. Man I hate that push button POS. Is there a manual conversion? Noooo... Unless I swap to an NP241 / 32 spline. If I could find the guy that designed the electronics, I'd really yell at him. Who in their right mind would saddle an awesome transfer case with crappy, unreliable electronics? Seriously.

That is all. There, feel better already.

I hope your feeling better. I feel your pain.
Can you mod it into manual T Case? Maybe take an input splined to match your input or output to output and put it into a manual shift T Case?

The last new 3/4 ton truck I bought in 2017, I only wanted 5 options. 4x4, rear locker, extra cab, long bed, and a MANUAL TRANSFER CASE SHIFT. I found it, and I do love it. But.... it's a base model, XL from Ford. Manual Locking Hubs. No vacuum hub BS.
It's basically a work truck by design. But I'll take it over leather, carpet, and moonroofs and automatic tailgates anyday.

 

[TJ4Jim]

So, I've got this '99 Suburban. 7.4 litre, 4l80e transmission, NP246 transfer case, locked corporate 14 bolt. Great truck. EXCEPT FOR THE ELECTRONICS THAT CONTROL THE TRANSFER CASE!!! It just causes me no end of grief. Man I hate that push button POS. Is there a manual conversion? Noooo... Unless I swap to an NP241 / 32 spline. If I could find the guy that designed the electronics, I'd really yell at him. Who in their right mind would saddle an awesome transfer case with crappy, unreliable electronics? Seriously.

That is all. There, feel better already.

I know the feeling, I just replaced the manual trans in the Wife's Jeep Compass and I think the same guy worked on this.

 

[StG58]

I hope your feeling better. I feel your pain.
Can you mod it into manual T Case? Maybe take an input splined to match your input or output to output and put it into a manual shift T Case?

The last new 3/4 ton truck I bought in 2017, I only wanted 5 options. 4x4, rear locker, extra cab, long bed, and a MANUAL TRANSFER CASE SHIFT. I found it, and I do love it. But.... it's a base model, XL from Ford. Manual Locking Hubs. No vacuum hub BS.
It's basically a work truck by design. But I'll take it over leather, carpet, and moonroofs and automatic tailgates anyday.

Put a NP241 in it and reprogram a bunch of shit, or go totally custom and and still reprogram a bunch of shit. Like the front axle disconnect. Sucks because wife blew the original up. This is a new, high zoot unit.

 

[Cornbread]

Thats odd, maybe a a first year 99 thing. I abuse my 06 Sierra and the push button has never failed me once lol. Mom's 01 Tahoe and Dad's 05 Silverado never had any issues with transfer case either. IMO they are some of the most reliable trucks made, easy as hell to work on too. Off subject but I think it would have been really nice if the TJ had an open C-channel frame design like GM uses. Rusty frame is not even an issue with that design. Also makes for a really nice place to run lines/wiring/etc.

 

[StG58]

Thats odd, maybe a a first year 99 thing. I abuse my 06 Sierra and the push button has never failed me once lol. Mom's 01 Tahoe and Dad's 05 Silverado never had any issues with transfer case either. IMO they are some of the most reliable trucks made, easy as hell to work on too. Off subject but I think it would have been really nice if the TJ had an open C-channel frame design like GM uses. Rusty frame is not even an issue with that design. Also makes for a really nice place to run lines/wiring/etc.

171,000 miles on it and it still runs like a top. It may be a spousal unit thing, which is kinda funny. It's her truck. She has zero issues with her JKU.

 

[Cornbread]

171,000 miles on it and it still runs like a top. It may be a spousal unit thing, which is kinda funny. It's her truck. She has zero issues with her JKU.

Hopefully not! JKU is quite a few years newer lol

 

[StG58]

Hopefully not! JKU is quite a few years newer lol

Right!? It must be an operator thing or something. Those four buttons on the dash seem to just mystify her. The happy lever in her Jeep works for her. Go figure.

I'll double check the wiring and play with it some more, but so far so good (for me).