On my 86 Toyota 4x4 manual hubs 5 speed 2.4 motor the 4WD indicator light stays on after going back to 2WD.What's up??

 

Pull the sensor out of the transfer case and look at it, it is probably stuck pushed in and not releasing

 

One wire on the passengers side I believe.

 

So it has a sensor and not a switch??

Either the switch is stuck closed or your case is not shifting out of 4 wheel drive.

 

I don't know a lot about electronics, but I'm pretty sure it's just one wire, so it it just a simple switch...

 

It's two wires going to the sensor. When 4wd is engaged it pushes the sensor in and completes the circuit for the 4x4 light

 

It could also be that somewhere along the wires that the insulation is gone and they are touching. But I'd start at the switch first

 

Are you positive the transfer case is actually shifting out of 4WD? The transfer case is made so that you can move the lever out of 4wd, regardless of how much the actual gears are bound up. Moving the lever simply applies spring pressure to the locking collar, so that when the gear tension is relieved, the collar will slide out of lock. The switch indicates movement of the collar, not movement of the lever. If the spring is broken, or something is stuck in the transfer case, you can move the lever all you want and the collar will never unlock.

To test this, park your truck, unlock the hubs, and put the transfer case lever into 2WD. Crawl under it and try to turn the front drive shaft. It should turn freely. If it doesn't, your transfer case is stuck in 4WD, and the indicator light is simply telling you that's the case.

With the hubs unlocked, the truck will drive fine that way even on pavement, but you'll be spinning the front drive shaft and diff when you don't need to.

 

Just to correct something here. The 4cyl. trucks have a gear driven transfer case. There are no springs attached to the shift lever, other than the one holding it into the case itself.
The 4wd light on a truck with a gear driven case is turned on by a switch on the passenger side of the case, which is activated when the 2wd/4wd shift rail moves into the 4wd position.

EDIT: the 89-95 22RE 5spd trucks have a chain drive case and ADD. But his is an '86 and thus has a chain driven case.

On trucks with ADD, the switch on the transfer case activates the VSV for 4wd. Once the collar in the diff engages, another switch in the diff turns on the light.

In either case, the trouble points to a stuck closed switch, which keeps the light on. When the lever is no longer in 4wd on a gear driven case, it is in 2wd, unless the shift fork is broken.

I agree about the other tests, i.e. turning the front driveshaft.

 

Weird, my 87 gear drive case has on wire going to the switch/sensor whatever. I just assumed it grounded when shifted into 4x4

 

But, by process of elimination, go spin that driveshaft and see whats up and let us know