4WD issue - light blinking, partially engaged

Alright so a friend of mine has an automatic 2002 4runner he's had for about 2 years. He's never used the 4wd until a few days ago when we got snow (unsure if previous owners used it or not). I don't know how he "engaged" the 4wd but apparently it helped him drive in the snow. He has now tried to turn it off to go back to 2wd but the indicator just blinks and blinks. It's not locked and the shift knob never moved (it's a straight line with I believe 4L, N, 4H and the knob is always down in the 4H position). There's a button on the side to engage AWD. I'm not convinced the 4wd was ever truly engaged since he said it's blinked the whole time, but it does sound different when driving, like it's partially engaged? Hard to tell, but he doesn't seem to have any issues turning corners like I've read from similar posts. We tried putting it in neutral and pressing the AWD button to turn it off but that didn't work. I've read some similar posts from people who said to put it in reverse. I want to see if anyone has had this problem and if you could be specific about what you did to fix it. (I.e how far to drive in reverse or how many times to switch between reverse and drive)? A lot of posts and videos I've watched are either for newer models or different types of shifters, and the owner's manual was pretty much useless. He may have to take it to a mechanic but hopefully we can fix the issue with a simple solution. Any help is appreciated!

 

Pressing the "4WD" button on the transfer case shifter is all one needs to do to go in and out of 4WD.

This can be done while in Drive.

Now, there's a button to the left of the steering column which is a center lock, and sends equal amounts of power to both axles.

Make sure that is not engaged before attempting to return to 2WD.

 

Right, it should be that simple. But like I said, it's not locked (and it actually won't even lock in the first place because 4wd is not engaged). And we've tried pressing the button on the shifter in drive and in neutral and neither works. The light just blinks untill the car is turned off.

 

I started this thread back in 2007 when I had my 99 4runner Limited, but some folks had posted some troubleshooting steps for 2001 and 2002 4wd issues in my thread.

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/4wd-wont-disengage-99-4runner-ltd-131201/

 

Had this happen to me a few times. Same thing...didn't use the 4WD for a few years. Never ending blinking on the dash.

I just did the following: drive, stop, reverse, stop, reverse, stop, drive 10mph, stop, park, reverse 5mph, stop, reverse again, neutral, drive, stop, drive again, reverse, stop.

Then just do it again in reverse order.

If I remember to actuate every month or so, I never get the issue. Just when I've not used 4wd for a year or more.

 

The actuator on the transfer case for the part time 4wd is failing. Be careful when ordering. And they are expensive.