Drivetrain status information on the instrument cluster: confusion!

[c3k]

Okay...I have searched but found nothing. Yes, I've read the manual.

On the central instrument cluster, the Offroad Menu shows the drivetrain. Sometimes part of it is white. Sometimes part of it is yellow. I can't figure out what the colors mean.

Here are some pictures.

In 2wd, everything is white.



^^^
The transfer case is white, the rear driveshaft is white, and the axles for all four wheels are white. The truck accelerates, so I'd guess white means it's connected. But then...why are the front axles white???

Shrug. Let's pop it into 4 Auto.



^^^
In 4 Auto, it looks EXACTLY like 2wd. So, I guess the 4 Auto has NOT engaged the front. Okay. (Kinda guessing.)

Here's another image:



^^^
Isn't that odd? ALL FOUR axles are yellow. Does that mean they're trying to connect? The truck is able to accelerate, so SOMETHING is getting torque.


I've been playing with the system a bit. The pictures are just when I was able to snap them. The display will change from white to yellow and vice versa at various speeds and various loads.

What information is it trying to get across???

Thanks!

 

[Greaser]

Hazarding a guess here, I notice that the yellow is showing that the system is on a 20 degree turn so presumably yellow warns you that you are in amber driveability territory and that you'll be in deep doo-doo when it turns red!!!!

 

[c3k]

Yeah...as my high school student driver instructor said, "Always stay out of the red!".

The yellow/white transition occurs at random times as far as I can tell. No correlation to speed, acceleration, or steering angle.

The most frustrating part? There is NO mention of this in the manual.

With 4 Auto, I'd like to know when the front wheels are being driven. Shrug.