Anyone seen or heard of an issue where there is no response from the vehicle when attempting to change from 2wd to either Auto, 4-High or 4-Low? When turning the selector switch there is no audible chirp, the LCD 4wd Shift Indicator Lamp does not change which part of the vehicle outline is "activated" on the dash display and there is no change in the driveline.

2006 Nissan Pathfinder LE 4wd, sub-35000 miles.
Never had an issue prior. I cycle the settings every 1-3 months whether or not I need to, to ensure everything is operating. I know for a fact it was working on approximately 15 August. Recently I had the center portion of the dash out for a little over a week (it literally shattered into pieces in my hand as I was removing the surround because of an intermittent sound issue) and had to drive with the stereo, HVAC, airbag light, 4wd selector, etc, all disconnected. After I reconnected everything I went through the VDC/SLIP and ABS reset procedures. Everything works as before/normally except for the fact that 2wd/4wd mode does not change when the selector switch is rotated.

I literally did nothing new to any of the wiring in the dash except re-seat the plugs into the stock stereo. I have had a Pac Audio device installed for several years and the plugs had worked slightly loose so I would lose front right audio occasionally. I have re-seated the 4wd selector switch plug several times to ensure it is tight and fitting well. I see no possible instance of a pinched wire at the switch area. There are no codes stored in the ABS or OBDII that I can see from manually accessing the diagnostics. I have disconnected the battery for a 2 hours to clear everything and start from there. The switch is getting power as it lights up with the headlamps. No fuses burnt that I can find. My next step is to continue searching and get into the FSM to find the wiring schematic to test for continuity and what not, check the plugs at the transfer case, etc.

Soliciting all information, guesses, ideas. I suppose the switch could have randomly gone bad but seems kinda far fetched.....

Random update since it's been a while. I have just recently been able to get at this issue. Running through the FSM I believed I narrowed it down to a bad 4WD selector switch as it didn't test out correctly. Swapped it, no change.

Fast forward again, completely re-ran through the FSM manual testing methods with verified known good testing equipment, everything checks out up to the new switch. It does not pass the continuity check per the FSM directions across pins when the switch is in the designation selection. So either the new factory switch was bad out of the box or something in the vehicle cooked it. I have ordered a new one and I will bench test it prior to installation. I was able to engage and disengage 4wd by building my own switch and using it in place of the factory one so I'm confident the system its-self is mechanically good.

Sounds like you got a bad switch. My 06 LE was having similar issues, as well, but I was coming up with clutch pressure switch and line pressure switch trouble codes for the transfer case. Turned out this was a more common problem with Armadas, which all use the AUTO mode transfer case. I ended up removing the transfer motor relay, located near the brake booster in the engine compartment, cleaning up the spades on the relay and tightening up the terminals in the harness connector. Since then, no problems.

I had this problem on my path 2006 v6 113 miles.

Dealer was looking into this for two days. Then they told me they did not know and I did not need 4wd lo. Then they found broken fuse and cleaned wring and the problem was gone.

Did it turn outto be the switch?

Small Update:

Was it the switch? Yes but no. The switch is not the root cause. I pulled the switch and before I installed the new one I ohm'd it out and it was perfect. Installed the new, 2nd replacement, switch and nothing, no change. Pulled the switch, disassembled and found the a flat wired burned inside the switch. So now I'm at 3 bad switches counting the original one.

More wire tracing and I have a power feed of approx 500mah on terminal 5 at the TCU (Transfer Control Unit) which should be at 0v per the FSM. I haven't had time to get back to it since the last update but I'm hoping that I can this coming week. See if I've got a bad TCU or relay. I have to keep digging to figure out why my TCU isn't testing out the way the FSM says it should.

Remove the transfer motor relay near the brake booster, use a dental pick or similar tool to tighten up the terminals in the harness connector. Scuff up the blades on the relay, if necessary, with a Scotch pad or light sandpaper and reinstall the relay and see if it fixes your problem.

Easy enough. I'll do that Saturday. I removed and tested the Transfer Shut Off Relay as well as the Transfer Shift High and Low relays yesterday and I planned on cleaning up a few of the grounds in the engine bay and under the dash that relate to these circuits.

Cleaned up all the grounds in the engine bay, battery connections and transfer motor relay contacts as described. No change. I think the TCU is bad but I still have to check for 4 shorts/open relating to the transfer shut off relay according to the FSM. I ran through the testing procedures yet again to verify my findings.

With the ignition off at the TCU I've got 43.5mv feeding out of terminals 24,23 and 18 when they should read 0v. These all lead to the 4wd switch connection. 44.5mv at terminal 4 on the 4wd switch connector (still tracking down where that feeds to/from).

With the ignition on at the TCU terminal 29 should read Batt voltage but it's only pushing 1.5v and terminal 30 should be 0v but its reading .8v.

I may just break down and have a dealer scan it if this takes much longer. I'd buy a Consult if I could even locate one just for fun.

After 2 and 1/4 years and having $500+ in parts sitting around for 2 months I finally got around to fixing this. Ran through my voltage tests one last time before throwing parts at it and potentially burning them up. Swapped the TCU out for a new one and installed a new 4wd switch. Everything checks out good now. Have the 4wd vehicle outline in the display again and the switch doesn't burn the eff out when I change switch positions.