Last week, I pulled out of my apartment complex and stopped at the next stoplight. When the light turned green, I tried to accelerate, but the car would not move (engine rev'd, but apparently tranny not engaged). The car was in drive, but the 4x4 Low light had lit up on the dash. I shifted into neutral and tried to put the car back in 4x4 Auto but the buttons would not respond. I tried multiple times, shifting back and forth between Park, Neutral, and Drive. If the car was on, and I put it in Park, it made a ratcheting sound. However if I turned the car off and then shifted into Park, there was no noise and "Park" was engaged like it should be. I removed the key, looked around outside, saw nothing, then put the key back in and turned the ignition. The car started up fine. There was no 4x4 light on the dashboard, so I shifted into drive, felt the transmission engage, pressed the accelerator and the car accelerated like normal.

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance for any assistance!

 

I have ran into this issue a couple of times on '02 's I think it is most likely the 4x4 control module, I think I remember a TSB that details this but Ford Tech. Hotline helped me with the first one because the codes present in the PCM indicated a fault with the shift motor plate position and would lead you to suspect the shift motor first.

 

motor on side of the transfer case selects hi or low. If it was in between gears you would get the no move and ratchet sound. Either something stuck or similar to what sub says.