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Blinking 4wd lights? READ THIS FIRST before going to dealer
To all you people who have blinking "4wd" and "4wd low" here is a little story for you.
for about 8 months now I have had the 6 blinks every minute symptom where it seems to shift into 4wd OK but after a few minutes the lights start blinking and I am not sure if it is in 4wd or not.
Well I took it to the dealer and asked for a diagnosis. after a $75 dollar charge they told me that the computer registered an "internal clutch solenoid error" and that i would need a new transfer case. The mechanic was very nice but told me it was considered a "non- serviceable item". They did very little investigating to come up with this answer.
To make a long story short, After a lot of research on my part (some on this forum). I figured out that there was a 90% chance that one of my HALL sensors had failed. I also found out that every dealer in the world knows these sensors fail. There are dozens of stories on this forum that detail this.
I bought both of them for $30.00 each. I changed the one on the rear driveshaft first. it took about 10 minutes to clip the wires to the old one. Butt splice a new sensor in. Install it and paint the connections with some liquid electrical tape. this fixed my problem immediately. I never got to install the front driveshaft sensor.
It seems like Syosset Ford is the only dealer in America that doesn't know about the HALL sensors on the 44-05 transfer case.
I also paid them $800 dollars to fix my ABS brake system. That was probably a $20.00 sensor also.
I still have the front sensor. If anyone wants it I would be happy to mail it to them.
Blinking 4wd lights? READ THIS FIRST before going to dealer
As a new member of FTE, I have been reading through these posts about the flashing 4WD & 4WD Low lights. I had the same problem with my '95 Explorer XLT. I also noticed that when the lights flashed that my power windows would not work. I ended up buying a 1995 Explorer Electrical, Vacuum Troubleshooting Manual (EVTM) from Helm. With the factory wiring diagrams,I was able to trace the problem to the accessory delay relay under the dash. I replaced the relay for about $20 and the problem is now gone. The GEM controls a lot of the 4WD and accessory circuits so if the lights start flashing ,don't always assume it is a 4WD problem. Get an EVTM!! I also have a Haynes manual but it was useless in diagnosing this problem.
Blinking 4wd lights? READ THIS FIRST before going to dealer
From the FWIW COLUMN> I had the 6 blink 4WD issue right before the 36K warranty expired on my 98 w/ A4WD. The dealer fixed it by (according to repair invoice) replacing the 4WD engagement motor. So, that may be another cause beside a transfer case (with Automatic 4WD).
Blinking 4wd lights? READ THIS FIRST before going to dealer
Another story...I just got back from the dealer stating the same problem of flashing lights and 4WD not disengaging. He told me that this is a common problem; that after driving in snow or such and when you get to hard pavement you automatically switch the 4WD off, it can't disengage as the wheels have no slip. The flashing lights then tell you that you transfer case is locked up and you must then drive around some and put it in reverse to get it out of 4WD.
Or take in out in come gravel so the wheels have some slip.
Sounds like a runaround to a problem then don't really want to fix after reading the above posts.
__________________
"AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT,
RACING WITH THE SON"
92 F150 Flareside 233k
78 E350 16ft RV 55K
00 Explorer XLT 105k
85 E150 Conversion Van 154K
Blinking 4wd lights? READ THIS FIRST before going to dealer
Uhmm, OK. The only thing that disengages your 4WD on your '00 Explorer is your Torque On Demand (TOD) clutch inside your transfer case. It is electronically controlled by your GEM. The TOD links your transfer case to your front driveshaft. That is the only link that disconnects your front wheels from your transfer case. Once the power is removed from your TOD, your front driveshaft will be disconnected from your transfer case. It will still be connected to your front differential, which has a permanent connection to your front wheels. You do not have hubs like a traditional 4x4 has that require you to back up to release them. Neither backing up nor driving around on slippery surfaces will do anything to unlock your 4x4. If your 4x4 is staying locked up after you put it back into Auto mode, it is primarilly one of four reasons. In order of their likelyhood: 1) bad transfer case speed sensor, 2) bad GEM, 3) faulty TOD (relay or cutch itself), 4) bad transfer case.
Blinking 4wd lights? READ THIS FIRST before going to dealer
I think the dealers say anything that pops into there heads.
If your '00 doesn't have a 2wd mode (I.E. just 4wd-auto) then reberhardt is probably right. The front axle is always engaged and the TOD relay is what will engage and disengage the clutch in the transfer case. there is nothing to bind up and keep the front driveline engaged.
If your vehicle does have a 2wd mode then the front axle is probably engaged and disengaged by a vacuum shift motor on the axle passenger side (like my '95). I still don't think it "locked up"
Was the 4wd light flashing when you brought it into the dealer. If so then they should have been able to give you a specific error code stored in the GEM computer. If the car is under warranty then I think they were just trying to blow you off.
What were some of the conditions when the blinking started.
Did you just switch out of 4wd (into 4wd-auto)?
were you driving on slippery stuff when the blinking started?
can you re-create the blinking?
you may have an issue lurking in the background.
These vehicle are supposed to be able to shift on the fly. if the lights were blinking and still under warranty then you need to start documenting now with FORD
Blinking 4wd lights? READ THIS FIRST before going to dealer
CNTHOR,
The vehicle is still at the dealer. My wife while driving switched to regular all wheel drive from 4 wheel drive and the vehicle started to shudder and make terrible noises. She attempted again to get is out and the lights started flashing back and forth to different modes about six times.
She kept trying to get it out for about a half hour and finally after going forward and backward and putting it in neutral it finally switched to regular all wheel drive.
Our 00 doesn't have normal two wheel drive.
When she got out of the snow to dry pavement is when she switched. We haven't tried to switch into 4WD after that event and hadn't needed to.
We have only 1,100 miles left on the warrantly and a month ago got a new transmission. Six months ago a new timing cassette, a year ago a new thermostate and somethings else I can't remember.
We never had this many problems with our 92 2WD or 98 2WD.
__________________
"AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT,
RACING WITH THE SON"
92 F150 Flareside 233k
78 E350 16ft RV 55K
00 Explorer XLT 105k
85 E150 Conversion Van 154K
Blinking 4wd lights? READ THIS FIRST before going to dealer
I got tell you, I have been through the blinking lights from hell on my 97 since the day I bought it. I heard so much spin and dealer BS stories.... this is what I think I found out
In the absense of anything major - the contacts on the 4wd motor like to be moved once in a while. So if you don't put it in 4wd much, the contacts get crudded up and the puter pops a error . A poor contact
When it happens to mine, every so often....I take it for a ride, pop the 4wd on and off a few times, reset the puter and it is fine.
Its like self cleaning an oven haha
i'm new at this stuff, but i'll tell you what i have experienced. i have a 98 explorer and i got it used. the guy that i got it from said that the transfercase was shot. so i got it for really cheap. anyways it also had many other odd problems too. like power windows, dome lites, rear defrost, wipers, and rear window wiper, all did not work. Well i started rooting around under the dash like directly behind the radio, started moving wires around and i got some of the things working. well inoticed that my 4x4 quit too. moved more wires around and got my 4x4 back but not low range. then i found a totaled 95 exp. and took the automatic 4x4 control module out and put it in mine and low and be hold every thing started working but my 4x4. now the two lites (4hi & 4lo) just blink 5 or 6 times every once in a while. so now what? does any one got any thing like that? if so let me know please. I live in the sand and i love the beach.
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haha
