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I read a bunch of horror stories of how if your front tires are off by the slightest in tread depth that it can burn up your transfer case. Does doing this mod eliminate these problems?
Yes the mod will eliminate the problem...as long as the switch is off. One would think that the downside is when you do want the 4WD, you wouldn't have had any prior warning that the tires have worn unevenly. However, other model years have a 2H position on the selector switch, and they don't seem to have an issue. So IMO, as long as you rotate the tires on schedule there won't be any issues.
No harm to transfer case. The rear shaft has/had no provision to uncouple or limit power to rear axle. Only the front gets additional torque when the GEM sees the rear turning faster. Defeating the electric clutch will not hur the t-case. On a turn the front wheels are going farther/faster than the rear and the clutch is active giving us the binding we feel.
Bringing back a old thread lol .. So if i just cut the brown wire behind the kickpanel. It will shut down the awd but 4wd hi and lo will still work via the switch ?
Bringing back a old thread lol .. So if i just cut the brown wire behind the kickpanel. It will shut down the awd but 4wd hi and lo will still work via the switch ?
No, once you cut the brown wire the front driveshaft will never be powered. Cutting the brown wire prevents power from reaching the front clutch in the transfer case...no power to the front clutch...no 4WD at all, ever. That's why the mod requires a switch be installed. When the switch is flipped on the system will work normal, but when flipped off the A4WD won't engage the front if rear wheel spin is detected.
Oh well which method just shuts the awd off. I've read so many threads I thought one way was just shutting down the awd but 4wd still worked. Pulling the fuse I assumed killed all power to front.
Pulling the fuse kills power not only to the front clutch, but also to the rest of the 4wd system. Cutting the brown wire maintains power to everything except the front clutch.
Let me resurrect this for a minute. I'm on a 2000 Expy built by Regency and the kick panel on the passenger side doesn't have the connector pictures in the first post. I haven't taken apart the rest of the car to locate it yet but was looking for some insight as to where else to look.
Nate
Let me resurrect this for a minute. I'm on a 2000 Expy built by Regency and the kick panel on the passenger side doesn't have the connector pictures in the first post.
Yes it does. Its the brown wire just below the yellow wire and the orange wire in your pic.
You can find it there but it's more difficult. There are two modules, the transfer case shift relays and the torque on demand relay, that the brown wire each comes out of. The brown wire then splices together and goes to a connector in the passenger kick panel, then onto to the transfer case. To do the mod correctly, it's important to cut into the brown wire after this splice. To be safe, find and cut into the brown wire at the 12 pin connector down in the passenger kick panel. The one you want is pin 2, circuit 779 in the connector shown in this picture.
I have a thought. If I were to cut the wire between the torque on demand relay and where the 2 relays splice together (before the splice on the torque on demand wire), would this just disable the automatic 4 wheel drive (A4WD) and still allow me to switch into 4HI and 4LO? Would it effectively turn the A4WD switch position into a 2WD position and maintain the ability to manually select 4WD without and additional switch?
would this just disable the automatic 4 wheel drive (A4WD) and still allow me to switch into 4HI and 4LO?
No, doing this would prevent power from ever reaching the front wheels. Even in 4H or 4L the front clutch needs to be energized, it is not a mechanical lockup.
I have '01 Expedition (Eddie Bauer). We're financially stressed at the moment and just replaced front tires with a good used set (70% tread) of unknown rolling circumference. The vehicle seems to drive smooth but after reading about the brown wire mod. I'm thinking on doing this to be on the safe side and promote longer tire life. What are the reviews on this modification after you guys have driven the vehicle for a couple of seasons? Would you do it again? bl2009
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