Bought my first 4x4 for a hunting vehicle. 1997 Expedition 5.4L. I tested the 4wd switch when I bought the truck and I heard it engage but the "4x4" light on the dash did not come on. The "4x4" light and "Low Range" light both work when I turn on the ignition. Now the truck makes no noise when I turn it to 4 low or high and neither light comes on still. The Auto4wd light on the dash will come on every time. Don't know if it engages though. Will the 4x4 light and Low Range light stay unlit if the shift motor is bad?

 

Are you stopped and in neutral with your foot on the brake when attempting to shift into 4Low?

 

Yes I have tried that in both 4 high and low. Have tried shifting to 4 high from 2wd at under 45mph also. No effect either way. Was trying to OHM out the switch but I guess I don't quite know how to do that since it is a 4 position switch. The two posts on the back of the switch are the only two that seem to OHM out. Any advice on checking the switch?

 

To me it's sounding more like a bad shift motor down on the transfer case.

 

So the lights on the dash will not turn on if the shift motor can not shift, even though the switch is turned to "4H" or "4L"?

 

That is correct. The contacts which control the shift relays that control the dash lights are built into the shift motor.

 

Hi,
I'm new here! Speaking of 4x4 lights:
I have an 03 EB that will shift into 2, 4h, L and AWD no problems but for some reason I don't get a light in the cluster when I switch it to 4H. It lights up when I'm about to start the truck but not when it is actually in 4H. Any ideas?

 

It's either a bad contact down in the shift motor, a bad 4wd relay pack, or a break in a wire. There's no way for us to narrow it down from here. You'll just have to start troubleshooting the wiring.

 

Thanks for your reply, I appreciate it! Wouldn't wire problems also affect the engagement of the 4 wheel drive system as a whole? Or is it wired in such a way that it's separated from the actual engagement of the system? Like I said 4 wheel drive high itself works fine. Also, if it is a bad relay or some other kind of defect in the electrical path, why does it light when starting the engine, then go off as it should? I believe the instrument cluster to have a built-in self-diagnostic mode which it goes through when the key is turned to the "On" position, right before you continue to start the truck. If the diagnostic mode is not receiving an accurate input from the 4H sensor why would it still continue to light as if everything was fine?

 

Cause it goes through a bulb check at "key on".

 

As the motor engages 4wd the contact is tripped to let you know it's in 4wd. So no, a wiring issue to trigger the light is separate wiring than that required to power the motor.

The Key-On bulb test is built into the cluster and has nothing to do with the rest of the 4wd circuitry.

 

That gives me a great starting point. I would have thought that they were all tied together. Now that I know it's not, it narrows down the possibilities. And at least I know the bulb isn't burnt out
Thanks so much!

 

Ok got old shift motor off, but I got the truck stuck in 4low yesterday and it would not go back to 2wd. So now after removing the old motor the new female end of the motor is not rotated in the same direction as the transfer case. I know I can't manually turn the motor and the transfer case only moves a little bit, not enough to get it back pointing to 2wd on the transfer case. Any ideas on how I can turn the transfer case manually back to 2wd so the motor can be installed straight on the transfer case?

 

You should be able to put a wrench or pliers on the shaft and turn it to 2wd. If it won't turn, the drive train is probably binding. What I had to do when mine did this was jack the wheels up off the ground to remove the binding, then I was able to move the shaft.

 

It's fixed! I wasn't thinking earlier. Actually I wired up the new motor and didnt mount it. Then turn the switch to 4L so the motor would be the same as the transfer case. Then I mounted the motor. It shifts so nice and smooth now. Now I have to tackle the P0401 code. Thanks for the help guys.