Dealer says they reached out to Ford engineering asking about the clicking sound of my 4wd system under transition of sending power to the front wheels when in 4A mode.

Example: Stopped on a slippery surface - selector in 4A, give light throttle input resulting in loss of traction at rear wheels which sends power to the front differential. Typically the vehicle does not move forward and a clicking sound is heard. After even more throttle input and 10 seconds or so, the front will sorta engage (albeit abruptly) and may or may not move forward.

Does your system ever come disengaged when you are spinning (rear wheels) resulting in a clicking sound?

Does the 4wd system ever kick out or not fully engage?

The dealer is trying to tell me that Ford engineering said this is normal and if there is slippery surfaces that depending on the amount of load on the drivetrain and the position of the steering wheel, the system will disengage the front differential and this is the clicking sound I am hearing.

Seems absurd and not possibly correct - why is it not that 4A automatically kicks in the front differential in the event of slip regardless of steering wheel position and load?

I have video's of this but don't have a youtube account to upload them to better show/explain the situation. (that would make things alot more clear)

Anyway...i can't see how this could possibly be correct.

 

Have you tried this scenario with traction control off? I hate the interaction between traction control and A4WD. Deliver power, cut power, deliver power. Your previous comments about A4WD describe exactly how it works (senses wheel spin, connects hard), and before I had an Expy with traction control (or any other truck I've had) it was fine. Starting from a stop at a snow covered intersection, step on it, connect and go, 4 wheels spinning but making progress. That's what I'm used to. I'm not used to stepping on it and having the orange light come one, leaving me stranded in the middle of an intersection while it gently tries to decide what to do next. I get the whole 'no wheel spin is most efficient' perspective, but I find it unnerving. In those conditions now I turn of traction control, and then put it back on once under way.

 

yes turned off TC and no difference.


It's really this bad:

I am stopped in my snow covered yard in 4a.

give gas and rear starts to spin
Front tries to engage but just clicks
No forward movement
I maintain same amount of throttle input - still nothing for about 10 seconds?
Maybe I never move...maybe it will start to grab and engage the front.

this deal is flat broke....sounds ridiculous even typing it...LOL


Main problem is currently no snow and dealer is 2 acres of blacktop - not easy for them to "diagnose". (i told them day 1 the TC was FUBARD)

So i take videos (inside and outside of vehicle) at home in my yard where I can engage the front diff but they must think I am messing with them?

wow

 

BTW - this has nothing to do with power application...it is the a mechanical clicking noise in the drivetrain.

 

Seems really hard for them to decide it's broken.

 

I understand it's wrong and would **** me off but at what point do you just put it in 4H and call it a day. I personally never use 4A and would never in any vehicle no matter how perfect the operation. If I think I might need 4WD I put it in 4WD. I hope you're arguing this with Ford for the fact they need to make it right and not because you want to use 4A so bad. To me it's a useless selection.

I'll try mine sometime this week to get a better answer for how mine acts. It'll have to be in the sand though but it should act the same.

 

If I was in the sand I would use 4 hi or low as well. LOL

If my wife was driving on some snow, dry, and ice covered roads all winter long, I would want the functionality that 4A provides over the other choices.

If you don't live in areas with road conditions like I describe then I can understand your struggle to see it's effictiveness.