Trying to figure out what the four wheel drive codes are. While driving, the 4wd-H and 4wd-L light on the dash flashes 6 times, every 2 minutes. The 4wd won't engage unless you first start up the truck and put it in 4wd right after cranking, then when you pull it out, it does this again. There is also a clunk that I thought was tranny, since i just had it rebuilt, but now this 4wd is having problems and when i come to a stop, it clunks and sometimes one of the lights 4wd blink. Anybody that can tell me whats going on with this would be great. Thanks ya'll.

 

I don't know a lot on this but I believe you have sensors in the differentials that detect slipage. They tend to get coated with metal shavings and throw the wrong signals. They can be cleaned or replaced. Look at the top of your diffs.

 

Ok, more problems associated with this. I asked around and was told to flip it in and out of 4wd-H and 4wd-L to try and clean them off, well, i did this, and the lights stopped, but i did it one more time last night and it was fine for about 10 minutes, stopped, restarted went down the road a little ways and the lights stayed off. As soon as I park it and take off again, the lights flash. Also when I take it out of gear into park or what not, and put it back into gear, it starts to flash again. Just did a search on the symptoms and found a few sites that said it was the GEM Module. What exactly is that, and how do I replace it. Still trying to learn about all this electronic stuff, came from a ranger 5spd with power nothing. Thanks for ya'lls help.

edit. I just found a previous thread on this, with dial-up, its almost impossible to do, but decided to try again. Found that their problem was associated with the sensors, so I am going to go out and try to clean them and we'll see what it does from there.

 

Where are the Hall sensors located, I have a 98 Explorer Sport 4x4, just realized I didn't specify that, but I spent some time looking at it, and thought I knew what I was looking for, but couldn't find it, so could someone please help me out, pictures would be nice, but if you can describe what it looks like, what kind of wires are going into it, etc. that would be great.

 

I had the same problem with my 98 explorer. The hall sensors or some places call them driveshaft speed sensors are located on the back of the transfer case. If you are under the vehicle and looking at the back of the transfer case you will see a small electric motor mounted to the transfer case. That is the shift motor and is what shifts your transfer case in 4wd and 4wd Low. If you look to the right near the fluid fill plug you will see a sensor mounted to the back of the case. This is the rear driveshaft speed sensor. Mine is held by one 10MM bolt. There will be 3 to 4 wires leading from it to the shift motor harness. The other sensor(front driveshaft speed sensor) you can not see because it is mounted kind of above and behind the shift motor. I had to remove the shift motor to access that sensor. I cleaned both of the sensors off and the blinking lights on the dash went out. This was about six months ago. My problem has returned and I am currently replacing the shift motor (Remanufactured from RockAuto.com around $60.00 plus $25 core). I am also ordering new sensors from the local dealer. I can't find any aftermarket parts store that sells them. The part number I have for the front driveshaft speed sensor is 1L2ZF293BA. The rear driveshaft speed speed sensor is 1L2Z7F293AB. The link below may shed some light on the electronic shift motor. I would check all of these sensors and shift motor first before replacing the GEM. I'll let you know if these components fix my problem.

http://www.marx7.org/~dsmith/t-fer_case_motor_fix.htm

 

please do 12swat, i just had the tranny rebuilt and would prefer not to have to pay another arm and leg to fix this, if it's something small, I consider under 100 small since i just turned out 1500, and have had the explorer for a month. I will get under it this week and clean those sensors off, I found the back one, i just couldn't pull it out, it pulled part of the way out, and seemed like it grabbed onto something, haven't found the front one yet, is there a recommended way of getting to that one? Thanks for your help swat

 

oh, 12swat, I forgot to ask, does yours make a clunk when you come to a stop, mine does occasionally, and sometimes the lights will flash on, so I think it's the 4wd and not the tranny, it just started a few days after I had the tranny rebuilt. I'm starting to wonder if the guy that rebuilt the tranny may have screwed something up with the transfer case. Thanks for your help, and again, let me know when you find out whats wrong with yours.

 

sorry i've been gone so long. I put a new(rebuilt) shift motor on the t-case. I also replaced the front driveshaft speed(HALL) sensor. I used the old rear driveshaft speed sensor as the front was the one that caused the problem before. I replaced the t-case fluid with Mobil 1 synthetic.

Flashing lights on dash are gone. Shifts into 4H and 4L smoothly now.

I saw in your last post you thought the sensor was holding on when you tried to take it out. The sensor has kind of an L shaped appendage on it. Just kind of angle it out and down. If you pull in part of the way out of the t-case you can put your finger in and get an idea of the shape it is.

Like I said before the front driveshaft sensor was the one that caused my problem before. I had to remove the shift motor to remove and clean that one. Maybe someone knows an easier way to access that sensor.

Oh, and my did not have a clunk sound when I stopped. Maybe one of your universal joints are going out.

 

Did you have to order the sensors from ford? How much did they cost? Not to excited about hearing that that clunk could be U-Joints, but i'm still unsure about that, it doesn't do it all the time, just sometimes. Glad to hear that cleared up your problem, hopefully that will fix mine, I'll pull the sensors this week and clean them, now that I know where the other one is. Thanks swat.

 

In reference to the sensors, yes I did have to order them from Ford Dealer. The part numbers for my 98 with BorgWarner 4405 transfer case I listed in the earlier post. I could not find the sensors even available to order from local auto parts chains.

 

Ok so we have a 1999 Explorer with the same problem. A couple of months ago it got towed and after that the lights will flash and also when you first start to drive it feels like its jumping alittle, like maybe its trying to shift into 4wd. Ive seen everything on here about the sensors and Im gonna try to clean them off but can anyone tell me if its ok to drive the truck like this or is it gonna mess something up. Also is there just a way to disconnect the auto 4wd altogether since we dont use it at all anyways.