93 ex 4x4 switch
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Senior User
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 148
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From: CANADA
93 ex 4x4 switch
Hi masses.
I have a 4x4 wont engage problem. I hit the buttons , either 4 low or 4 high nothing happens. not even light comes on. pulled the switch looked good. now on the plug. ( 4 prong ) the top has no juice, the second has a bright light, ( test light I am using ) and the 3rd and 4th have a dim light. So i am wondering if this is supposed to be or what. I am going to pull off the switch motor on the tranny to see if i get any action. or should i be looking at the shift control module in the back for a short.
thanks in advance
hope to hear from you soon
I have a 4x4 wont engage problem. I hit the buttons , either 4 low or 4 high nothing happens. not even light comes on. pulled the switch looked good. now on the plug. ( 4 prong ) the top has no juice, the second has a bright light, ( test light I am using ) and the 3rd and 4th have a dim light. So i am wondering if this is supposed to be or what. I am going to pull off the switch motor on the tranny to see if i get any action. or should i be looking at the shift control module in the back for a short.
thanks in advance
hope to hear from you soon
Senior User
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 216
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From: Near Hemet, CA
I'm beginning to think this is the most common problem on the early Explorers.
The 4x4 and 4 Low lights won't come on until the servo motor on the transfer case moves to those positions so I'm not surprised you have no voltage at some of the switch contacts. Although there are other things that can cause your 4x4 not to engage it is usually the servo motor that is the culprit. On both my '91 and '92 I removed the servo motor, cleaned and lubed it and it worked fine. The motors get very little use as far as motors go and in my experience the problem has been the gears getting stuck and the motor was actually OK. I cleaned my motors and gears with carb cleaner and lubed the motor bushings with motor oil and the gears with vaseline and they work better than ever.
Here's a bunch of info on it:
http://draco.acs.uci.edu/explorer/tcase.html
Please note you do NOT need to drain the transfer case OR remove the damper (at least not on mine) in order to remove the servo motor. Tips on removing the "brown" wire are mentioned several times on the site. When reassembling the motor the wires for the brushes fit into little slots to hold the brushes back. Once you reposition the rotor you can pop the wires up with a small screwdriver etc.
The 4x4 and 4 Low lights won't come on until the servo motor on the transfer case moves to those positions so I'm not surprised you have no voltage at some of the switch contacts. Although there are other things that can cause your 4x4 not to engage it is usually the servo motor that is the culprit. On both my '91 and '92 I removed the servo motor, cleaned and lubed it and it worked fine. The motors get very little use as far as motors go and in my experience the problem has been the gears getting stuck and the motor was actually OK. I cleaned my motors and gears with carb cleaner and lubed the motor bushings with motor oil and the gears with vaseline and they work better than ever.
Here's a bunch of info on it:
http://draco.acs.uci.edu/explorer/tcase.html
Please note you do NOT need to drain the transfer case OR remove the damper (at least not on mine) in order to remove the servo motor. Tips on removing the "brown" wire are mentioned several times on the site. When reassembling the motor the wires for the brushes fit into little slots to hold the brushes back. Once you reposition the rotor you can pop the wires up with a small screwdriver etc.
Posting Guru
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,574
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From: Phoenix
Gee I hope you didn't go buy a new shift motor assembly. These are easily repaired as ulysses mentioned with info on that web site. Don';t worry about the damper hanging there. Remove it or not. I yanked mine for a lousy 4 bolts it gave me more room to work.
One other thing too that may be prudent or just my paranoia - there is a rest button oin the 4WD controller. With the engine running, hit this button and see what happens. It will do nothing or it might flash a red LED. I've played with it a few times and sometimes it does nothing. Anyway, if nothing else, this will try to reinitiate the controller so it knows where home is - my best guess. Controller is behind left rear cargo area panel - buy the spare tire jack but 2 feet towards the front of the car - black and up top. Reset button is white.
One other thing too that may be prudent or just my paranoia - there is a rest button oin the 4WD controller. With the engine running, hit this button and see what happens. It will do nothing or it might flash a red LED. I've played with it a few times and sometimes it does nothing. Anyway, if nothing else, this will try to reinitiate the controller so it knows where home is - my best guess. Controller is behind left rear cargo area panel - buy the spare tire jack but 2 feet towards the front of the car - black and up top. Reset button is white.
Senior User
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 216
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From: Near Hemet, CA
Originally Posted by Jharger
Don';t worry about the damper hanging there. Remove it or not. I yanked mine for a lousy 4 bolts it gave me more room to work.
I've removed both my dampers and I don't even know what they do or how they do it! What is it that they do do?
One other thing too that may be prudent or just my paranoia - there is a rest button oin the 4WD controller.
I've removed both my dampers and I don't even know what they do or how they do it! What is it that they do do?
One other thing too that may be prudent or just my paranoia - there is a rest button oin the 4WD controller.
Posting Guru
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,574
Likes: 1
From: Phoenix
ulysses - don't misquote me!
I didn't say anything except remnoving the damper only helped my access.
If you found the stereo amp - look on the other side of the car. Driver's side,, rear panel is where th 4WD controller is. Stereo amp is on the passenger side.
You know - where the tire jack is. I need another beer to keep up with posting tonight....
I didn't say anything except remnoving the damper only helped my access.
If you found the stereo amp - look on the other side of the car. Driver's side,, rear panel is where th 4WD controller is. Stereo amp is on the passenger side.
You know - where the tire jack is. I need another beer to keep up with posting tonight....
Senior User
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 216
Likes: 0
From: Near Hemet, CA
Sorry. I was trying to quote and respond to two things you said and what I was writing got in the middle and I wasn't thinking about the HTML. I guess this is not Usenet 
I did not mean to criticize what you wrote, I was just trying to ask what it is the damper does. I did not personally feel any need to remove it but if it gives more room to work then that's great. I only mentioned it because that particular web site tends to make a big complicated job out of something relatively simple. They also say to drain the transfer case fluid which is not necessary in order to remove the servo motor but most likely it needs to be changed anyway. They do not seem to clarify that point.
While I'm thinking of it some people claim to have had luck, at least temporarily, tapping on the servo motor while someone else pushes the button. Sometimes it will engage. I was in a hurry last winter and the only way I could get my 4X4 to engage was to pull off the motor and turn it with some pliers. I REALLY needed 4 Low that day.
I did not mean to criticize what you wrote, I was just trying to ask what it is the damper does. I did not personally feel any need to remove it but if it gives more room to work then that's great. I only mentioned it because that particular web site tends to make a big complicated job out of something relatively simple. They also say to drain the transfer case fluid which is not necessary in order to remove the servo motor but most likely it needs to be changed anyway. They do not seem to clarify that point.
While I'm thinking of it some people claim to have had luck, at least temporarily, tapping on the servo motor while someone else pushes the button. Sometimes it will engage. I was in a hurry last winter and the only way I could get my 4X4 to engage was to pull off the motor and turn it with some pliers. I REALLY needed 4 Low that day.
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Posting Guru
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,574
Likes: 1
From: Phoenix
Agreed. That Explorer help web page can be misleading since it's a compliation of many peoples' experiences and not at all a proffesional mechanic's guide. I even have an article posted on there with my leaking oil filter adapter - as goofy as that experience was!
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