Common 4x4 problems
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Common 4x4 problems
Over the last few weeks there has been an influx of people having similar problems with their 4wd systems (including myslef). I have made it my personal agenda to get to the bottom of this. I am gonna post my findings to try and help others out.
The issues that most are facing is that one day the 4wd works fine and then the next nothing. People do not face any "clunks" or any rough engagement or anything that would suggest a "mechanical" problem
There are 3 "common" problems that should be checked/diagnosed before swapping parts. These are:
1. The 4wd dash switch
2. The 4wd control module.
3. The transfer case motor.
I am going to discuss these signs and ways of testing them. I will not discuss exact deatails such as part numbers to not only keep down on the size of the thread but also not to confuse any issues between models.
The issues that most are facing is that one day the 4wd works fine and then the next nothing. People do not face any "clunks" or any rough engagement or anything that would suggest a "mechanical" problem
There are 3 "common" problems that should be checked/diagnosed before swapping parts. These are:
1. The 4wd dash switch
2. The 4wd control module.
3. The transfer case motor.
I am going to discuss these signs and ways of testing them. I will not discuss exact deatails such as part numbers to not only keep down on the size of the thread but also not to confuse any issues between models.
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Dash Switch:
(this was the culprit with my 4wd but the last part that I changed)
This costs approx. $35 from a ford dealer. I was unable to find this anywhere else.
There are a few signs to diagnose that the switch is the problem.
1. The 4wd will work sparingly and then finally not work at all.
2. The 4wd light will flash both when engaged and when not engaged.
3. When the 4wd actually works everything will work fine. You will here 2 clicks under the dash. The dash lights will light up. And the 4wd will engage smoothly
4. When you turn the car on the dash lights flash.
Testing the switch:
On my 2001 Sport trac (with 2hi, 4hi, and 4lo-not equipped with awd) there are 4 wires going into the switch. You will want to use a voltmeter or test light/probe to verify what wires and when they are hot.
One wire will be a constant 13.10 volts and one will be a low voltage lead to the led back light. The other 2 are leads to the 4hi and 4 lo. These two wire are what you want to check. Switch the switch to 4hi and see if either of the wires detect any current. Then check the other for 4lo. If you detect current its not the switch. If you don’t it is a good indication that the switch is bad.
(this was the culprit with my 4wd but the last part that I changed)
This costs approx. $35 from a ford dealer. I was unable to find this anywhere else.
There are a few signs to diagnose that the switch is the problem.
1. The 4wd will work sparingly and then finally not work at all.
2. The 4wd light will flash both when engaged and when not engaged.
3. When the 4wd actually works everything will work fine. You will here 2 clicks under the dash. The dash lights will light up. And the 4wd will engage smoothly
4. When you turn the car on the dash lights flash.
Testing the switch:
On my 2001 Sport trac (with 2hi, 4hi, and 4lo-not equipped with awd) there are 4 wires going into the switch. You will want to use a voltmeter or test light/probe to verify what wires and when they are hot.
One wire will be a constant 13.10 volts and one will be a low voltage lead to the led back light. The other 2 are leads to the 4hi and 4 lo. These two wire are what you want to check. Switch the switch to 4hi and see if either of the wires detect any current. Then check the other for 4lo. If you detect current its not the switch. If you don’t it is a good indication that the switch is bad.
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Control Module:
This is another item that must be purchased from the dealer and costs aprox. $200
There are a few signs to diagnose that this is the problem.
1. The switch is fine (you tested it as shown above).
2. When you turn on the car the lights on the dash do not light up.
3. When you turn on the 4wd you do not here 2 clicks coming from behind/under the dash.
4. The 4wd works sparingly and when it does works it works fine.
There are a few possible locating of this 6” x 4” black box (made by Motorola) depending upon years/models. The most common places that I have found is behind the glove box and behind the passengers kick panel.. This box had two wire harnesses hooked to it.
I have no idea how to test this module to see if it is faulty so good luck.
This is another item that must be purchased from the dealer and costs aprox. $200
There are a few signs to diagnose that this is the problem.
1. The switch is fine (you tested it as shown above).
2. When you turn on the car the lights on the dash do not light up.
3. When you turn on the 4wd you do not here 2 clicks coming from behind/under the dash.
4. The 4wd works sparingly and when it does works it works fine.
There are a few possible locating of this 6” x 4” black box (made by Motorola) depending upon years/models. The most common places that I have found is behind the glove box and behind the passengers kick panel.. This box had two wire harnesses hooked to it.
I have no idea how to test this module to see if it is faulty so good luck.
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Transfer case motor:
There are several threads on this page, and online concerning this issue. It “seems” that this is the most common problem.
Prices
Ford: $300-400
Advance Auto, Autozone,: $100
NAPA: $81
(Don’t forget your core charges)
Symptoms:
1. the switch is fine
2. the dash lights falsh when you start the car.
Test
Put the vehicle 4wd and gently tap on this motor with something. This sometimes free’s
it up. A visual inspection will help because some people reported that the motor is
actually twisted.
There are several threads on this page, and online concerning this issue. It “seems” that this is the most common problem.
Prices
Ford: $300-400
Advance Auto, Autozone,: $100
NAPA: $81
(Don’t forget your core charges)
Symptoms:
1. the switch is fine
2. the dash lights falsh when you start the car.
Test
Put the vehicle 4wd and gently tap on this motor with something. This sometimes free’s
it up. A visual inspection will help because some people reported that the motor is
actually twisted.
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New User
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Are you kidding me? I dont care about my posts. I just wanted to help people out and break the info up in parts.
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Tuned
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 259
Likes: 1
On my 01 sport trac the 4wd light would blink on and off when engaged in 4h and traveling at 20 -40 mph.When i had it at the dealer for an oil change they noticed the front diff seal weeping slightly.They ended up replacing it free of charge.I found out it was also low on fluid.Now that its been filled up and a new seal the 4wd works great.You might wanna check out or fluid level also.
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From: Central NY
was unable to get my 02 Explorer to go into either 4WD Hi or Lo. I took it to a mechanic that I trust. He mentioned that it could be one of the problems listed above by Neemeth. It turned out that it was a short in one of the sensor lines. The short was high up behind the driver side kick panel. He said that it seemed like the harness had been sliced and the only way that could have happened was during manufacturing. Moisture had found it's way up in there as a result of the cold temperatures that we have been having and caused the short. The 4WD did seem to work on warm days, but not cold days. He taped the lines and all seems better now. He was very suprised that the control module was not damaged by the short.
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