BWM Brown Wire Mod 3rd Gen

P. doggy said:

The two biggest gains in MPH for me came after I put 265/75/16 tires at 65PSI,

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dang. thas alot of psi!

could you please show me a pic as to where you tapped into it at the transfercase

and as the car is stripped i will try to locate it into the cabin

its easy for me to do so atm
as the car has no carpets or seats or anything
just a drivers seat

will do, but ,aybe not for 24hrs or so, as in australia where I am its pissing down rain
Scotty

Down Here in Melbourne
its sooooo foggy
cant see two cars infront of me

what dows the 4wd modual look like?

Blanketman said:

what dows the 4wd modual look like?

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Its a small black plastic box with 2 clips of wires going into it
its behind the glove box, squeeze the sides and drop it to the floor
the module is bolted to the AC/Heater box and is about 4" x 5" x 1"
I think one clip is gray the other is black


Here is one for $25! if your part number matches up.
the ford dealer should be able to tell you if it will work

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ford-Explorer-4x4-Shift-control-Module_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33727QQihZ016QQitemZ260252319545QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

glove box is somewhere in the garage
and the exxy is going up on the hoist next couple days so i can track this wire into the car so i can let everyone know

i thought that was it but i had to make sure first

will post up results soon

So, here's my dilemma:

I pulled up the panel on the passenger side floor at the door. There are 2 things there, one is a taped bundle of wires, none of which are plain brown. And the other is a single wire all by its lonesome, also not brown. From the first pics that were posted in this thread here is what he has:

Bundle (with plain brown)
Smaller bundle
single wire

Here is what I have:

Really big bundle (no brown)
single wire

Also, I opened my glove box and looked behind it. I do not have the
4-wheel drive module that is supposed to be there attached to the big circular piece. So I have no idea where to get the brown wire.

Any help?

You'll have to go underneath as I had to do to both my '04&'05 X's. It is dead easy to do champ. The large brown wire underneath the car coming out of the back of the tansfer case is the one to intersect
Scotty

K, will do. What does a transfer case look like?

I'll try googling it first, thanks

So here's some info I pulled from my Haynes manual:

"A4WD (automatic 4 wheel drive) models are equipped with a control module, mode select switch on the dash, electronic shift motor and gearmotor encoder inside the transfer case. The electronic mode select switch allows the operator to select betwen 4X4 Auto, 4X4 High and 4X4 Low. in AUTO mode the 4X4 electronic module activates the transfer case clutch to a minimal level. Slight differences between the front and rear diveshafts are detected by speed sesors and the information is sent to the control module. Torque is then applied by the transfer case clutch thereby controlling slip at the wheels."

There is a section on the removal and installation of the Electronic Shift Control Module. This is the module that we're having trouble finding on some of our models of X.

Before this section it says, "Note: On 2002, 2003 and 2006 models, the four-wheel drive control module is mounted under the passenger side of the dashboard, on the evaporator housing in front of the blower motor. On 2004 and 2005 models, the 4wd control module is an integral part of the PCM(powertrain control module) and cannot be serviced separately.

The manual goes on to explain how to remove the module in 2002, 2003 and 2006 model years.

This would explain why I can't find my 4wd control module. On 2004 and 2005 models, it's built into the PCM. This is mounted on the firewall, on the passenger side under the hood.

It is the bracket that has 3 bolts holding 3 connectors to a piece attached to the firewall. I would imagine this is where we're going to find our elusive brown wire.

Hope this helps.

ill be doing this mod this week end probly sat mornign i will borrow room mates camera and do a complete wrie up on it for the 04 gen3 with as many pics as possible hell might just video the whole thing

awesome, i dont have a chance till next week to look at the PCM and find that wire, plus hopefully you'll know more about the electronic system so if theres a problem, you'll find it and have an answer

good luck, can't wait to hear how it goes!

ok i just crawled under my 04 to take a look at the wires comming off the transfer case to find the one to use and holy **** theres a lot of wires theres several wires that plug strait in to the transfer case together and then one that runs off by its self help.

17fordguy said:

ok i just crawled under my 04 to take a look at the wires comming off the transfer case to find the one to use and holy **** theres a lot of wires theres several wires that plug strait in to the transfer case together and then one that runs off by its self help.

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It's the one that's by itself and is just plain brown, no stripes. It's slightly thicker than the others; say 4mm wire compared to 3mm wire, or thereabouts. Also, it enters the actual transfer case at the back of the T-case. The others all hook into a loom, rather than the T-Case itself.

ok thanks ill try and track that down later after i finish helping my friend with his 66 impala

ok just finish the bwm on my 04 and i have new pics and instruction for those with the 04 4.6 ok im not going to do a complete walk through on this but instead im just going to state were the brown wire is located in the easiest position to get to it
ok this bundle of wires runs up from behind the engine and across the fire wall to the top plug on the pcm your brown wire is located in this bundle.



this phot is showing wich wire. i think there may be two brown wires in there i found it by doing a continuitytest from the wire to the plug at thetransfer case.


and a picture of my vehicle

I've cut 4 brown wires and none switch off the 4wd. I dont have a thick brown wire going into the transfer case. When you who have done this mod have it off and try to select 4wd does it also keep the dash from lighting up with the 4high or 4low light. I'm talking about the one by the speedomoter.

So, I'll find the brown wire i want in the bundle of wires that plugs into the top plug on my pcm?

also, the top picture you took, where in the engine compartment is that?

jutgin said:

I've cut 4 brown wires and none switch off the 4wd. I dont have a thick brown wire going into the transfer case. When you who have done this mod have it off and try to select 4wd does it also keep the dash from lighting up with the 4high or 4low light. I'm talking about the one by the speedomoter.

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No - the light still lights up, as the ECU/PCM still thinks it has sent a signal to the transfer case - but because you have intercepted that signal by turning the switch off, you have effectively cut that connection. The 4x4 (High/Low) lights still light up, but the transfer case can't engage, therefore you are in 2WD mode.

The only way to tell if 4WD has actually engaged or not is to have what I have - this is an additional small LED light that is powered from the brown wire (but at the transfer case side of the switch). So, when the switch is on, this light lights up all the time, as the transfer case always gets around 2volts constant power. When 4WD is actually activated (either in auto mode, or by selecting High or Low manually), the light gets brighter so I know 4WD is on. When the switch is turned off, the light is not lit at all, and so I know that it is in 2WD mode, as the transfer case is not receiving any power signals at all.

I might get some photos later to show the difference between on in 4WD auto mode, on when engaged in 4WD, and off.