4wd Issues

[joelwc]

All, thanks for reading and hopefully you can help. I have a 2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac. I live in DC and it recently snowed a coupe of feet, and of course my 4wd would not engage. No dash light, no clicks, nothing. Well I read many forms about the issue likley being either the control module, or the shift motor. I took the connections off of the control module, plugged them back in, and low and behold today (after the snow melt) the 4wd engaged when I turned it to 4wd high. (However the dash lights never illuminated when I turned the key on and started the truck).

Would a symptom of no lights likley be the control module, or in your opionion is it a bad connection, or the shift motor. I would like for the system to be realiable, but I dont want to replace something that is working, and I am at a bit of a loss. Should I buy a spare module for just in case, or is there some PM I can do to make it more reliable?

 

[ncranchero]

Buy some dielectric compound, aka electrical grease, to coat the connector terminals.

Did it engage in 4LO & 4Hi as well as back to 2Hi? If it shifts properly I would think either the dash bulbs are burned out or, more likely especially since unplugging/plugging caused it to function, the connector terminals are still somewhat not making a good connection. The wires to the dash indicator lamps are in the gray connector (#6=Hi,#9=Lo)

 

[Louis13]

Hi,
where is the control module located on a 2001 sport trac?

 

[ncranchero]

Behind the right kick panel

 

[joeltexas]

4wd issue

So glad to find this site. I'm sure the dealer could answer my questions for a thousand $ or more.

I have the exact issue with my '04. My 4wd would not engage during a record snow for us here in Texas. However, recently during hunting season I could not engage while moving, but could stop, go to N, engage in low 4wd, then to high 4wd. Now, won't make the clicking sound, won't light up or engage at all. A few months or so ago, I did find a fuse inside that was out out, which temmporarily solved the probem.

Should I unplug as the original poster did?

 

[ncranchero]

Unplug/plug back several times as this tends to cut through any corrosion/oxidation on the terminals. Any parts supplier can sell you a tube of dielectric grease to apply to the connector terminals. Hopefully that will cure your issues.

These fuses control the Shift Control Module, check them.
Fuse 20 & 22 in the Battery Junction Box under the hood.
Fuse 14, 15 & 25 in the Central Junction Box under the dash.

If you don't have an Owners Manual to reference these positions you can get it in pdf at this site: Dead Link Removed

 

[joeltexas]

Just tried this. It worked, thanks very much. I didn't even know where the module was, pretty easy to get to.

How about the other module, under the hood, the one that would have the code to unlock the doors. Do you know the location of this module?

Thanks again, posters here have saved me some serious money.

 

[ncranchero]

Two methods for locating the code. The 1st is of course the preferred one. Occasionally you can't see it and have to do the second ..... ONLY if you are careful to follow the instructions.

1. http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=183836&highlight=keyless+entry

2. http://www.mysporttrac.com/MySportTrac/projects/LocatingYourKeylessEntry Code2001FORDSPORTTRAC.pdf

 

[plance1]

I too am having 4x4 issues and I was just about to do a search but came across this post and another like it. I honestly can't tell if my 4x4 is engaged or not. It seems like the lights on the dash above the switch come on and off without me having control over them. However, now that I hear you all talking about fuses, maybe my mind is playing tricks on me and the lights aren't coming on at all and the fuse is bad??? And does anyone have a picture of this control module that you are talking about? The one under the right kick panel? I don't want to rip my truck apart because Im the schleprock of modifying vehicles and I don't want to screw anything up. By the way, do you have to be in park or neutral before flipping back and forth between 2 and 4 wheel drive? Thanks in advance.

 

[ncranchero]

Here ya go.
http://www.mysporttrac.com/MySportTrac/projects/4x4ControlModuleReplacementProject.pdf

You don't have to be in park or neutral EXCEPT to go from 4Hi to 4Lo. You also have to have your foot on the brake.

Make a sharp slow turn. If it feels "jumpy" or like it's in a bind then it is in 4WD.

 

[plance1]

Hey thanks very much. My 4x4 officially, as of today, has a mind of its own. I realize how 4x4 feels when you turn but its just when I flip the switch and Im going straight its hard for me to tell and the way the trans behaves doesn't help much.

Today, while in park, I flipped the switch to go to 4 low and nothing happened, but then after I got going it went into 4 low with the light saying it was 4 high. Then I couldn't get it out of 4 low for the life of me. Then it just popped out and went back into 2 wheel. Geez.