4x4 Interrupt Wire

[awdrocks]

Who knows what wire needs to be spliced in order to be able to interrupt the 4x4???

Ive read someone say they did it but was not speciofic on what wire exactly. It seems to be a brown wire that runs down the passanger interior side under the carpet. The problem is that there are 2 brown wires, one in a smaller strand of wires and the other in a thicker one.

 

[MONMIX]

It is a thick brown wire under the DRIVERS SEAT.

We call it The Brown Wire Mod, around here

 

[awdrocks]

for the 3rd gen explorer?

 

[MONMIX]

I am pretty sure it is the same.
Maybe a third gen guy will chime in and back me up

 

[pickupman]

dumb question... what does the mod accomplish.... or why would one want to do this?

thanks

 

[gijoecam]

thammel and I have been trying to figure it out:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=136753

Still not quite there.... it's different on the 3rd gen as it appears that it may need a feedback to the control to work properly. Simply interrupting the brown wire works, but causes the 4x4 light to blink (since it detects a malfunction).

Pickupman, the control trac 4wd is essentially 2wd until the rears slip. Then the solenoid automatically engages the clutch in the transfer case to lock the front and rear driveshafts. This feature, while nice for the average driver, can be a bain for off-roaders and control freaks like myself that don't want some brain-box determining when 4wd is necessary and would rather do so themselves.

Installing a switch in that particular wire interrupts the power to the clutch in the transfer case, thereby preventing the 4wd from engaging. On the street, you'll probably never know the difference. On loose surfaces, or in slippery and snowy weather, some people have found that the automatic engagement presents some disconcerting handling characteristics. (I, for one, find that it becomes tough to recover from a power-slide with the front end engaging and disengaging, but the opinions vary)

Off-road, there are times where it would be a benefit to have total control over the clutch. For example, in low range (or 4wd for that matter), it's a bad idea to turn a tight corner on a high traction surface. What that means for hard-core off-roaders is that should the need arise to maneuver in tight quarters, you have to stop, disengage low range, go back to automatic, make the turn, stop, re-engage the low range, and proceed. With this mod in place, you flip your 'brown wire switch' off, make the turn while in 2wd low range, then re-engage the switch, locking you back into 4wd low range. It's much quicker.

As an added bonus, it also gives you 2wd low range, as I mentioned above. Great for stump and shrub pulling when you don't want to tear up the grass maneuvering in tight quarters.

Hope that helps.

-Joe

 

[awdrocks]

Right!!!

In my case. I have a street racer I take to the 1/4 mile track. Being able to leave it in 2wd will eliminate my chances of snapping or tearing apart my tranfer case... a 400hp motor engaging and disangaging the transer case can become a disaster.

Ive been looking into beefing the entire drivetrain.... and I have seem to have found a bullet proof custom tranfer case. But thats a while away still. For now I need to stay off the stock TC on hard launches. Or put her in 4X4High so the front and rear are permanantly locked together. My limited slip will help its overall durability also.

 

[gijoecam]

Right!!!

In my case. I have a street racer I take to the 1/4 mile track. Being able to leave it in 2wd will eliminate my chances of snapping or tearing apart my tranfer case... a 400hp motor engaging and disangaging the transer case can become a disaster.

Ive been looking into beefing the entire drivetrain.... and I have seem to have found a bullet proof custom tranfer case. But thats a while away still. For now I need to stay off the stock TC on hard launches. Or put her in 4X4High so the front and rear are permanantly locked together. My limited slip will help its overall durability also.

Since you have to push the front end down the track anyways, you're not losing any power by engaging the 4wd, but you are gaining added traction on the launch. Stand on it and she goes!! I wouldn't even want to try and launch it in 2wd if there's a chance the rears will light up. Locking in 4wd assures all the engine's usable power gets put to the ground.

I'd love to see someone launch a 4x4 and have all four smokin! That'd be COOL!

-Joe

 

[awdrocks]

check out this AWD truck... pretty insane... watch the vid called:

Parish SMASHES His Old Record!

http://1320video.com/videos.php

stock tire sizes on this bad boy...

 

[MONMIX]

I have been watching that truck for a wile now.

That thing is sick.

 

[thammel]

On my 2002 xls, the control trac is annoying (and this is why I'm working on perfecting the infamous brown wire mod) because occasionally on hard acceleration up hills, for example, it pulsates the acceleration and makes it feel as if the car is missing. It's really annoying when it happens and for many months I thought there was a serious miss in the engine. I took it to the dealer many times who never figured it out. Now I've got the lighted switch in place (see the other thread that Joe mentioned) and the light tells me that it's the transfer case clutch solenoid trying to engage when I feel this acceleration pulsation. It's my bet that many other Explorer owners have the same problem and don't know the cause. If this system worked better it would be fine. But I'd rather have 4wd when I want it, and only when I want it.
Tom

 

[gijoecam]

OK, you had a 3-day weekend.... I'm expecting a full report!

-Joe

 

[CDW6212R]

awdrocks, why don't you install the AWD transfer case?(BW4410)

 

[GreenSeats]

Will this mod also work on my 96 that has the 2wd/4x4 auto/4x4 low switch?

my front driveshaft always turns... even with the switch in 2wd, and i dont think it is helping my gas mileage, not to mention that one of the u joints is squealing.

 

[gijoecam]

Doing the mod does not stop any of the drivetrain components from turning. It simply stops the transfer case from engaging in auto mode. However.....

.... There is, what I like to call, the 'Anti-brown-wire mod'. Instead of breaking the wire, you use that wire to engage the clutch full-time, thereby getting rid of the lousy auto setting and forcing the clutch into full-time 4wd.

Doesn't sound like what you're looking for though.....

-Joe

 

[thammel]

Well Joe, it's still on my list. Sorry ;(. I had a bad case of post July 3rd cookout party food poisoning that really messed up my plans to check it all out on the 4th. I'm actually thinking that my 4 wheel drive control module is the problem. I saw somewhere else that someone had a control trac problem and that the parts guy at his Ford dealership said there were problems with early 2002 modules. So I called the local supplier and he indeed verified that there have been 2 updates (2 new parts numbers revs) since mine. So I may, just may, buy a replacement module (they are not cheap - about $160). But I still plan on doing the checks you suggested and will definitely keep you posted!

Tom

 

[007]

thammel and I have been trying to figure it out:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=136753

Still not quite there.... it's different on the 3rd gen as it appears that it may need a feedback to the control to work properly. Simply interrupting the brown wire works, but causes the 4x4 light to blink (since it detects a malfunction).

-Joe

Have any of the 3rd gen guys figured out if there is a way around the 4x4 light blinking, or do are we forced to live with this and only bypass the TC when necessary? The auto TC engagement really ticks me off if I'm trying to drive the truck hard, or do doughnuts in the snow...since the TC thinks the front end needs power.

 

[thammel]

Haven't figured out a solution to the blinking 4x4 light yet, but I plan to work on it. As I said somewhere else, the solution may be to "fake out" the 4x4 control module. What I mean by this is to use a switch that simulates the load the module sees when it's in the turned off mode. The module will think it's seeing the clutch solenoid, when it reality it's not.

Tom

 

[007]

Where is the wire on the 3rd gen's? Driver or passenger side? I've seen conflicting information. I need to tear apart the interior for other work I'm doing, so I'd like to tackle this at the same time.

 

[gijoecam]

Double-tap!