Not the usual 4wd problem please help

[victorv613]

Hey guys I to am having the famous 4wd issue but mine is a little different. 02 ford explorer xlt. Last year I lost my 4wd and had the blinking light of death. Fortunately it was near summer so i let it be. A month later i replaced the battery and the light stopped blinking. I turned the key to on but engine off and saw 4wd lo and when started saw both lights so i assumed it was working. Well halfway on the beach i found out i was wrong lol. My problem is my lights on the dash do work and do not blink. If i switch to 4wd high I do not hear any relay click but the light does state 4wd high. If I switch it to low i do hear a click and it states on the dash 4wd lo. Problem is there is no 4wd. I got a chance to go to the encoder motor and it moves to the correct positions with buttons pressed. Took the car to a shop and no codes but all the data said it was working. could this still be my module and are you suppose to hear a relay click in 4wd high? Thanks everyone

Update: I did the battery reset procedure and after i heard it click into 4wd lo at the transfer case and a second click at the transfer case when put in high but still no 4wd this blows lol

 

[|SkidRow|]

A month later i replaced the battery and the light stopped blinking. I turned the key to on but engine off and saw 4wd lo and when started saw both lights so i assumed it was working. Well halfway on the beach i found out i was wrong lol.

I would say when you replaced your old battery, it reset all, or any of the codes that were stored. Take the usual steps of taking off your shifter motor and look for anything out of the ordinary. That's all I can suggest right now, I'm sure someone else will come along and add on to this.

 

[victorv613]

yea i thought so aswell but after the battery install my speed sensor came up like a day later. found out it was ripped and figured that was why my 4wd wasnt working. I did take the shift motor off and had someone function the 4wd and the motor moved to all locations it was suppose to so i know it works to that point. after hours of reading i found some people saying there is a ground wire that feeds the clutch through the same harness that usually breaks. I am going to look at this tomorrow in the awesome 18 degree weather were having. I will post if i find anything. Thanks for the help

 

[victorv613]

wow can't believe noone else had any ideas, and all the people that had the same issues noone posted on theirs either. very weird. well update changed module for the hell of it and checked everything electricly, everything checked fine. I am guessing it is the clutch itself and will be ripping it apart to find out what i see. I will post so others that have this issue will have an idea of where to go

 

[waskly]

probably a bad hall effect sensor on the tcase.

 

[victorv613]

the only sensors that i can see on the transfer case are the front and rear sensors. both are working normally. do you know where this sensor is located

 

[waskly]

next to the shift motor, on the tcase, it should have 2 sensors on it, if i remember correctly.

also what fuse number are you blowing.

also for humor, take a look a the harness that connects to the xfer case, if i remember those years, the harness rubs on the sheild around the motor or on top of the trans by the tail shaft.

 

[victorv613]

oh ok the output speed sensors. yea i checked those on the scanner and when driving they have the exact same speed. No fuses blowing at all. everything is working as should just no 4wd

 

[waskly]

oh ok the output speed sensors. yea i checked those on the scanner and when driving they have the exact same speed. No fuses blowing at all. everything is working as should just no 4wd

check the harness, wow i read this blows, as blown fuse. my bad.

 

[victorv613]

Lol its call my internal brain fuse is gonna pop soon. Ill give it another glance before i rip the transfer case out but 160000 miles gotta be that

 

[waskly]

Lol its call my internal brain fuse is gonna pop soon. Ill give it another glance before i rip the transfer case out but 160000 miles gotta be that

with the motor off, can you manually shift it into 4x4? you might need to use a pair of vice grips / pliers etc.

 

[victorv613]

No not at all. Its very easy to move the lever from high to lo. A little to easy but either way in high or lo manually it does not engage the 4wd. The motor is in the correct positions but the magnetic clutch is not engaging.

 

[waskly]

No not at all. Its very easy to move the lever from high to lo. A little to easy but either way in high or lo manually it does not engage the 4wd. The motor is in the correct positions but the magnetic clutch is not engaging.

yeh its in the tcase.

 

[victorv613]

Lol thats whats i figured. Im surprised no codes but something has got to be broken. Well its suppose to hit 40 this week maybe ill take it out then. Thanks for the help

 

[victorv613]

k just wanted to update it def was the tcase. took it apart found clutch blown apart and broken piece under the clutch basket. also found out that three balls that are suppose to be under basket also no longer exist. thanks for all your help guys guess its time to rebuild

 

[DoraThe_Explorer]

^^ Just want to post a thank you. I have the exact same problem in my rig. Looks like its time for a transfer case swap.

 

[victorv613]

Not a problem at all, i saw alot of posts on here with same problem as i had but noone posted a fix. 300 later on a used unit and im back in business. Good luck