hairyturtle
New Member
- Joined
- July 20, 2014
- Messages
- 3
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- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 1998 Explorer
Hey all ... this is my first time posting so please be patient!
My 1998 Explorer is stuck in 4WD Low and the truck is virtually unuseable. There are a zillion discussions about this problem but I have a couple of questions about my particular problem.
My selection switch is the typical 3-way switch (AUTO-HI-LO). The transfer case is stuck in LO and the 4WD LO-Light is lit on the dashboard. No matter where I position the switch, the LO-Light stays lit. I tried the battery disconnect dream repair with no luck.
I have read countless times to cut the 'brown' wire but rather than try this I disconnected the harness that goes to the shift motor. The brown wire travels through this connection so I would assume it would have the same effect. What I fail to understand is why cutting the brown wire, or disconnecting the harness, would indicate that the problem is in the transfer case or in the shift motor ... or even in the electrical system. It would seem that you need to test for power to the harness/shift motor first to see if it is receiving any commands from up above.
If there is no power getting to the harness, and if the shift motor was in LO when something went wrong, wouldn't the 'triangle' thing remain in its last used position and the TC would remain locked in LO (in my case)? Cutting wires, changing the shift motor or disconnecting the drive shaft seems premature at this point since the problem may only be a failure of power, a fuse, relay, etc.
Another thing confuses me ... I'm not getting any 'blinking' HI or LO lights like some others have mentioned and no matter what position I rotate the 3-way switch to, only the LO light stays lit. Can anyone explain why the LO light remains on no matter which position the 3-way switch is in and why the other two lights fail to light up? Perhaps this points to a possible problem other than in the TC area?
Perhaps a relay is not reacting to my switch selection, or maybe even it's something as simple as the 3-way switch. Should the #6 relay be checked for power and are there any other fuses, relays. etc., that I should be checking first (I don't see any fuses related to my transfer case).
Thanks for your patience.
My 1998 Explorer is stuck in 4WD Low and the truck is virtually unuseable. There are a zillion discussions about this problem but I have a couple of questions about my particular problem.
My selection switch is the typical 3-way switch (AUTO-HI-LO). The transfer case is stuck in LO and the 4WD LO-Light is lit on the dashboard. No matter where I position the switch, the LO-Light stays lit. I tried the battery disconnect dream repair with no luck.
I have read countless times to cut the 'brown' wire but rather than try this I disconnected the harness that goes to the shift motor. The brown wire travels through this connection so I would assume it would have the same effect. What I fail to understand is why cutting the brown wire, or disconnecting the harness, would indicate that the problem is in the transfer case or in the shift motor ... or even in the electrical system. It would seem that you need to test for power to the harness/shift motor first to see if it is receiving any commands from up above.
If there is no power getting to the harness, and if the shift motor was in LO when something went wrong, wouldn't the 'triangle' thing remain in its last used position and the TC would remain locked in LO (in my case)? Cutting wires, changing the shift motor or disconnecting the drive shaft seems premature at this point since the problem may only be a failure of power, a fuse, relay, etc.
Another thing confuses me ... I'm not getting any 'blinking' HI or LO lights like some others have mentioned and no matter what position I rotate the 3-way switch to, only the LO light stays lit. Can anyone explain why the LO light remains on no matter which position the 3-way switch is in and why the other two lights fail to light up? Perhaps this points to a possible problem other than in the TC area?
Perhaps a relay is not reacting to my switch selection, or maybe even it's something as simple as the 3-way switch. Should the #6 relay be checked for power and are there any other fuses, relays. etc., that I should be checking first (I don't see any fuses related to my transfer case).
Thanks for your patience.
