4wd lo/hi flashing: my mechanic's feedback

[explorergirl]

I have a 98 Eddie Bauer with 86k. I am having the intermitent 4wd hi/lo light flashing problem. I have the car at a dealership right now. I drive the car very safely, and only on the road. I have auto engaged the 4wd once in the past 2 years (i am the second owner). The dealer just left a voicemail quoting me $650 to fix it and that the "the plates inside the motor are having bad contact..and that this could cause the 4wd to engage while driving. There is no way around it".

I really feel like the dealer is trying to "scam" me. I hate to say it but the car was driving fine while those lights were flashing. I have been told that I need to reset my computer and I have read many posts here regarding this. I just wanted to get feedback because I need to call the mechanic and let him know. If I should try reseting the codes, what is the easiest way to do this? Disconnect the battery? Is there a fusebox that I can mess with because I don't even have the right wrench to disengage the battery.

I hate being female and "in the dark" regarding my car.

thanks for any feedback, explorergirl

 

[jimbo74]

poor explorergirl. welcome to the site. i am not 100% sure on this but i think you are getting scammed.

 

[Ray Lobato]

Hi ExplorerGirl and welcome to the site.
I have had this happen to me a few times. All I did was pull over to the side of the road and turn the truck off then started it back up and put the switch into 4hi then into 4lo, then back to auto. it would stop for maybe a month or so and do it again. It finally stopped do it on it's own. Doing the above will put the computer and sensors into a known state. I guess it gets into an unkown state and dosen't know where it's at, thus it signals (blinking 4wd lights) something is wrong. Try this and let usknow what happens.

If you still have the same problem take it somewhere else.
To reset your computer, disconnect the battery. If you don't have a wrench, go out and buy some. It will be alot cheaper then paying $650.00 to th dealer.

 

[offroader_69_me]

I am not sure about the difference between early and late model 4x4 motors as mentioned but I have seen a bunch (older X) at my shop that would do this. It sounds like your dealer is on the right track but there price is totally out of whack! At my shop we charge 1 hour labor (which is actually too much) to remove the motor and clean and adjust the contacts inside, I would suggest finding a shop that has some 4x4 knowledge (not an actual 4x4 shop) and ask them about cleaning the contacts in the motor! I would look around alot before I dropped $650 into it getting fixed!

 

[Robert]

explorergirl

As I said in my other post, the reason it is not driving strangly when your 4x4 lights flash is because your GEM will force your Explorer into 2WD whenever it detects a problem. It will flash the lights to let you know that it happened. It shouldn't cause any harm to drive it without fixing the problem right away. You just won't have access to 4WD should the need present itself. You certainly can drive somewhere else for a much cheaper rate. If the transfercase shift motor is bad, then the only way to fix it properly is by replacing the motor. I would guess that it would run about 1 hour for labor and about $175 for parts.

 

[JoelF]

Your problem is most likely a bad connection to one of the speed sensors in the transfer case or a bad sensor itself. The 4wd engagement motor could also be the problem as others have stated but before you replace it, check all the connections to the transfer case to ensure they're all sound and not corroded. The sensors are about $32 apiece if you can determine that one of them is bad. The rear sensor is easy to replace. The front sensor is behind the motor which means that the motor has to be removed to replace it.

My truck has the lights flashing also but it was because I disconnected the wires to the front & rear speed sensors in the transfer case about 2 months ago. I'm in the process of adding a switch that will allow me to force the system into "true" 2wd unless I want to use one of the 3 modes of 4wd. (Discussed this idea with Robert awhile back, still haven't had time to finish the job). Even with the sensors disconnected, I still can engage 4wd high. 4wd low will not engage. I think it's because the sensors are used to sync up the gearing in this mode to allow for a smoother lock-up.

When I finally finish the job, I will have three sensors in the system. The two originals (front/rear) and a third one wired in with the rear sensor via the DTDP switch. It will be mounted outside of the transfer case and when selected by the switch, will "fool" the gem into thinking that the rear wheels are rolling slower than the front wheels. This method will prevent the flashing lights condition I see now with the sensors disconnected. No matter what position I set the switch in, all sensors will be connected and completing the necessary circuits when I'm finished.

I hope this helps.

 

[gbexplorer]

it's more expensive over the pond!!

Hi, I'm afraid I can offer nothing new, except perhaps to amuse you..

I have a 98 expolrer, one of few in the UK, and have the same flashing lights issue. I, perhaps stupidly, took the car to the localdealership. I was told that if they could get hold of a transfer case, and it was a big if, there would be a 6 month wait and a charge of around £3,000 (yes, six thousand dollars!)..

I declined their kind offer and have been happily driving in 2wd, with flashing lights, for the past three months..

 

[KPT]

I was about to post and say the motor has absolutely nothing to do with engaging 4x4 but holy smackaroos old thread.........

 

[Buffalosports]

Hi Explorergirl, welcome. I am very sorry about your problem. This post unfortunitly doesn't pertain to your problem but it is just a quick heads up. I know that it is not recommanded to use 4wd on non-slippery services (ex.: snow, dirt, gravel, water) but once and awhile on SHORT rides you should switch it into 4wd just to "excersise" the parts. These should be short drives, like to the store and back. Just letting you know because you said you had only used it once in the past 2 years.

 

[KPT]

Hi Explorergirl, welcome.

Umm did you not see my post at all??? She had one post. In 2001. For some reason I don't think she is going to see your advice.........


And umm no, you do not need to switch it in to 4x4 ever to "excersise" the parts. The clutch assembly is going to engage or its not. Regular use will not determine this.

 

[aleej]

well i know this is an ancient thread... but just fyi to all i hav the blinking lights as well.. or at least i did for like a year then they went away.. they would blink 6 times every 2mins... and its my encoder motor .. it needs to be replaced... the 4wd motor(encoder motor) same thing.. not the tcase its something diffrent tho im not exactly sure what it does.. i think its like the shift motor cuz my auto 4wd still works but i cant switch it into 4wd i dunno but thats the broken part