4WD not working but lights up

[ghost30]

I've got a question for whoever can answer, always assuming anyone can help.

Okay, so here's what's up. My wife's '95 Explorer EB has the dash-mount 4WD switch for going between 2WD, 4WD Auto and 4WD Low. Out of curiosity, I tried engaging it recently and while it sounded like it might have "turned on," I had absolutely no power to the front end. Granted, I was on a hill, on snow-covered ice, with virtually no tread on any tires, but still, you would have thought the front tires would have spun with the back??

I've got the Chilton's for it, and I've looked up troubleshooting in there but had no luck narrowing anything down. I know the older Ford pickups had the locking hubcaps that you had to get out and manually turn them, I thought that's what the switch is for? Maybe I'm mistaken... this is my first time with a switch-operated 4WD. (My first 4X4 was a GMC K2500 with the floor shifter)

That I can tell, there shouldn't be any leaks, although when I crawled underneath it kinda looked like there might have been some fluid from somewhere; that could have been from anything at any time however. I notice the steering wheel pulls ever so slightly to the right after a second or two, and the transmission seems to like jumping from gear to gear, especially when roads are slippery. It takes a while to get out of 1st gear, only after about 3K-3500 RPM with some throttle manipulation.

I'm not sure if the gear jumping is related or not to the 4WD not working. It seems that neither 4WD Auto nor 4WD Low engage at all. (By the way, I apologize now if this thread seems a bit disjointed or rambling, I've had a couple beers trying to figure this out.)

The one thing that is out of the question, is bringing it in to a shop, because I don't have the money to be paying a professional to fix this issue. I'll be doing a tranny flush and filter change when I get a bit of money to do so, and when the weather warms up; until then, is there anything I should keep an eye/ear/nose open for?

Thanks for any input you can offer me on this, as my wife is kinda wanting the 4X4 to work lol.

 

[rb142]

Maybe a problem in the CAD?

A previous owner may have tried to do some version of the "brown wire mod" to it. Look around for an extra switch somewhere. There are lots of threads here about it. Read some of those and see if that helps make any progress.

 

[ghost30]

Never heard of a "brown wire mod" but thanks for the tip, I'll certainly take a look around and see if I can spot anything out of the ordinary. I know there's a lot of problems in and around the dash area, and not the person we bought it from but one of the owners before that had apparently installed Kicker subs and some sort of amp; left all the wires in but pulled everything else upon resale. I might have to pull those wires, something might be shorting out too.

 

[rb142]

Repairing someone else's damage to a wiring harness is never fun. It's especially bad when they rip out their modifications and leave the mess for the next owner to deal with. I would try to verify the signals as much as possible first to know whether the problem was in the wiring before looking for a mechanical fault.

 

[ghost30]

Oddly enough, I went to try a trick mentioned elsewhere in the forums, since I can't tell if the brown wire mod was or wasn't done, no visible switch anywhere. I simply turned the switch to "4WD Auto" before turning the truck on, and to what I've noticed it seems to work just fine now. I don't know if that's the result of the mod, or if that's just how the manual states to use it; the truck came with virtually every piece of paper except the manual. Either way, it seems that the only thing needing to be done at this point (beyond the routine maintenance and tuning) is to get new tires, and I'll no longer be getting stuck trying to get up my driveway lol!

I guess I don't know yet if the 4LO works or not, nor how to figure that out; but with bald tires it isn't really going to make a difference now is it? Going on the assumption that the brown wire mod is in place, how would I go about using 4LO if, for example, I need to pull someone out of the ditch? I've got the tow chain and pull strap, and where I live people forget that roads get slippery and brand-new snow tires don't mean squat if you hit black ice. This year alone I've already noticed 3 people absolutely buried because they either got cut off by inconsiderate drivers or were going way too fast for road conditions. Pulling people out is big business where I live! Any advice for that one?

 

[ghost30]

I'm back guys, not trying to necro-post but I figured it's relevant.

I actually figured out that the 4X4 does work, both 4Auto and 4Lo. I guess I just wasn't engaging it correctly... that doesn't surprise me, considering we got the truck with no manual.

Just figured it was worth updating you guys, thanks for your help.