4X4 engagement issues

[Pheenie]

Hi all, I have a '94 XLT and am having some issues with the four wheel drive.
Mechanically i'm pretty sure everything is fine, because i was using it this morning. This afternoon, however, i pushed the button and nothing happened. the light didn't come on and no 4x4. i checked the 4x4 fuse up front and someone suggested checking the 4x4 computer in the back and the red light was off. i pushed the little white button and the light came back on. every time i try to engage four wheel drive, the light goes off. If anyone has any other suggestions other than going to a dealer (yuck), that would be so helpful.

 

[kslhol]

This may seem stupid, but is the electrical connector on your transfer case plugged in? Mine had a similar problem of not engaging, (in some embarrassing places) and I finally got underneath to take a look at what possibly could be wrong, and the darn electrical cord was just hanging there... Plugged it back in and presto, 4 wheel drive again.

 

[CodePoet]

Probably a dirty shift motor, do a search, clean it (for free), and try again

 

[Pheenie]

Thanks for the tips. once this dreadful rain lets up I'll go out and take a look at it. It's the strangest thingbecause the guy i got it from said he hadn't used the 4x4 in like 6 years cause a mechanic told him one of the hubs was broken. he never needed it so never got it fixed. my mechanic took the hubs off, cleaned them out and said there was nothing wrong with them. when i first got it i swiched it into 4x4 and the lights came on, but the wheels would not turn, so i assumed some electrical thing. i looked around and found the 4x4 comp in back and it was switched off. turned it on and four wheel drive worked great until yesterday morning when it just quit. the lights won't even come on. Very strange. Thanks again.

 

[PJC]

It is probably the shift moter on the transfer case. This seems to be a common problem with the push button 4x4s. This thread details what needs to be done. If you have any mechanical ability at all, you can do this. I just went through this with my '92 and it wasn't bad at all.

If the guy hasn't use the 4x4 in 6 years you might want to do a general check-up of the transfer case and the front drive train just to be sure it is in working order.

/edit: I see that you have been using it before this recent problem. Just ignore me.....