Abs & 4x4 lights

[Richiejh]

I got a few hours off work this afternoon so I obviously thought what better way to spend a sunny afternoon than under 2 tons of America.

I decided to investigate the abs lights, armed with a can of switch cleaner i traced the wire only to find the front right sensor has been unplugged. I checked the sensors with a multimeter and found front left had 440 ohms while the right had 1.9mega ohms so i assume that sensor is shot and that's why its unplugged.
Am i right in saying you need the whole hub not just the sensor?

Next i looked at the 4x4 sensors on the transfer box and found this

The grey and red wires (arrowed) have both been cut. As i don't have a wiring diagram i have no idea what these wires do or more importantly why they would have been cut.

Any ideas please?

 

[ihpj]

Everything you want to know, and I do mean everything, can be found through a forum search. You just have to be creative in how you search for things. I know you're new here so I'll help you out - but honestly, it's all been asked (and answered) before:

Wiring diagram can be found HERE.

The ABS sensor cannot (in the UK AFAIK) be bought by itself. You need to get hold of a known good second hand hub as these sensors are very fragile if you try to extract them. When I had sensor issues, I got a whole new hub assembly from Justin in Newport. You might lucky and fine just sensor but it's very rare.

Keep posting up of how you go and don't loose heart! The answer to all your queries is on the forum

 

[Richiejh]

I've seen hubs with sensors on ebay for about £80 which is what I assumed I would need to buy. Thanks for the link.

 

[janolsson]

You will probably find it as cheap to replace the whole hub rather than just the sensor unless someone on here has a dead hub with a spare sensor in it. The trick is getting the sensor out without damaging it Best done with the hub off for access and plenty of soaking with a good penetrant. By penetrant I mean penetrant not just wd40. My preferred brand is 3in1 penetrant and it has served me well esp on the explorer.

rockauto.co.uk has a selection of hubs in different price brackets. this is a US site so factor in the postage and possible VAT and import duties.
Genuine Ford parts can be found at tascaparts.com and they will ship to the uk. I have also seen a good selection and reasonably priced parts on USAllparts.com tho I have never used them

As for the wires if you post these pics and the question in the US side in the transmission section, one of the gurus there may have an idea. I wonder if someone was trying to do the brown wire mod and forgot they were colour blind

 

[Ilikemice]

I may have at least one spare front hub sensor if it's any use to you. My ABS problems were never fixed by swapping/replacing sensors only though. New hubs were always the (Expensive) solution!

 

[Richiejh]

I may have at least one spare front hub sensor if it's any use to you. My ABS problems were never fixed by swapping/replacing sensors only though. New hubs were always the (Expensive) solution!

Thanks for the offer but I think i'll just buy the hub complete and be done with it. It saves pulling it apart and breaking it. If I do it all properly then it has the best chance of success. The MOT is not due till march so there's plenty of time to save the pennies.

Any thoughts on the ebay option at £80? Is that a good price? The write up says they are American made units.

 

[Ilikemice]

Good call on the brand new hub. I've had ABS issues on two Explorers over the course of three or four years. This year I bit the bullet and slapped two new hubs on... problem solved. I ended up getting Raybestos units from Rockauto.

I can't comment on the Ebay hubs, though some people here use them.

I have my MOT next month... not looking forward to it!

 

[Richiejh]

After a lot of messing around looking for wiring diagrams I found that the 4x4 system is unplugged from the control box. More and more confused, there is also a 7 core wire running from the unplugged loom to the front left kick panel.

I had a play with the 4x4 controls at the father in laws today and found that 4x4 hi & low could be engaged manually. I set it in 4x4 auto and planted the throttle in reverse to find that the rear wheels just span constantly but when in 4x4hi the truck took off backwards.

It would appear that the auto 4x4 system has been bypassed and the truck converted to a manually selectable electric operation system with no auto control at all.

 

[ihpj]

.It would appear that the auto 4x4 system has been bypassed and the truck converted to a manually selectable electric operation system with no auto control at all.

Seems a rather odd way of doing things to me. Selecting anything other than 'AUTO' locks the truck into 4x4. Switching to 'AUTO' allows the truck to switch to 4x4 intelligently - and for on road driving I don't think I've ever felt the truck slip so much that it's automatically engaged 4x4 on the move.

I know you tried it on gravel driveway, I suggest you try it on a green lane to test it - although with cut wire(s) your Ex. might not auto switch to 4x4. I just can't see the benefit of doing it this way as surely this is how the system is designed to behave?

 

[Stenasev]

Seems a rather odd way of doing things to me.

I agree. If that was a purposefully done mod then it has little if any use. Maybe it was done to try and cure a fault?

The opposite mod is sometimes done whereby the low box engages but the 4x4 doesn't (brown wire mod) this can have some uses.

 

[Richiejh]

I would like to speak to whoever did it to find out exactly why. I need to do a more thorough test on the system, winter is coming so an opportunity may well present itself. Somebody on the American forum has done something similar. I've only had manually selectable systems before and not having any experience with explorers I'm in no position to see the pros and cons of the mod. Maybe the control box is fubared and this was their repair. It doesn't bother me as long as it goes into 4x4 on demand as this is what I've been used to.

 

[Richiejh]

Everyday is a school day with this explorer. I have just bought a workshop manual on CD which has loads of good info but not full wiring diagrams. However what it does have is a control module location diagram. I've now found that the control unit which I thought was the 4x4 module is actually an antitheft module which a retrofit thatcham alarm system has been wired into. This makes MUCH more sense than my previous assumption.
I can only assume the cut wires are to disable the auto 4x4 system, a kind of brown wire mod but extremely half hearted.
I think i'll need to find out how to test the sensors and work out if they need replacing or just reconnecting. At least that might stop the lights flashing.