front driveshaft engaged "partly"

[ARTURPOLAND]

I have 97 ex and when it get warm (after 5 minutes drive) it has partly engaged front driveshaft. It clunks when I turn on the drive surface and behave strange. I read something about brown wire mod but before I do this mod I would like to know what schould I check first. GEM or this Torque on demand relay (where is it ?) It looks like the clutch is powered slightly and it blocks the front wheels. please help.

 

[gijoecam]

Artur,

Before you perform the brown wire mod, Take it for a drive and wait for it to start making the noises and acting like it's engaged. Then, lay underneath it and disconnect the connector to the transfer case. The lights will start blinking, but that's OK. Then, see if the problem has stopped. That will tell us if it's an electrical problem, or a mechanical problem with the transfer case itself.

-Joe

 

[ARTURPOLAND]

thanks for response Joe. Instead of disconnecting the connector I removed the fuse which powers the electromagnet and the problem has gone. So I assume the problem is rather electrical than mechanical (but maybe I am wrong). I did the transfer case rebuilt last year (bearings, chain, fork, seals etc) and it worked fine. what is quite strange the problem arrises after few minutes drive, like something warms up or so. I am a litle bit confused. it looks like some unneeded current is supplied to the brown wire. not strong enough to engage 4x4 fully but partly.

 

[gijoecam]

Indeed, I suspect you have an electronic issue. Pulling the fuse works, but if I remember correctly, it also affects some other sensors, plus, the GEM can still feed power to the transfer case directly, so pulling the fuse doesn't always eliminate electrical causes.

In your case, however, it did. With that in mind, we might be able to narrow down the problem a little more. Which fuse exactly did you remove?

-Joe

 

[ARTURPOLAND]

hi joe I removed fuse number 27 (cabin fuses) it affects also interior light and stuff like that. I am wondering what schould I check further ??? GEM. TOD relay ???

 

[gijoecam]

Artur,

Unfortunately my program at work is not working right now. Without the wiring diagrams in front of me, I'd be guessing at best. If you can wait until Monday, I'll see what I can find out then.

Working from memory, I think I would look at a couple of things. First, the best way to troubleshoot it would be to have a dealership or service station connect an NGS test stand (that's what they're called here in teh states, but I don't know if anyone uses them in Poland). From there, they could view the GEM PIDs (inputs and outputs) to see exactly WHY the 4 wheel drive is being called for. It could be a wheel speed sensor or shaft speed sensor that's not working correctly, making the GEM think that the wheels are slipping when they are not. In that case, it would be a simple sensor problem, not something more complex.

The other possibility is that the system is not calling for the 4wd to engage, but some other electrical problem is sending a false signal to the Torque On Demand relay or the brown wire. Again, without the schematics, I can't begin to tell you where to focus right now.

Sorry I can't be more specific for you....

-Joe

 

[ARTURPOLAND]

thanks Joe. tommorow I go to China for a week. As I come back I will probably go to ford for testing. In a case they tell me something interesting I will give a message to you.thanks again. Artur

 

[budwich]

Artur...

I think that I have a similar problem on a 96. My question is when the "occurence" happens (ie. the partial engagement) does it happen repeatedly for the rest of the "trip" (ie for one "complete" run cycle .... no restart of the engine). When mine gets "warms" lets say after some shopping trips where there is lots of parking, stopping of the engine, restarting, and going to another store, I get a "binding" / "grinding" out of the front. However, once it occurs on a given "cycle" and "let's go", it doesn't "rebind" on the "cycle" regardless of how much turning, reversing, that happens thereafter. But if I stop and restart my engine, it could occur again (not always) as it doesn't appear predictable or I am unaware of the exact "trigger" situation. Hence, my question about whether it keeps happening for one "run cycle". I am going try unplugging connector at the transfer case and run like that for a while since I almost never use the 4w except maybe to go up ramps to change oil. Looking to see what you find out... thanks