Help??

[agzaretzka]

so what I have done since was follow your shift motor teardown and rebuild thread, I followed it step by step, it was quite a fun experience and yet educational at the same time how about that (and yes sure enough the little plastic bump washer was devoured but got replaced with rubber fuel line), now assuming I did all this correctly, I am still getting the same response (dim light at all times) but now I discovered that my sh/motor is not functioning or rotating,

Did you 'bench test' the shift motor while it was out, i.e. connect it directly to 12v and run it both directions before re-attaching? If that was fine, I'd follow the diagnostic procedure listed in the word doc that is around here. Ok, post 8 on this thread...

 

[DeRocha]

Driving with the 4x4 indicator lights dimly lit will not harm anything as you are definitely not in 4x4.... If you were too drive in 4H on drive pavement you'd definitely know it.. You'd barely be able to turn the steer as the torque wind-up and massive traction would glue the tires to the pavement..

It is very common for a 1st gen explorer to have shift motor problems. Design changes in later years greatly improved the reliability of the shift motor assembly. Did 4x4 work (both high and low) prior to the shop working on it? What exactly did the transmission shop do in regards to a rebuild? If the shop did a transmission rebuild they wouldn't need to touch the shift motor (as such I would think it to be very unlikely they did anything to screw it up)

When you press 4x4 High do you hear the relays in the 4x4 shift computer clicking? Did you perform the 4x4 computer check? How did the Geared sensor and Cover contacts look? They are crucial for the system to work.. I would clean them with some alcohol to ensure no grease or other residue could be blocking or shorting them. These parts tell the 4x4 computer where the T-Case selector shaft is. As you have already read in the the other shift motor rebuild posts that the shift motor will do zero unless the 4x4 computer gives it power.. and this will only happen after the 4x4 button is pressed and the geared sensor is able to indicate its position to the shift motor.. If the geared sensor cover is misaligned you will hear the relays clicking in the back...

 

[shrek2much]

no I did not bench test first, as I said I simply connected the b/w and the shift motor harness from underneath without attaching the s/motor to the t/case as my wife was in the vehicle on in Nutral while she pushed the 4x4 as I observed from underneath.

Yes my 4x4 worked very well prior to the trans rebuild (new: overdrive gears, solenoids new torque convertor, and a new shifter cable) my over drive was shot up and I had a short in the solenoid and no place or time to fix myself at that time as we were in the process of moving.

I tend to agree there is no reason why they would need to have tampered with the t/case or s/motor. And yes I know it worked cause I towed my sled 700xcr with it all season last year and the 4x4h and 4l came in handy "got me out of some deep s###". that's one more reason why I'm looking to get it fixed before snow falls this season.

yes I did the computer (GEM?) check. I disconected the 3 wired conector and pushed the w/button, nothing happened. and No the 4x4 relay"s" do not click when I push the 4x4 button, I was not aware that the relays were within the command box itself, but I do notice that there are three relays near the trailer wire harness and left of the windshield resevoir. now when I press my brake light switch on the pedal for some reason one of those 3 relays in the rear clicks and the 4x4 lights get brighter and then dim as the brake is depressed any connection perhaps?

the gear sensor and contact cover were a bit greased up but other than that not to bad I could have done a better job cleaning them but I just wiped them down with a rag as they looked fairly clean I will clean the contacts and recheck the alignment tommorow but I am leaning towards a short somewhere maybe the 4x4 light switch.

while keeping in mind that I do understand that the shift motor will do zero if contacts are not aligned, lets assume that they are aligned and the s/motor is still non-functional how could this cause both the 4x4 lights to be on at all is it possible? would not the lights shut off after disconecting the battery and all other associated connectors, and then reconecting them? if the computer is not sensing anything why then would it sense the 4x4 you know?

 

[agzaretzka]

...but I do notice that there are three relays near the trailer wire harness and left of the windshield resevoir.

Those are part of the factory tow package; DeRocha's picture show's an after-market trailer connector.

yes I did the computer (GEM?) check. I disconected the 3 wired conector and pushed the w/button, nothing happened.

This post says GEM test will blink (for a short time) if it is good, otherwise bad.

 

[shrek2much]

Ok so you are sayin that the "Gem" is faulty becuase it does not light at all ? I really need to be sure of this as I understand that this is a costly item.
any way to test the "Gem" ?

I might think that my "Gem" might have shorted when my trans over drive burnt out "BUT" I was still able to drive it in 1st 2nd ,D AND 4X4H and 4X4l
were functioning also, so that only leads me to beleive that my "Gem" box was not fried at that point. again this happened only a few days ago, shortly after my transmission rebuild.

sorry don't mean to take this thread into another direction
but do you think that my trailer switch is shorted then beacuse it clicks when I hit the break switch? and why would my 4x4 lights be affected by this if so ?
they don't appear to be directly conected in my haynes wiring diagram.

 

[agzaretzka]

Ok so you are sayin that the "Gem" is faulty becuase it does not light at all ? I really need to be sure of this as I understand that this is a costly item.
any way to test the "Gem" ?

Re-read your post and this needs clarifing:

...I disconected the 3 wired conector...

Both of the connectors on the one side need to be unplugged. The third (pigtail) stays, and key-on for power, then run the test. No flashing, or flashing NON-stop would be bad. Flashing for a time, then stopping, its good (don't remember how many that is, 6 or 10 or 12...).

sorry don't mean to take this thread into another direction but do you think that my trailer switch is shorted then beacuse it clicks when I hit the break switch? and why would my 4x4 lights be affected by this if so ?
they don't appear to be directly conected in my haynes wiring diagram.

Relays are supposed to click when active (brake and turn). If I remember correctly, the trailer relays are only active if the trailer connector is plugged in under the bumper; stow that and you won't hear those relays anymore.

And none of that should affect the 4x4 system as they are not interconnected, unless the wiring bundle has been compromised, and there is some sort of short between them. I had my 4x4 system fail and turned out one of the screws I used to mount my fire extinguisher nicked one of the wires and shorted it to ground; took me a while to remember what had changed since the last time I had used the 4x4.

If you haven't found this yet....

 

[shrek2much]

Re-read your post and this needs clarifing:

Disregard the 3 wire thing I was thinking that there was three but there is actually five wires on the connector I was speaking of
in the photo above there are two connnectors to the left of that yellow line that reads 4x4 comp... on the Gem box. those are the two I disconected

how do you down load photos ? this might help me explain things a little better all I get is a script prompt enter text to be formatted when I click on the Insert image icon .

 

[agzaretzka]

Disregard the 3 wire thing I was thinking that there was three but there is actually five wires on the connector I was speaking of
in the photo above there are two connnectors to the left of that yellow line that reads 4x4 comp... on the Gem box. those are the two I disconected

how do you down load photos ? this might help me explain things a little better all I get is a script prompt enter text to be formatted when I click on the Insert image icon .

First: FAQ: Posting/Editing Pictures.... The web address takes the place of the 'x..' in the image command, and non-elites need some other web-host for their photos, while elites can host pics on explorerforum.

If there were no blinks on the GEM, and you are sure it is getting power during the test, with the two connectors on the left unplugged, then it is NOT working; not lit, solid lit, or continious blinking is failure. I'd pick up another from a junk yard.

 

[shrek2much]

ok, will check into that after I have done one final test attempt. and by the way thanks to all of you who assisted me with this issue and even if I don't resolve this problem in the end

it is still nice to know that there are still folks out there taking their own time and energy to help a stranger that's what keeps a forum group like this functional, props to all of you who are looking out for each other Jesus would be proud of you all "right on man" " right on"