How to: 4x4 high in a 95-96 4x4 Explorer

[gijoecam]

if you are using the 4hi for launching/racing purposes, you WILL break the TC. I can promise you the front tires arent spinning on dry pavement in 4auto....maybe if you have the wheels turned.

Actually, even in auto, the control trac will cycle the transfer case on and off under moderate to WOT acceleration. Mine has always done that, and anyone with a lighted switch can verify that the system cycles when you accelerate. It's part of the programming.... it's SUPPOSED to do that. When the control trac is in auto mode and it detects the need to engage the 4wd, it does so.... with all the parts turning, how is launching in 4hi any different? It's actually saves the jarring of the drivetrain that occurs when the rears begin to slip.

The problem is that by the time it detects it needs to engage them, the rears are already slipping. The algorhythm that controls the automatic engagement wasn't as well-refined for the '95 and '96, and the engagement wasn't as quick as it is on the 97-ups. The sudden application of power to the fronts when the rears are spinning is often enough to break the front end loose in the rain, and you end up with one front and one rear spinning. (It's happened to me many times, even with the more refined program) I drove my uncle's 96 a while back and the system was much more abrupt and intrusive, and could easily jar the front wheels (wheel) loose.

-Joe

 

[journey50]

so where do the wires go on the 3 prong switch? what one does the 12v power one go to? does it to go the acc one or one of the other prongs, i hooked mine up and i can hear the front end clunk when it starts to spin?

 

[gijoecam]

so where do the wires go on the 3 prong switch? what one does the 12v power one go to? does it to go the acc one or one of the other prongs, i hooked mine up and i can hear the front end clunk when it starts to spin?

Scroll up to the first post in the thread. It's pretty clear.

-Joe

 

[gijoecam]

isnt 2 lo just in first gear? Selected on the colum

Ummm, no!

 

[96limitedX]

if you are using the 4hi for launching/racing purposes, you WILL break the TC. I can promise you the front tires arent spinning on dry pavement in 4auto....maybe if you have the wheels turned.

did i say ANYTHING about dry pavment?

...i dont think so..everything is ICE covered by snow...i'm using 4x4 to just get going in traffic and i use it in the rain for the same reason. at full throttle in the rain the rears like to break loose when taking off. so i put it in 4x4 and it just goes..its not gonna break anything.

and in the snow it sure as hell aint going to break anything. i need the 4x4 just to get moving..even then with studded snow tires and 4x4 i spin the crap outt them and IMO its caused by the auto4x4 letting the rear slip then the fronts cratch and start to spin also.

and BTW it says right in my owners manual auto4x4 can be used wihtout damage on dry pavment

 

[justin146]

did i say ANYTHING about dry pavment?

...i dont think so..everything is ICE covered by snow...i'm using 4x4 to just get going in traffic and i use it in the rain for the same reason. at full throttle in the rain the rears like to break loose when taking off. so i put it in 4x4 and it just goes..its not gonna break anything.

and in the snow it sure as hell aint going to break anything. i need the 4x4 just to get moving..even then with studded snow tires and 4x4 i spin the crap outt them and IMO its caused by the auto4x4 letting the rear slip then the fronts cratch and start to spin also.

and BTW it says right in my owners manual auto4x4 can be used wihtout damage on dry pavment

You are right, 4auto can safely be used on any surface...but 4hi is NOT meant to be. In icy conditions, you'll be better off just using 4auto. 4hi can make it unsteerable at times.

 

[96limitedX]

You are right, 4auto can safely be used on any surface...but 4hi is NOT meant to be. In icy conditions, you'll be better off just using 4auto. 4hi can make it unsteerable at times.

i know how to use 4x4high thank you very much(and i use it in my other truck all winter long) and i would much much rather have true locked 4x4high. the auto4x4 causes more problems getting around! exactly why i want 4x4high.

in the icy conditions i have i would get going much faster if i had true 4x4high as right now with the auto4x4 it causes alot of wheel spin that would not be if it was regular 4x4.

 

[FreeWheelin4x4]

as another snow bug....I just did mine earlier. 4hi in this snow is much better than the auto. Some of our back roads still only have about 4 inches on them (lazy DOT system) I'd spin the rear, auto kicks in, I spin the fronts. Had to back down any hill and get a running start. 4hi I am able to go up much easier. It's more predictable when you have all tires going, not all tires when the truck thinks is good.

 

[gijoecam]

as another snow bug....I just did mine earlier. 4hi in this snow is much better than the auto. Some of our back roads still only have about 4 inches on them (lazy DOT system) I'd spin the rear, auto kicks in, I spin the fronts. Had to back down any hill and get a running start. 4hi I am able to go up much easier. It's more predictable when you have all tires going, not all tires when the truck thinks is good.

Indeed, that's my feelings exactly. Maybe we're control freaks, but I'd prefer to decide when the front wheels are locked-up and when they're not, thank you very much!

And yes, auto can cause exactly what you described. The power-on front-axle engagement is a ripe cause of wheel spinnage. (Is that even a word??)

-Joe

 

[justin146]

Does the 4auto engagement get lazy over time? The reason I ask is because in my old 95, the rear tire would never slip more than a few inches before the front engaged- even on solid ice. It sounds to me like all of your trucks are spinning alot before the front moves.

 

[gijoecam]

I've watched mine.... Find a very loose gravel parking lot and do a steady gentle brake torque with your head out the door. I watched mine get about 1/4 turn on the rears before the fronts engaged. On wet pavement, that's probably OK, but in snow and ice, at that point you've already lost traction on the rears, and the sudden engagement of the front wheels doesn't help matters.

-Joe

 

[96limitedX]

I've watched mine.... Find a very loose gravel parking lot and do a steady gentle brake torque with your head out the door. I watched mine get about 1/4 turn on the rears before the fronts engaged. On wet pavement, that's probably OK, but in snow and ice, at that point you've already lost traction on the rears, and the sudden engagement of the front wheels doesn't help matters.

-Joe

exactly..it has a slight lag time..not by much(about 1/4 turn of the rear tires) but like you said thats enough to cause traction probs on snow/ice.

no to mention when you go to pass and hit the gas..same prob the rear starts to spin and go sidways then the front grabs and jerks the wheel alittle.

i just know what 4x4high is going to do. the auto4x4 is just not as perdicible(sp) as i would like it.

i'm gonna try again today to find that damn wire

 

[96limitedX]

ok....i did it and it works....but i got a ?.....i tryed my 3way switch and that did not work right at all. so i scraped that becasue it was not going to work right. so what i did was take my extended brown wires. connected them to a "on/off" switch. then connected the fused 12volt power to the + side of the "on/off" switch. now..will having the 12volt power going to that wire that runs to the TCC hurt anything? thats all i'm worryed about...otherwise it works GREAT...HUGE differance with 4x4high. it gets going on icy/snow MUCH MUCH better then before. but am i hurting anything with power going to the other end of the brown wire?

BTW i ended up cutting the brown wire under the drivers seat..MUCH easier to find. also easier to run wires.

heres how the switch looks..you can see how i wired it now. this gives me in the "off" position regular 2wd-auto4x4-4x4low...in the "on" position i have 4x4high. this is all i wnated/needed.

heres where i found the brown wire..had to take the seat out but that was no biggie

heres where i mounted my switch...stelth style

i'm very happy with this and have to thank you guys for the help..but i would like to know before i use it anymore if the way i set it up it will be ok.

thanks

 

[gijoecam]

I'd be happy to help, but I'm not real clear on which way the wires are running, and how you are able to maintain 4auto?

If you could sketch a schematic, that might help....

-Joe

 

[96limitedX]

lol sorry...i'm not the best at this..haha

i have each end of the brown wire extended to the switch. i have both ends conneted to the switch(on the same connecter). so when its swicthed on both wires get 12volt power. so its also sending power to the t-case and up to the dash.....hope that makes alittle sense.

 

[gijoecam]

OK, that makes sense.... I never thought about doing it that way because I'd be worried about feeding power back through the TOD relay.... I'm not sure what effect it might have on the relay.... interesting though.

Thinking about it a little more, I don't see any reason it shouldn't be OK.... when the Transfer Case SHift Relay energizes it during the shift, it's OK, and on the '97-01s, it sends power down that line the same way, so I don't see any reason why it should cause a problem.... Just never thought of doing it that way.....



-Joe

 

[96limitedX]

ok..thanks just wanted to make sure.

thats kinda what i was thinking. that when it gets power normaly it gets power sent to it. so i hoped it would be ok.

it works great for what i wanted(just 4x4high) i love the differance when taking off on ice/snow. it just goes. makes my snow tires seem alot better then had had seemed.

anyway huge thanks to you guys that did it and posted how it worked!

 

[snocross1985]

Glad you got it to work. I love having mine. Helped a lot when I got stuck in a snow drift the other day. Flipped my switch for 4x4 and flipped my ne switch for high and got out no problem.

 

[rfuree11]

So has anyone with a '95 verified that here is a brown wire back there?

I'm putting in satellite radio this week and might as well wire this bad boy up while I'm back there

BTW, this is the switch I'll be using and appears to be correct for anyone that is having trouble finding one:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/i...032058.2032230.2032278&pg=2&parentPage=family

 

[Hartman]

Anybody know where i can get the rocker switch variety? I like those better.