no 4Lo

[offroadjosh]

ok glad i found this site i have a 1997 ford explorer XLT 4wd 4.0 SOHC.... i can put it in 4H but if i flip it to 4L (in Neutral of course) it won't engage it was working before then all of the sudden stopped. any ideas??

 

[gijoecam]

Is your foot on the brakes? Are your brake lights working?

 

[offroadjosh]

yup all is working. no light comes on when i switch to 4L or anything... shift motor? but 4H works fine and auto 4 works so.. short maybe??

 

[Tbars4]

...Kila, Ive been there...

...Check this out...
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=123542

 

[gijoecam]

yup all is working. no light comes on when i switch to 4L or anything... shift motor? but 4H works fine and auto 4 works so.. short maybe??

...Kila, Ive been there...

...Check this out...
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=123542

Highly unlikely.... Shift motor failures on the second-gens are notoriously rare. If it was trying to shift and the motor wasn't moving, the GEM would see that it's commanding a shift and not getting it as an error, and start the blinkin' lights. That's not happening which tells me that the GEM isn't receiving the proper inputs to tell it to command a shift in the first place.

What are those, you ask? transmission DTRsensor input, (park or neutral), clutch (manual trans), brake s, vehicle speed (must be less than 3mph) and 4low signal from the switch (selectable resistor). Which one's missing? Your guess is as good as mine...

How comfortable are you with tearing your dash apart and using a multimeter and test light?

-Joe

 

[Tbars4]

...... it does seem like the shift motors on the second gens do have a similar problem even though it is not a failure..

..:scratch:...Then this may be of some help...

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=309192&postcount=7

or this...
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54574&highlight=4lo

...And for those who get their second gen stuck into 4lo..
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1824361&postcount=10

 

[Tbars4]

...I also wanted to add this today...

...Happy Birthday GIJoecam...

 

[offroadjosh]

thanks guys as for tearing as for tearing apart the shift motor or the dash.. its my daily driver and i pretty much need it 24\7 as i work with a volunteer fire dept. so i was hoping it was going to be an easy fix.... i will have to see if i can find time to check the motor and the switch...

 

[ExploringNC]

Does your shifter lever feel loose. I had same problem and it turned out to be loose bolts that attach the shifter cable to shifter lever. Get under the dash and trace the shifter cable to where it attaches to the bracket. There are three torqs bolts holding it onto the end of the shifter lever.

Problem also could be in the sensor that tells the puter what gear your in, located on trans at lever that shifter cable attaches too (sorry forget name of sensor). It could be bad or just needing adjustment.

 

[gijoecam]

Does your shifter lever feel loose. I had same problem and it turned out to be loose bolts that attach the shifter cable to shifter lever. Get under the dash and trace the shifter cable to where it attaches to the bracket. There are three torqs bolts holding it onto the end of the shifter lever.

Uuuuh, in a word: NO. Second-gens have an electronically controlled transfer case. There was no manual option.

Problem also could be in the sensor that tells the puter what gear your in, located on trans at lever that shifter cable attaches too (sorry forget name of sensor). It could be bad or just needing adjustment.

Digital Transmission Range Sensor... As mentioned in my reply above...

 

[SensRanger]

For the record, I had this exact problem and the fix was to replace the Transmission Range Sensor (also called neutral safety switch).
It was messed up and didn't tell the GEM when I was in neutral.
However, there weren't too many other signals that something was wrong with it. Intermittent issues, like reverse (white) lights not always coming on, and occasional no crank without moving the shifter from Park to R and back, were the only clues.
Good luck