no 4x4, not motor

[holshotracer]

my fwd is not working and is not the motor. the guy that i bought the X off of had problems, with the motor sticking so i checked that first and the motor is working fine. the motor makes a clicking sound when plugged in and the switch is pushed. when i hooked the motor to the battery it works. when i push the button for 4lo the moncule (sp?) clicks but not when 4hi is pressed. any ideas cause i'm stumped and its starting to snow pretty good here and i'll feel better that the 4x4 is working.

 

[BigOne]

4lo click and it engages or just clicks? If it engages, check the wiring in the dash behind the switches and see if something has come off the 4hi or if the 4hi switch itself has gone bad.

 

[holshotracer]

the moncule click and the motor clicks too. the motor doesn't move. i tryed to jump the plug at the dash and it did the same thing as before. so i don't think that its the switch. i guess that i'm going to have to do to the dealer and ask if there is something else that goes wrong with the 4x4.

 

[Robb]

What is a moncule?

Are the lights coming on, on the dash?

 

[holshotracer]

i mean module. i'm talking about the 4x4 module that is on the drivers side behind the rear seat. no the lights do not come on. the little orange light next to the switch for 4hi was coming on when i would turn on the headlights. that was a couple of weeks ago.

 

[DeRocha]

Diagnosing a 4x4 shift problem can be troublesome if you've never worked with the 4x4 components before The shift motor (pic below curtesy of Brain) is comprised of 2 components (an electrical motor, and a geared position sensor). It is very important to realize power to the shift motor is regulated by the 4x4 shift computer. As such you cannot just power up the shift motor and watch it spin (unless your a) remove the geared sensor, or b) stop before reaching the stop position)... The computer only powers the motor forward and back for approx 3/4 revolution. If you directly power the shift motor for more than 5 secs or so the geared position sensor will rotate all the way around and contact its stop and possibly getting torque bound.. Anyway check out the following links for lots of good info and pics. IMO the shift motor stop failure and sensor cover miss- alignment are the primary reasons for a no shift condition.

Shift Motor
Shift Motor Rebuild

4x4 Computer

 

[holshotracer]

the only problem is i went and got a different motor and its doing the same thing as the other one. so that leads me to believe that is some where else. when i push the switch for 4lo i get a voltage drop, but when the 4hi is pushed there is not voltage drop.

 

[zhanx]

haven't had to work on this yet but it makes me ask if there is a relay in the system.. sounds like there is and its bad

 

[DeRocha]

the only problem is i went and got a different motor and its doing the same thing as the other one. so that leads me to believe that is some where else. when i push the switch for 4lo i get a voltage drop, but when the 4hi is pushed there is not voltage drop.

Where did you get the "New" shift motor from and can you confirm it was working when you installed it? Working means you can confirm it successfully shifted the T-case into 4H - 4L and back to 2H.. We've had many members pull old shift motors, confirm the motor works by apply power to its leds and then get frustrated when it doesn't work when installed The problem in many cases is the geared sensor stop has deteriorated and allowed the sensor to stop outside of its operating window (effectively loosing electrical contact with the 4x4 module).

BTW you do realize pressing the 4x4 Low button will do ZERO unless the T-case is already in 4x4 high correct? The click you hear is a relay within the 4x4 module recieving the button press input.

The shift motor should make very little noise and NO clicking when you power it up.. Did you just apply power to the motor and then all of a sudden it starts clicking? If so it sounds like you just ran it until it jammed (remember the geared sensor can only rotoat 3/4 of a revolution, any more and it will it the stop and jam)..

IMO I would remove the sensor comver and check out the stop shaft and geared selector shaft for any problems.. You'll need a security torx bit to remove the 3 screws...

 

[holshotracer]

i got the motor from a junk yard. the motor was in the ex when i got there and the truck was still complete so i got to see that the motor worked.

 

[Dopler174]

Mine is doing something similar. I got a lot of clicking in the rear, and I hear the motor trying to turn, however I have no 4X4. I'm gonna pull it off and see if it needs to be rebuilt.

 

[holshotracer]

well i'm rebuilding the motor but for some reason i don't think that its going to slove my problem. the worst part is that the screws that hold on the cover broke off. so i drilled the out and going to use alittle bigger screw.

 

[Robman7835]

the main problem with the shift motor in the later year ex's is a small plastic spacer on the back of the large gear drive....it gets old and smashes or breaks....i just fixed mine last night using brians thread in this forum... i took it apart and sure enough the spacer was shattered....i replaced it with hose and put it back together after cleaning everything and my 4x4 worked perfect. Considering u got the motor from a junk yard could possibly mean it has the same problem as yours. Its worth a try... and a very easy fix

 

[holshotracer]

my bushing was in one piece yet. it just had flat spots. i haven't got around to getting the motor back to tgother. i'm going to use a piece of hose.

 

[93junker]

got lights, no action!? '93 4x4 not working

ok guys, I have a '93 explorer automatic 4x4, auto hubs n all that good stuff. so I had the problem of pushing the 4x4 button and getting nothing. No dash lights, no 4x4 indicator lights, nothing. Checked the computer by unplugging the two wiring harnesses and pushing the button. the light blinked so i knew it was a problem with the 4x4 shift motor. if it would have stayed on steady it would have been the computer. After reading up on this site i took the shift motor off and sure enough the bushing on the gear was in pieces. Replaced it with some fuel line threw it back together and viola! Push the button and the lights come on and can hear the shift motor engaging. Problem is, I took it out on a snowy road put it in 4wd and got nothing from the front wheels. lights are on and says its in 4wd but no power to front tires. tried engaging it while going about 15mph and heard a little clunk noise from front end but still nothing. What seems to be holding me up? Any help is much appreciated!

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! I see that this is your first post. I'm not an expert on 4 wheel drive, but from what I've read so far on this website, I would say that it might be your auto locking hubs. It seems that a lot of people don't like them. There is one thread written by Glacier991 about repairing front brakes with auto locking hubs. It might have the information that you are looking for. Here is the link: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122696&highlight=front+brake+diary.

 

[DeRocha]

As BrooklynBay has stated your problem is most likely you autohubs.. Autohubs use a nylon engagement cam which has shown to fail over time... Manual hubs are all steel and thus many times stronger than autos (with the drawback that you must physically turn them to lock/unlock).. A set of 2 manual hubs will cost less than a single autohub...

 

[93junker]

Thanks for the link to the front brake repair. It got me thinking and I remembered that I had a friend do a brake job for me this summer replacing the calipers, rotors, and pads. I also remember that when he was putting it back together he put a fair amount of grease in the hub housing. Could this possibly have something to do with my 4x4 not engaging? I read that your not supposed to grease these parts. Is this true? Thanks again for the help so far! Oh just curious, how much to replace automatic hubs? Do you know, or have a ball park figure?? Also how much to convert to manual hubs??

 

[DeRocha]

The hubs are a dry assembly and ony require a slight coating to prevent rust nothing more. If the hubs are packed with grease they can hydraulically preload the hub towards the disengage position causing the hub to remain unlocked.. Look in the explorer repair links in my sig for info on caring for the autohubs. New autohubs are $200+ ea (more than the cost of 2 new manual hubs).

 

[holshotracer]

the parts stores that i checked with don't even carry the autohubs. i haven't rebuilt the motor yet been lazy.