Paddle shift trans, Expedtion auto t-case?

[A Quiet Boom]

Actually the 99 is a loaded EB also with leather interior but a different shade of tan.

I'm still not sure which tow wires I need though, what do they go to on the V6?

 

[CDW6212R]

Go to this thread again and read it in the middle of the first post.One is a power wire, and the other is a trans neutral signal.
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums...ghlight=Lastly+transfer+circuitry+neutral+GEM

I found a parts source that has many new steering wheels and door panels. The steering wheels were all tan, the two spoke high end version, I was told. Did the 99 EB come with the message center, do you have the whole interior etc?

I got four door panels, he only had 98 and older stuff. I'll let you know if the door panels were worth it. I've found aftermarket front seats which I like, but they only come in black with gray centers. Regards,

 

[A Quiet Boom]

Yeah, I bought the whole truck. I need another wheel or at least the airbag as both bags deployed in the wreck and the wheels are different. I can change the covers on the passenger airbags though. Interior is mint with ALL the options, message center, overhead console, 6 disc cd changer in the armrest, stereo controls and climate controls on the wheel, stereo headphone jacks and volume on the rear climate console, homelink on the visor, you name it it's there.

I feel I need to add this tip. About 3 years ago I had a bunch of Dewalt tools stolen, I'm now renovating a house and decided to go with Ryobi for cost as well as a nice product line. One of the tools I bought was the impact driver and a set of the quick change bits. I took most of both interiors apart with that driver, even the seats. The only thing I needed a ratchet on where the floor seat belt bolts but once lose the driver removed them the rest of the way. Anyway it's a huge time saver.

I wish the pictures still worked in that thread but I think I can track them down.

I've got one other problem though. I was sawzalling away the core support and partially cut through the harness right in front of the battery, is this harness the same on both trucks or is it V8 or '99 specific. It doesn't look like it attaches to the engine anywhere but I won't know for certain until I get the core support completely off.

Another question involves the message center, I found out when I change to the sport tank that it won't read correctly for miles to empty. Did any of the sports come with message centers that I could swap in?

The overhead console in the EB has a rocker switch for the sunroof which the '96 doesn't have. I'm gonna make a cover plate for this then put regular lighted rocker switches in for future mods like running lights and the brown wire mod (if needed), etc. I figure I can put at least 4 switches up there so I'm gonna do it now and run a custom harness down under the dash.

For the paddle shift control in the future I'm gonna machine up a neat aluminum stick with built in heavy duty rocker switches and adjustable stops then I'll CNC an nice knob with maybe a button or two on top. Gonna mount this to the side of the console like WRC rally cars secure to the floor so I can really beat on it. Sure wish Ford had put a 5 speed auto behind the 5.0....

 

[A Quiet Boom]

BTW one of those switches will be for the front axle disconnect which I plan to retain even if it means breaking out the tig to modify the oil pan. With gas at $4.00 I need all the MPG I can get.

 

[CDW6212R]

That wiring at the radiator is a problem, the wiring changed a lot between 98 and 99, notice the different power distribution boxes. Most of the wires are the same, but the harnesses don't swap between those years.

There are two roof consoles, one with the sunroof switch, the other has a garage remote pocket there. You could swap to the other kind, but what you have is fixed in place and will work well to add more switches.

For gas savings, the front axle switch will only stop the front driveshaft from turning. That shouldn't amount to any noticeable amount.

 

[V8BoatBuilder]

Just found this thread... let me know if I can help with your 4406 wiring.

 

[CDW6212R]

Aaron, without reading the other thread again, are the two wires missing from both the engine bay harness, and the engine/trans harness? I gather that it is a power wire that is going from the PDB to the dash yes? Is the neutral signal in the V8 engine/trans harness, and needs to be tapped into? So we need one wire in the engine/trans harness, and two in the engine bay harness?

 

[V8BoatBuilder]

Aaron, without reading the other thread again, are the two wires missing from both the engine bay harness, and the engine/trans harness? I gather that it is a power wire that is going from the PDB to the dash yes? Is the neutral signal in the V8 engine/trans harness, and needs to be tapped into? So we need one wire in the engine/trans harness, and two in the engine bay harness?

Here's my post on the wiring:
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1250342&postcount=205

An from Darren's original writeup on Control-Trac:

"Lastly, you need to get power to the transfer case shift relay circuitry and the neutral input from the transmission to the GEM. Ford used a different wiring harness in the engine compartment between its V6 and V8 models. Because of that, the power wire that feeds the shift circuitry and the neutral input lead that feeds the GEM dead end at the plug harness in the firewall. To keep this as “factoryish” as I could, I decided to add the appropriate pins to the engine side of the plug harnesses and install the maxi-fuse in the designated spot in the fuse box instead of running new wires and tapping into the harness.
The plug harnesses are called C147 (shift power lead) and C148 (neutral lead) and are located to the right on the power brake booster in the engine compartment on the firewall. "

So basically yes, you need to find the +12v @ Neutral and then +12v w/Ign Power for the shift. You don't need to go through the trouble of getting factory connectors like he and I did, tapping the harness with Scotchlocks or soldering would work OK.

 

[CDW6212R]

I have an entire extra 98 harness to use, and he has a 96 harness to pull from. I would prefer for it to all appear stock, which is how I did my 99 Limited. Thanks for the wiring descriptions, only finding the right connector and R/WH wire will be an issue. There are three fender wall connectors, black, gray, and tan.

 

[A Quiet Boom]

Just found this thread... let me know if I can help with your 4406 wiring.

V8,


I am confused about one thing, in one of your threads you mentioned the neutral tow kit to engage the 4high clutch, did you ever get this to work?

Something else I've been thinking about, I assume the shift motor is some sort of stepper or servo, likely with a wire to trigger each position, couldn't the GEM be used only for A4WD then a nice rotary switch in my overhead console for 2WD, A4WD, 4HI, 4LO and using the front axle disconnect 2LO? Call me crazy but I like options. I'd love to use a fuel cell where the spare tire is and install an electric shift doubler of some sort, oh well maybe down the road.

Another switching option would be to use the V8 stereo surround (no switch) and check the pinout on the Expedition switch and install it up there with a rocker for front axle disconnect. Then I could extend the harness from the V6 switch up there for a neat and clean install. Maybe burn a screen and screen print the different positions of each switch. Definately need running lights, fog lights, aux backup lights, and trailer backup lights (driving lights on my trailer). I'll leave room for air locker switches just in case I go that route down the road.

Trouble is I'm not sure what I want to do with the truck other than winter driving and occasional trail riding. I can't lift it much unless I want to park it outside my low garage (Expedition is 1 inch too tall). I just figure now is the time to plan for future upgrades, kind of a "while I'm in there" thing. For now I know I want the Expedition TC cause I love the one i've got and I've always wanted a paddle shifted car/truck. I actually semi designed a sequential shifter for a Ford top-loader back in my drag racing days but stopped racing before I built it. A new baby got in the way of that one. This trucks sort of gonna be dad's winter hot-rod or for days when I need to haul more than one of the girls as the P-car has no rear seat belts.

I expect to have both harnesses on the floor later in the week, I'll take a look more closely then. I think I or my buddy can fix the harness I cut pretty easily, I only damaged about 4 wires out of the 20 or so in it.

 

[V8BoatBuilder]

...in one of your threads you mentioned the neutral tow kit to engage the 4high clutch, did you ever get this to work?

Never did track one down, found no need for it. By doing the brown wire mod, I can electrically disengage the clutch for true 2wd. The NTK would have given me "locked" 4hi, bypassing the clutch with a mechanical coupler.

...I assume the shift motor is some sort of stepper or servo, likely with a wire to trigger each position, couldn't the GEM be used only for A4WD then a nice rotary switch in my overhead console for 2WD, A4WD, 4HI, 4LO and using the front axle disconnect 2LO?

The stock system (using a V6) gem basically gives you all of that, but it's through a combination of switches and not just one. The factory switch has the positions: A4wd, 4hi, 4low. By doing the brown wire mod, you get an extra on/off switch to disengage the front axle when the factory switch is in either the A4wd or 4hi modes.

I just recently installed a selectable front axle in my 97, and wired it up using another on/off switch. I have not tried turning this off for 2Lo, but in theory it works with an open diff up front (the power from the driveshaft is transferred to the axle with the least resistance, the disconnected one).

You might be able to take a shift motor and diagnose each wire's function to manually control it, but I'm not convinced it's worth the work just to have a single switch, instead of three. You'll need a fair amount of circuitry to make the whole thing work (a metric ton of relays, for starters), it won't be plug and play.

Call me crazy but I like options. I'd love to use a fuel cell where the spare tire is and install an electric shift doubler of some sort, oh well maybe down the road.

Would love to see this happen!!

 

[A Quiet Boom]

So I could put switched for the BWM and front axle disconnect in, then later if I can get a NTK I can possible use it to lock the coupler and use the BWM switch for that instead. I can label this switch TC lock. If I'm following correctly then it makes no sense to use try and use the Expedition selector since your setup is basically plug and play, assuming I'm pre-wired. So in the overhead console I'll need:

• Front axle disconnect
• TC Lock
• Running Lights
• Fog Lights
• Aux Backup Lights
• Aux Trailer Backup Lights
• Front Diff Lock (future)
• Rear Diff Lock (future)

I can wire all this in to a relay board tucked under the dash so I can use small rocker switches in the console.

I've also decided while I'm at it to put in an a-pillar gauge array with trans temp, oil pressure, and oil temp, maybe even water temp if someone makes a 4 gauge pod. I hate wiring vehicles when assembled so it just makes sense to do all of this during the conversion. Plus I already have all but the trans temp gauge.

 

[V8BoatBuilder]

So I could put switched for the BWM and front axle disconnect in, then later if I can get a NTK I can possible use it to lock the coupler and use the BWM switch for that instead. I can label this switch TC lock. If I'm following correctly then it makes no sense to use try and use the Expedition selector since your setup is basically plug and play, assuming I'm pre-wired.

Almost. You'll always want control over the "brown wire" (which is actually yellow) so you can have full 2wd/stop power from being transmitted down the shaft. All the NTK gets you is locked 4hi. Unless you REALLY stress the case, you shouldn't need it.

Check out how I did my switches & gauges:

The switches are standard marine rockers, and fit in that "slot" perfectly. This photo was before the 4406 swap, so the bezel is missing the 4wd selector. I also now have a message center display where the console pocket is, but the gauges are retained.

 

[CDW6212R]

The control which is different for the Explorer versus the Expedition is in the GEM module. It is possible that an Expedition GEM could be used as a stand alone controller for the BW4406. I had thought of that to begin with, but the large size of the 4-position switch made me put that off.

I would like to see that Expedition switch to see if it could possibly be placed in the Explorer radio bezel. If it would fit, then I would love to research the GEM modules. I don't know what circuits in the GEM's would need to be cross connected, that would be the tough part. Isolating the TC functions would be easy given an accurate pin out chart for the GEM.

I don't want the TC switch anywhere else, so I have tried to let that idea go. I do have a 2003 Sport hatch glass, which would require a later GEM for the wiper. That would require another GEM module also, so I will be digging into the GEM pin out information later.

 

[A Quiet Boom]

V8,

I assume the BWM can be a 3 position switch for 2wd, 4hi, and control trac? i.e in control trac current flows like normal, 4hi is full power to the clutch and 2wd is no power, is this correct?

Just for curiosity at this point is there a doubler out there that bolts to our trans? I've seen kits for using range boxes from other TC cases to accomplish this with an adapter to the existing TC case. And what about other trans choices, is there a 5 spd or 6 spd auto that can be adapted that's strong enough?

 

[V8BoatBuilder]

I assume the BWM can be a 3 position switch for 2wd, 4hi, and control trac? i.e in control trac current flows like normal, 4hi is full power to the clutch and 2wd is no power, is this correct?

The BWM is a std on/off switch and a relay to handle the current, you're just interrupting the current sent to the clutch. The GEM will provide the the right signal for control trac (a4wd) and 4hi. It's not a straight +12v signal.

Just for curiosity at this point is there a doubler out there that bolts to our trans? I've seen kits for using range boxes from other TC cases to accomplish this with an adapter to the existing TC case. And what about other trans choices, is there a 5 spd or 6 spd auto that can be adapted that's strong enough?

Not sure about a pre-existing doubler, but any transmission from an F150 that came with the 5.0 will bolt up to the engine, and have the same output shaft to bolt to the transfer case. You'll have to change a lot of parts to make it work and do some fab, but in theory, you're good.

 

[A Quiet Boom]

Well I cut the front off the '99 tonight so I could get the radiator and other stuff out of the way. With both trucks next to one another I started to note differences. The ABS is different for one. Looks like it would be wise to swap brake systems as well. There were little boxes one each side right near each frame rail that where smashed in the accident, could these be the airback sensors?

I also got the rest of the interior out of the '99 except the dash, gonna have my buddy help me with that. We are gonna run a single 12 conductor wire from the overhead console where my switches will be down to a relay board he is building for me. He's alos gonna put in wires for the running lights, fogs, etc. while the harness is out of the truck. This way it will all appear stock looking. Gonna wire in the trailer brake controller as well. Nothing like having it torn down to the harnesses to do this.

As for the doubler, I recall an episode of Xtreme4x4 where they had a round black doubler that could be clocked in almost any configuration, anyone see that show and remember who made it? It's not something I'm going to do now but maybe down the road.

I was looking a Baumann's website and found the Baumanator trans controller, they mention controlling shifts from the cruise control switches but don't mention whether independent switches can be used. I'll have to call them on Monday and find out because so far their controller is the least expensive.

 

[A Quiet Boom]

Check it out!

http://www.northwestfab.com/blackbox.html

Looks like I need to save my pennies hehe!

 

[CDW6212R]

For the switch wiring, check out the OEM harness that you have. You can use the old 96 harness for the overhead console. They connect at the base of the "A" pillar, and have about 12 wires in them. You can swap better wires from other parts of the harness, to get larger sizes, or different colors. I took a lot of small sections from my extra harnesses, so that my 99 wiring is almost all factory.

 

[A Quiet Boom]

Okay so i was examining the harnesses and found that the 99 appears prewired with a plug for the TC harness. The '96 on the otherhand has the TC harness "hardwired" into the main harness with no plug. I'm also gonna need a '99 bezel as it will have 4auto, 4high and 4low, as opposed to the 96 bezel which has 2wd, 4auto, and 4low.

I've also found some other subtle differences in the two like different tailgates, different rear wiper and washer (the '96 has a rear tank) etc.

I'm gonna get the 96 in the air tommorrow and start removing the tank, engine, trans, TC case, rear axle etc. All of which I'll ebay or put and ad in the classifieds. I've also got the entire '96 leather interior for sale. My buddy confirmed that the front airbag sensors are ruined (got hit in the accident). Once I've got all that done I'm gonna give it a thorough cleaning and address some minor rust issues. I'm also gonna make my own "warrior shackles" for the rear and do the TT on it after I measure to make sure it will clear my garage. Then I'll move to the '99 and pull it's driveline. I'm tempted to give it a topend overhaul but we'll see how things go.