stuck in 4 wheel drive

[coensico]

have a '98 ford explorer sport i keep at my place in the mountains of virginia. i put it in 4 wheel drive going up my steep driveway from time to time to keep it active. over easter weekend things went normal til top of hill and a big clunk before i stopped. it would not disengage from 4 wheel drive. shut it down and
next morning when i started it, 2 wheel drive and 4 wheel drive lights were flashing on dash as well as overdrive off light and was for sure still in 4 wheel drive. indicator lights on 4 wheel drive knob not on or showing what its in.
put in neutral and tried to turn knob to each setting but nothing happened.
had a friend tell me to disconnect battery for 15 minutes, start car and let it run 15 minutes and see if "computer" will reset. any suggestions or thoughts if this is a big repair to drivetrain or an electronic issue? appreciate any insight...

 

[imp]

have a '98 ford explorer sport i keep at my place in the mountains of virginia. i put it in 4 wheel drive going up my steep driveway from time to time to keep it active. over easter weekend things went normal til top of hill and a big clunk before i stopped. it would not disengage from 4 wheel drive. shut it down and
next morning when i started it, 2 wheel drive and 4 wheel drive lights were flashing on dash as well as overdrive off light and was for sure still in 4 wheel drive. indicator lights on 4 wheel drive knob not on or showing what its in.
put in neutral and tried to turn knob to each setting but nothing happened.
had a friend tell me to disconnect battery for 15 minutes, start car and let it run 15 minutes and see if "computer" will reset. any suggestions or thoughts if this is a big repair to drivetrain or an electronic issue? appreciate any insight...[/QUOTE]

Likely not, IMO. Stuck in one or another 4-wheel gear suggests the shift motor is not shifting it out. Check the fuse feeding the motor first. Sorry, I do not have info in front of me on this, but your Owners Manual lists the fuses and their functions (if you have one). Re-setting the computer is nonsense.

If you are a novice at this sort of thing, the switches on your dashboard tell the 4WD motor to shift to either 4WD HIGH, 4WD LOW, or 2WD. Read the Owners Manual about sequence to follow, then act accordingly.

Nothing at all may be wrong, or the drive motor may be defective, or there may be a loss of electrical connection within the harness feeding these functions. Are you mechanically able? Failing in resolving this, removal of the shift motor will reveal a lever, usually marked 2WD, 4WD, which you can move manually, to achieve the condition desired. imp

 

[Flash]

Just so we all know we're on the same page; the 4wd Hi and 4wd Lo select hi and lo, the 4wd is selected by an electro magnetic clutch, not the shift motor.

 

[coensico]

have a '98 ford explorer sport i keep at my place in the mountains of virginia. i put it in 4 wheel drive going up my steep driveway from time to time to keep it active. over easter weekend things went normal til top of hill and a big clunk before i stopped. it would not disengage from 4 wheel drive. shut it down and
next morning when i started it, 2 wheel drive and 4 wheel drive lights were flashing on dash as well as overdrive off light and was for sure still in 4 wheel drive. indicator lights on 4 wheel drive knob not on or showing what its in.
put in neutral and tried to turn knob to each setting but nothing happened.
had a friend tell me to disconnect battery for 15 minutes, start car and let it run 15 minutes and see if "computer" will reset. any suggestions or thoughts if this is a big repair to drivetrain or an electronic issue? appreciate any insight...[/QUOTE]

Likely not, IMO. Stuck in one or another 4-wheel gear suggests the shift motor is not shifting it out. Check the fuse feeding the motor first. Sorry, I do not have info in front of me on this, but your Owners Manual lists the fuses and their functions (if you have one). Re-setting the computer is nonsense.

If you are a novice at this sort of thing, the switches on your dashboard tell the 4WD motor to shift to either 4WD HIGH, 4WD LOW, or 2WD. Read the Owners Manual about sequence to follow, then act accordingly.

Nothing at all may be wrong, or the drive motor may be defective, or there may be a loss of electrical connection within the harness feeding these functions. Are you mechanically able? Failing in resolving this, removal of the shift motor will reveal a lever, usually marked 2WD, 4WD, which you can move manually, to achieve the condition desired. imp

 

[coensico]

tried several times with knob on dash in neutral to turn from 4wd high or 4wd low
or normal drive setting but indicator light not on and no response. just lights on dash all flashing in unison 4wd and 2wd apart from selector knob and overdrive off. thing that concerned me was the big clunk i heard before i came to a stop. owners manual is in
the car which i won't have access to for several weeks. will check fuse when i am up there again. thanks all for your replies