4WD problem I've never seen before...from anyone.

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Michael Zabkar

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Dec 24, 2006
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Location
Auburn, CA
2002 Sport Trac.



My Trac started doing something that I can't find an answer to. The 4WD will only engage when the engine is warm, or when the cab is warm...not sure which.



The best way I can describe the situation is this. When I first start the vehicle, I am unable to switch into 4WD. No light indicator. No click from the module on the passenger side. Sometime out...when the vehicle is nice and warmed up, I'll try it...and the indicator light will come on, and the system will engage.



I've never seen anything like this. Did the control module burn out?
 
Me neither. It doesn't seem like anything is "burned-out" because it does work (sometimes).



How is it getting warmed - by driving or sitting idle? If by driving, I wonder if you may be confusing cause and effect. Maybe the motor or shaft is stuck and needs a bit of road vibration to encourage it to shift and by then, it is warm. If this is the case, then it may be the typical not engaging often enough (I am guilty of this). (Or maybe there is an intermittent electrical short.)



Have you tried letting it sit idle to warm and then checking?
 
It's being warmed by driving. I have tried idling to see if it would work, and it didn't.



The weird thing is...(I am totally confused by this)...this year during the late summer, when it would get really hot, and the vehicle was parked in the sun...it would engage right from the start (like normal).



It's almost like something is 'expanding' enough to let it engage when the unit heats up. I can not figure it out.

 
Michael, maybe it wants some fresh lubricant. Everything works better with fresh lubricant.
 
Bad contact when cold. It warms up, expands, and makes contact. That's my guess. Could be in the switch, harness, or the 4x4 module.
 
Well...tonight it stuck in the 'on' position when I fired up my Trac. No amount of fiddling would get it to turn off. After driving this way, and having the engine completely warm up...I flicked the switch on, then off and was able to get it to turn off.



That has to be the control module.
 
It doesn't HAVE to be the control module; it MIGHT be the control module. I'd check the wiring and circuits. Get a multimeter and check from one end to the other and work back and see what's going on (it's time consuming, but free). Maybe you can isolate an area of the circuit that has intermittent power.



Maybe remove the motor and clean and lube the parts there (also free).
 
How many miles (also time) since you last serviced the transfer case? Your problem may well be electrical but since you say the problem goes away after warm-up, I'd first eliminate low/bad fluid as a contributor. It's a relatively easy, quick job.
 
Or, simply check that there is enough fluid and that it isn't thick like honey. While there, remove the motor, verify power, etc.
 
The intermittent problem makes me think it could be the 4wd motor mounted near the transfer case if it is not the module.



The module under the passenger kick panel is usually the cause of these problems but for most of us when it stops working it never engages again.



If it is stuck in 4wd try tapping the 4wd motor with a hammer and it might disengage.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hello,



I just wanted to add that I too have had a similar problem with my Sporty. Not to long ago on a cold morning, I started up my truck to let it get warm inside. Then I headed off to work. As I was going down the highway at about 60mph, my truck shifted itself into 4 LOW. At the time I had no idea it did this, because my dash gave no indication that I was in 4 LOW. I had though that my transmission went on me. It happened all of a sudden as my rpm's shot up and my truck started to scream. Naturally I slowed down. I was able to drive home at no faster than 30mph. After some troubleshooting once I got it home I noticed that when I tried to use the switch to shift into 4 wheel drive, the shift was not working at all....As in it was not shifting into 4wd and it had no light indicators. I pulled the fuse on it put it back in and still no luck. Disconnected the battery and again, no luck. Finally I removed to 4x4 module, inspected it...nothing seemed wrong with it...stared at it a bit...and put it back in. Once I started the truck up....viola!...My dash was now indicating that I was in 4 LOW, and I could switch it back to 2wd...which I did. To prevent this problem from happening again I disconnected the 4x4 module until I had time to figure out exactly what was wrong.



So, from reading through the posts on this website I found that it could be...



1. The 4x4 module (4x4cm)

2. The Transfer motor.

3. Bad connections to the transfer motor.

4. The Switch itself (I don't think it is a switch issue)



From what I have read on here is that when people replace their 4x4 module sometimes the problem remains. I also read either here or somewhere else that when someone had a problem with the 4x4 module that the guy at the yard said usually people replace the transfer motor rather than the module. So, today I am going to look at the connections to the transfer motor and clean them pretty good. My transfer motor does look pretty junky, however most of my underbody is rusted anyway so it is not surprising that it looked that way.



Hope this offers some insight...I'm still working on the problem and am torn between replacing the transfer motor or the module. The motor can be had for $80. I am afraid to buy a module because to get it on the cheap is to buy it used, and I may just be buying somebody's junk. Like if my module was bad and I bought a replacement and then sold mine on EBAY...lol.



Neal
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I just ordered one...I hope I didn't make a mistake. I will let you know if it fixes my issue. It won't be here until next week though. I gi the cheapest one from Rock Auto. 52.99 + core
 

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