My Expy fishtails everywhere in the snow, front tires are not spinning. I put the switch into 4HI, 4LO, nothing. A4WD (home switch for normal driving), only the back tires spin. No 4x4 lights, and no clicking/clunking noise. I checked the fuses under the dash, and in the engine compartment, and those are fine. I checked the connections to the electric motor on the transfer case. I pulled the dash switch out, and there is power. I'm not an electrician. Is the switch dead? Is there a way I can find out by jumping the wires on the connector to try to activate the switch? Also, What triggers the dash light (4x4 and low range)? Is it the switch on the dash, or the acutal transfer case position? Does the electric motor on the transfer case also control the A4WD? Thanks in advance!

-Mike

 

First, welcome to the forum!! I'm not an expert in this area by any means so sorry in advance, heh. Is this vehicle new to you? When you change switch positions the the dash light will light up. It will echo exactly as to what switch position your on. AWD, 4HI and 4Lo.

When you say you checked electrical connections...did you unplug/plug those connections? Sometimes they get corroded and even though they may be plugged in, they may not be making good contact.

I bought my Expy with 58k on it. I'd switch it into any of the 4x modes and the light would blink for 4 or 5 seconds before it locked in. I changed the transfer case fluid and it was almost instantanious....no blinking. Obviously someone wasn't nice and didn't change the fluid when they were supposed too.

Check the fluid level make sure it's full. There are two plugs a drain plug on the bottom and fill plug up higher. These plugs are on the front side of the transfer case. Man and it's a pain filling it with fluid too. I have a hand pump for that chore alone. Just pull the top plug and stick your pinky in it to see if it's at the fill line. Honestly though, if your not even get a blinking dash light, I'm not sure fluid level is the problem.

There's prolly a way to trouble shoot that switch with a continuity tester but I've never done it.

You might drop a line over HERE and see what happens

Brent

 

Nah, I had the Expedition for over a year now. It's been good, several trips to Ford, but that's about it. So, you're telling me the light on the dash will echo the position of the switch? If I put the switch into 4H or 4L, no lights come on the dash, is the switch bad? How can I tell? Can I jump a couple of wires behind the switch to activiate the switch? That will be nice if that's the case.

-Mike

 

The 4LO won't work unless you have the trans in neutral, and your foot on the brake pedal when you move the switch to that position. Maybe its the switch that is bad. I'm no expert either and my expy has the 2HI 4AWD 4HI and 4LO and 4LO only works when you do the above proceedure....

 

Nah, none of the above works. Since we finally got some sun and looks like a dry weekend, I'm going to test the switch first, and then start digging.

 

I was having similar issues with mine. It started out intermittantly, then finally quit. Took it to ford, and they replaced the motor that engages the front.. $400+ later, everything's working fine. Had I known for sure that was the problem I probably could have replaced it myself..

 

Well, had a nice weekend so far. Put the expy on ramps and checked the connections out. I cleaned the connector from the harness to the transfer case motor, and gave it a good bang with a hammer a few times. Put it on the road and it worked!! (for a little while though). It would now click into 4HI, and I had the fronts and backs spinning. But now, I cannot get the light to turn off unless I turn the truck off, and back on. Then, it will go back into 4HI again when I switched to it. Sounds like the transfer case motor is starting to seize up, right?

 

97 expedition. Same problem happening here. No 4x4. I traced the vacuum lines and can feel the vacuum lines toggle while switching into 4x4 and out. I'm putting a gauge on it tonight to measure what Inches of mercury (hg) it's pulling and also to find if there's a leak anywhere.

Does anyone know what hg the pump should be pulling down to?

 

Just got the word from the shop. The fork was stuck. He dropped the assembly lubricated and put it back together. All fixed for $65. He recommended engaging 4x4 once a month and spraying a little lubricant up there every now and then.