The transfer case on my 02 F250 is stuck in 4wd & low range but neither of the indicator lights on the instrument panel are lit. I tried backing up and stopping quickly, no luck. And before anyone asks, yes I've had the truck in neutral when trying to shift. Will try unplugging and cleaning the ESOF relays this weekend, and removing the shift motor to manually shift it out of low range. Any other suggestions? Thanks, Bryan
Yea, I had been pressing the brake when in neutral.
Does the fact that neither the 4wd High or 4wd Low lights are lit on the instrument panel provide any insight to what it might be? Maybe a shift position sensor? Even without the indicator lights, there's no doubt it's in 4wd low. Thanks, Bryan
Once when I had been driving in the snow, somehow the connector on the T-case got tweeked causing the same thing. No indicators, but definitely in 4-low. I had to get under the truck and squeezed the connectors. In my case, it worked. Neutral, foot on the brake, shifted the ESOF to 4-low and back to 2wd. Everything back to normal.
Just a suggestion - Might be a place to take a look.
I tried tapping the TC shift motor and reversed the relays beside the master cylinder with no success, but have not removed the shift motor yet. Also, I've unplugged and reconnected both plugs going to the shift motor. I tried putting a voltmeter across the terminals of the lower plug while my wife cycled the 4wd knob when in neutral and brake pressed, and there was no voltage across them. Shouldn't I see a short interval of power across them each time the switch goes from 4high to 4low?
To summarize:
* Transfer case is in 4wd low range
* The 4wd/4wd low indicator lights on the instrument panel are not on, but they do come on for a second when the engine is started
* The truck will start with the transmission in neutral
* All of the fuses are good
What voltage does the shift motor operate at? Can I connect a 12v battery across it's terminals just long enough to get it out of low range? Any other suggestions?
OK, I may have figured it out. I found mentioned on the website below to pull the cover off the shift motor relay and see if manually closing the relays activated the shift motor. I took it out of low range, back in, and out again by doing this, so it appears the problem is in the dash switch.
I finally got the ESOF switch on the dash replaced, but it didn't fix the problem. Same thing: I can switch it between 2H, 4H & 4L by manually closing the relays, but nothing with the dash knob. Any suggestions on where to start? Thanks
I'm not very good with electrical troubleshooting. Do you know of a protocol I can follow? Would I start at the relays, the dash switch, or somewhere else? It looks like, being a 2002, I don't have a GEM to deal with.
I checked all of the fuses in the row 13 & 16 are in, none blown. I checked the rows across the bottom and up the right side, none blown.
But, while it may not have been the recommended way to do it, I pulled the fuses while it was running so it could warm up and I could confirm the heat was actually working. While it was still running, I tried the dash switch and it worked fine; 2H to 4H, then shifted to N and put it into 4L. The dash indicator lights were on and I drove it in circles in the yard to confirm the drivetrain was in 4wd, all was normal. Shifted back to 2H and shut it down, then started it again, tried the dash switch, and again nothing is working.
Any thoughts? This is so frustrating, I'm about to put this thing up for sale!!.....
The fact that everything worked even for a short time, is good news. Ground wires and loose connections are real culprits. I don't understand your remarks about pulling fuses and warming up? Keep hunting, examine all wires connected to the fuses that control the 4wd for frayed sections.
I didn't do a thing to it today for working on wifee's van, but somehow it's going into 4H, 4L, and all the way back out exactly as it should now.
About the fuses, what I meant was, instead of shutting it down to check for blown fuses, I did so while it was running so the engine could warm up and I could confirm the heat was still working. Sorry about the confusion.
OK, it had stopped going into 4wd again, and I've checked what wiring I could and found nothing damaged. I did check the power plug to the TC shift motor tonight with test light:key on with someone turning the 4wd knob to 2H and the light did blink for 2 or 3 times. It will only do this once, then evidently something has to reset. Is this a good indicator that the shift motor itself is bad, or could the position sensor be contributing to the problem?
Thanks
Does having power to the shift motor indicate it's bad, or could it still be something else? I noticed the 2nd plug on the SM to maybe a sensor or something, could what it's plugged into be causing a problem? I have to get this fixed, but hesitant to pull the shift motor motor if not sure that's the problem.
I've checked the TC shift relays and they're good. Since there's brief power at the shift motor plug when shifting to 4L, does that indicate the shift motor is all that's bad? But I'm still confused about why it still won't even go into 4H......
Does anyone have any thoughts on this? I'll admit, I'm "electronically stupid" and not good at troubleshooting these kind of problems. Does the fact I'm getting brief power at the shift motor plug mean everything upstream is good? Could the problem be with the neutral Safety Switch? Again, the truck will not even go into 4High.
Also, before anyone suggests I don't know how to use my truck, I've had 4WD's for many years and know the foot needs to be on the brake and trans in neutral to switch into 4L
As I said, there is power at the shift motor plug so I'l guessing it's the motor but I have not pulled it yet.
When I do, is there any way of testing the motor? Is it as easy as pullting 12v to the terminals where the plug attached to the end of the motor?
Just pull it, I think its only like 3 bolts.. if its like my 150 was it has a peg that looks like a half inch drive ratchet stud. Leave it connected and have your wife swap in & out of 4wd and see if it turns. * Apply PARKING BREAK* you know ..just in case. It probably wont work so then see if you can borrow one from a buddies truck . In the mean time use a ratchet OR socket depending and manually move transfer case into 4H/4low/2wd . Pretty straight forward.
Also before you pull it take a rubber mallet and beat the **** out of the motor housing. Really like 5-10 good whacks ..re try normal operation of shifting. Those motors are like women, sometimes they just need a good spanking to act right.
OK, smacking with a mallet didn't help any so I have the shift motor out of it now. If I were to put voltage across the two terminals to check the motor independant of the truck, am I correct in assuming it's 12v? What's the plug with 6 wires that attached to the top of the shift motor, some kind of a limit sensor?
Well, I'm not sure exactly what fixed it, but my 4wd is working again....
With the motor out, I put 12v to it and it worked fine both ways. I then plugged it back into the truck (still unbolted from the TC) and tried cycling it with the dash switch, no luck. At that point I was ready to slap it back together and take it somewhere to be fixed, but the TC shaft wouldn't line up with the shift motor. Unplugged it from the truck and "bumped" with a battery to get them to line up. Bolted it back in and attached the plugs, and it works fine.
Guess I spoke too soon. I tried it again this evening, no 4wd high or low, no lights on the dash, nothing...... I'm about to the point of giving up and putting this %@$# thing on the market......
Why, is this indicative of a bad shift motor? When I put voltage to it it worked fine through several cycles so I thought it was good....
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