touch drive lights don't come on in 4x4

Rangerbob701 · Apr 28, 2017

I have a problem with my touch drive lights not coming on when I engage 4x4 on the overhead console. The motor engages and I go into 4x4 high and low range fine, just no lights to indicate if I'm in or not. I have a 1988 ford ranger STX high rider long bed. Nice truck that I'm bringing back to life.
Any help would be appreciated. One last thing, I took the console apart, and the lights are not burned out. I swapped the lightbulbs from the lights that come on when you turn your headlights on, and nothing. The lights do glow very very faintly, like they're trying to come on. The running lights glow brightly... Thanks so much in advance. This forum has been a great wealth of info to me so far.

lil_Blue_Ford · Apr 28, 2017

Might be a bad ground or a bad wire somewhere. I play with electrical a bit, so I would probably pick out the ground wire and put a jumper to a known good ground to test it. If it lights good, then it needs a new ground wire.

Sent from my kite using a trebuchet

Rangerbob701 · Apr 28, 2017

so up at the console, make sure the black wire is got a good ground? I can ground it right there at the roof if that would be a good point to ground to. I'm electrically challenged, to be sure.

RonD · Apr 28, 2017

Most, if not all, dash light bulbs get 12volts when key is on, the Ground for each bulb is the Control(on/off).
So the 4WD module will Ground the 4hi bulb to light it up, same for 4low

Have you tried shifting to 4low?

4low often doesn't get used much, so that bulb could have been burned out for years.
And now 4hi bulb has burned out, so while BOTH bulbs being burned out at the same time is a long shot, it might not have been at the same time

Rangerbob701 · May 4, 2017

Thanks for the responses everyone... I finally got the lights to work and 4x4 works!
Here's the sequence of events that lead to my problem.
1. when I bought the truck, the 4x4 was not operational. The wires to the transfer case motor were butt spliced, and were freyed.
2. I bought a new transfer case motor off the net... came in, wired it up, hit the button... nothing. I wired the transfer case cannon plug color for color... meaning, yellow to yellow, orange to orange, white to white etc. no good.
3. hit the button... still nothing... very perplexed at this point. checked fuses (did that early on too).
5. got up early one morning and decided to re-pin the cannon plug at the transfer case, and swap the yellow and orange wires. BAM! I got 4x4 to shift, but didn't get the lights on my touch drive. They were glowing very very dim.
6. drove the truck around... went off road, engaged 4x4, every went well, but no lights when in 4x4. got confused of if I was in or out of 4x4, drove home in 4-wheel... decided that after that happened I had to get me lights working... don't want to do that again.
7. started wondering if maybe my 94 sport explored module might be the culprit... got an exact part number that match my 1988 ranger and Shazam! I got my lights to work... BUT 4x4 didn't actuate. the motor just quivered, and the contact chattered in the module. come to find out, that when I was pulling the white connector off the module edge connector, I damaged what holds the wires in place and I wasn't getting good voltage to the motor.
finally, I had to go to my junk yard, and get another white 8 pin connector.
for now, 4x4 is working, and I have lights!

Rangerbob701 · May 4, 2017

real quick... I read what I posted, and forgot to mention the step where I purchased a 4x4 module from the junkyard for a 1994 explorer. The part number cross reference said that a module would work from 1983 through 1996 as long as it had auto actuate hubs... ranger, explorer, or f-150. This was bad information. The module did actuate 4x4, but my indicator lights only came on very dimly...
sorry for the confusion... but wanted to clarify that in case anyone else tries a module from another truck... it didn't work for me.

RonD · May 4, 2017

Good work

Thanks for the detailed update and the FIX

touch drive lights don't come on in 4x4

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