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Bypassing GEM module with 12 volt switch?


snowgear

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I have always had problems with my 1999 Ford ranger XLT, 4x4, 6 cylinder 3.0, automatic, going into 4 wheel High.. Sometimes it goes in, sometimes it does not.. As I live in heavy snow country,, I rely heavily on 4 wheel drive high. I will drive for 70 miles in compact snow and ice.
Now,, I have NO power to the transfer case motor,, and NO click click click, from the switch. I have NOT tested the GEM yet,, And dash Lights do NOT come on for 4 wheel hi or low. , No power.
The fuse is fine.. I want to completely eliminate the auto hubs and install locking hubs, and I want to bypass the GEM completely.. I do NOT want to buy a new switch, or New GEM.
I did read a post of a user who bypassed everything, and just used a 20 amp 12 volt switch, with an indicator lamp,, directly to the transfer case 4 wheel HIGH leg of the transfer case motor, and installed locking hubs. I will never use 4 wheel LOW. He made a you tube video of it.
Has anyone done this? And is there any problem doing this?
I hate computer modules and relays,, and just want to do it old school. Or is the GEM required to power the transfer case motor?
Thanks in advance.
I am stuck in 2 wheel drive.
 


RonD

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I would like to see that video

Doesn't sound very plausible.
12volts to turn the motor to 4WD yes, but 0volts(off) to turn it back to 2WD??? not sure that would work.

The GEM is probably not the issue, they do break it just isn't at all common.
There are 3 fuses, I think, needed for the shift motor to operate.

I did read that the GEM operates 2 relays that are used to shift transfer case to the 3 positions, perhaps that 12volt on/off by pass was using one of those relays

And even 'hot wiring' the shift motor wouldn't be that reliable, the brushes in the motor are a more common failure on these.

Wish I could be more help, my '94 has the separate 4WD module so not that similar to yours
 
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snoranger

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The system sends both power and ground to the motor to go one way, then reverses the power and ground to turn it the other way. It also uses 5 different signal wires to inform the GEM of what position it's currently in. It's a much more complicated system then "a single toggle switch sending 12 volts to the motor".
 

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All the above and more will severely complicate your idea. You would ultimately need at least two switches and indicator lights, or you will grind it all the way over to low range and be stuck there.

If you want simple, old school and reliable, get a manual transfer case. There is absolutely no way in which the electric shift system is superior, except the company's potential for profit from it breaking.
 

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Get a shiftster: http://www.theshiftster.com/

And manual hubs

Leave transfer case in 4 high and just lock and unlock hubs during winter months


I don't think Ford added "on the fly" 4WD because of extra repair potential, lol

Consumers demand "the new thing", whatever it is, good or bad they want "the new thing".
And Ford did start with electric 4WD as an option, over manual, electric outsold manual by leaps and bounds, same as automatic transmissions did when they came about.
As DIYers we prefer manual EVERYTHING, lol, but when new electric 4WD and automatic trans is miles better than manual, not even a contest as to which is better, short term.
 
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adsm08

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As DIYers we prefer manual EVERYTHING, lol, but when new electric 4WD and automatic trans is miles better than manual, not even a contest as to which is better, short term.
Except I am not a DIYer, not in this area anyway. I am a certified, trained professional, and I still don't see the advantage in any area. Even the super-dooper auto 4x4 on the Explorers sucks balls because if you loose a single wheel-speed sensor it locks into 4-hi and won't come out until the ABS is fixed. Makes the darn thing near impossible to drive.

I understand the attraction of customers to fancy things that make stuff easier, but I don't understand how reaching down to pull the 4x4 lever is more work than pushing a button or turning a knob. Plus you get into 4x4 faster.
 

snoranger

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How about this:
Most people are lazy and stupid... They'd rather have a machine do the thinking and work of shifting into 4x4, and not have to do it them self.
 

adsm08

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RonD

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Not a DIYer??

You pay someone else to change your spark plugs?
If not you are a DIYer.

Being lumped in with all DIYer's might sound insulting to a professional mechanic, but it isn't, DIYing is a frame of mind not a skill level.
It can be motivated by thriftyness(cheap skate) or curiosity about how things work.

It certainly isn't for everyone or we wouldn't have a name for it, lol.


I don't think people who use new technology are lazy or stupid, I like my TV remote better than having to get up and manually change channels, I had to do that for my Dad growing up, lol, I WAS the remote control.

I like power windows, but I miss wind wings :)

I do think some technology promotes lazy and stupid, every time I pay cash for something it's a toss up if the clerk can make change, lol, calculators killed the metal ability to add and subtract.

But I don't think a transmission or 4x4 shifting does that.

My wife could care less about how a car works, I don't understand that thinking but accept it.
I don't care about shoes, or the difference between taupe and tan, my wife doesn't understand that thinking but accepts it.
 

adsm08

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Not a DIYer??

You pay someone else to change your spark plugs?
If not you are a DIYer.

Being lumped in with all DIYer's might sound insulting to a professional mechanic.
Not exactly what I meant. Of course I do all my own vehicle work, I can't afford to pay someone else to do it for me when I can do it myself. And I don't find it insulting to be lumped in with DIYers. Quite the opposite, I am very proud of the fact that there is nothing I cannot fix on my vehicles.

I am saying I am not a DIYer in this particular area of vehicle repair because if I am working on an electric 4x4 system the vehicle it is on is owned by someone else. Thus I am not doing it for myself.

The comment about me being a professional is more to say that I know how both systems work, inside and out, and I just cannot comprehend any scenario in which the e-shift system is better. Unlike with manual vs automatic transmissions it requires no extra effort or skill to operate one over the other. In fact I find many people have issues getting in and out of 4-low because they don't know they have to have a foot on the brake. Then they bring it to me (sometimes having it towed in because it's "stuck in low") and I can't find anything wrong.
 

snoranger

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There is never a scenario where the E-shift is better then the manual shift. They are however, pretty much equal when it works.
 

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