A way to test the Shift motor?

dabomb5756 said:

I have read a million posts about 4x4 not workin and this isnt another one of those.

I have cleaned the motor, and my motor doesnt really look like the one where the cleaned the contacts. I think my motor is from a 91 explorer, so it should work on my 94 ranger.

I plugged it in, it didnt work, i cleaned it and it still doesnt work, i diagnosed the computer and it is ok.

When i press the button, relays click a few times and thats it.

Is there a way to bench test the motor by putting voltage into the plug to see if it spins. I cant think of anything else being wrong besides my wiring from the computer to the shift motor.

My last motor had all the same problems.

Thanks, and sorry this topic sucks.

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4x4junkie said:

There should be (IIRC) a yellow and an orange wire in the motor harness that are a bit larger gauge wire than the rest, Those are the motor power leads. You could try applying voltage directly to those to see if it spins.

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dabomb5756 said:

Alright, thank you!

Do all shift motors the same in that they have the sensor contacts to clean? I read the write up and i dont know what they are talking about where they had to break it open?

And a 91-94 explorer had a BW1354 i hope?
If not, will a 1350 motor work on a 54?

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4x4junkie said:

All 1350 and 1354 motors should be the same thru '94 (I have a '91 1354 motor on my '90 BII 1350). The '95up motors (with the blue covers) are different.

The sensor contacts are under the round cover on the back. Just be sure to mark how the cover was positioned before you take it off, it is not indexed.

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dabomb5756 said:

Ok, so i took apart and cleaned the shift motor. Not the contacts though, and overall it looked clean.

I just test the motor with a battery and some wires. The motor spins fine both ways.

I'm gona put it in the truck and try it again. Just to make sure, there is nothing special i have to do right? Just unplug battery, install and hookup shift motor, reconnect battery, and try the system right?

I am thinking it might be the controller module or whatever behind the seat.

Any other ideas junkie? I guess i could try cleaning the sensor contacts. Is there an easy way to break the tamper proof torx? If not, would you know offhand what size it is?

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4x4junkie said:

QUOTE(dabomb5756 @ Jul 20 2006, 07:11 PM) *

Is there an easy way to break the tamper proof torx? If not, would you know offhand what size it is?
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Yeah, take a Dremel with a cutoff disc and grind a slot on the head. Then use a flathead screwdriver.

No, there's nothing special involved with hookingit up, just plug it in (I've never bothered to disconnect the battery either. just make sure the key is off).

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dabomb5756 said:

Alright, heres the story:

1. Hooked up shift motor, just finger twisted the wires and plugged it in, but didnt bolt it up. It worked fine. It shifted into 4wd, and 4low, and back to 2wd.

2. I get nice connectors and eveerything and make the wiring pretty. I bolt up the motor, and it doesnt work. Relays clicked and nothing else. I messed with it for a while, and no more clicking relays. The whole system was silent.

3. I checked the computer diagnoses, it blinked after i unpluged the connectors. Both underhood and under dash fuses were fine.

4. I took the shift motor off and unplugged all my wiring. Spun the wires back together by finger. Pressing the button did nothing. No movement, no clicking relays, silent.

So junkie, whats next?
Thanks again in advanced!

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4x4junkie said:

Hmmm... Swap to a manual shift case? icon_confused.gif


A totally dead system can be caused by a failure in the sensor contacts... Other than that, I'm out of ideas (you did lubricate the worm gear with fresh grease?)

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dabomb5756 said:

ALright, yet another update.

I cleaned the sensor contacts. The motor works great when not bolted up.

When i bolt the motor to the case, it will not spin the shaft out of 2wd. I put it in 4low, and bolted up the motor and it was able to make it back 2wd.

Either my motor is old and isnt strong enough, or my shaft coming out of the case is messed up. I have been driving without a shift motor on for about a year. Would that cause any problems? The shaft has some surface rust, but i can turn it fairly easy with pliers.

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4x4junkie said:

Well, by this time, I'd probably just go to the JY and find another motor for it. I messed around with the original motor on my BII for awhile but I just couldn't seem to figure out why the sensor contacts kept failing to maintain connection, killing the system over & over. So I said F-it and slapped another motor on it. Been fine since (2 years now).


I doubt anything would be wrong with the shaft if it turns smoothly with pliers.

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UDIC® said:

QUOTE(dabomb5756 @ Jul 23 2006, 08:10 PM) *

When i bolt the motor to the case, it will not spin the shaft out of 2wd. I put it in 4low, and bolted up the motor and it was able to make it back 2wd.
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Did you check the plastic bushing that stops the rotation of the gear?.
check this link:
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1102904

Good luck

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dabomb5756 said:

Fixed it!

I took the shift motor apart again and lightly sanded the area where the diodes(things held back by springs) rub on the shaft. I also cleaned it out more.

Then i took the contacts and cleaned them more, and bent them down for more contact with the plate.

Next, i made sure the rubber bushing was ok. Mine was cracked and very smushed. I turned it around and duct-taped it together.

I put er all back together and it works great!


That link UDIC posted is awesome. Junkie, i would add that to the sticky!

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dabomb5756 said:

Well, now that i look back on the first motor i took apart, it didnt have a bushing, and the sensor plate wasnt glued to the gear. No wonder it didnt work!!!

There was also another great tip on that site, and they said:
If you just get relay clicking, try loosing the torx screws and spining the contact cover about 1/8 inch then tightening it back down. If it doesnt work, move it 1/8 inch in the other direction. That helps the contacts find a new postiion on the plate, and also get them back on track if the rubber stopper is smushed, or totally disenegrated.

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