4x4 t case motor 7 or 10 wires?

[plottwalker]

so my 4wd transfer case motor isnt working, looks like one of the magnets inside broke in 2. so i bought a new shift motor and when i got it there is only 7 wires, my old motor had 10 wires, the brown center wire was a ground i assumed, and then there was a blue and green wire that went up to another plug that goes into the t case, i cant find any motors for sale with all 10 wires, any ideas what i need?

when i pluged in the new motor is does nothing, the old motor would click and pop, and try to engage, im guessing these 3 wires are important.

thanks

 

[adsm08]

Nobody here knows what you need because nobody here knows what you are working on.

 

[RonD]

Should be 7 wires on all Ranger shift motors, the 8th wire is the Brown wire, its for electric Clutch inside transfer case, NOT a ground.
It was on the connector on some years and other years it was just a separate wire, just splice 2 brown wires together if connector to only has 7 pins.
The electric clutch is not part of shift motor wiring which is why it was not included on the connector on all years

Post year of the Ranger, always, and engine size for best help

 

[plottwalker]

Should be 7 wires on all Ranger shift motors, the 8th wire is the Brown wire, its for electric Clutch inside transfer case, NOT a ground.
It was on the connector on some years and other years it was just a separate wire, just splice 2 brown wires together if connector to only has 7 pins.
The electric clutch is not part of shift motor wiring which is why it was not included on the connector on all years

Post year of the Ranger, always, and engine size for best help

its a 1990 ranger, 5 speed, 4.0 with push botton 4x4.

so what does the green and blue wire do? on the original motor they split off from the plug and go up into another small black plug that goes into the transfercase.


the center wire in the plug is that brown wire, do i need to pull these wires out of the old electric motor and put them in the 7 wire motor?


this picture i found shows the 3 wires im talking about.

 

[adsm08]

Yes you do.

 

[ericbphoto]

so what does the green and blue wire do? on the original motor they split off from the plug and go up into another small black plug that goes into the transfercase.

according to THIS, those 2 wires are probably going to a speed sensor. Under the header at the top of this site, is a tab labeled "tech articles". This is one of the most useful resourcess you will ever find as a Ranger owner.

 

[RonD]

Yes, extra two wires are for speed sensor but only used by 4x4 module, 0 speed = OK to shift to 4low
This is the older style setup

Wiring diagram here: http://gooddy.org/93-ford-ranger-wiring-diagram.html/93-ford-ranger-4x4-auto-trans-engage-i-disconnect-transfer-case-throughout-ford-ranger-wiring-diagram

Shift motor and module info here: http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/TCaseshiftmotor.shtml

 

[ericbphoto]

Thanks for the diagram, Ron. I don't think I've seen that one before.

 

[Swooten]

Should be 7 wires on all Ranger shift motors, the 8th wire is the Brown wire, its for electric Clutch inside transfer case, NOT a ground.
It was on the connector on some years and other years it was just a separate wire, just splice 2 brown wires together if connector to only has 7 pins.
The electric clutch is not part of shift motor wiring which is why it was not included on the connector on all years

Post year of the Ranger, always, and engine size for best help

I have a 1999 ford ranger XLT supercab 4x4 with the 4.0 automatic my transfer case shift motor has the brown wire coming out ofthe transfer case also you said to just loop it back to it self because I can't find a 8 pin replacement motor for it

 

[RonD]

Electric clutch is used for "Shift on the fly"
When Rangers had Auto Hubs(1997 and earlier) and PVH(1998-2000) the clutch was needed to shift from 2WD to 4WD while moving
With Auto hubs the front drive shaft is not spinning until hubs are locked, so unless there was a clutch to mesh main shaft to front shaft chain drive it would GRIND when shifting while moving

If you have manual hubs and they are Locked then clutch is not needed because front drive shaft is always spinning at the same speed as rear drive shaft(main shaft)
So gears in transfer case are easily meshed to get 4WD or back to 2WD so no issue with "shift on the fly"
2001 and up Ranger have Live Axles, so no clutch is needed or even used in those transfer cases

So if you are not hooking up the brown wire then STOP vehicle, and then shift into and out of 4WD, don't shift while moving
Unless, as said, you have manual hubs and they are Locked, then it would be fine

 

[Swooten]

Thanks this does help a lot my next question is when I took the shift motor off and then I hooked a hot and a ground from my 12 volt battery powered drill and the motor turned then stopped I couldn't get it to move any more so I am guessing it stopped at the 2 hi position so does that mean my shift motor might be good its just maybe not getting power when I turn the switch in side

 

[RonD]

Yes, there is a mechanical stop inside the gear drive part of shift motor
Reverse the polarity of the 12volts to the 2 motor wires and motor should turn full 270deg to 4low from 2high

Good look here of the inside of shift motor and its gear drive: https://www.therangerstation.com/tech/rebuilding-a-ford-transfer-case-shift-motor/

Shift motor works the same as power window motor works, 12v/ground and motor turns one way, ground/12v and it turns the other way, i.e. window up and window down by reversing polarity

The 4x4 controller uses 2 relays, one for each motor wire
These are 5 pin relays
When a relay is "off" each motor wire is GROUNDED, its important(FYI this is the same for power windows)
To move the shift motor one way the Controller just needs to activate 1 relay, which changes that 1 wire from ground to 12volts, and motor moves since other wire is already grounded
To move motor the other way it activates the other relay
Very simple setup
12v/ground
ground/12v

The other 5 wires on a shift motor are Position sensors, so the Controller knows which way to turn the motor

 

[Swooten]

Thanks I will try this when I get home

 

[Swooten]

Thanks I will try this when I get home

I tried reversing the polarity and it wouldn't work I took a test light and I have power coming through the wiring harness going to the shift motor and I have power coming to the selector switch so that would be a good indication that my shift motor is bad right

 

[RonD]

Yes, or it has turned too far and is wedged against the stop so can't reverse, you can try tapping on motor while powering it up
This happens with power windows as well, lol, hit the door a few times and Voila window moves