1998 ford ranger 4 wheel drive auto engage only when engine is off

[trukz309]

I have a 98 ford ranger v6 3.0 - I can only get the 4 x 4 to engage when i have the key in the run position when the engine is off. Anyone else have this issue - possibly a corroded wire or somehow not getting enough power to engage with engine running ??

 

[scotts90ranger]

There's something in the tech library about some cushions in the shift motor that get worn out, it sounds like there's something going on in the shift motor, it should shift to 4hi any time but would have to be stopped in neutral to shift to low range but it shouldn't matter if the engine is running... the fact that it does shift means the shift motor works but it has a rheostat for location and gets mad if it's park position isn't right...