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4wd lights on After Washing under carriage


RedneckwithaRanger

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Hey y'all.

I need some help on this one. I got a 97 ford ranger xlt 4wd 4.0 and it was working fine for the longest. I washed the truck with a pressure washer and after that it was working fine for about an hour or so of driving her home. I ran across some railroad tracks and all of a sudden my air bag light starts to blink. Code 5-2. Now thats not my major concern since i know that its not that big of a deal. But also my 4wd & 4wd low lights started blinking. I get it home and turn it off. Turn it back on and the 4wd lights blink then go off for two mins then blink again. I know this is a 4wd service code. I cant get it to go into either 4wd mode. When i turn the dial i dont hear it engage and the 4wd lights wont come on.

My question is does anyone know what could be going on? Im guessing maybe a electrical connection might have gotten wet under the body during washing or something came disconnected. Can anyone give me suggestions on where to look or where to start poking and prodding. Thank you so much. I love my baby and i hate when shes got a cold.
 


RonD

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Welcome to TRS :)


On the back of the transfer case is the electric shift motor, it will have a 7 or 8 wire plug connector, unplug it and dry it out if its wet
2 of the wires are 12v/ground, these power the motor, they switch polarity to turn transfer case shift rod to its 3 positions, 2WD, 4H , 4L and then back to 2WD, so like a power window motor

5 of the wires are position sensors, they tell the 4WD Controller what position the transfer cases shift rod is in, when key is on, and this is most likely why the 4WD lights are flashing after key on, controller doesn't know what position transfer case is in, sensors wires shorted maybe, so can't/won't move shift motor because it has no starting point to know which direction to move it

If 8 wires then its a brown wire that goes to electric clutch inside transfer case, but this is often wired separately

Flashing 4WD lights, but only when shifting transfer, case means fuse in engine fuse box might be blown, 12v fuse for shift motor, or motor itself is bad
The controller is not seeing sensors changing when it sent power to the motor, so it flashes 4WD lights to indicate that to driver, but it would only happen when you moved the selector knob, not before or after that


1997 Ranger 4WD system has 4 parts
Knob/switch on dash, never fails
GEM Module, behind radio, its the 4x4 controller 1995-2000, rarely fails
4x4 relay box, behind GEM, rarely fails but can, GEM uses it to send 12v/ground, or ground/12v to shift motor
Shift motor, it does wear out, the motor part, usually the brushes for the motor get stuck or just wear down


All dash lights should come on with key on, thats a Bulb Test, not to be confused with a light or lights that come on after that, just an FYI
 
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RedneckwithaRanger

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Dude thank you so much. That was alot of knowledge you just dropped there. Im about to go up under it and check it out. I hope its just wet. My last ranger was a 2wd and it was fun but after having experienced the 4wd life i dont want to go back. Lol.
 

RonD

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No, neither

It's farther back, have a look at the first two pictures here: https://www.therangerstation.com/tech/rebuilding-a-ford-transfer-case-shift-motor/

The round flange with the 4 holes is where the rear drive shaft connects to transfer case
So follow rear drive shaft forward and you will see Shift motor to left of it, drivers side left

You should have the same type of round connector in 1997


And just FYI
1st picture you posted is the 16 pin automatic trans solenoid connector, computer controlled shifting
2nd pic is the DTR(digital transmission range) Sensor, tells computer what "gear" driver selected, also operates Reverse/Backup Lights, and passes Starter Motor activation voltage if in Park or Neutral
 
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