88 Ranger Electronic Push Button 4WD Not Working.

[Wyant]

I just bought an 88 Ranger 4x4, ext cab, It has the the electronic push button 4wd auto hubs. The module is above the rearview mirror with a button for 4 high and 4 low (looks like something out of the movie tron). The guy i bought it from took excellent care of this truck and said the 4wd works great, and since everything else worked so well when i drove it i didn't even bother testing it. However, when I tested it at home i pushed the 4 high button, it blinked for a few seconds then the light stayed on. I drove forward and am not sure it actually engaged. Then i tried out the 4 low button and the lights just kind of went off. Now every time i try to engage the 4wd it just clicks but does not engage. The truck had been sitting for a few months so maybe i just need to take everything apart (module, shifter motor...) and give it a good cleaning. Just bought a haynes manual but am waiting for it in the mail. If anyone has had a similar problem and had success fixing it please let me know what you had to do!

 

[adsm08]

My 88 BII did the same thing when I bought it. I put a manual T-case in it and haven't had the problem since.

Seriously, clean the motor, put it back together, and push the 4-hi button, if the light stays on drive it forward a few feet and the roll it around by the front wheels so you can watch the front drive shaft and see if it spins.

Unless you are wheeling it I wouldn't worry too much about the lack of 4-low. I have found it to be fairly useless in a dedicated DD application.

 

[RonD]

Good resource here
http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/

 

[AledoGYoung]

Try cleaning the shift motor first. There are steps with pictures somewhere on this forum that show you how to do it. Make sure you pay attention to when you have to mark the position of shift sensor in the motor when taking it apart.

 

[Wyant]

88 ranger electronic push button 4wd

Thanks for the info guys. I took it apart and cleaned it, lubed it up and installed it back on there. Still no 4wd. Buttons don't light up like i would expect them to. I do however still hear a clicking so i hope thats a good sign from the perspective of the in cab components. You know what... i think I forgot to release the brushes into position... as i am sitting here thinking about it. I think i forgot to, as was frustrated with not being able to get the end of the worm gear shaft seated properly due to the magnets. Once it seated i was just overly excited and forgot. Yep, shoot... oh well its dark now. Ill fix that tomorrow and be back to complain more about it cuz I just really have my doubts about this whole tron-like system working.

 

[Wyant]

ok.... Bought a new shifter motor on the way home just in case it didnt work. Pushed the brushes in and still same problem. So I installed the new motor and still no 4wd, same result, a clicking from within the dash. Im pretty distraught by now kinda don't know where to go from here. The idea of a manual t-case is becoming more and more appealing.

 

[AledoGYoung]

Have you done the test for the 4x4 control module?

 

[Wyant]

i am looking for it right now? where the heck is it? I see the plug wire coming from the t-case going up through the floor right about under the driver side seat. I pulled the cover off the jump seat and see no module. Also, is there no fuse box under the hood? just connections that are individually fused or something?

 

[AledoGYoung]

I have a bronco ii and the module is in the dash. I don't know where it would be in your ranger. I'm sure you can find where it is by looking it up on google or find it on here.

 

[AledoGYoung]

There is a 4x4 diagnostic steps that you can go through to narrow down your problem on this forum but I can't seem to find it. Just search on here long enough and you will find it.

 

[AledoGYoung]

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/transfercasetroubleshooting.shtml

 

[Wyant]

Thanks for the info. My truck was idling for a while with the heat on and i pressed the 4 wheel button while i was showing someone how it doesn't work. When I went to leave i noticed that the 4 wheel was engaged but the light wasn't on. so i hit the 4x4 high button and the 4x4 low flashed and engaged once the clutch and brake were depressed, although it did not really engage just made the light come on. From then on i was stuck in 4wd for a couple of days. Anyways, i found the 4x4 module. It is not behind the jumper seats in an 88 i have found. It is conveniently located in the dash, just 4 screws away. I feel like that should be noted somewhere... So after pulling the plugs and cleaning them, My 4x4 works as intended consistently... for now.... Maybe it just needed to be re-set or something.

 

[AledoGYoung]

Did you ever do the self test for the control module? Mine would go into 4 high and the light would not come on and it would go in 4 low and the light would come on. It worked for a few months but then it didn't want to go in all the time. My control module tested bad so I got one from a 1992 bronco and it works great!

 

[Wyant]

Oh right on. No, If unplugging everything then plugging it back in didn't work, i was gonna go pick up an ohmmeter, but at the time i didn't have one so i didn't do the full diagnostic. Anyways both my lights work and they shift in really quick now so i'm content. I probably should just be packing around an extra module and clean shift motor (which i have now) just in case lol.

 

[AledoGYoung]

Good luck!