Solved 2004 Sport Trac No 4WD High, but low works

[429CJ-3X2]

I searched about 4 pages on this topic, but didn't find a good answer. After I bought this '04 ST in August, I tested 4WD once in the back yard. It didn't go into 4WD the first time, but eventually did as evidenced by the way it steered going back around to the driveway.

We got about 10" of snow Monday and Tuesday. Our driveway and parking area is big enough to be a pain to shovel, but not big enough to fire up the snowblower most of the time. I quickly found I have no stamina after mostly sitting quietly since Christmas weekend while battling and getting over Influenza A which my grandson brought home from daycare. My main symptoms were nasty headaches that were tolerable as long as I was as still as possible, and some loss of appetite. So, I went to plan B, and fired up the snowblower. Reverse wasn't working, so manhandling it was more work than shoveling. I had moved the '04 to make room for the snow I intended to blow, and since it was running, I moved to Plan C, which was to just drive over the snow and pack it down.

I put the truck in 4WD High, but it was as helpless as anything I've driven. I can hear the relay click and the dash lights indicate it's in 4WD High, but it isn't. I put it in 4WD Low, and it works just fine. I found an old thread where someone was having the same problem, and someone replied that they had checked vacuum lines and sprayed cleaner in the connector when they had the same problem. They seemed to be saying they sprayed cleaner into the electrical connection at the shift motor, but he kind of lost me the as he went from vacuum lines to (I think) electrical connections, and the OP never came back to say what worked.

What do I need to be looking at to solve this? More snow is on the way, and it'd be nice to have a second 4WD drive truck.

 

[dvdswan]

Troubleshooting Your Automatic 4x4 Transfer Case - The Ranger Station

I found a 2001 Ford Ranger 4×4 on craigslist that the owner said was stuck in 4-wheel drive low range. 4WD Light Operation: When you turn the ignition on, the dash will briefly display the 4WD and 4WD LOW lights, … Continued

www.therangerstation.com

 

[429CJ-3X2]

Thank you. Lots of useful info there. I think I have a multimeter or 2 that I've picked up somewhere over the years, but I have no idea how to use one. I bought some electrical contact cleaner today that I'm going to try on the connectors at the module and shift motor. If that doesn't work, I'll pull parts from my dead '01. It hasn't run in 15 months, but 4WD always worked and shifted without any problems. According to O'Reilly's compatibility chart, the '01 and '04 parts are the same. It might be a few days as I went to the chiropractor for the 3rd time in a week today, so I'm not anxious to be crawling under a truck tomorrow, and the forecast is another 6-10" of snow tomorrow night and Friday. Then it's to get really cold. I will report back when I find the solution.

 

[410Fortune]

Okay so low range works? But high does not? Very very odd

If the dash light for 4high is on I can tell you your shift motor is indeed in the 4hi position and the t case should be in 4hi as well

I have never ever ever seen a t case work in low but not high usually the other way around, and almost always that is just because of a stuck motor

Does the dash light for 4high illuminate?
Do the 4hi and 4 lo
Lights come on when you first turn the key?

Have had about 20” of snow this last week more falling now. Forecast says -20 this weekend brrrrrrrrrrrrrr

 

[429CJ-3X2]

Does the dash light for 4high illuminate? Yes
Do the 4hi and 4 lo
Lights come on when you first turn the key? I'll have to check on that as I've not paid attention to that, partly because the lights are on the opposite side of the cluster compared to the earlier trucks.

If the dash light for 4high is on I can tell you your shift motor is indeed in the 4hi position and the t case should be in 4hi as well. Does the light get its signal from the shift motor or the module behind the kick panel? The module clicks when I turn the switch to 4 High, but I'm not sure I'm hearing anything under the truck. I know right away when my '02 shifts into or out of 4WD High. Diagnosing this issue wasn't my top priority Tuesday! Not sliding into anything was! Darn near slid into a post and my son's Mountaineer, but that was more due to being on the edge of the drop-off of several inches from the street to the front of the Mountaineer than lack of 4WD.

Most of the threads I saw in my search were for t-cases stuck in 4Low.

When I checked our forecast, I also read about the system in the Northwest and thought of you! We're forecast to be in the -10 to -14 range Sat, Sun, and Mon nights. We've had a mild winter until now, as was last year, so it'll be a real shock!

 

[Turdle]

There are 2 fuses for 4wd module under hood.

Might be wrong but Google said fuse 20 and 22

 

[dvdswan]

It may sound stupid but.... did someone snake your front driveline?

 

[410Fortune]

If the light is on the shift motor is in position the signal for the lights (ground) come directly from the shift motor and it is a physical connection
No way to show a 4hi light without the shift motor being in the 4hi position. Unless there is a dead short to ground in the wiring and in that case it would read on all the time

Many people come here thinking my 4wd isn’t working because only one front tire spins when I get stuck in the snow… lol lack of understanding how 4wd and differentials work. I know you know better… in 4wd with open diffs front and rear we call this “two legged” and with a rear locker “three legged” and with a front locker as well “true 4wd, tractor 4wd, or four legged”

 

[429CJ-3X2]

I do know how they work. I grew up on a farm 12 miles from town and drove 2 wheel drive pickups for years even as an adult, so I know how to drive. My '02 has a 3.73 open rearend, but in 4High, it has always gone wherever I want to go in the snow. Shortly after I bought it, I drove 3-4 miles to work through 8-10" of unplowed snow, only to find the power was out and I couldn't open the overhead door to get my delivery truck out, anyway. In fact, I rarely use 4WD - partly as a challenge. When it's in 4High, you know it's in 4WD (as you say, actually 2WD, 1 front and 1 rear) by the way it feels, steers, and sounds. The '01 has/had a 4.10 limited slip, and you definitely knew when it was in 4WD. This '04 is as helpless as anything I've driven, with the possible exception of an early '70s F250 my dad had that would get stuck if you spit in front of a tire.

I would guess 4WD hasn't been used much in this truck. It was driven by a high school girl the past 2 years, and we didn't get a much snow last year, and when it did snow, the weather and roads were warm enough the snow didn't stick.

 

[410Fortune]

If you think it’s actually in 4wd and helpless then we have to ask what type of tires? If they are not rated for snow then they will act like hockey pucks in the cold

If they are overinflated then you lose tons of traction

Easiest way to tell if 4wd is working is with a jack, out front tires in the air and truck in 4wd but not running. spin a tire does the front d shaft spin? Can you spin the d shaft by hand?

 

[429CJ-3X2]

The tires are the Cooper Discoverer AT3s that were on the '01, and are not over inflated.
I'll jack up the front in a bit and report back.

 

[410Fortune]

Great tires!!! Like the best you can get short if a dedicated snow tire / studs

At3 very very popular up here in north Idaho back in the woods

Other way to do it without a jack is have someone else drive it around on snow and ice and you can watch the tires work, verify one front and one rear tire are looking for traction

Come over to my place right now, great testing grounds! Lol lol I have some water holes in our ice layer that have us “dump and bump” to get through them because we are laying frame and running boards. I can’t wait for the big freeze tonight

 

[429CJ-3X2]

I'd love to come visit - in the summer!

 

[429CJ-3X2]

Ok guys, I promise I did not imagine or make up any of this! I swear 4WD High was not working Tuesday!

I went out after lunch and checked the 3 relevant fuses in the dash panel before doing anything else. They were all good, so I put them back in. I then turned the key, 4WD lights lit up as they should. Started the truck and switched from 4Low, which it was still in from Tuesday, to 4 High, and backed up with 4WD obviously working. I drove about a mile to our church, which has a large parking lot that's been plowed, but is mostly covered in packed snow. I drove around in circles and in straight lines, switching between 2WD and 4WD High. I then left the parking lot and took side streets to circle around to go back to the church, which is at the top of a half mile slope. It's gradual at the bottom, but gets steeper near the top. I stopped several times on the slick snow packed street, and pulled away with no problem in 4 High. In 2WD, the rear would go a little sideways. Once in 4 High, the rear tire was spinning a little, but the front tire was pulling and the truck stayed straight. When I got home, I drove through the yard into the back yard through 6-10", depending on the spot, of unmolested snow. The back yard drops off a little and has some dips. Sometimes if the grass is wet, I need 4WD to get moving. I did have to switch to 4WD Low to get out of a dip. So, 4WD is working like it should, but it was as helpless as can be Tuesday! I wouldn't have made it to the back except in 4 Low.

After I parked the '04, I decided to take the '02 on the same route just for a comparison. The '02 has a lot more weight in the back, but has Cooper Endura Max tires which are highly rated for snow, but have a less aggressive, more highway-type tread. I didn't think about it until after I started off, but this was the first real test for these tires. I bought them a year ago in Sept, but I didn't drive on slick roads last year because the snow melted so fast. The '02 performed a bit better, probably due to the extra weight and the fact I'm more familiar with it. It was able to take off on the hill in 2WD without spinning the tires like the '04 did. I did not drive it through the deep snow in the yard.

Anyway, thanks for the help guys! I don't know why it wasn't working but is now, but I'll take it! After Tuesday, I was thinking I'd have to pull the Sport Trac emblems off the truck because it didn't deserve to wear them. When I first joined the forum in 2013, the concensus was you had to be trying, or doing something stupid, to get a Sport Trac stuck, so to get stuck in my own driveway was unacceptable.

 

[429CJ-3X2]

There are 2 fuses for 4wd module under hood.

Might be wrong but Google said fuse 20 and 22

Google is correct in this case.

 

[410Fortune]

Glad it’s working! The shift motors can be finicky it is a great idea ti exercise them a few times a year

 

[429CJ-3X2]

The Sport Tracs get parked diagonally beside the driveway, but I moved them to the driveway to cover as much of it as possible before the snow started last night. I got in the '04 thinking I had left it in 4 High, but the rear tire just spun and the truck didn't move. I realized it was in 2WD, shifted to 4 High, and backed right out. I just wish I had thought of adding weight to the bed, and what to add, yesterday when the driveway was empty. Before I got out of bed this morning, I remembered I have what seem to have been counterweights for something and are perfect for this. They're about 2 1/2" x 3" x 24" of solid iron that weigh at least 75 lbs. I have 2, so that's 150 lbs of weight that won't take up much space and won't spill. I'll just have to carry them 30' instead of backing up to them like I could have yesterday.

 

[410Fortune]

Sandbags!!!
Nice part is you have sand with you if needed

Those weights sound nice! Secure them to the floor

My plow truck has a plywood box we built full of sand and with a shingle roof on top. Estimate about 500#
What a difference that made! It is like a completely different plow truck with that weight in the bed way more stable and can push harder for sure

472 big block, she lives on chains. 1989 f250 Bigfoot edition w power down back window
Beast!!

 

[429CJ-3X2]

I have a rubber bed mat on the floor. They won't slide on that! I bought that mat for my '78 F100 short box over 25 years ago. Was in K Mart one day and they had it marked down to $10, which was ridiculously cheap even then. The truck caught fire 20 years ago, but I've kept the mat and cut it down to fit the ST.

 

[oklagp1200r]

The Sport Tracs get parked diagonally beside the driveway, but I moved them to the driveway to cover as much of it as possible before the snow started last night. I got in the '04 thinking I had left it in 4 High, but the rear tire just spun and the truck didn't move. I realized it was in 2WD, shifted to 4 High, and backed right out. I just wish I had thought of adding weight to the bed, and what to add, yesterday when the driveway was empty. Before I got out of bed this morning, I remembered I have what seem to have been counterweights for something and are perfect for this. They're about 2 1/2" x 3" x 24" of solid iron that weigh at least 75 lbs. I have 2, so that's 150 lbs of weight that won't take up much space and won't spill. I'll just have to carry them 30' instead of backing up to them like I could have yesterday.

Don't hurt your back with that **** like I did with the piece of rail I had from a train track!
Sandbags