new transfer case shift motor doesnt line up
 

99 4.0 automatic has the 4x4 blinking light but refuses to engage into 4wd. Figured Id start by replacing the shift motor after reading that is a common cause. Picked up a rebuilt trasfer case shift motor but there is a slight difference where 2wd is marked on the old unit vs the rebuilt unit. The new unit is about 5 degrees off. I tried putting the motor in neutral and moving it but it will only allow me to move it towards 4x4
Is there a trick to this?

Welcome to the forum

Remove new shift motor
Hook shift motor up to wiring harness
Select 4hi and then 4low
Make sure it is moving and lights on dash work
Then select 2WD

See if it lines up now, if not then you can adjust the cover over the contact wheel, which moves the contacts

Pictures here of shift motor disassembled: https://www.explorerforum.com/forums...-motor.123542/

The contact wheel "tells" the controller where the shift motor is, tells it when to stop moving when its in correct position
Loosen screws and move cover plate a bit, re-tighten screws, then plug it back in and retest, shifting to 4hi and then back to 2WD

Thanks-
I hooked up the new one---I dont see anything moving.
I had the truck in neutral, and tried in park, nothing moving. Next steps?

In 1999 Ranger 4x4 system used the GEM module to control 4WD shifting, AND a Relay module to power the shift motor
Check Fuse #3 in engine fuse box, that powers the shift motor, 20amp fuse

When you select 4WD or 2WD you should here a "Click" from behind radio, thats the GEM activating the shift relay
If no "click" then either relays have failed or GEM module has
You need to remove the radio to access both of these
GEM is on the left and Relay box is between GEM and firewall so next to GEM on the left

GEM runs all the cab electrics, and there is no way I know of to test it
Relay module is just two 12v relays in a box so you could test it with ohm meter and 9v battery

Just pulled everything apart. Got the new motor lined up, and installed. Still getting the blinking lights. I do hear multiple clicks behind the radio when selecting 4 hi, however nothing happens.

any ideas?
hubs next?

Fuse #3 in engine fuse box?
This only powers the shift motor, rest of the system get power elsewhere, so "clicking" sound doesn't mean all fuses are OK

I would have tested motor first before installing, it will work if you just have the wires plugged in, doesn't need to be installed to move/change positions

The flashing means shift motor is not moving when activated, which you know already

Automatic hubs are slaves to the system so can't effect the shifting in and out of 4WD, if you are IN 4WD and front wheels are not Pulling then it can be a hub problem

So, I pulled fuse #3 out of the engine fuse box last week, looked it over and it looked fine. Wasn't blown, looks new, no issues....
Just for giggles, I just ran down to a local hardware store and grabbed a 20 amp fuse, and replaced #3 and it went right into 4wd...

I thank you RonD-

Anyone searching this thread....try fuse #3 first if your having the blinking 4wd hi / 4 lo lights.
The fuse was 39 cents
The shift motor was $169 + 30 for the core.

Good work

Eye balling is great for watching the ladies, but has about the same reliability as eye balling a fuse when trying to tell if either is a good one or has a broken wire inside :)
I've had my share of broken wires in BOTH, but one is more fun to test than the other

Very similar issue
 

Hey y’all, I’m new to the forum and not sure where to ask, but have a pretty similar issue. Happy to hear from anyone, including guidance on how best to use the forum!

i just swapped out the transfer case in my 99 4.0 OHV manual. The old one had a busted input seal, and looked like it was missing about half the bearings around the shaft.

It was a big job for me but I got it done with a rebuilt tcase that arrived with shift motor attached. I ordered it from a reputable yard with helpful staff, but wasn’t entirely impressed with the part.

It had obviously been stored outdoors, and notably the shift motor wiring harness was clogged with dirt. I brushed it out and sprayed it out with deoxit hoping to get the pin sockets nice and clean.

I knew that the new transfer case was in 4x4 because if I turned the input shaft both outputs rotated. I got the impression somewhere that it didn't matter what the transfer case itself was set to, that when it was connected and powered the module would sort it out.

When I reconnected the battery and turned the power on, the 4 hi and 4 lo dash lights blinked steadily. Switching the 4x4 dash control had no effect. When I started the engine I got the same result. The transfer case is stuck in 4 lo. Seems to drive fine though.

I thought that maybe the transfer case shift motor that came as part of the rebuild could be faulty. I removed the motor, leaving the electrical harness connected, and tried to operate the switch with the motor off the transfer case. Same blinking dash lights, and the motor itself was unresponsive.

Now the weird part. I dragged my original transfer case under the truck, unbolted the motor, and connected it to the truck’s electrical harness. I left the clutch wire running from the shift motor harness to the original transfer case in place. This motor was working fine before I removed the original transfer case. However, when I turned power on and tried operating the motor via the dash selector, I got the same result: blinking lights, no response from the motor.

I'm at a loss. It seems strange that swapping the transfer cases would have fried the relay module when it had previously been working. What do you think?

If lights on dash flash that means the shift motor is not moving when commanded to do so

So first check the shift motor fuse in engine bay fuse box, test it with ohm meter or test light,

Of its OK then pull shift motor and test it with battery, orange and yellow wires are the + and - wires
Hooked up one way the motor turns clockwise, then reverse + and - and motor turns the other way, same as a power window motor

The shift motor does have mechanical STOPS to prevent it from turning past its limits, so it can get "jambed" against a stop it turned to far

The top plate on the back side of the contact plate is adjustable to prevent this and to line up the correct shift points for the transfer case, 2H, 4H, and 4L

Thanks for your response Ron! I’ll run through those tests when I get back to it this afternoon.

I did visually inspect what I believe to be the correct fuse yesterday, it looked fine. I don’t have a multimeter (though this seems like the time to finally get one) so I’ll probably test by swapping in a known intact fuse.

I’m really completely inexperienced in working with any electrical systems, so please forgive my ignorance. I’ll test the motor functionality by connecting direct power, but what sized battery would serve? I don’t want to cut the motor’s clutch wire to bring it closer to the engine battery, don’t have long cables. I do have a little rechargeable jump pack that I’ve used on my truck, will that work?

I suspect it is not the motor but rather some part of the electrical control system, because I tried reconnecting my original shift motor, functioning immediately prior the t-case swap, and got the same result, blinking lights and the dash switch won’t move the motor.

Is it possible that installing the new t-case w new motor attached, both already in 4-low, and then turning on the truck with the dash switch in 2wd (as I did) confused the GEM/ 4x4 control module?

Thanks again for your help, I’ll post again once I’ve done those tests.

Should be Fuse #3 in engine fuse box, 20amp, that powers the shift motor, has 12volt all the time

The flashing lights means the 4x4 part of the GEM module is working
But when it tried to move the shift motor it didn't see the Contact wheel move, so it stopped sending power, and flashed the lights to let driver know there is a problem

In the 1999 there is a dual relay box behind the GEM module(behind radio)
You should hear a "Click" from that relay box when you select a new 4WD position, these relays power the shift motor


The Contact wheel inside the shift motor is how the GEM "knows" the position of the transfer case

In this picture you can see the 2 Motor wires, yellow and orange
The other 5 wires are for the contact wheel
(brown wire on its own is the electric clutch)
Picture here: https://www.therangerstation.com/tec...t_motor-19.jpg

So if that contact plate is remove it looks like this underneath: https://www.therangerstation.com/tec...ft_motor-3.JPG

You can see the 6 contacts, only 5 are used

These 6 contacts "read" the position of this plate/wheel that attached to the transfer case shift rod: https://www.therangerstation.com/tec...ft_motor-6.JPG

So as the GEM sends 12volts to the shift motor it watches the contacts change, make and break connections, as the "wheel" is turned by the motor
When you turn the key on the GEM "looks" at the active contacts so it "knows" the position of transfer case at all times
Flashing 4WD lights, at key on, can mean GEM is "lost" so a problem at the GEM or contacts
If no flashing lights, key on means GEM can see position
Flashing lights when moving the switch means shift motor is not moving

Now if transfer case is in 4low, and switch is in 2WD at key on, then you would also get flashing lights, this would be because GEM can't move motor to 2WD position
So if you know transfer case is in 4low then have switch in that position before turning key on, and see if lights still flash

Amazing breakdown! Well I know what I’m going to try first. Maybe I’ll get lucky with just starting up with the switch in correct position. Life is keeping me away from the work zone I have set up at a friends house but I’ll get there later today and run these processes. Thanks!

Ok, I think I've got it sorted, and I've learned a few interesting things.

I tested Fuse#3 in Engine fuse box- fuse OK.

I then tried restarting the truck with the 4WD selector switch in 4lo, which is the position that the rebuilt t-case was in when installed.
(Recall that I had initially started up with the switch in 2WD thinking the GEM would sort it out, and was worried that I scrambled it somehow)

Starting the truck with switch in 4LO still got the 4HI and 4LO lights blinking, no response from shift motor, switching the selector caused the lights to blink again.

Since I saw the blinking lights (at key on and again when switching selector) I knew that the GEM was at least functioning somewhat. However, I didn't hear the relay click.

I had read that fuse #25 (7.5a) cut power to the GEM, but I hadn't been able to find info about whether this reset GEM codes, or was more effective at this than disconnecting the battery somehow. So I pulled the fuse and pulled the radio out to hear the relay better.

Reconnecting the fuse and then keying on with the 4X4 selector switch in any position caused a series of clicks from the relay, then after the clicks, the lights would flash, as though it had tried and given up. This was still with the new shift motor plugged into the wiring harness.

However, I found that after initially keying on, if I keyed off and then on again, THE RELAY DID NOT CLICK. If I once again pulled the fuse, I got the same initial result, relay clicking followed by blinking lights and unresponsive motor.

From this I deduced that pulling the fuse does in fact have a reset/code-clearing function for the GEM.

This made me wonder. I had initially honed in on the GEM as culprit rather than the shift motor on the new (rebuilt) t-case, because I had hooked up my old shift motor, with known functionality, and gotten the same null results. I figured this meant that the issue was upstream. Now it occurred to me that after throwing an initial code, I had plugged in my proven shift motor without effectively clearing the GEM.

So I used a battery to manually shift my old shift motor- successfully. Then I used the battery to manually shift the replacement motor- unresponsive.

To complete the test I connected my old shift motor to the truck wiring harness, shift motor in 2WD, set dash selector to 2WD, pulled the fuse to clear GEM codes, keyed on, and no blinking lights. Shifted selector between 2WD, 4HI and 4LO with appropriate responses from dash lights and correct shift motor movement.

So that was the end of my day, I ran out of time, but tomorrow I will swap in my old shift motor and expect that it will work.

The takeaway for me is that during a transfer case and/or shift motor switch, you need to make sure the selector is set to the same position as the t-case and the shift motor. And that, at least in this 1999 XLT 4.0 OHV 5spd, the GEM must be reset by disconnecting the #25 fuse before it will clear codes and communicate correctly with the shift motor again (It may be that disconnecting the battery also accomplishes this, but I'm not sure).

This, along with the observation that a functioning GEM will attempt communication with the shift motor as evidenced by relay clicking after a successful GEM reset, but not on subsequent tries until another reset is performed, provides a test for GEM 4x4 shift module functionality against t-case shift motor functionality in these specific circumstances.

That or I could have manually tested the new shift motor from the get-go lol. But even if I'd found it faulty, I would've installed a replacement in the 4LO setting that matched the transfer case, and still would have come up against the GEM error if I didn't know to set the selector correctly!

Thanks so much to RonD for guidance, maybe this little tale will provide the crucial piece of info for someone's future project. I'll write tomorrow to confirm that the shift motor swap worked as expected, hopefully I won't have to walk back my victory declaration!

Good testing and good work :biggthump

Hopefully it will be working as it should

Well, that sure seems to have done it!

I took it for a long test drive, about 100 highway miles. I’ve actually been working on this issue in order to hit the road on a trip to KY, 1700 miles.

The truck didn’t make a peep on the test drive. Checked everything I did this morning for leaks and loose. I’m taking off right now, and sure Enough at the Starbucks drive in the truck makes a bit of a weird noise at a stop.

Do transfer cases spin while vehicle is stopped? I know my clutch needs replacing, very recently some squealing with pedal depressed. I was thinking the noise could be related to that, though it was a little grindy, rattly.

anyway I’m gonna hit the highway and hope for the best for now.

No, when you are stopped drive line, transfer case and transmission are all at 0 RPMs

Clutch system has 2 bearings that can wear out
Pilot bearing is small and at the end of the transmissions input shaft inside the crank shaft, it supports that end of input shaft, it allows clutch disc to slow down to transmission RPMs so you can change gears
Throw out bearing is on the end of the slave cylinder, it allows pressure to be put on the spinning pressure plate springs from the fixed slave cylinder

Pilot bearing would make no noise when clutch pedal is up all the way because crank shaft and input shaft are both at the same RPMs, if failing it would make a noise with engine idling and transmission in any gear but neutral, when stopped, because input shaft is at 0 RPMs and engine/crank shaft is at 750 RPMs

Failing Thow out bearing can make a noise clutch pedal up or down but usually louder noise with pedal down a little or alot

My problem;
(should I start a new thread?)

1996 Ford Ranger 4x4 3.0L automatic. Manual locking hubs.
Truck has been exceptionally dependable.
This morning, jumped in truck started up,
4WD light and 4LO light both on solid.
Switch was at 2WD.

Now, have not used 4WD in weeks.
Put truck in drive and it started bucking, not driving smooth.

First question,( will get to fix in a moment).
The motor and motor switch are not likely to cause this problem, right?

Used FORScan to clear the GEM fault/code for 4WD circuit continuity.

Truck test run OK, in 2HI, 4WD, and 4LO.

Sound like a GEM going bad?

Hi Ron,

Thanks for those explanation. It's really helpful.

I'm trying to troubleshoot the issue on my 2008 Mazda B4000. I changed the dash switch, the transfer case motor and it's still not working.

I'm starting to think that it could be the GEM, i will try one as soon as I can find one. Also, maybe it could be the fuse, but on my 2008, the engine fuse #3 isn't a fuse for 4X4. Any idea what is the fuse that could be broken?

Also, the dash switch doesnt not light up. So i guess there's no power going to it. Could it be the GEM or any fuse?

Thanks a lot!!

1995 to 2000 Ranger used GEM for 4x4 control

2001-2011 used 4x4CM(control module)
2001 to 2003 it was behind passenger side kick panel

2004-2011 its behind the radio in the dash

So in a 2008 4x4CM will be behind the radio

2001-2005 used a different 4x4CM that 2006-2011 not interchangeable


Dash switch doesn't "light up" unless parking lights are on, back lights like the instrument cluster, nothing to do with 4WD

The 4x4CM was a known issue from 2001 thru 2011, should always be first stop if 4WD isn't shifting

Hi RonD,

It worked. The problem was the 4X4CM.

Thank you!!