I have a 96 Ranger 4.0L, 4x4, manual -- it runs well -- I bought it almost three weeks ago and have been sorting out a few bugs to make it run really well!

Here's one I need help with...

The 4wd works. We had a ton of snow the week before Christmas and trust me, I know that it works! There were hills that I could not climb in 2H which (after locking the front hubs and pulling the shifter into 4H) would walk right up with no problem.

BUT, the only time the dash indicator works is when I turn the key on to start it, and then every couple of minutes it will flash 6 times. It will not light when I am actually in 4wd... and I wish it would.

So, I have checked fuses, all ok... I think.

I then crawled under the truck and found an empty socket where a connector should be, but the socket is empty. It is wet, however, and I'm not sure what the fluid is.

So, I looked for a connector that might plug into it. I found one, tie-wrapped near the frame. It looks like it will reach to the empty socket.

A few questions:
- should this plug/connector go into the socket that is empty in the photos?
- if not, where should it go?
- would this be the cause of my malfunctioning dash light?
- what could the wetness be at the empty socket?
- how should I fix the wetness or the leak? Or just leave it alone?

Thanks again.

 

The part on the transfer case by rear drive line is the speedometer cable hook up.
In 1995 Rangers got electronic speedometer and used the VSS(vehicle speed sensor) only, the two wire device.
VSS was used as early as 1990 for cruise and computer hookup, and speedometer cable was also used thru 1994, then gone, but VSS and hookup stayed until 1998.
In 1998 the VSS was moved to rear axle and speedo cable hookup with the other VSS was gone.


You have a Manual Shift Transfer case, so there is no way to enable the 4WD dash lights, and they are not needed, you can see what your transfer case is in by just looking down at shifter.
Your Ranger came with electric shift transfer case, the lights were needed to show driver the transfer case had been shifted.
A past owner swapped it out for manual transfer case, very, very good upgrade.

If you ever pull out the dash just remove those bulbs.

That connector was for the electric shift motor

 

Wow...
Thank you! Your info is so complete and great!

Just wondering, is there anything I should do at that speedometer cable hook up to stop the wetness that I am seeing... or shouldn't I worry about it?

 

You could get a used one and see if speedo cable hole had a better seal, but it doesn't look like much of a leak.
You can clean it up and then take a look after a month or so to get an idea of the leak volume, and then decide.

Google: Ranger VSS with gear images

To see what the whole unit looks like, these were only used without speedo cables for 3 years, normally the cable would seal that hole and any leaks would just lube the cable end.