What to do??! 4 wheel low not kicking in!
 

I was out yesterday running in 4 wheel high and I switched to 4 wheel low and the light didn't come on, I couldn't tell if it kicked in or not. I don't think it did. It's been cold here, hasn't gotten above 32 F lately and was wondering what is going on with it.

I do this periodically while I"m at school to keep the gears working well. I never exceed 10 miles per hour while I do this around campus.

Anyone know what's going on???

did you have it in neutral?

to get 4 low to engage or disengage you have to be in neutral and stopped with your foot on the brake

In neutral? I never knew that, I had always stuck it in P and switched.... Have I messed up my 4 wheel low by doing that??.......

no

Wow, I feel so dumb right now. The truck doesn't have an owner's manual with it, and the little sticker on the right visor is kinda worn. And I've never owned a 4x4 as this is my first one. So to make sure...

Put it in neutral, stopped, and then switch to 4 wheel low?

Yes, with your foot on the brake.

lol i kinda figured that :smile . Thanks for the help ya'll.

Was browsing and came across this thread.

FWIW, you can pick up an owner's manual on-line.

Look in Technical Forums under General Technical and Electrical and you'll find a link.

north44, i did and found the link and downloaded the manual. So I have a pdf copy now and I read through the thing.

Wow i still feel so dumb...:biglaugh:

That's prolly why it didn't work the last time I tried to engage the 4x4 when I had gotten stuck cuz I didn't stick it in neutral.

i know you have an auto but in a manual you have to hold the brake and clutch down.

you should hear it click in.

I hear it click in for the 4x4 high as I usually go from 4-high to 4-low.

Safety feature for engaging 4wd LO requires being in neutral with a foot on the brake (automatics) - guess Ford didn't want anyone going into LO under any other conditions - understandable given the LO gearing.

No need to beat up on yourself by feeling "dumb" - it's pretty difficult to know something that's in the manual if you don't have a copy to reference.

Anyway, the nice thing about the people in this forum is that they are generally as helpful as can be - ask a question here, and usually there is someone who can answer it.

Also, please remember that there are no dumb questions (though there are questions that can be posed in a dumb manner) except those that aren't asked.

Pretty philosophical, huh? :ponder:

Anyway, glad everything was resolved satisfactorily.

Dude...that's deep! (just screwing with you!) But that really is the truth!

Manual need to be stopped foot on the brake and clutch engaged

yeah manual is a pain in the ass the reason i swapped to a manual tcase

i had the same problem over the summer and ended up calling the dealership and they told me i had to engage the parking break and hold the clutch and break b4 it would go into 4LO.

you do not need the parking brake on just FYI

Just to show you that the people on this forum often know more about the vehicle than even the people who sell/work on them.

In fact, with all the members on-line who are willing to pitch in (with answers/information/opinions/experiences/etc.), it's pretty hard NOT to arrive at some sort of right answer.

you have to be in nutral, have a foot on the break and be stopped then it takes a second