I noticed last weekend when i was 4wheeling that my 4wd lights seem to have a pattern. Before i thought they just randomly came on when i put it in 4wd when they wanted to, but now i know when they do. Anyways, When i put my truck in 4wd high and/or low the dash lights that indicate it is in 4wd/lo will light up, however, when i turn on my parking and my headlights and the rest of the dash lights come on, the 4wd indicator lights will go off? I HIGHLY doubt this is normal, so does anybody know why this is? I can obviously tell when its in 4wd, i just would like my indicator lights to work correctly.

 

This is my problem too, any answers?

 

Nobody ever repiled. Anybody else have any ideas? Its more annoying than anything. lol.

 

No ideas from me.... I was driving in 4hi all day today due to all the snow.

No problems.

 

sounds like a bad ground possibly.

 

agreed X2

 

I would have to agree its a ground issue.

 

The 4x4 indicator lights use 2 different power sources depending on whether the head/park lights are off or on. With the lights off, there is a direct 12v supply to the indicators for day time driving.

When the head/park lights are on, the source is a switched to the adjustable output from the Dimming Module. The light output of the 4x4 indicators can be reduced by dialing down the dimmer wheel.

The switch for this is a set of contacts within the headlight switch, separate from the contacts that switch on the parking lamps and headlamps. There's a good chance that the headlight switch or the wiring to it is damaged.

[Side note: not all I/C indicators are dimmable. In fact, most are not. It appears that Ford divides them into two groups.

The "informational" indicators like the 4x4 lights (and "O/D OFF" light in automatic trucks) can be dimmed when the head or park lamps are on. For some years, there is also a Speed Control indicator that is dimmable.

The other group that I'll call "alert" indicators cannot be dimmed regardless of headlight switch position. This would include things like ABS, CEL, Charge, P-brake, High beam, turn signals, etc.]

 

Thanks for this explanation, I've seen a lot of other people on the net both rangers and explorers with this problem. I just bought this 96 ranger with 61k miles, had it for four days so far. First day, probably the 4th start the air bag and brake indicators stayed lit the whole time. I found this problem to be in the ignition cylinder, sprayed some wd40 in it and it fixed the problem. Second day the turn signals were working intermittently. When they were working I started poking around in the steering column trying to get them to quit working (loose wire ect.) I wiggled the hazard button and they quit working. Cleaned out the hazard button with some wd40 and fixed the problem. Third day when I got home the dome light, door ajar wouldn't go out. A quick search on this forum, and Wd40 in the door latches fixed it. Today on the way home, it was handling funny, found the passenger side rear tire to only have 13 psi in it. It was leaking at the bead of the rim. So I had to throw the spare on in 5" of snow. I've heard the jokes about Fix Or Repair Daily but holy ****. I bet if I took the headlight switch apart and cleaned out the contacts it would fix this problem. Oh yeah, I have a can of wd under the seat now!

 

In my experience, this is the case with almost any used vehicle, especially when you first get it from the DPO (dreaded previous owner). After you get the initial neglect worked out of it, things should be better.