Attn: Ford mechanics. Help me diag a problem

[quicknick_2]

The 4 wheel drive in my 98 Ranger has only been working intermittently for the past few weeks. The "4X4 High" and "4X4 Low" lights on the dash will flash 5 times at the same time, then 4Wd will cut out. It does not pull up any codes on the scanner, and will do this in both 2whl, and 4whl. Has anyone ever experienced this before? If so, whats the fix?

[dodgestang]

Bad vacuum actuators on your front axle hub locks is where I would start

[fireme]

You say it doesn't have any codes, but didn't say which module you tested. 4x4 operation is controlled by the GEM that year, so make sure you test that.

The flashing lights mean the shift requested by the control switch wasn't completed. The pinpoint test in the manual for this problem is many pages long and requires the use of a scanner with live data monitoring. In the end, you most likely have a problem with the shift motor, wiring, or GEM, in that order.

Some people disassemble the shift motor, clean all of the internals, and get the system working again so that may be worth a try as it costs nothing but time.

It won't be a fault in the hub system, as there is no feedback built in and the GEM isn't capable of seeing the status of the hubs. It is a blind system.

[quicknick_2]

Thanks for the help on this guys. I did not check the GEM, so I'll start there.

[ylexot]

If you use the 4wd often a small spot on the encoder in the shift motor will wear through so it will not 'see' the end of the shift, think it has not gotten there and report an error.

[sixtysevenGTconv]

+1 on shift mtr. I had a '94 Explorer Sport and as years went by had prob with 4x4 engaging. I was told by a tech if you banged the shift mtr it might work. Sure enough it did. For me I think water/salt get in it and it's connections and in time fail. Eventually changed out, fixed it.