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97Expedition 4x4 will not switch out of 4L This forum post has messages dated from 12/06/08 through 01/25/12, please be sure to read all the messages. If you feel it is old or outdated, please follow up with a question or comment and someone may be able to update it, or reply with newer information if you have it. - Ford-Expedition
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| 97Expedition 4x4 will not switch out of 4L I switched my Expedition into 4 Wheel Drive Low. Now it will not switch back to 2 Whheel All Wheel or even 4 Wheel High. I've never used low before, is there a trick to switching out of low? |
#101/05/09 10:27Rebecca Dean | Did you ever fix the problem with your Excursion? I m having the same problem. If you could help I would appriciate it. |
#202/16/09 23:13Lee Sanders | Foot on brake car in neutral then turn switch, I had similair problem. |
#306/23/09 13:07William Hewartson | Had same problem with my 1996 GMC Jimmy, was just a blown fuse. |
| can some one help? i have a 98 expedition 4x4 and i i needed the 4 low and like the other gent. it won't go back into 2wheel drive and the overdrive switch on the chifter handle starts blinking. i took it to the dealer and they wanted alot of money to trouable shoot the problum and that wasn't including what they would fine. hope somecan help? i've tried the brake and n with switch turned 2wheel drive, didn't work. not a good mechanic |
#508/04/09 19:23Dave Bulla | I just had this happen to my wife's '98 about an hour ago. Had to leave it and get a ride home. Definitely not a procedure problem. It's something electrical. Last thing I noticed when driving it to it's current resting place was that the speedometer is also not working. Almost has to be something electrical related to speed sensing. Any ideas? I'm in a hurry and NEED this vehicle fixed ASAP!!!! |
#608/04/09 21:58Dave Bulla | Update.... Speedo does work. Problem may be the selector switch. Continuity check across the 4 pins stays the same (Outside two pines. I'll call them pins 1 and 4)) no matter the switch position. Reads 42 ohms. No other combination of pins gives continuity in any switch position. |
#708/05/09 18:43Dave Bulla | Update 2... Problem fixed! Called around and the switch is a dealer only item. Ford wanted $84 and change. If you saw the switch, you'd surely think that was about $50 or more dollars too many. Went to a local salvage yard and found a switch from a 97 expedition that was the same as the one in my 98. FYI, the 99 model was different. New switch shows resistance changes on the middle two pins (2 and 3) when selecting different positions. Installed sw. and dang thing didn't work. Checked fuses, all ok. Was about to give up and go pull the solenoid motor but noticed that I no longer had a dash indication of being in 4X4 mode but it still was. Also noticed that the mode next to the switch was not lit up. I pulled the switch and there is a little plastic stem with a blue tip that is an LED I guess that lights the indicator next to the knob. It is off center of the little circuit card inside the switch and if you don't have continuity across the two outer pins, take the stem out by rotating it 1/4 turn and clean the contacts and reinstall. I did that and also turned my dimmer switch all the way off and back on and just that quick my transfer case shifted from 4 low to 2 high. I don't have a schematic but I'm guessing that there may be a circuit reset in the indication system or maybe it was just coincidence but either way it's working fine now. |
#808/05/09 23:04Dave Bulla | Just thought I'd add a little more gee whiz info for the next poor sap who has this problem since I found practically nothing about it in my Chilton manual. Pulling the switch is pretty easy. The plastic panel that goes around the radio that has the switch mounted to it will pop right off with a flat screwdriver or knife. There are 4 tabs holding it on out near the corners. Just slide something thin behind it and start lifting gently in a couple places. The switch has a wire connector going to it that will need to be taken off by lifting the tab on the side and pulling at the same time. Then there are two small screws about 1/4" that hold the switch in place. I just used the pliers on my multi-tool. The knob is only a friction fit and the switch housing will pull out from the back and the knob will fall off the other side. Use a meter to check pin continuity between the middle two pins. From memory, I think they were open in 2 high and 4 auto then they had resistance in 4 high and 4 low. One showed two hundred something ohms and the other position I think was six hundred something. Probably doesn't matter much exactly, just need to see it change. The outer two pins (1 & 4) are for the power to the light and possibly go to something else? Anyway, I had 42 ohms resistance on them when I first checked it and after I had it apart and took the little plastic stem with the LED out and cleaned it it dropped to 16 ohms. The new (junk yard) switch read open at first until I cleaned it and it also went to 16 ohms. I definitely suggest checking this and also getting the used part from a salvage yard. If you decide to take the switch apart, there are three little clips on the sides of the housing that need to be pried out one at a time as you pull on the end plug. Inside is a small circuit card with about 5 little resistors that all lead to pins 2 and 3. A 3 cornered copper contact is connected to the shaft and bridges different contact sets in the circuit board depending on the switch position. This is what changes the resistance going to the shift solenoid I guess. If you pull the contact piece out along with the knob stem, be aware there is a small spring with a ball bearing on top of it that goes inside a hole. The ball bearing moves across little detents in the housing to provide positive positioning clicks when you turn the knob. Only take this apart over a clean work area as the ball bearing and or the spring will probably fall out. Reassemble by holding the contact piece vertical with the shaft up and the spring and ball in the hole. Put it up through the housing and make sure the ball is towards the side with the detents. Hold it in snug by holding the shaft sticking out the back side and then snap the other half of the switch in on top of it being careful to center it on the little pin in the middle. Screw it back onto the panel, stick the knob on from the other side and you're good to go. |
| I have a '99 expedition. During some bad weather I also had put it in 4-low and it would not switch back. We do have a ford dealer o.e.m. repair manual, but it did NOT address this problem. I saw Lee Sanders comment , went out and tried it and It worked! I put it in neutral, foot on the brake, and turned the switch. It went back to automatic 4-wheel. I guess I won't being using that switch again!!!!!! I also want to add I heard a Big Clunk when it switched, that I never heard like that before. So I don't know if this problem is indicative of the switch going bad. Thanks for the help. This is a really good site. |
| I have a 98 F150 and I as well had it locked in 4l. I put it in N and pushed the brake and it disengaged the 4L and allowed me to switch back. THANK YOU for the help!! |
| i have a 98 Ford Expedition when i switch into 4hi or 4 lo i hear it lock in gear and the 4lo goes into low gear but the front wheels wont spin or grab. Any help would be apreciated! ps truck gets stuck very easily! |
| Same PROBLEM!!! stuck in 4L F-350 Super Duty Diesel - I'm gona try the brake neutral idea and see what happens....crossing my fingers cuz everything on this truck costs a FORTUNE to repair. |
| PROBLEM FIXED!!! OMG thank u SOOOO much! FOOT ON BRAKE TRUCK IN NEUTRAL SWITCH IT OFF....BEAUTIFUL!!! |
| I had that problem before. I have a 98 Ford Explorer 4x4. Here is my fix. I leave my switch on 4x4 low, car on Park. Leave all the doors open on the car. Disconnect the negative of the battery and wait for about a5 seconds. Plug the negative back (carful some cars have alarm, it might go off). Hit the break and put the car in Neutral, switch to 4x4 high and wait for about 15 seconds you will hear small noise from the bottom of the car. After the noise switch back to Auto or whatever you car has after 4x4 high. |
#1503/31/10 13:06Charlene | I googled this site bc my Ford Expedition 2003 was stuck in 4x4 low, I put my foot on brake, put car in neutral then turned the switch. It actually worked! Thanks guys! |
| I parked my 2004 Expedition (EB Edition) and it felt like someone bumped into the back of me. No one was there so I went into the store. I came out and when I went to take off...the car started jerking horribly. I got out and looked again, couldn't see anything. Noticed the 4x4low light lit up. I tried to disengage it and go back to 2H...nothing. I looked on some sites and couldn't find much to help. Ford wanted to tow it in to a dealership...OF COURSE. My husband found THIS site and WHOOOHOOOO....he did exactly FOOT ON BRAKE...Expedition IN NEUTRAL...SWITCH IT OFF....INCREDIBLE!!! Thank you all for your input...without you taking the time to do this....we would have been screwed to put it nicely. Good luck to everyone else. |
#1709/20/10 17:13michelle | help single mom husband gone have 97 expedition 4x4 dont engage or work but 4x4 light came on last week then today od light flashing but driving fine whats up? help plz |
| I have a 97 Expedition the 4x4 wont work. All the fuses are good and so is the actuator. What do i need to do? |
| I have a 1997 expedition 4x4 and the 4x4 does't work. I've taken the switch apart, cleaned it, and moved the three pronges closer to the contacts and still nothing?! I've checked the wiring underneath, the plugs, and tried rapping lightly on the motor (black unit on transfer case that looks like a starter) and all I get is drunk! Is there any other tests or something else I should look for, other than NA beer? |
#2012/08/10 16:38paul hoover | expedition front end not locking in?? found out the hard way- replace solenoid (firewall on passenger side, (ford part)detach vacuum line at axle and blow out- replace. the original ones got water in them and don't allow vacuum to the axle (they lock in by vacuum) the after market ones have a plastic plate over them that don't allow them to get wet. hope this helps. |
| Where is the 4x4 controll module located on 1998 expedition? |
| It is a procedure issue. Gears stuck at 4x4 High, tried disconnecting battery, driving reverse, ... nothing worked. Brake/Neutral and switch worked for me. It took 4-5 seconds and it clicked bak to 2 WD. Thanks for all the above people who shared their experience. Exellent site. |
| 97 Exp. Heard loud clung when switched to 4L. Would not switch back to anything. Stuck in 4L. No response from turning switch at all. Tried disconnected battery and driving backwards - did not work. Switch starting making a clicking noise, but would not shift. Put in Nuetral, held break, switched to 4H, heard loud clung again, and just like that it starting working normally. Thanks to everyone for their comments and help on this site! |
| I have a 97 Ford Expedition, i was driving down the road in 2H, then all of a sudden the transfer case shifted into nuetral, i was able to get into 4 low, i thought it was the shift motor, i replace it, n i still cant shift it outta 4 low. Now before i replaced the motor, my O/D lite flashed, it went away after replacing the shift motor. I know the nuetral n foot on brake, it still doesnt shift into 4 high, AW4D or 2H. If I do shift it into those selections, after bout a minute of driving, the transfer case shifts into nuetral. I can't figure this out, n i went to school as a mechanic. Is it possible a new selector switch would be the problem? i havent checked the resistance on it yet. But any other suggestions would be helpful. |
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