4WD not engaging....

S

sdowiat

New Member
Guys, I know there is info on this here.... but my searches aren't finding it. If you can help me or point me toward those posts I appreciate it.

My truck is a 99 Mazda 3.0 automatic 4wd... which has identical running gear to the Ford... right? I've got the switch to engage the 4wd... wish right now I had a lever if you could get it...

Last winter during a really cold snap ( when I needed it most ) my 4wd stopped engaging. The 4wd and 4 low lights would flash. I got past that then by disconnecting the battery for a bit & when I hooked it back up it worked again.

It's doing it again but this time the disconnecting the battery trick dosent work. I'm trying to determine if that means the electric motor that makes it work has gone bad... If you know or can point me toward those posts I'd appreciate it... or tell we what to search on... I tried "4wd".." four wheel drive".... thanks stan
 
your switch might be toast or it (tcase)might be stuck if it wasn't used much. have someone put it in 4wd while you're looking at the tcase. when i first bought my truck it woudln't engage (only had 52k miles) and i just tapped it with a hammer and it started working lol
 
sdowiat said:
Guys, I know there is info on this here.... but my searches aren't finding it. If you can help me or point me toward those posts I appreciate it.

My truck is a 99 Mazda 3.0 automatic 4wd... which has identical running gear to the Ford... right? I've got the switch to engage the 4wd... wish right now I had a lever if you could get it...

Last winter during a really cold snap ( when I needed it most ) my 4wd stopped engaging. The 4wd and 4 low lights would flash. I got past that then by disconnecting the battery for a bit & when I hooked it back up it worked again.

It's doing it again but this time the disconnecting the battery trick dosent work. I'm trying to determine if that means the electric motor that makes it work has gone bad... If you know or can point me toward those posts I'd appreciate it... or tell we what to search on... I tried "4wd".." four wheel drive".... thanks stan
Click to expand...

This electrically operated..../....automatically operated stuff makes me uneasy for sure. I recently purchased my '99 and, though the pulse vacuum hubs appeared to be working fine I jumped at the chance to put manual hubs on it. This is my 5th. 4x4, most were manual hubs and manual 4x4 by way of a lever on the floor.
Attention inventive people out there, there is likely a demand for a manual conversion to take the place of that motor. I don't think it would be too difficult...mostly a matter of getting a plate made where the mechanism fits onto the case and a quality cable arrangement actuated by a floor mounted mechanism.
Food for thought.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top