Hi everyone,

I'm having an issue with my 4wd system on my 2006 FX4 screw. Quite perplexing, so hopefully someone has had the same issue and knows the solution.

When I turn the 4wd **** to the "hi" position, most of the time nothing happens and the truck stays in 2wd mode. Sometimes when I turn the **** the dash light for 4x4HI will blink once, but otherwise nothing happens.

When I shift into neutral and shift into the "lo" position, everything works fine and the truck runs in 4wd low.

Anyone have an answer to my problem? Is it the solenoid near the firewall behind the battery? Thanks for any help!

 

I have spent the last couple of weeks working to diagnose a similar problem on my 2006 fX4. We were just about to go over a mountain pass in a blizzard and I went to shift the truck into 4 hi and... Nothing. The truck would not shift into 4h or 4l and there were no lights on the dash. We ended up losing traction in the deep snow in 2 hi and had to drive an hour back to the nearest town to get chains so we could make it over the pass. Felt pretty let down by this after dropping so much to pay off the truck. After self diagnosis I believed that the issue was with the transfer case shift motor and not the IWE solenoid which another common problem. I have not been able to find a replacement shift motor except from the Ford factory through my local dealership. The factory price is $278 for a replacement motor. The dealership recommended having the issue diagnosed before spending the money on the part. After taking the truck in to the dealership they diagnosed the problem as a bad shift motor and advised that install at the dealer would cost 50-98 dollars. I wish that I could find a replacement shift motor for less than dealer price, but everywhere seems to be out of stock.

 

That sucks your transfer case motor broke. If you can find a motor, I'd put it in myself - it's 4 bolts and an electric plug clip. Search the 'net, there's plenty of install instructions for it. Check the 'net for a motor too, much cheaper than $278.

As for my problem, I highly doubt this is my issue since I do have 4x4 in "Lo" mode. Being that I have "Lo" also leads me to believe the hub actuators are good too... thus why I feel the solenoid is bad. But I don't have the "grinding" problem of the truck trying to engage when in 2wd mode that a lot of people talk about with the solenoid problems so I'm not sure.

Anyone have any other advice?

 

I talked to one of the mechanics at the local Ford dealer regarding the "grinding" and potential solenoid issue. He advised that if you have an IWE solenoid issue, you do not always have the grinding. A good starter would be to get a new solenoid yourself from your local parts store and replace it yourself. They are relatively cheap and easy to replace on your own.

Update to my earlier post on this thread..... I ended up biting the bullet and bought the replacement shift motor from the dealer and am going to put it on this weekend. Prior to buying the new motor, I pulled the existing shift motor off and took it apart as much as I could to see if could fix it myself. I did not see any obvious signs of corrosion on the electric motor part and the internal gears seemed to function properly. The one part I did not take apart was the plastic cover on the shift motor that has a "non-servicable" tamper seal on it. My guess is that the contacts that are causing the motor to malfunction are under that. I did give the motor several generous whacks with a rubber mallet and when I reinstalled the old shift motor, I could get the 4WD to temporarily function and then it would quit again.

Hopefully the new motor will be the end of the 4WD issues. Good luck to all on this.

I also found out that the 2007 F150's and up are covered by a 6 year 60,000 mile power-train warranty.

 

Haha, I was looking for this post to update on what I found out. Hard to surf sometimes on my android. Anyways, I went ahead two weeks ago and updated/replaced the solenoid with the new model, since it was only $28 and 15 minutes of my time. If that didn't solve the problem I figured it was a good idea to get the new model anyway as preventative maintenance getting the one with the water shield. Turns out that fixed my issue... had I known it was that cheap and easy I would have done it last year!

Good luck to you with your transfer case replacement. Hopefully that fixes your issue!