Hey all,

I went to use my 4x4 today in the snow on my way home and the it wouldn't kick in. I used it earlier in the day and now it wont work. I have a 97 with an electronic switch on the dash. Any ideas? I need to get this working asap as we are getting more snow tomorrow night into Monday. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

might be the 4-wd switch i had the same problem when i went to the beach it did not want to kick in my wife's cousin is a michenic and sure enought it was start small then work you way to the most expsive good luck

 

The most common failure for the ESOF is the electric shift motor. Get under the truck and tap it with a small mallet. Try 4x4 to see if it works. Remember tap not pound.

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Okay, so last night after getting my son to bed I thought I would go out and check everything to see what was going on. Started up the truck and put it in 4wd and it kicked right in no problems. Drove down our drive way switching 4wd in and out and it worked just fine. What should I look for now? Is it the switch going out or something else? Thanks for all your help.

 

The switch uses resistors to send a measured amount of current to the GEM then it sences what mode to shift the t-case into. When the switch fails it usually no longer works. The electric shift motor assembly has contact plates that tell the GEM what position the transfer case is actually in. When the contacts get dirty/corroded they stop properly indicating what position the t-case is in. There are also relays under the control of the GEM that power the shift motor. They can also fail in which case the motor will not move. Did you notice if the 4x4 indicator lights came on when you lost 4x4? The GEM also powers these lights to indicate what mode the t-case is in. You normally can hear the relays click when you switch into 4x4.

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JMC,


No I didn't get lights on the dash and the transfer case didn't click either so basically I got nothing yesterday.

 

When you switch to 4x4 there are two relays in the dash that should activate. If they fail to activate then the t-case will not engage 4x4. They are both controlled by the GEM.

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I have a crack in the top drivers side corner of my windshield. And I know that water got into my GEM and kind of made everything go to hell. It acts up on wet days. I am replacing the windshield and then replacing the GEM with hopes that everything will work fine.