4x4 Not engaging

[Nyland]

Hi!

I have a 2007 D-max 3.0TD with automatic gearbox.
When selecting 4H or 4L, the 4wd lamp is blinking like normal while engaging, and a click is heard, but i will never finish engaging. It goes on forever...
No ''Check 4wd'' lamp, or any other fault codes. Tried resetting the 4WD ECU, tried engaging while stationary and while driving. It just keeps on trying until i press 2H again, then it quits trying.
I am suspecting either a Relay or a wiring problem, but can't find any information on relay location or wiring diagram.
Does anyone here have any tips or information i can go on?

Thanks

 

[cam04]

Are you putting the gearbox in neutral first?

 

[Cokedaddy216]

Only use neutral when selecting low range , high is shift on the go

 

[Tink]

Firstly, welcome to Earth.
Are you following the instructions on the driver’s sunvisor? Exactly?
High range should be selected when moving forward, with no load on the transmission, lift your foot off the accelerator.
Low range is selected whilst stationary, in neutral, not park, wheels pointed straight ahead.
Tink

 

[cam04]

Also make sure you’ve driven the car in the last 2 minutes (there is an interlock), try it in neutral ( esp if auto), try it in neutral while slowly rolling and turning the wheel, try shifting the transfer into neutral first (press and hold 2H and 4L for 10 secs) then with the transmission in neutral press and hold 10 secs what you want it to shift into. If all that fails you’ll need to get the front axle actuator checked. They are a finicky actuation system at best. We found that regular activation helped a lot. It took up to 30 secs sometimes just sitting there for it to drop in if it hadn’t been used for a while.

 

[Nyland]

Hi, thanks for your answers!
I am aware of all this as i have owned the car since it was new in 2007... So there is a problem i'm dealing with here...
I have tried all the tricks to help it engage, but nothing helps anymore. I am also very careful when engaging it, so i'm absolutely sure that i'm not doing anything wrong here i'm afraid. It has to be technical...
This problem also came gradually this winter. Sometimes it would engage quickly, and sometimes not at all. By now, the system is totally not working!

I am not using it very often though(Months apart in the summer), so that might be an issue :/

 

[Tink]

Sometimes a blocked breather on the 4WD actuator can cause it not to engage. Check that. Also have all the oils been changed as per service schedule, including the SOTF oil?
Tink

 

[Tink]

This may help also.
1. Ignition off, hold all 3 buttons (2H, 4H & 4L) in together.
2. Switch ignition on (“reds” position), last position before start
3. Hold like this for 30 seconds.
Tink

 

[Les PK Ranger]

I have tried all the tricks to help it engage, but nothing helps anymore. I am also very careful when engaging it, so i'm absolutely sure that i'm not doing anything wrong here i'm afraid. It has to be technical...
This problem also came gradually this winter. Sometimes it would engage quickly, and sometimes not at all. By now, the system is totally not working!

Sometimes a blocked breather on the 4WD actuator can cause it not to engage.

I think his actuator (4WD module ?) is simply gone.

My Ranger one went, fairly early on too, and there were others with the same issue / model.
The symptoms were many, confusing, but similar . . . sometimes you could get into / out of 4WD H or L, other times you had a shite load of trouble.
Deteriorated gradually, until I had to act as it was driving me mental.

Although there were many cleaning trials by others, and sourcing of aftermarket units from cheaper other makes (a lot cheaper than the ~ $1200 Ford wanted), the only way to fix that was to fit a new or 2nd hand module.

Here are a couple of good threads . . . warning, epic reads !!!!

https://4x4earth.com/forum/index.php?threads/pk-ranger-4wd-selection-problem-resolution.36935/

http://www.4wdaction.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?f=118&t=149427

Good luck with your fix, let people know here when you find it and how you fixed it . . . maybe you can try some of these cleaning techniques in the above thread, or source a unit for a decent price either genuine, 2nd hand, or other make / brand.

 

[Tink]

Umm @Les PK Ranger this thread is about a Dmax I posted about a known issue with the actuator breather being blocked causing issues with 4WD selection in the Dmaxs.
Tink

 

[Les PK Ranger]

@Tink , so the Dmax won't suffer from same symptoms as other makes ?
If the OP reads some related problems with 4WD selection, they may note some similarities in behavior and help solve this.
Hopefully your tip will be useful.

 

[Tink]

Nah mate, Dmax is unbreakable according to the TV ads. Not like those rubbish Fords
Tink

 

[Nyland]

Hi again!

Had the truck on a lift today, and i've got some news!
The transferbox is fine! The actuator makes healthy noises and engages at the transferbox, and the driveshaft going forward engages and drives the front Diff.
However the front driveshaft actuator does nothing! No sound, no engagement. The front driveshafts spins freely when it's trying to engage.

So the process goes like this: I press the 4H button, the 4wd lamp blinks, and a click is heard from under the dash. The Transfercase engages the driveshaft going forward with a audible ''motor'' sound. Then the lamp keeps blinking, but nothing else happens. I've tried to spin the front tires by hand in all directions, but no sound or clicking/engagement from the front actuator. I've checked the wiring by sight, but have not measured anything as i didn't have a multimeter at the workshop i borrowed
I suspect a dead front actuator...
Checked the breather-pipe, and tried to blow in it, but couldn't get any air through it... Should it be easy to blow through it? And where does it end up?
Gonna look for prices on this actuator, and probably try changing it my self. Workshop labour is scary expensive here in Norway
Have anyone fiddled with this thing before?
This is the actuator in question:

 

[Tink]

The Shift On The Fly (SOTF) breather on the current models runs up to an oil collection box behind the right hand headlight. It then has a tube coming off the top of the box pointing back down to the ground.
The SOTF will only engage when the right hand front wheel is rotating forward. The left hand wheel will engage with the transfer box.
Tink

 

[Cokedaddy216]

A quick look on the net shows that actuator has an electric motor & a couple gears .
Most likely the motor is burned out