I just bought my 2005 F150 Screw XLT in the summer, so I was excited for winter to roll around to mess around with the 4wd handling. I've only used the 4x4H and 4x4L once and that was during the summer on gravely back roads. We finally got some snow over the weekend, so I took the truck out to test the 4x4. I shifted on the fly to 4x4H and I could hear and feel it engage, but the light never came on. Unfortunately, it seems the sensors never registered and now I can't shake it out of 4x4H. I've tried shifting in and out from 4wd to 2wd and I can hear a faint clunk but the system never disengages. I figured I would try the 4x4L, and that engages and disengages just fine and the light activates and deactivates.

So I'm assuming the sensors for the 4x4H are just shot, but can anyone offer a bit more insight? I've taken it out since to try and shake it out, but the roads are clear now and I don't want to risk wrecking an axle or the differential. Any suggestions?

 

Here's some threads to read through...

https://www.f150online.com/forums/20...wheel-low.html

https://www.f150online.com/forums/ot...4-problem.html

https://www.f150online.com/forums/ot...5-f-150-a.html

https://www.f150online.com/forums/20...t-working.html

- NCSU

 

Alright thanks for the heads up. I'll try banging on the shift motor tomorrow, I see it's worked for a lot of people. Apparently air temperature seems to be a factor too. This all happened during the snow storm when it was just over 20F. Maybe I'll try garaging it for a day and see if that helps.

Am I safe in assuming that the solenoid, IWEs, and vacuum lines are alright, seeing the 4WD is stuck engaged?

 

Alright so we had a heavy downpour tonight so I figured so I would try to mess around with the 4wd again. I was finally able to shake it out of 4x4H by throwing it in reverse and making some wacky "S" lines. Seems I can engage the system fine now, but the light remains off, and the only way to disengage it is to throw it in reverse and shake it out. I'll still try the fixes to see if I can get it to shift on the fly normally.