OK..the roads were worse today and after sliding around I put it in 4x4 and the 4x4 is working..the light just isn't coming on.All I have to do now is see what turns it on..hopefully its just a dirty contact.

 

check and replace the vacuum solenoid on the passenger side fire wall. If the light for 4x4 high doesn't come on or blinks briefly but the 4x4L light works fine then thats the problem. I had the same problem last week, after digging for hours on the forums and learning all there is to know about the system, and about an hour of troubleshooting myself thats what the problem turned out to be.

 

Thanks,I appreciate that.I checked the forum this morning before work which lead me here.Now that I'm home and know its just the light I was going to pull up the diagram on a AllData program I bought for a year on line and start at the light and work backwards untill I found what powers it but you may have saved my eyes a little eye strain.
Is your a 06 f150..because to be honest I thought the whole system on this year is electric..I know theres no vacuum going to the motor on the transfer case and when turned on I hear electric relay just to the right of the steering wheel in the dash.

 

Hey Ranger..my apologies.You were right.
Theres not only a TSB on it but a new replacement solenoid.The solenoid can get water in it ..the new style has a "roof" over it .I actually didnt think mine was bad because after my last post it started working again.But after seeing the TSB and doing some investigating and reading a thread on another ford site I thought I'd replace it just for the heck of it.Well after replacing it I took a closer look and found it got water in it and cracked.Heres a picture of the bad one..and of the new one.Notice the water guard on top of it.I also found out that this is a common problem and if it goes unattended it can lead to serious front hub problems.ALSO..if you go to you dealer and as for it..its called an IWE solenoid..they have 2..the original that is whats on your truck now..its 50 bucks...and the updated which is the same IWE solenoid BUT has the roof over it for water protection and is 22 dollars.Yeah its CHEAPER.The ford parts guy was stunned at the price difference considering the actual solenoid's are the same.But it seems ford KNOWS its a problem and lowered the cost of the fix for it.But the old ones still carry the same part number and were more money.

CRACKED.......


REPLACEMENT..notice the water guard..or roof on top of it.

 

yep thats the one that I bought too.

 

Thanks for everyone's input on this thread! With the info posted, I was able to get my
4x4 working again. My problem was the little motor on the back of the transfer case. Thanks again!

 

Looks like I have a few things to check now to get my 4x4 working. Neither of my lights come on except of I am turning the **** back and forth over and over again then I see one of the lights flicker for a millisecond every now and then. One question on the IWE and HUB damage statement...is the damage possible only if your running 4x4 with that IWE not working...or even if your not using 4x4? Might be a silly question but this is my first 4x4 truck and I just got it (05 screw) and it wasnt working already.

 

Well I decided to try my 4x4 again yesterday and now the 4 low works and not the 4 high. I took a look and sure enough I have the old style uncovered one. So I will be getting the new one and swapping it out and trying it again.

 

The "little motor" is the shift motor-for "push botton" 4x4. That replaces the manual floor shifter.

Good info for trouble shooting here...

http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/83...then-some.html

 

I have an 06 with a transfer case motor going bad. I purchased a replacement for it, but I have no idea what the top wires go to. I felt on top of the transmission, and the wires seem to go into it.

Does anyone know how this works?

 

Im not sure if this is the place for this but some of you might have an answer.

I have had similar problems with the 4x4 not engaging before but thats not my issue right now.

For some reason my 4x4 Hi light wont come on when the truck in in 4 hi.....the 4 lo light will come on when engaged and both will even flash when I start up the engine so I don't think there is a bulb sort of issue. It is more of an annoyance to me than anything because I know the light there is working and the 4wd functions but the two wont work together

Would anyone know how to fix this issue?

 

For what its worth that was the original problem that I had that caused me to look further and discovery the relay problem that is talked about in this thread.I noticed my light was not on but it did appear to be in 4x4 high.I thought maybe the light was out or there was a switch on the motor.When I started to check the dealer TSB's related to no light or bad switch I found the relay problem..then found the thread here.I never had a problem like some with it not going into 4x4 or grinding.I pulled the relay and if you look further back in this thread you'll see my picture of it with a crack and rust coming out of the crack.I replaced it and the light worked and the 4x4 was fine.
So what I'm saying is do yourself a favor and at least pull off and check the relay.
But hey..for all you know the bulb could be burnt out..but i doubt it.

 

Do you happen to know the TSB number or the replacement part number for the vacuum solenoid? I'm having the same issue. 4Low works, but 4 Hi flickers only briefly.

 

Sorry but I don't remember it off hand. I'm sure you could do a Google search on it and look for 4x4 shift solenoid update or tsb. The part was only around 25 bucks if I remember right.. and has a little hood over it to keep the water out....I see your in Cleveland... Just go up to Gillingham ford on brookpark rd..the guys are pretty good and I'm sure will know exactly what you need when you describe it to them.