Subasaurus Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 4WD button on my shifter is finally breaking, well i thought this was going to be a plug and play easy thing with 2 wires and a switch but apparently it has 3 wires for some reason and i don't want to play the guessing game and fry something. but apparently i need a relay of sorts and something being single pole double throw on/on switch, i don't understand, could someone explain it to me in detail? theres a white, yellow, and red wire, i dont understand why i need a relay if the 4WD button doesn't have a relay. i was reading this thread= http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/150571-random-4wd-engage/?hl=button im confused, is the 4WD button 2 buttons in 1? thats all i could come up with myself. do i actually need a relay? -thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crawlerdan Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 ive relocated the switch many times, dash, console, steering wheel on a rally car lol if the switch itself is ok, just relocate it 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subasaurus Posted April 30, 2015 Author Share Posted April 30, 2015 (edited) what if i don't use the original switch? whats going on inside the switch? Edited April 30, 2015 by Subasaurus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooner Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 The best way to find that out is by using a multimeter, all it is doing is turning on and off. I relocated mine years ago to the dash. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crawlerdan Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 ya what he said Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subasaurus Posted April 30, 2015 Author Share Posted April 30, 2015 i will check with the multimeter tomorrow since i woun't be home till tomorrow, i mean my only guess is 2 wires need power from 1 because theres 2 solenoids that get activated when engaged in 4WD. don't know, ill find out tomorrow. any other opinions greately appreciated, thanks guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagonist Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 The wires are (sorry, I don't know what colours relate to each): - ign on power - 4wd activated - 4wd de-activated The switch only operates the 2 small air solenoids behind the LHS strut tower. They don't draw much power (it's the engine vacuum that does all the work), so they don't need relays. You'll need a switch that has ON at both ends, and no OFF position in the middle. So yes, it kind of is 2 switches in one. If you can't find this kind of switch, get a normal switch, and then wire it up to a cross-over relay. ie one that has a pin active when the relay is charged, and another pin when it isn't. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagonist Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 BTW, the 2 solenoids don't both get activated when you want 4wd. 1 solenoid is to engage 4wd, the other is to disengage it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagonist Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 (edited) But before you go to this extreme, have you tried to clean it? 20 years of oil & gunk on your hands falls into the space between the switch & the gear stick. If you push down the rubber boot, you've see a roll pin through the knob. Knock this through & then the knob should come off the top of the gearstick. Then on the dash side of the knob is a small screw which holds the switch in. Remove this & with a bit of careful effort the switch will come out the top of the knob. Clean away & re-assemble. Small time used, small amount of cleaning used, small amount of $ used Edited April 30, 2015 by wagonist 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subasaurus Posted April 30, 2015 Author Share Posted April 30, 2015 (edited) white is switched power red is to engage 4WD yellow is to disengage 4WD looked everywhere for the switch and ended up finding a single pole double throw ON-ON switch at Altex computer store lol, lowe's had a SPDT but it was ON-OFF-ON. still working on the project, will post a picture of where the switch ends up. Edited April 30, 2015 by Subasaurus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iluvdrt Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 The switch is a 2 throw, 2 position switch, both of them being "ON". There is no off. Its either on for FWD, or it on for 4WD. Make sense? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subasaurus Posted May 1, 2015 Author Share Posted May 1, 2015 (edited) Everything worked out perfectly besides the fact the switch being upside down and having to take the dash apart again to flip it, the SINGLE POLE DOUBLE THROW (S.P.D.T.) ON-ON switch worked perfect, the switch looks alittle cheesy (wish it was bigger) but thats the only one i could find that was S.P.D.T. thank you crawlerdan, scooner, and wagonist, couldn't have done it without you!! here is a picture of where the switch went, i think ill eventually order a better looking one that lights up from online and install it later. oh and i left the original 4WD button in the same place (i didn't want a hole in my shifter) i just jammed some plastic in there so the button woun't go down anymore, or make an annoying vibrating sound on the highway. Edited May 1, 2015 by Subasaurus 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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