It worked last year, but now when I press the button in the shifter instead of engaging the 4wd I blow a fuse.

 

Any ideas of what to check first?

 

Thnks,

grindstaff

one of the power wires going to the little 4x engage motor could be grounded.

5spd or automatic?

 

the 5spd 4wd is vac operated, which the valve is electrical.

 

check for any shorted wires in teh center console. there are connectors under the spare tire above the trans, check for bare wire there...

Hey Arche, I have never heard of "the little 4x engage motor " please enlighten me as to it's location.

The systems I have are controlled by a push/pull vacuum servo.

The two control solenoid valves are located beside the drives side hood hinge. The wires under the spare tire are for the indicator switch only.

I just wrote a trouble shooting article for the USRM. It is possible one of the wires from the shifter under the console have shorted to ground. Easy to check if you start at the two vacuum solenoids and their wiring. See the USRM for details, if it has not been added yet feel free to email me. Hope this helps.

ANYBODY EVER NOTICE SKIP ONLY USES HIS KNOWLEDGE TO TRY AND MAKE PEOPLE LOOK STUPID, AND NEVER TO HELP SOMEONE TRULY IN NEED.

 

SORRY SKIP =P

i think poeple know what i meant.

sounds like someone else i know of.

is this going to turn into one of THOSE threads?

 

i have seen a lot of what you mention lately

 

would anyone get mad if we said it can be rigged up with a piece of coat hanger, bypassing the electrical altogether?

its all a mechanical function on the working end.

 

dont let the new guys get a bad impression of the board. this board is really the only place thats worth a shiz for good specific information.

if i had no 4x4, i would be raging a coat hanger right off the bat.

i would rather rig up a coat hanger than leave mine up on jack-stands, thats for sure.(until its fixed for real)

vacuum motor

 

acutator

 

thingie

 

 

sall the same to the gearhead

Yes, it's a five speed. I'll start looking for suspicious wires...

 

Thanks,

Grindstaff

if you, go get a Haynes Manual Subaru 1600 & 18oo, it has comprehensive wiring schematics

sorry Miles :boohoo:

Thanks for the posts. Inspection is today, and I haven't solved the 4wd engage problem yet. Please be patient with me as I'm learning what things such as control solenoid valves are, etc.

 

One other detail is that before the fuse problem I remember the engage light on the dash working intermittantly a couple times.

 

If anyone is willing to step me through as to location and how/what to check that would be great. I have a Haynes manual...not enlightening me yet.

 

I do I check the control solenoid valves?

 

Thanks,

Grindstaff

Nick, I will be emailing you with the steps you need and a copy of the repair article. I'll get some pictures to go along with the description.

Thanks! Will let you know how it goes...

With the help of the local friendly gas station who has worked on the subaru before, I was able to locate the 2 solenoids underneath the car and the confirmed the vacuum solenoids location.

 

Wires all looked good to him.

 

So I suppose the next step is to locate some solenoids and start swapping them out.

 

The fuse blowing is no longer immediate, but after 30 seconds or so. Still no indicator light on the dash.

Get an Ohm meter. Unplug the sonenoids. Check the resistance between the two terminals going to each solenoid. It should be around a few hundred ohms. If the resistance is infinte or zero, the solenoid is bad. Then check the terminals on the plug going into the wiring harness. There are 4 pins on my plug, two for each solenoind. Check the resistance between the two terminals for each solenoid. If it is zero ohms you have a short somewhere in the wiring harness.

 

You have no indicator light because your 4wd is never engaging.

 

Sounds like you have a bad solenoid if the fuse is taking a few seconds to blow. A short would take it out instantly.

 

Good luck