4WD system advice please! .....

[SarahMohr]

Hi ... this is my first time posting so I apologize in advance if i leave out the necessary details and bore you with un-necessary ones!

My question:
Is it ok, safe & not going to cause further damage or screw up anything else if I pull the 4WD fuse and leave it out for the foreseeable future while driving my truck as I normally would?

To explain:
A couple of days ago I needed to briefly use the 4WD Hi in my 2012 Ram 1500. The 4WD engaged normally but then wouldn't disengage. I tried for quite awhile to get it to switch back into 2WD but ultimately gave up and just drove the 1/2 hr home in 4WD Hi on normal dry roads.
The following day I spent another few hours trying every trick to make it switch back that I could find online .. I cant say what worked, but the truck finally appeared to fix itself and go back into 2WD.
Thinking my problems were solved, I left for an appointment only to discover the truck now had developed such a bad shake that it was basically un-drivable.
I'll fast forward thru alot of unsuccessfull trouble shooting here..
Then this afternoon I decided to try removing the 4WD fuse & like magic the horrible shaking stopped!

Was this a.stupid thing to do?
Is this an okay fix for now?
Is something else in the truck going to be negatively affected if I continue driving w/out the fuse?

 

[BCRam2010]

Hi, I just read your post, sounds so similar to my 4WD issue as well. I can get 4WD to kick in but doesn’t want to disengage. Mine has disengaged after driving a few miles but once with a bang. No shimmy or vibration tho.

Did you ever find a solution? Had it repaired or looked at yet? Just curious because I’m out of ideas too.

 

[Jeepwalker]

I don't suppose you know what transfer case your truck has??

You might drive by an auto parts store and get a code scan. There is an electric motor actuator on the transfer case which does the engage/non-engage switching. Could be that it's 'stuck', the connector pins have corrosion ...or even a bad fuse. Or bad motor (can be replaced). I'd start by pushing the fuses down. These truck fuses have a tendency to work themselves 'up' ...so try that for sure first. Make sure the 4x4 fuse is good.

you might check the motor connector on the xfer case ... maybe even tap on it lightly with a piece of wood or screwdriver handle (don't beat it). There's also the axle disconnect motor, IDK if that would keep the light on or not??

Start with a code read... There are Ram videos on the subject (Youtube). Try doing a search for them.

 

[62Blazer]

I'm not that familiar with the 1500's and going back to 2012. Assuming this is an electric shift 4wd (knobs or buttons on the dash). Sounds like the 4wd indicator/lights on the dash were showing it was in 4wd. Do you have an auto 4wd position? Was it in 4 high/lock? Did you confirm that the 4wd was actually engaged, meaning the front tires were engaged. Or just going off of the indicator? It should be obvious if 4wd was actually locked if you did any slow speed sharp turns as it would feel like some binding and such.
The things to check:
- Is the transfer case actuator motor engaged into 4wd?
- Is the front axle disconnect motor engaged?
I'm not 100% sure but often if just the front axle disconnect (FAD) is engaged that will trigger the 4wd light on the dash, even if the transfer case isn't actually sending power to the front axle. Somebody can correct me if I'm wrong.
These items can be checked if you jack the front tires off the ground (and rear tires still on the ground). If you can still spin the front driveshaft than the transfer case is not engaged in 4wd. If it was engaged it would be locked together with the rear driveshaft and you wouldn't be able to spin it. If you can spin the front, you can then verify if the FAD is engaged. If you hold the driver's side front tire stationary and spin the front driveshaft, the passenger front will spin if it's engaged.

 

[BCRam2010]

I’ll definitely check out the connections and the fuses. I’ll try jacking up the front end next time to see what is still engaged. Thanks for the ideas to explore.