Joe S.

"JimV" <jv9999@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:PeSdnTAPit-7Q1fenZ2dnUVZ_sidnZ2d@comcast.com...
> Joe S. wrote:
>> Bought a used 1997 Mazda B4000 last week; been driving it for 10 days
>> without a problem. Today, when I started it, I got two warning light
>> indications:
>>
>> 1. ABS light comes on and stays on.
>> 2. 4WD HIGH and 4WD LOW lights flash 2-3 times then go off. After a few
>> minutes, they flash again, then go off. 4WD does NOT engage -- I flipped
>> the dash switch into 4WD H and 4WD L, nothing happened, truck remained in
>> 2WD.
>>
>> All fuses look good -- I pulled the fuses, looked at them, then put them
>> back, did not replace any fuses.
>>
>> I installed my amateur radio transceiver in the car today and these
>> warning lights started after I completed the installation. During the
>> installation I did not touch anything else on the truck -- was very
>> careful to avoid all internal wiring, etc. I did connect my amateur
>> radio directly to the battery -- a pair of #10 wires, fused, connect to
>> the battery -- one to the pos terminal, one to the neg terminal. I
>> loosened the battery cable clamps, one at a time, and inserted the
>> connector on the end of the pos and neg power leads for the raido under
>> the head of the hex bolt that tightens the cable clamps onto the battery
>> terminals. I do not have my antennas installed, so, I have not
>> transmitted with the radio -- I know some vehicles have problems with RF
>> energy from transmitters getting into the computer but that could not be
>> the case here.
>>
>> I turned the ignition switch on and off several times, no change. Drove
>> the truck a couple of miles, shut down, started, drove back. No change
>> in the warning lights, they still come on. Everything else works fine.
>>
>> I have noticed, every day, a small wet spot on the ground under the
>> truck -- it's brake fluid -- I stuck my finger in the spot and smelled
>> the stuff. The spot is located under the center of the engine compartment
>> (centered from side to side), just behind the front axle. I have not
>> been able to find the source of this spot. Brake fluid level has not
>> changed in the 10 days I have had the truck.
>>
>> Usually, when I start the truck, I hear a muffled "clunk" from underneath
>> which I have assumed to be a solenoid in the 4WD system activating. Now
>> I don't hear that sound.
>>
>> Is it possible that, in loosening the cable clamps on the battery cable,
>> I interrupted the power supply from the battery to the truck's computer
>> or something that would have caused these warning lights to go on?
>
> A defective shift motor can cause this and it's a very common problem.
>

"Shift motor?" This truck has a 5-speed -- I do the shifting :-) !!!

Can I fix it? What is a shift motor?

I should have said that my experience is with old VW Beetles -- damn, but
life was simple then.