Up next LTA Manufacturing Expands Venturous® Truck Tops Line Published on December 06, 2024 Author BRANDON HOFFNER Photo Credit Brandon Hoffner Share article Facebook 0 Twitter 0 Mail 0 Unlocking the Potential: Installing Black Fox Industries’ Borg Warner 44-44 Lock Switch Installing Black Fox Industries’ Borg Warner 44-44 Lock Switch A four-wheel drive that is not a genuine four-wheel drive? Many would say it is common without lockers or fancy computer software to aid traction control—and they would be right. But what about a 4WD pickup that doesn’t maintain at least a single front and rear tire fighting for traction? You probably know what I am talking about if you have a 2012-2018 Ram 1500 (or the 2019+ Ram 1500 Classic) with the Borg Warner 44-44 transfer case. This transfer case has earned a reputation for falling short if faced with deep mud, sand, or snow. I have experienced it firsthand in deep snow and on a sandy beach, and my pickup left me wanting more. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter So why have this transfer case in your pickup, and how do you know that the 44-44 is the one you have in your Ram? First, if you have the 4WD AUTO option, the 44-44 is your transfer case. If you don’t have the 4WD AUTO option, the Borg Warner 44-45 is your transfer case, and you won’t experience the same issues. In fact, one solution for these Ram pickups is to swap out your 44-44 for a 44-45. Many people choose to go this route to avoid the transfer case clutch packs and programming of the 44-44. In my situation, this swap was not an option. I live in an area with snow on the ground for five months of the year (at least), and the roadways range from reasonably clear to completely snow-packed with changes occurring within miles or hours. I run all winter in 4WD AUTO to handle these variable road conditions. It is fantastic for this kind of use! So I searched for another answer to those times I needed to fully lock my transfer case and handle severe duty conditions, but would allow me to keep my 4WD AUTO feature for everyday winter driving. My search of Ram forums and the depths of the internet led me to Brandon at Black Fox Industries. Brandon, a Canadian with know-how and driving conditions similar to mine, developed an electrical relay system that allows the owners of 44-44 transfer cases to fully lock the clutches within their 4WD system and provide the traction necessary to deal with harsh conditions and low traction. As a safety precaution, Brandon suggested the relay only be engaged in 20-minute increments as the relay may overheat with extended use. Based on my use history, I was fine with this limitation. I’ll swap over to the 44-45 transfer case if I ever need more! Installing the Black Fox Industries relay is easy. Disconnect the battery. Shown is the Black Fox Industries transfer case lock relay and the passenger side of the Ram 1500. Remove three push pins from felt liner in the passenger footwell under the glovebox. Unhook the light. Remove the cover of the 4×4 module immediately under the blower motor and at the top of the carpet. Plug in the supplied harness to the 4X4 module and connect the stock plug into the opposite connector. Power: Finding power on blower motor resistor: blue on blower motor resistor = power/positive. Black on blower motor resistor = ground/negative. Your blower motor wiring may look different from the picture. This varies between years of trucks. The large black wire is always ground. The large blue wire is always power. This is key-on power. In the accidental case the switch is left on, it will shut off when the vehicle is turned off, preventing a dead battery. Slide supplied wires into the back of the blower motor resistor. Ensure there is a good connection and secure the wires using tape. Check power and switch prior to running wire to permanent location. You’ll have to reconnect the battery to make this work. I wanted the switch in the driver’s area but out of the way. I removed each of the inner kick plates (driver and passenger side) and fished the power wires through under the radio using an old metal clothes hanger that I straightened. I drilled a ½-inch hole in the driver side kick plate to mount the switch. Reinstall the felt cover and kick plate on the passenger side after tucking up all relays and wires and hooking the footwell light back up. You are now ready to lock up the transfer case and take on challenging conditions! Remember to turn off the switch when you are not using the relay and don’t need the added capability.
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