Kinda new here, and this is my first Ford vehicle, and unfortunately I have to say I'm

not too thrilled with my purchase, but everyone has their bad luck.


I'll cut straight to my problem. I've done some research on here and through the internet

as well, and I've seen people who have some problems I have, but not all of them. If

someone does find something that I missed, I apologize. First off, I have the DOOR

AJAR light issue, which isn't as big of a deal, but where it starts to get weird is when

I have the key out of the ignition, the radio stays on, my windows work, wipers

work, relays under the dash ( the blue turn signal relay ) go, and when I take the fuse

out for the windows and put it back in, the relays in the fuse panel go crazy. I used to

get this issue every once in a while, but now it won't go away on its own. And I can't

be for sure, but it has rained a lot recently, and it may have rained every other time

I've come across this issue. Whatever it is though, it is causing my battery to drain out.


I'm pretty much at a loss, I'm not sure where to begin with this one. The battery in

it was WAY too small, so I bought a new one today, the previous owner put a new

alternator in before I purchased it ( receipts prove it ), and I replaced the ignition

switch just in case it was stuck in accessories or something, none of which solved

my problem. Does anyone have any ideas?

 

Welcome to FTE. For future reference, be sure to include which motor you have in your truck when you post a question since it will sometimes make a difference.

For your current issue, it sounds like your door latch is sticking. The easy fix is just to spray the door latch with WD-40 and open and close the door lots of times to see if you can get the switch to start operating correctly. Most of the time this is all it takes.

 

My apologies, I have the 6.8L V10 in this truck.


Is your solution for the door latch for my DOOR AJAR problem only, or would this

somehow tie into all of the other issues I'm having? I tried the "soak it with WD-40"

trick but that didn't seem to do it.


And I noticed your avatar is the EGA. Are you a current or former Marine?

 

I got out in 88, so that was a couple of years ago. I guess that makes me old and former. Funny how it doesn't seem that long ago.

The reason we usually suggest the WD-40 is there is an accessory delay tied to the latch. When you turn the key off and remove it, there is a period of time that the radio stays on and the power windows still work (until you open the door). Did you do all the doors or just the driver side?

Since you asked about the EGA, what's your background with the Jarheads?

 

That would make sense! I remember my Dad's Cavalier doing that and wondered

if they might have a similar function, just never thought about it..


I've read that the switch is cheap and pretty easy to access isn't it? I've seen some

people say they've done it with the door panel off and the door panel on.


As for the Marines, I am currently in the Delayed Entry Program waiting to go to

boot camp. I'm hoping that I can get this truck working right before I ship out..

 

Historically the instrument panel fuse box is at fault. All of the components that you report still operate after turning off the ignition are powered by the accessory delay relay which is controlled by the GEM. The relay is not serviceable as it is integral to the fuse box. Remove the 30A circuit breaker from the ENGINE COMPARTMENT power distribution box, position #25 and verify all components are then powered off. A stuck door latch switch will not cause accessories to remain powered up.

Disconnect the battery and remove the fuse panel from the dash, unbolt and remove the GEM from the rear of the fuse box and inspect for evidence of water or corrosion - usually green fuzz can be seen when this failure occurs but it is not always the case. Also, corrosion may also be an indicator of a water leak from the windshield or roof thatdrains down the left A-pillar and right onto the fuse box.

This advice comes from experience and not being able to see the truck for myself and performing a few circuit tests I can't be totally sure this is your issue... but if you are going too guess start with the fuse box.

Lastly, while spraying rust penetrant or WD-40 in the door latches sometimes corrects the door adjar/domb light concern the problem usually returns. Doing so might help you determine which switch is stuck but if it were my truck I would simply replace both of the switches and be done with it.

Good Luck!

 

keith, if the radio shuts off when you open either front door , does that eliminate the bad switch issue? also does the rear doors of the sc have switches? i have the same problem, only don`t really have anything weird going on, just my dome, cargo, and door lights stay on. i have wd`d the crap out of the door latches to no avail. anyhelp would be appreciated. tracy

 

keith, if the radio shuts off when you open either front door , does that eliminate the bad switch issue? also does the rear doors of the sc have switches? i have the same problem, only don`t really have anything weird going on, just my dome, cargo, and door lights stay on. i have wd`d the crap out of the door latches to no avail. any help would be appreciated. tracy

 

Keith,

I took your advice by taking a look at the GEM today since it finally stopped raining. Pulled the #25 fuse in the engine compartment fuse block, and the issues I was having indeed did stop, but they have stopped all together again now that it has stopped raining, which makes me believe that the GEM getting wet may in fact be the culprit. Anyways.

I took the GEM out, and since I'm kind of new to the Ford terminology and parts, I'm not sure which part of this block is considered the GEM. These are the pictures I have taken to help me decipher what is what.



This is the main corrosion I found when taking it out. The connectors themselves shown here do not show any real signs of corrosion, but on the harness that plugs into these slots are where the corrosion is showing. Inside several slots there is a significant amount of "green fuzz" which is probably where my problem is coming from.



These are what the connectors look like. I did get some canned air and blow out the dirt and other junk that had built up in these connectors. These are the after shots, a lot of the corrosion had been blown away. You can still see some green on the bottom right of the brown connector, but the white is a little more difficult to see. Mostly in the same area as the brown. What was surprising to me was when I took the black plastic shield off the brown connector, there was a DIME bouncing around inside of it. I don't think it was causing any issues, but I definitely decided to remove it and put it in the piggy bank.



This truck's previous owner used it as a farm truck, and with how much dust, dirt, and grime I am finding as I take stuff apart, it is becoming more and more apparent how much of a work truck this used to be. In this picture, what exactly is this circuit board that I am looking at? Is this the GEM, or is the entire piece, fuse panel and all, the GEM? If this circuit board I am looking at is the GEM, I am not seeing any signs of corrosion with it, but I'm unable to remove it from the rest of the block, I don't want to break it.

At this point I'll wait for your response, and if this entire block is the GEM, then I will probably go ahead and replace the whole piece, and see if that gets me anywhere with this electrical issue. I hope I've provided enough information to continue any help you've given me.

 

Great job! The small box with the circuit board is the GEM (Generic Electronic Module) and it is seperate from the fuse block as you can see. If the circuit board looks okay, re-use the module. Your fuse block looks like it has indeed seen water, replace it. I would get a can of electrical contact cleaner and rinse out each connector and clean off the GEM circuit board before reassembling the cover. Blow out the cleaner with compressed air if you have it or let everything dry before assembly.

Find the water leak!!!

 

If your truck is a 2WD I believe I have a brand new gem I'll sell you cheap, well cheap compared to the dealer. Never been installed but it won't work on a 4WD truck.

 

Thanks for the help, you've been a lifesaver!


If I had to venture a guess, are fuse boxes generally VIN specific? I just don't know whether different vehicles since they are equipped with different options might have different fuse blocks installed. If they are all generally the same, would you suggest buying a new unit, or would a used part from a junk yard suffice, as long as it too does not seem to have water damage?

 

I personally would not consider a "junkyard" electrical part but sometimes we are forced to go that route because of availabilty. You definately want to match the part.

 

If the fuse box is indeed wet or has gotten wet don't forget that you have to stop the leak which in this case would probably be resealing the windshield. Who knows maybe a good cleaning with electrical cleaner and a little scrub on the contacts to clean the rust out might save you a few hundred bucks. After you R&R the fuse box once the second time is always easier.

 

The truck had a cracked front windshield for about 6 months before I bought it and replaced it, so if I had to guess my new windshield will have taken care of this leaking problem. When I clean out the connectors and get a new fuse box though I will be sure to do a thorough search to see if it could still potentially be leaking. I appreciate all the advice, I'll be calling a dealership tomorrow to figure out prices.