Yesterday, the horn in my truck (7.3 L Diesel) starting beeping while noone was in the truck. It would beep for like two minutes straight and then let up. It would stop for a few seconds and then do it again. After about five times, then it stopped completely. It also would stop if I opened the door. Today, while driving the truck I noticed the speedometer needle kept jumping back and forth, sporadically. I also tried the horn while driving it and now the horn doesn't work. When I got on the highway, I tried to set the cruise, and the cruise didn't work. Also, while driving the truck, the overdrive "off" light kept flashing on and off (I left the truck in overdrive). Even though these wierd things were going on, the truck was driving and shifting fine. After I shut the truck off, I noticed that the heater blower motor stayed running (with the truck off and the key out of the ignition). I pulled into the local Ford dealership and asked for a diagnostic of what's going on. After three hours of waiting, they told me that my windshield on the driver's side had a leak and water had leaked into the fuse panel and gem module. It had caused some corrosion. The price to fix it with new parts would be $1200.00. I did notice some wind noise on that side of the truck when I bought it. I had it resealed. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Has anyone ever experienced the same problem? I don't have $1200.00 to spend, so my question is, could I pull these items off of another truck as long as it's the same year and with similar options? Could I get these parts from a junk yard and save a little money? The service advisor wouldn't let me talk to the mechanic, but he said that the gem module would need to be reprogrammed if it was from a used vehicle. Is that true? Or do I have to go with new? Does it have to be "Ford", or can I use aftermarket?

 

Yes, it is common for the GEM to be damaged by water from a leaking windshield. Yes, you can use a GEM from another truck as long as it has identical options or you will cause other problems. A used module can be reprogrammed for the options on your truck.

No such thing as an aftermarket GEM as far as I know.


Jay

 

Some of the people with the same problem as you have had success with just letting it drt out and cleaning any internal corrosion on the circuit board! I would use that fancy "new improved search" function to read up on how they did it! Ita a $0.00 repair! Sure beats $1200.00 IMHO
Jim & fat Monty