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Just bought my 2000 V10 4wd in July with only 75k on it. Its in great shape, but now that rainy season is here in Montana (Thank You!!!), I've noticed a few issues. I've double-checked that the battery is fully charged and both cables are tight. This is a rust-free car and ANY help on ANY of the following would be much appreciated. In no particular order:
1. Blower fan on the dash doesn't always shut off when the key is removed. Can change speeds and redirect air from floor to vents to defrost. Put key in, turn key to on and off positions multiple times.....blower is still on. Turn the selector switch from any position to "Off," then remove key, and the blower stops. Won't come back on until key is inserted and turned. I don't get it.
2. Lately, been hearing a faint beeping sound intermittently. Almost sounds like the beep it makes when the truck is running and someone opens a passenger door (is that sound normal?), but real faint. Beeps happen randomly when driving with or without radio on. I thought it might be a warning lamp beep for the dash, but no warning lights came on! Yes, I verified on startup that all my dash lights are functioning.
3. This one is really weird........occasionally, when driving at night with low beams on, if I switch to hi beams or just flash them, the radio loses power for however long the hi beams are on. Additionally, my speedometer will go crazy at the same time. As soon as I stop flashing my hi beams or move the signal stalk from hi (forward) to low (rearward), everything returns to being just fine. The radio doesn't lose the station and the clock displays the correct time. Factory stereo with in-dash 6 disc changer.
the lights might be a bad ground up frount as for the beeping it might be one of the doors contacts are alittle grimy so driving causes it to lose contact just enough to trigger the chime
Me thinks you have water/moisture in your fuse box under the dash on driver's side. I bet your windshield is leaking or has leaked into the GEM and fuse box. It is located just above the emergency brake pedal.
I have the day off tomorrow, so I'll check that out. Had to use the wife's car this morning. Whatever problem this is has completely drained the battery overnight, so it must be a significant draw. Went to leave for work this morning and the interior lights didn't come on when I opened the door....that's not a good sign. Battery was dead and I couldn't find my jumper box. Best I could do is put a charger on it for the day.
When I opened the hood, I heard a double-click sound that would repeat about every 10sec. Sound was coming from behind the drivers headlight, below a black metal tube (not the air filter housing). I'm guessing that's an evap canister, or something. Anyways, the sound went away once my charger was put on the battery.
Figures something like this would happen. I sold my truck yesterday to a co-worker and he gave me a ride home after work. No big deal, I have 3 other cars. Well, the Excursion is giving me fits, my wife had her car at work last night (graveyard nurse), and I wasn't going to drive my 66 Mustang Convertible in this weather. Since I'm the boss, I can make my own schedule. Texted my employee that I was going to be late and waited for my wife to get home. In the event I can't figure it out right away, I'm also looking at a little Ranger for my boy tomorrow. Worst-case scenario: I'll drive the Ranger until I can figure this electrical issue out.
All the systems that are acting up are unrelated/do not share common grounds or power sources. They do, however, share the fuse box and GEM. The GEM and fuse box come out together. The GEM is piggy-backed to the fuse box. There are 2 bolts and 2 nuts that hold the assembly to the dash bracket. Before you take out those nuts and bolts, you will have to reach up behind the assembly and detach the 2 large plugs linking all the electronics/electrical to the assembly. There is one 10mm nut holding each plug on. They are long winded, and there is not much space. I use a 1/4" ratchet with short 10mm socket. Once those two are off and pushed UP and out of the way, you can take the bolts and nuts off the front. Push the fuse box BACK and DOWN towards the brake pedal. Once you have a little space, disconnect the small connectors on the left side for the GEM. Once those are off, you can remove the whole assembly. You will see right away if you have water intrusion once you look at the contacts for the big plugs. You can also open the GEM very easily and look for moisture on the circuit board. This is a 30 minute job to remove and replace. Not hard at all.
Man, that's a tight fit! Got it all apart and there was some moisture on the pins underneath the two big screwed on connectors. When I put it all back together, any harm in using some dielectric grease?
Dried out the connections, put it all back together, and I still had the door chime going off with no key in the ignition and the clicking sound under the hood.
Was going to check for a parasitic draw, so I placed my multimeter between the negative post and the cable, with the key out. Had an immediate 7.6a draw which is obviously too much. Did some reading to disconnect the door chime wire from the ignition switch. When I tried to remove it by disengaging the button under the column with a long screw driver, I got 4 beeps from the horn and the chime stopped. That was with my MM in between the cable and the battery post. Now, I'm getting no parasitic draw at all, but I still have the clicking sound behind the driver's headlight. I'll check all my fuses again under the dash and report back.
Man, that's a tight fit! Got it all apart and there was some moisture on the pins underneath the two big screwed on connectors. When I put it all back together, any harm in using some dielectric grease?
Need to find the source of that moisture. Dielectric grease should be fine to use in there.
Didn't solve any problems and the battery drained in less than 6hrs. Got it all charged back up and now it will crank, but no start. Wondering in the anti-theft is preventing it? Your thoughts are appreciated!
Tore into the fuse box thanks to a great link previously provided (thank you!!!). Water damage was worse than I suspected. Seeing how these aren't available anymore, I figured I couldn't hurt this one worse than it already is. Used replacements can be found on Ebay for under $150, but I'd rather spend that money getting the windshield sealed up again. Following the instructions from the other thread, this is what I found:
I've attempted to clean up the metal strips with a small wire brush on my drill, but its too bulky. Having moved 3 times in the last year (relocation for work), my garage and shop are still a mess. I can find the battery to my dremel, but not the dremel or tools. Great. Looks like I'm heading to the hardware store in the morning! What little bit I've done has cleaned up the metal pretty good. Checked continuity with the MM and its an improvement. Once finished, I'll smear some dielectric grease to help keep water from further damage. For now, the Excursion is parked in my shop with doors open to help air everything out. My wife is now in full support of my purchasing a house with 5 garages and a 40x60 shop....
Let me see if I can find you one at the Gold Mine tomorrow. I think I can get one for about $100 if you can swing that. It will be out of an F250, but it is the same guts.
Purchased a new Dremel with lots of extra attachments. Was able to grind off all of the corrosion. Tried a small wire wheel but it was taking too long and spreading the contaminated green corrosion bits. Grinder wheel fixed that, and fast. MM confirmed continuity over all of my work, so I smeared dielectric grease everywhere and buttoned it all up. Reconnected the battery and no weird noises, smells, or clicks. Fired up and idled smooth. Now I just need to get that window sealed. Any idea what a shop would charge for all the work I just did? Wondering how much I saved doing it myself.
I bet there aren't many shops who would even do that work. Breaking electrical modules open is usually a no-no. I'm gonna venture you saved $300 on a new fuse box, though. Multiply the labor hours you spend by the local shop rate if you want to know how much you saved locally. Around here, many are charging $100 an hour.
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