I've been fighting with a water intrusion issue for quite a while now. With school and all, I usually don't have the funds to do something big like having a windshield pulled and resealed. I usually just duck for cover and put the beast inside whenever it is raining.

BUT...

There have been numerous times when I couldn't get it inside, and the telltale signs are there- wet floorboard, truck acting haunted (ABS cycling repeatedly, door locks going haywire, dingers going off, etc). You know, everything that makes everyone say "Your GEM got wet."

Well, a couple days ago, I forgot to put the truck up again, and this was the worst one yet- on top of the normal hauntings, the truck repeatedly tried to crank itself, and when I started it to move it, the solenoid stayed in and killed the starter. Also, the radio's sound would go out in any gear other than park or neutral.

This time, I pulled the fuse/junction box and GEM completely out of the vehicle. I opened up the GEM, and... IT WAS COMPLETELY DRY. In fact, it doesn't look like water has EVER been in there. No corrosion, no water marks, none of the dust was even damp.

The ONLY moisture I even found was on the white connector (C242A) going to the fuse panel- and it was barely wet, with none of the spades corroded. Still, I put everything under one of my chick warming lamps for a few hours before reassembling everything.

Once back together (and with a new starter), everything was back to normal as far as the "hauntings" except the radio- it still cut the sound out in gear. But this morning, even the radio returned to normal.

I KNOW I need to get the windshield fixed asap, but my question is: If the GEM is bone dry, well, what the heck???

 

May sound silly and too simple, but check fuses and relays. I was chasing a weird radio bug for the longest time and it ended up being a fuse.

Check battery saver relay, accessory delay relay, and all fuses that mention the radio.

 

pull the fuse box out and tear it down. you likely have corroded contacts. Just went throught this myself. Not a bad job if you're organized. Take pics along the way so you know how to reassemble.

 

Which fuse box?

 

Crystal, the GEM module is attached to the back of the under-dash fuse box on the 00-01 Excursions. This is called the "central junction box", and it is located just above the emergency brake pedal.