Weird behavior here on a 97 Explorer, since yesterday:

- when I remove ignition key, the air blower continue to work (drained my battery overnight!), I also noticed that the power windows are working too as well as the sound emitted when you open a door... like if the key was still ON. Radio and other accessories don't seem to operate with key removed.

- to save battery, I turned blower to OFF while leaving the car, which stop effectively the blower and also the power windows and sound door open.

So basically if I leave the car with the blower ON it will stays ON even without the key, if I turn it OFF everything looks OK... I don't want to leave with that: being obliged to turn it OFF each time you leave the car...

Any ideas? Thanks.

 

Look in the fuse box and see if you can find a "accessory delay" relay. Pull it out and see if the blower stops. If it does, you might want to look around and see if there are any other relays just like it that you can swap it with, and see if the problem moves. That way you can make sure if it's the relay before you go out and buy one.

 

I found 6 relays in the fuse/relay box and remove them one by one without success: blower was still ON.

I screwed up previous description: open door sound and power windows do not work when the key is removed and the blower is ON, but they start to operate (on request) when I turn the blower off, with the key removed!

 

Leaky windshield syndrome followed by water intrusion into the GEM module and CJB.

Particularly frequent during and after wet weather.

Steve

 

Sounds like a GEM module but I hadn't heard that explorers were having this problem.

 

Is it possible that key cylinder and lock is worn out already.

My 88 lincoln key/steering lock assembly is acting up like yours.
I just wiggle it more into off position

 

The GEM module everyone is talking about is the electronic timing box that controls the accessories, and the accessory delay relay.

I do not know if your model has a GEM, and if it actually controls the blower motor power. I only have a 99 diagram to look at, and if it's similiar to a 97, it looks like the blower motor is not controlled by the GEM, or any other timing feature. So it looks like my accessory delay relay idea may have been wrong if we go by the 99 diagram.

Let me describe what I see in the 99 diagram, and you can look to see if it applies to your model.

Under the hood you should have a fuse box with fuses and relays. In there you should have a blower motor relay. This relay feeds power to the blower motor. The blower motor is not grounded directly. The ground is routed through a high speed blower relay. This relay is located in aux relay box #1. This is located more or less behind the passenger side headlight area under the hood.

When the high speed relay is activated, the ground of the motor is routed directly to ground, so the full 12 volts is across the motor. When the high speed relay is not activated, the ground of the blower motor is routed through the resistors and the selector switch in the dash.

 

http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBr...3d800ba9c7.jsp

 

ARG!!! Missed that Exploder bit.......

Steve