Electric Lock and Door Ajar issue

[BzAr]

So Friday morning i head out to go to work and hit the unlock on my key fob. As soon as i hit the button the door locks start continuously trying to unlock. While standing outside the truck i think it must be the key fob so i take the batteries out to see if it will stop and no luck. Then i open the door and it stops and i think, "weird". After hopping in and closing the door it starts back up and i notice some more symptoms. In addition to the door locks the door ajar light and dome light are flashing and and the chime is going off. It continues to do this after i start the car. i did leave the passenger window open and got a fair amount of water in the car so im thinking that may have something to do with it. I've already taken some steps to see if i can figure this out and after spending the weekend looking at it i still have had no luck. I'll list the things i looked at and hopefully you folks can suggest some other possibilities.

This is pretty much in the order that i tried them.
- 3n1 oil in the latch to lube the door sensor
- pulled door panel and removed sensor
- removed door and checked wiring in main harness
- disconnected RAP module
- pulled the relays for the dome light, door locks and anti-theft system (door ajar light and chime continue to go off)


So that's what i've had time to do so far. Its been raining a lot lately and i dont have a garage. Haven't checked all the other door sensors but i'm not sure one of the other doors would be doing this since the drivers door being open stops it. I'm thinking it could be the GEM but i don't know how i would go about testing that. I'm not a mechanic in any way, shape or form so these steps are thing that i thought might work or that i saw in other threads. Nothing has gotten me up and running. Oh, and im driving a 96 explorer eddie bauer. Any advice would be great.

 

[koda2000]

As I read your description of what was happening, I was thinking GEM.

 

[BzAr]

That was my thought as well. Is there any way to test that short of just replacing it?

 

[drdoom]

My truck sat for a few years, til I finally got it going. I had the exact same thing happen. Many things were "lazy" for lack of better description. Locks in particular, flashers, wipers. Even had the headlights turn off going up the mountain one night, but just that once. The flashers, I feathered the lever for a week or two. As for the Skynet incident with all the locks, I have no idea why that happened, I don't even know any Connors. That was about three years ago, never happened again.

 

[koda2000]

That was my thought as well. Is there any way to test that short of just replacing it?

I don't know of a way to test it, but maybe someone else will give you a suggestion. I'd probably just try to find one at the bone yard and try it. there's a lot of them on eBay, most run $50-$100 and up. salvage yard must be cheaper. just find one with matching numbers.

here's a link that you may find helpful:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=238164

 

[drdoom]

Hook up to ForScan and run the GEM self test. It will test all functions in less than a minute. Of course it will also read GEM trouble codes. The software is OpenSource, you just need an OBD2 interface, USB or Bluetooth and a laptop or smartphone.

 

[BzAr]

Ok so i didnt know what an OBD2 interface was but after a quick search it looks like its pretty handy to have around. Found one on amazon pretty cheap so its on the way. I guess i'll wait till that comes in and then see if that will tell me what the issue is. Thanks for that piece of info drdoom.

 

[drdoom]

You are welcome, I hope that helps, I now noticed your truck is a 96, I honestly could not tell you whether it's OBD1 or 2.

 

[BzAr]

when i looked it up it said that vehicles model year 96 and newer were OBD2. If not its no big deal. Only dropped about 15 bucks on the bluetooth dongle and it will be useful even if it doesnt work for my explorer. The only thing that sucks is that this is my daily driver. At the moment im borrowing a car from my brother but im not sure how long that can last. Hopefully the shipping is fast and i can diagnose this issue quickly after i scan it. I'll let you know what happens when it comes in.

 

[SoNic67]

The ForScan software (with an ELM327 scanner) can initiate a self-test sequence for GEM, ABS, ETAC...

 

[drdoom]

You should be good to go then. Let us know if we can help.

 

[koda2000]

when i looked it up it said that vehicles model year 96 and newer were OBD2. If not its no big deal. Only dropped about 15 bucks on the bluetooth dongle and it will be useful even if it doesnt work for my explorer. The only thing that sucks is that this is my daily driver. At the moment im borrowing a car from my brother but im not sure how long that can last. Hopefully the shipping is fast and i can diagnose this issue quickly after i scan it. I'll let you know what happens when it comes in.

'96 and newer should all be ODB II. some '95 were ODB II and some had the test port but it wasn't connected.

 

[BzAr]

So i got my scanner in today and got it all set up with ForScan. Ran the GEM self test and it threw a bunch of error codes. As a matter of fact the only error codes i got from any of the tests came from the GEM. I'll list them out so you folks can take a look.

GEM B1302 - Accessory delay relay circuit failure
GEM B1814 - Rear wiper motor down relay circuit failure
GEM B1818 - Rear wiper motor up relay circuit failure
GEM B1834 - All door Unlock/Lock Output Circuit Failure
GEM B1398 - Left front window relay circuit failure
GEM P0500 - Vehicle speed sensor malfunction VSS
GEM B1404 - Left front power window switch down circuit open
GEM B1352 - Ignition key in circuit fault
GEM B1317 - Battery voltage too high

Now this is, of course, just an assumption but i feel like all these things couldn't have all gone bad at the same time. In my mind this leads me to believe that the GEM is in fact bad. If someone more knowledge could chime in that would be great.

 

[BzAr]

So after running the test i pulled the GEM out of the truck and popped open the case. It looks like one of the large capacitors on the board is damaged. There is some scorching on the board directly below the capacitor and some black residue as well. So i'm gonna order a used one. I saw in another post that the last two letters in the serial number are irrelevant so long as i don't get one for the 4x4 model. Can anyone confirm this.

 

[BzAr]

Well in case anyone is interested, replacing the GEM took care of all of my issues. Thanks drdoom for suggesting the OBDII scanner. It worked a treat and should be really useful in the future.

 

[drdoom]

Oh yes, I find all this very interesting! Nice work on your diagnosis and repairs! And thanks for posting your outcome, I am sure it will help others.

 

[Jim_WY]

Thank you for posting your symptoms and results. This may help me greatly.