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Help! Interior Electrical Problems

RebELee

New Member
Joined
January 14, 2009
Messages
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City, State
NC
Year, Model & Trim Level
'95 XLT
I have a 95 explorer xlt. A month or so ago, all of the electric windows, the 2-4wd switch, the rear wiper / washer, the rear defroster, the lamps on the visor mirrors, and the interior lights ALL stopped working at the same time. I drove a few days and "Poof" they all started working again. A few days later, they all quit working again and have not come back. All fuses have been checked and tested and I suspect that a relay is the culprit. If you have any ideas of which relay it might be and exactly where it is in a '95 explorer, I'm all eyes and ears. I had a friend at a dealer take a quick look and thought that it might be a module / unit behind the dash. That's going to cost a ton if they do it and I am not scared of getting behind the dash as long as I have an idea of where to go and what to test.
 



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i cant get to the link from the computer i am on. when you say a bad ground connection, where could it be? the other electrical items in the vehicle are working fine. could it be at the relay where all of these items run through?
 






Check your fuse #27 (interior fuse panel) and your Accessory Delay Relay, I think it's in one of your Aux Relay boxes
Auxiliary Relay Box #1 LH side of engine compartment *
Auxiliary Relay Box #2 RH front of engine compartment *
Auxiliary Relay Box #3 LH rear of engine compartment *
Auxiliary Relay Box #4 Left rear of vehicle, above wheelwell

All of the circuits you mentioned go through fuse 27 and your Accessory Delay Relay, but most of those systems do not share the ground connections
 






its not a fuse problem as fuse don't heal themselves. your problem is most likely a battery saver relay or accessory delay ...both in the relay module in the dash.
 






No, fuses don't heal themselves budwich, but if the contacts are loose/tarished/corroded the connection can be intermittent.
 






UPDATE! More Assistance Needed!

Took a look at the link for the wiring diagram. Very Helpful! All of the items that I am having difficulties with run through the GEM (General / Generic Electronic Module). Took my 1995 Explorer to a local Ford Dealer as the only time I have to work on it is on the weekends when I can make time. They determined that sure nuf' the GEM is bad and for a mere pittance of $750 they can make all right with the world and my Explorer.

Horse Puckey! I'll fix it my self considering I can get a new OEM mod. off of ebay for $175 or a used for $70. I know that I have to make sure that whatever module I buy is compatible for the one I am replacing and in the right year group. Now, here are some of my questions:

*Where behind the dash is this thing located?
*How best to get to the GEM? Take out the gauge cluster? Go from underneath? Some other mysterious way?
*I assume, disconnect the battery first?
*Is this thing plug-n-play? Just unplug the existing connections from the old module and plug into the new.
*Once connected and battery on is there anything else that has to be done in order for this module to initiate and start working? Any programmer steps required?

I may think of some more but this is a good start while I track down a new module.

Thanks for Your Help!
 






while I still wouldn't jump on the GEM bandwagon. Did you check the inputs and outputs from the mentioned relays????
 






where are they & how do I check them?

no I havent checked the output to either the battery saver or the accessory delay relay.

*are they located with the GEM behind the dash? If so, how do I get to them the easiest?
*where do i put my meter to check to see if they are working properly and what should my readings be to let me know they are?
*if they are or are not working do any of the questions i posed in my previous message apply?
 






One thing you might want to check too is the dimmer switch. I think all the interior lights including the dome lights go thru there, and someone here once traced a problem like this to the dimmer.
 






they are in the relay module which is in the center of the instrument panel / dash. They are basic relays... a voltage is applied across the windings, causing them to operate resulting in a "switch" of voltage from one contact to another. In this case, the GEM usually provides a ground to the windings when the "operate" condition is required. If there is no ground, then there is no operation...BUT also if the voltage isn't there (blown fuse or broken wire), then there is no operation. IF you were able to "determine" that the GEM was involved in the circuits in question, you should be able to determine the appropriate relay points that you need to test for voltage and ground on.
 






You also have two circuits to worry about. The control circuit budwich is describing above, and the controlled circuit that operates whatever component the relay is for. You need to check fuses and wiring for both.
 






Updated Information - Compatibility Issue

I found a 97 Exp. just like mine in a local junk yard. It was not in too bad of shape and matched the features on mine across the board. I pulled the GEM Module (F77B-14B205-BC) out of it and swapped it for the toasted GEM Module (F57B-14B205-CE or CA) out of my 95. Everything started working again. My windows work, interior lights work, rear def./wiper/washer work, etc. My only concern is 4WD. Is there any compatibility issues between 95 and 97 or their modules that would prevent my 4WD Auto and 4WD Low from working properly. I am having some issues but am trying to determine if those issues were there before the module died on me.
 






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