GEM died on my Excursion. Ford techs in here

RedVenom48

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Well, my Excursion finally is giving me problems. Went to fill her up after work tonight and when I got in she didnt want to start. Bunch of relays started clicking on and off. Let it sit for a few minutes and fired right up.

Then on the way home she started to run a little rough, overdrive off light was flashing when stopped, hard shifting, engine cut for a split second then restarted a few times. I was tempted to cycle the key at a red light to see if it would clear, but let it ride.

Good thing as when I finally made it home, after shutting it off she was electrically dead. No lights, no power, cycled the key a few times, nothing. Then after about 5 minutes, power all came back on.

Where in the hell can I buy a reman GEM unit? I cant even find a GEM for my 2001 on Autonations website. Orielly of all places has some Cardone reman units, but everything online says its discontinued.

Any ideas where to look?
 

4rd Toys

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Different vehicle here-
2K1 Explorer Sport 2-door 4x4

Same thing, discontinued & no re-fab or replacements...

I could only find these modules on eBay and the junkyard. I went thru a couple from a junkyard and so far one from a 4x2 version works on mine but no 4x4 & now the radio doesn't work plus no rear wiper function.... Looking at out-of-state wrecking yards for another module too.

Supposedly you can re-hab your original but that means finding the right resistors and doing some solder-work...

Or find an electronics repair firm to test the circuit board and repair components/circuitry.
 

03Sssnake

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Well, my Excursion finally is giving me problems. Went to fill her up after work tonight and when I got in she didnt want to start. Bunch of relays started clicking on and off. Let it sit for a few minutes and fired right up.

Then on the way home she started to run a little rough, overdrive off light was flashing when stopped, hard shifting, engine cut for a split second then restarted a few times. I was tempted to cycle the key at a red light to see if it would clear, but let it ride.

Good thing as when I finally made it home, after shutting it off she was electrically dead. No lights, no power, cycled the key a few times, nothing. Then after about 5 minutes, power all came back on.

Where in the hell can I buy a reman GEM unit? I cant even find a GEM for my 2001 on Autonations website. Orielly of all places has some Cardone reman units, but everything online says its discontinued.

Any ideas where to look?

Does the excursion have an issue with water leaking into the area where the GEM is located? I know that's been on some of the other trucks. Possible corrosion if that is happening. I have mixed luck with remans, but if you got no other choices, roll the dice. The nice thing about O'Reillys is you can take that shit back forever if it has their lifetime warranty. I have done that with their truck alternators.
 

RedVenom48

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Does the excursion have an issue with water leaking into the area where the GEM is located? I know that's been on some of the other trucks. Possible corrosion if that is happening. I have mixed luck with remans, but if you got no other choices, roll the dice. The nice thing about O'Reillys is you can take that shit back forever if it has their lifetime warranty. I have done that with their truck alternators.
Im getting the feeling this may be the case. It actually rained in Phoenix last week. Ill have to check for water intrusion. We have a pretty solid glass guy at work so if there is a leak, Ill have him reseal the windshield.

Hopefully its not a ghost listing on O'riellys part.
 

RedVenom48

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long shot, but maybe Ebay ?
They are on ebay, some are super proud and have price accordingly.

No go with Orielly. I called my Ford dealer and they found "1" in national inventory. Either this is the last of this module Ford plans on stocking, or its vaporware. If its vapor ware, I may give ebay a shot.

Honestly this unexpected failure and LACK of clear parts support has me thinking that the Excursion needs to go. If its broke, I can fix it. But if I dont have solid parts availability its no go. Homie dont play that shit.

I think whatever parts I have for my GT500 at this point are it for now. No sleeves or pistons or expensive blowers. Ill still pull the motor and get my rods installed and upgrade the timing and all that. Looks like this soon to be dad needs a new vehicle though so that needs to be my priority.
 

nxhappy

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They are on ebay, some are super proud and have price accordingly.

No go with Orielly. I called my Ford dealer and they found "1" in national inventory. Either this is the last of this module Ford plans on stocking, or its vaporware. If its vapor ware, I may give ebay a shot.

Honestly this unexpected failure and LACK of clear parts support has me thinking that the Excursion needs to go. If its broke, I can fix it. But if I dont have solid parts availability its no go. Homie dont play that shit.

I think whatever parts I have for my GT500 at this point are it for now. No sleeves or pistons or expensive blowers. Ill still pull the motor and get my rods installed and upgrade the timing and all that. Looks like this soon to be dad needs a new vehicle though so that needs to be my priority.
that's crazy the parts are limited like that. I didn't think it would be that way. Maybe you could get a navigator or something of the sort. Those are nice rigs and have plenty of family room.
 

RedVenom48

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that's crazy the parts are limited like that. I didn't think it would be that way. Maybe you could get a navigator or something of the sort. Those are nice rigs and have plenty of family room.
I think all options are going to be looked at. Im heavily favoring a new F-250 with the 6.7 Diesel. If I go this route Im very content at keeping this for 20+ years.

We'll see what kind of deals Ford truck month brings.
 

hotcobra03

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Reading on gem.

What makes you think this is stopping it from running or the lose of power ?

It sounds like a bad connection on battery or a ground
 

03Sssnake

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They are on ebay, some are super proud and have price accordingly.

No go with Orielly. I called my Ford dealer and they found "1" in national inventory. Either this is the last of this module Ford plans on stocking, or its vaporware. If its vapor ware, I may give ebay a shot.

Honestly this unexpected failure and LACK of clear parts support has me thinking that the Excursion needs to go. If its broke, I can fix it. But if I dont have solid parts availability its no go. Homie dont play that shit.

I think whatever parts I have for my GT500 at this point are it for now. No sleeves or pistons or expensive blowers. Ill still pull the motor and get my rods installed and upgrade the timing and all that. Looks like this soon to be dad needs a new vehicle though so that needs to be my priority.

How good are you with electronics repair, soldering, replacing resistors and capacitors? If you are comfortable with some soldering and can use a DMM, then you can probably figure out what’s popped in that gem and fix it.
 

RedVenom48

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Reading on gem.

What makes you think this is stopping it from running or the lose of power ?

It sounds like a bad connection on battery or a ground

At first I thought it was. Battery was new last year and load tests ok. Connections ok. When it refused to restart when I got home, I had zero power after just having it running. Then, as I walked away disgusted, the power just came back on. Headlights, door locks etc. Shift on the fly has occasionally just not worked for days at a time then magically works like nothing happened. All of this appears to be traced back to the GEM.

How good are you with electronics repair, soldering, replacing resistors and capacitors? If you are comfortable with some soldering and can use a DMM, then you can probably figure out what’s popped in that gem and fix it.

Confidant in soldering and DMM usage. Using it to repair circuit boards, not so much, though I understand what youre saying. Ive been looking around the internet for GEM circuit board repair guides, but not dice.
 

RedVenom48

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***update***

So I pulled the fuse block and GEM out of the Ex this morning. ZERO signs of water intrusion of any sort. No dust, no muck. Looks nearly brand new. Looks like the GEM just decided it was done.
 

hotcobra03

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***update***

So I pulled the fuse block and GEM out of the Ex this morning. ZERO signs of water intrusion of any sort. No dust, no muck. Looks nearly brand new. Looks like the GEM just decided it was done.

What year ?

I assumed 2001 being only seeing that in thread
 

RedVenom48

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OK - am I the only one who doesn't know what a GEM is?
:D No worries

Ford Calls it a Generic Electrical Module. Controls a lot of body functions, windows, lights, 4x4 shift etc. If its having a really bad day it could be causing shorts and grounds effecting the rest of the truck's electrical systems.
 

1wild-horse

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Did you happen to check the grounds for the gem? They are in the drivers kick panel. Never seen one completely kill the rig, but it might be possible.
Diesel or gas?

A gas engine PCM shares that ground point, G300.
 
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RedVenom48

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Did you happen to check the grounds for the gem? They are in the drivers kick panel. Never seen one completely kill the rig, but it might be possible.
Diesel or gas?

A gas engine PCM shares that ground point, G300.
Ill have to take a peek. I have the gas V10.
 

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