YEsterday while cleanin out my truck, i went to replace my dome light and i hit the pos and neg wit a screwdriver. Now my wipers, speedo dont work and my airbag symbol is flickering.. Any idea on what it is. Checked all the fuses, there ok.. I need help!!

 

I did the same thing and it ended up being a couple of fuses.... although one of them didn't look blown at all. Give me 2 secs I'll find out what else shares the dome light one.

Edit: Fuse 26 is used for the courtesy lamps... if that helps at all. Speedometer is on fuse 11... I had to take the fuse out, turn the ignition to "on", turn it off, put the fuse in and start the engine for it to work. Weird quirk.

 

THANKs im going to do it now!!!

 

oh man i dunno how to thank you!!! worked like a charm! that 26 what bustd

 

Aye, I bet it was blown out nicely. I've done it a few times. Always disconnect battery when fooling with electrical components. Glad you got it done quickly.

 

From what I have gleaned from this board this is a common problem. Windshield seal starts to leak, water drops on back of fuse panel and corrodes or damages the GEM module and poof--various systems start to act up, no window, no dome light, wiper don't work, 4-wheel drive won't engauge, etc. My question is where is a good write up on accessing the GEM module for replacemnrt

 

One thing I have learned as a electrical engineer is that the electronics are rarely to blame typcally it is the connections. I had the identical problem on my truck. All I did was remove the GEM Generic Electrical Module and unplugged it from all connectors and cleaned it up. Once I did that, I put it back it and everything worked wonderfully.

BTW, the Gem is on the back of the fuse box. It has 3 screws holding it down with 1 wire harness connector on the side and another connector that goes into the fuse box that you cannot see.

Getting out the fuse box is a little tricky but it is only 2 bolts and 2 nuts once you take off the front dash panel. It takes some manuvering but it comes out easy enough.

I would have taken pictures but it was late and I was tired.

Also, Chiltons did absolutley no justice to this aspect of the vehicle. It kinda irrirtates me that they totally glossed over such an important part.

Joe Quint
Had exactly the same problem after a big rain storm in my 1997 4x4. Saw water leaking down from the inside fusebox. Removed it (4 bolts, plus 2 bolts on the back holding the wires on). Blew it dry with my compressor & blow gun. The GEM is on the back of the fuse box attached by screws. It was dry luckily. Put it back together and replaced blown GEM module fuse, truck worked fine. $168 later for a new windshield and all is fine.

Thanks to this forum for pin pointing the fix for me

 

Always check your manual for the fuse chart. I did the same thing when installing my Explorer dome light. My screwdriver hit two different contacts, and blew a fuse. Having no horn isnt good lol.

 

When has the GEM been behind the fuse box? As far as I can tell its always been behind the radio to the left. You unscrew one 7mm screw at the bottom and push up to release.

 

On 95 and up rangers it's behind the radio on the left hand side, on 94 and older rangers it is bolted on the back of the fuse box.