power windows, and windshield wipers only work when a door is ajar and only work intermittenly when a door is ajar, otherwise they don't work at all.

70

Asked by knighterrant66 Feb 27, 2016 at 11:32 PM about the 2002 Ford F-150 Lariat SuperCab 4WD LB

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

The door windows and wind shield wipers stopped working. However, I noticed that when a door is ajar they will work periodically. Not so coincidentally, I hear what sounds like a relay engaging in the vicinity of the starter solenoid and when it engages, which is about every 3 seconds, the door windows and/or the windshield wipers will work for about a second - again as long as a door is ajar or open.

7 Answers

74,390

I will assume the door which activates those things is only the drivers side. Suspect a short circuit in the drivers side and check accordingly. Also, is the clicking sound you hear coming from the solenoid relay attached to the fender well, near the battery? If the relay is getting power after the engines has started, could be an electrical problem within the starting/ignition circuit.

2 people found this helpful.
70

Aloha! Thanks for the great suggestions. However the problem occurs regardless of door open (4 door crew cab) or window used. After further research I stumbled on several web sites that mention the G.E.M. (General Electronic Module). The GEM connects directly to the back side of the fuse box. The GEM is not the PCM or the ECM, but rather a separate unit where all of the electrical systems fused through the cabin fuse box are routed through. Symptoms of malfunction of the GEM module vary wildly but do include weird symptoms like the ones I experienced below. Unfortunately the GEM is not mentioned at all in the commercially available maintenance manual, which did not help in troubleshooting. I was able to narrow down it to the GEM by removing fuse number 17 (5A) labeled "GEM" in the users manual, which after it was pulled completed stopped the weird symptoms but also stopped the windshield wipers, door windows, and other systems from working entirely. I have ordered one and unfortunately brand new units are really expensive (~$500). It's on the way and should be here early next week. I will update this blog one last time after I install the new unit, to indicate whether or not it worked. Thanks again!

7 people found this helpful.
570

Yes I would be interested to learn the outcome. Please re-post.

1 people found this helpful.
130

Windshield won't come on and the window go up or down and light in domelight don't work. L

13 people found this helpful.
30

On my F150 2002 my windshield wipers will only work when the truck is in park will not work when the truck is in Drive how do I fix this problem

3 people found this helpful.
20

I have a Ford f150 three door and some times the wipers work some time they don't along with the windows now my 4wheel drive is in low and the lights won'tcome on to disengage

2 people found this helpful.

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