The reason the GEM module fails is due to water leaking in from around the seal of the windshield which then leaks onto the top of the Module which is under the dash on the top of the fuse box. This causes a dangerous situation as the GEM controls the windshield wipers, power windows and the 4x4 switch from working, however they work intermittently. This creates a dangerous situation, i.e. if you are caught in a downpour and the wipers were to quite while driving on the freeway you would not be able to see out of the windshield which might cause you to crash into someone or something. The same for if the windows are working then all of a sudden quit working. If you were to drive into a ditch full of water and you could not roll down the window to get out you could find yourself trapped.
Looking on the internet I have found that this is not an isolated problem with the 1998 Ford F150. It seems that a lot of people that own one have had this issue. It all seems to stem from the windshield not having a good seal but also the placement of where the GEM is placed allowing water from the windshield to leak onto it.
Looking on the internet it seems that this issue is something that buyers of the F150 have had to put up with through at least 2002. There should have been a recall to replacing the seal around the windshield so that a leak cannot happen in the first place. For the people such as myself that have this problem Ford should replace the GEM without any cost. I am not sure if this problem has contributed to accidents or even creating some deaths but of all the cars I have owned in the last fifty years this certainly seems like a safety issue that should have been address years ago.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
The reason the GEM module fails is due to water leaking in from around the seal of the windshield which then leaks onto the top of the Module which is under the dash on the top of the fuse box. This causes a dangerous situation as the GEM controls the windshield wipers, power windows and the 4x4 switch from working, however they work intermittently. This creates a dangerous situation, i.e. if you are caught in a downpour and the wipers were to quite while driving on the freeway you would not be able to see out of the windshield which might cause you to crash into someone or something. The same for if the windows are working then all of a sudden quit working. If you were to drive into a ditch full of water and you could not roll down the window to get out you could find yourself trapped.
Looking on the internet I have found that this is not an isolated problem with the 1998 Ford F150. It seems that a lot of people that own one have had this issue. It all seems to stem from the windshield not having a good seal but also the placement of where the GEM is placed allowing water from the windshield to leak onto it.
Looking on the internet it seems that this issue is something that buyers of the F150 have had to put up with through at least 2002. There should have been a recall to replacing the seal around the windshield so that a leak cannot happen in the first place. For the people such as myself that have this problem Ford should replace the GEM without any cost. I am not sure if this problem has contributed to accidents or even creating some deaths but of all the cars I have owned in the last fifty years this certainly seems like a safety issue that should have been address years ago.
- Dennis A., Anderson, IN, US