98 mark viii having weird electrical problems

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whitemark8

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whats up everybody, first post. i bought a 98 mark viii about a year ago. runs pretty good considering it has 120k miles on it. just recently while i was driving my speakers cut out (everything is powered by aftermarket amps, stock amp taken out) and only my subs played for a second. after that everything cut out and my radio turned off. looking into it a little more i noticed my moonroof and windshield wipers werent working either. figured it was a fuse blown or something simple. checked out my fusebox and no fuses are blown and each of the things that arent working are on seperate fuses.
anyone have a problem like this before?
 
its doubtful anyone will have the same problem considering your stuff is completely aftermarket. its either a ground came loose, power came loose, stereo is fried, or blown fuse feeding the 12 power to the stereo, or, if anyone put a fuse under the hood for the amp leads, check them. the sunroof and wipers might be a different problem, or someone did something when installing all the stuff and disrupted some factory wiring and caused a headache. i'd start by pulling the head unit out and check everything behind it.
 
well i did everything myself, i used to work at a stereo place and i know what im doing. the problem isnt with my aftermarket stuff. my radio is off and the radio fuse in the fusebox is fine. same with the moonroof and the wipers. im going to check everything with my voltometer tommorrow to see if im even getting voltage at the fuses. my subs and speakers cutting out was coming from the radio turning off, nothing with the actual amps. its just weird that all this went out at once, since it doesnt seem like they have anything in common ( i thought maybe they shared a common fuse but thats not the case. ive already pulled out the headunit and checked everything and its fine. i just dont know what else i can look for if its not the fuses.
is it possible that its a fuse under the hood that maybe runs power to these things up to the fusebox?
 
2 things all those circuits have in common are the battery and alternator. I'd check the alternator output voltage and do a load test on the battery just to make sure that they aren't the problem.
 
Check the fuses under the hood with a continuity test and look at them too they may be barely touching causing a good read with the volt meter but not actually working.(I have seen this many times typically in the Dodge trucks)

Also have you had you GEM module replaced under the recall yet. I know that my moms Navigator and my brothers Harley Truck had them go bad and the radio would turn on and go wide open at all times of the day and night. I am not sure if it would cause the problems in you car but it did in theirs.
 
playboy4aday said:
Check the fuses under the hood with a continuity test and look at them too they may be barely touching causing a good read with the volt meter but not actually working.(I have seen this many times typically in the Dodge trucks)

Also have you had you GEM module replaced under the recall yet. I know that my moms Navigator and my brothers Harley Truck had them go bad and the radio would turn on and go wide open at all times of the day and night. I am not sure if it would cause the problems in you car but it did in theirs.
Click to expand...

Okay I have a '98 what is a GEM module? I never got a recall notice?
 
"The Generic Electronic Module (GEM) is found on Ford vehicles and is basically a Body Control Computer"


i dont think our cars are involved in that recall. seems its mostly trucks, and Taurus'......
 
shiryu0 said:
"The Generic Electronic Module (GEM) is found on Ford vehicles and is basically a Body Control Computer"


i dont think our cars are involved in that recall. seems its mostly trucks, and Taurus'......
Click to expand...

Thanks, I still have not had the cruise control recall done, I am so afraid they will screw it all up.
 
well you could always wait till it burns the car to the ground LOL thats what my brother tried to do (you could smell burnt plastic bad)
 
also, i forgot to mention that my dash lights up but my gas tank stays on empty, even with a full tank. my message center is also blank. another weird thing is my cd player will eject discs, but wont actually turn on (it seems like the constant is there but the trigger wont get any power) i just dont understand what could have caused this or why it happened. its just beyond me why all these things would go out at once. im going to take it to the dealership on monday, i have a feeling their going to try to screw me
 
Hmmm..... Why would you say that? They are always so honest when they sell those slightly used cars. LOL
 
It is probably the GEM as it controls the cycle for the power accessories, after the ignition is turned of and on. If you have loaded down the circuit or have a short it can do weird things.
 
i got the recall done a week or so after i bought the car, took like 15 minutes lol.
 
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