Fuse Block Corrosion Cleaning After Windshield Leak- 98 Expedition

[Fitz98]

Had a windshield leak on my 98 Expedition a while back and noticed my battery died in a short period of time.
I recharged and took the vehicle out for a drive and electronics were going crazy. things clicking on and off, 4x4 engaging and dis-engaging, air bag light and lots of clicking noises. Turns made it worse, I imagine because of moisture making contact in different places with inertia on turns.
I have read this is a common issue with water from a leaky windshield getting into the fuse panel on the driver's side.
I have fixed the windshield leak and we have had a lot of dry weather. Also replaced battery with a new one. Things seem to be working O.K as far as I can tell, but I am still left with an air bag issue (flashes 5 times, then 2 times) and then after several cycles of that, will stay on. From my research this is a battery and voltage issue on the air bag circuit.
Took out the GEM and fuse block today.
The GEM visually looks great. No corrosion, no visible shorts, no swollen capacitors.
The fuse block on the other hand, not looking so good. If this green corrosion is visible on the outside, I imagine there is a lot more going on inside. One of the pictures below shows me prying the case a little to expose the corrosion on the inside plates from the bottom.

A few questions:
1) I could easily get another from a local junk yard, but I would imagine I would be taking a risk that it could be the same or worse. Any ideas on how to check if a junk yard replacement would not have similar issues other than looking at the visible contacts for corrosion?
2) I plan to take mine apart, but there are studs that the wiring harnesses bolt up to. These studs have flared ends on the terminal side, which prevent disassembly.
3) Anyone ever try just pressing these out from the stud side? Prying on the case does not seem to be releasing the studs at all.
4) Another option is to drill out the flare and avoid contacting the threads that the harnesses bolt up to from the other side. It seems like when all this is bolted back up, it should all get tight. It seems like the flare might just be an assembly /production feature.
Any feedback on this approach?
5) Any other ideas?
6) Could this corrosion be causing my air bag light issue? I am getting good voltage across all the fuses when the vehicle is running. I have several fuses that have voltage when the vehicle is not running, but don't see any fuses that only have partial or low voltage either while running or not.

 

[Donald]

If you can get to the contacts and they are brass then you could clean them with a wire brush.. If plated I am thinking when you remove the corrosion you will end up removing some of the plating.

I would think one from a junk yard might be something to consider assuming that vehicle did not have a windshield leak.

 

[Nukeman7]

Before tearing into the fuse box, I suggest that you use a whole can of DeoxIT D5 electrical corrosion cleaner to clean away the corrosion. Spray liberally, let it soak overnight and repeat again after blowing it out with compressed air. While pricey, DeoxIT D5 (or DeoxIT Gold) contact cleaner will remove corrosion much more effectively than conventional solvent contact cleaners like CRC QD.

 

[Fitz98]

Pretty sure they are plated. From the videos I have watched, they have a silver appearance.
I saw some on ebay for around 80.00 to 100.00 and contacts look really clean.
I would prefer to clean mine up if possible, this is becoming my backup vehicle now and is hardly used any more, plus I am not convinced this is 100% of my problem, so don't want to throw too much money at this right now.

 

[Rogueman2016s]

i lost my 98 F150 due to that same exact problem. my entire gem module soldered when water got in it

 

[Fitz98]

Before tearing into the fuse box, I suggest that you use a whole can of DeoxIT D5 electrical corrosion cleaner to clean away the corrosion. Spray liberally, let it soak overnight and repeat again after blowing it out with compressed air. While pricey, DeoxIT D5 (or DeoxIT Gold) contact cleaner will remove corrosion much more effectively than conventional solvent contact cleaners like CRC QD.

View attachment 221635

This looks like a good idea for treating the corrosion.
From videos I have watched, the contact plates are separated by several layers of plastic trays and the moisture and corrosion goes deep into the layers. I don't imagine that a topical soak would be effective enough without some disassembly.

 

[D60]

Yeah, you're lucky it starts at all. Usually the GEM is the casualty. As I understand it the GEMs are kinda interchangeable and kinda option-specific. I'd research further before getting a JY anything.

And hopefully other users will set me straight -- are GEMs all the same??

 

[SHOZ]

I use to swap to a newer GEM in my Taurus from the same line. I had a '97 and the '99s had some added features. Plug and play.

 

[Fitz98]

The GEM visually looked pretty good. I would imagine if this was cooked, I would see some burn marks or signs of corrosion on the circuit board?
Not saying that it might not be bad as well, just nothing as obvious as the fuse panel corrosion.
This brings up another question regarding GEM.
Is it plug and play or does it require vehicle specific programming when salvaging from a different vehicle.
I did not see a part number sticker on mine. There was a sticker, but looked more like a scan code. All it said was Utility Automatic 4WD

 

[wtd]

Before tearing into the fuse box, I suggest that you use a whole can of DeoxIT D5 electrical corrosion cleaner to clean away the corrosion. Spray liberally, let it soak overnight and repeat again after blowing it out with compressed air. While pricey, DeoxIT D5 (or DeoxIT Gold) contact cleaner will remove corrosion much more effectively than conventional solvent contact cleaners like CRC QD.

View attachment 221635

This is what I use on corrosion. It has worked very well for me.

 

[Fitz98]

Took the fuse box apart.
Amazing how there was not more of a problem. This is what was left after it was all dried out. Looks like it has been going on for a long time.
Pictures show the path of the water across the different circuits.
I have done a major preliminary cleaning and have ordered the Deoxit5 for a more refined cleaning and for getting into the contacts of the wiring harness.
Debating on adding a film spray of BoeShield T-9.
There are 6 layers of circuits, here are a few. A few small areas of the worst ones lost the silver plating. I think the Deoxit and/or BoeShield should help leave a film to protect that area.