Hey all, I've been diagnosing a lot of weird electrical issues with my truck. While checking fuses in the accessory on position, I heard some crackling coming from the kick panel area of the drivers side. Looked under there and saw some smoking coming from the back of the CJB/GEM (From the bulkhead electrical connectors to be exact). When going to remove the unit so I could check to see what was going on, my hands were getting wet from melting snow, so apparently I have the infamous windshield seal leak I keep hearing about. Anyways, got the unit pulled, and noticed that a bunch of the connections on where the connectors go into are corroded, likely from a good build up of water. I've included a quick shot of what it looks like.



Anyways, should I just go with the assumption that this unit is good and shot and that I need to go and pull a new unit from like a junkyard vehicle, or should I be able to just get the windshield fixed and hope I don't have any issues. I did have a few issues a while back, but don't know if there was maybe just some water in there at the time, and just had to wait for it to "dry" out, because I would only have issues during "wet" weeks and all.

Also, since I already know that I have a faulty windshield, would it be a good idea to check on other components, such as the PCM. Also if there are any other things you all can think of to look at, let me know.

 

try a new one or in the mean time just take it out and try and dry it as best you can to see if that helps.

 

OK, smoke = burning. Something is burnt. Pull the connectors where the smoke was coming from and inspect the wires on both sides of the bulkhead. Repair replace what got melted or burnt.
Corrosion on connectors will reek havoc with the circuits in the GEM. Clean the connectors at the very least. Lastly seal the water leak or you will be doing this all over again.
If you decide to replace the GEM and get a used one make sure it came from a truck with the same options. Regardless it will need to be programmed to your truck.