Hamfisted
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I had the crazy idea to disconnect the battery ground cable for a few minutes and see if that did anything. I hate to talk you into a VSM replacement if that can be avoided. Just for shock therapy call the dealer and see how much a new VSM and programming would be.
But find out where the water is coming from. Does it have a sun roof ? Those drains get clogged, or the drain tube cracks and water runs down the interior sidewall, right there above the security module and fusebox. Another awesome Ford engineering feat. Take the glove box out for easier access to the module. If you unplug it and the parking lights go out, that's most likely the issue. The plugs are on top of the box and water can run right into the plugs and short stuff out. The service manual says non-serviceable. That usually means the crap is soldered in there to a complete circuit board of other junk. Take it out and look at it. I'm not a very good electrician when it comes to repairing circuit boards. You can get a used one on Ebay for about $50 in case that works out better for you. Probably have to reprogram it to your Expy though.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2003-Ford-...056364?hash=item4b51b04f6c:g:-S8AAOSwzt5bbg6Y
But find out where the water is coming from. Does it have a sun roof ? Those drains get clogged, or the drain tube cracks and water runs down the interior sidewall, right there above the security module and fusebox. Another awesome Ford engineering feat. Take the glove box out for easier access to the module. If you unplug it and the parking lights go out, that's most likely the issue. The plugs are on top of the box and water can run right into the plugs and short stuff out. The service manual says non-serviceable. That usually means the crap is soldered in there to a complete circuit board of other junk. Take it out and look at it. I'm not a very good electrician when it comes to repairing circuit boards. You can get a used one on Ebay for about $50 in case that works out better for you. Probably have to reprogram it to your Expy though.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2003-Ford-...056364?hash=item4b51b04f6c:g:-S8AAOSwzt5bbg6Y
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