I purchased a 2003 F-250 earlier this year with 53,000 miles. It was all working fine when I bought it, some rust, but no signs of mold, water, etc, though it was a drought at the time. After I bought it, it rained a lot and some water came in the windshield/top area. It also had some rats take up residence in the hood and apparently made a nest in the dashboard. The water dripped down the drivers side inside the trim and came out in the fuse box, and I'm told that the GEM module is behind there.

The battery went dead, and I purchased a new battery, but then I started hearing all sorts of clicking noises. I found that the noise stopped when I pulled fuse 302 Powertrain Control Module (PCM), if I recall correctly. I drove the car about 10 miles, and after stopping and loading up, I drove off with the parking brake on and the car stalled out and would not restart. There was a smell of burnt wires. I had it towed at moderate expense ($240) to a shop, and they got it started by fixing a faulty relay, I think it was the fuel pump relay (said it was behind the radio). However, the engine showed transmission error codes, and they advised to take it to a transmission shop. It only drives at <30 mph in 1st or 2nd gear. Often it does not respect the throttle and I can push it to the floor and it ignores the input. The appointment was a month out, and I had it towed there (this time $140, 10 miles). The transmission shop says that it has an electrical issue, and they won't touch it. They suggest an electronics expert, but there are no such. Both of those recommended refused to work on it, one because it is > 10 years old, the other told me it is a lost cause.

The transmission codes are as follows (as the transmission shop says, they could be caused indirectly by an electrical problem):
So now I have it parked at the transmission shop, and they want it gone soon to make space for other cars. I am thinking about junking it immediately rather than spend another $140 to tow it back. So now the last ditch attempt is that maybe someone very experienced with this particular car might be able to know exactly what the issue is or what to look for, and to do some DIY fix or specific request to a shop.

 

What engine is in it?

 

5.4L Triton V8

 

Check P1747.pdf below, it's most critical. The other tranny DTCs should go away when P1747 is addressed.
On P0135 and P0155 if you didn't get those before then more than likely a wiring issue, so don't blindly throw 2 new o2 sensors at your truck.

 

I would suspect whoever starts checking the vehicle will need to start at the fuse panel inside the driver's side of the vehicle. This does not have to be a big deal , but there definitely are some corroded connections there. The trans is a second issue.
What I have found that worked in the past was to remove each fuse one at a time reinsert it once or twice to clean the connections and see if that will get rid of the problem.

This is not a big problem only seems that way. Moisture from windshields that leaked right from the factory caused a lot of problems, but once you knew where to look , was more than half of the solution. What do you think you want to do ?

 

Get this so they will go away and find a new home. They won't come back I guarantee that.

 

Update:

I've driven the car in 1st gear 10 miles, so it is no longer in storage at the transmission shop, and therefore no longer in immediate junk territory.

The code P0750 Shift Solenoid 'A' has also vanished, but the others including Shift Solenoid 'B' still present. If you are wondering, I was able to get to 50 mph in first gear, 3-4k rpm the whole way. It has a difficult time getting up to speed, but not so bad that it caused traffic issues (more like a cement truck acceleration), but it was delivering fuel just fine at 3k rpm.

The car still cannot work in drive (D). It sputters and cannot get much fuel, cannot go uphill or well on a hill, but 1st gear is ok.

The transmission shop said that when they went to start it, it stalled out and there was smoke that came from the dashboard area. I found the Fuel Pump fuse blown, and that is the same blown fuse that the mechanic shop found when it first would not start, and they had replaced the fuel pump relay as well. I replaced the fuse, and so was able to drive it away.

 

Thank you for the update.

When able to drive it away, did everything work OK ?

 

To pull the dash check 2 pdf below.
And which tranny do you have, 4R100 or Torqshift.

 

Considering that I drove it in 1st gear, it ran relatively well, except that it had trouble starting out. It seems more plausible that it is actually 2nd gear (able to hit 50 mph, trouble below 10mph). The gear dial is broken, but 1st gear is all the way to the right so can't miss it.

To refresh,
- Doesn't drive in Drive (D), just chugs along, can't go up a hill, etc
- Various transmissions and torque converter codes

In first gear and neutral however, the engine sounds very powerful and in good health. There is a small shake at idle, but electrical issues (water + rat) is the main suspect still.