Trying this again as it seems it keeps getting posted to the wrong sub forum.

I have an issue with my daughter's 2002 F150 Supercrew, 4.6 ltr.

I live in Nashville area and Tuesday my son-in-law went to the store. When he came back out after just a few minutes. the truck would turn over but not fire. He called and I gathered some tools and headed that way. On my way, he called and said it started. I followed him back home with no more problems. It was fine the rest of the day.

The next morning(Wednesday) it would not fire again. I noticed that the truck fuel gauge was almost in the red(he likes to run low, no matter how many times I tell him to keep it at least half). I sprayed a shot of starting fluid and tried it again. Still not firing so I tried one more shot while cranking and it started and ran fine. I then took the truck and filled the tank.

This seemed to have solved the issue until this morning(Saturday). Same thing again quick shot of starting fluid while cranking and all is well. I will be replacing the fuel filter in case he picked up trash from bottom of tank. It has been a couple of years since I last did the filter when replacing the fuel pump and cleaning the tank.

There are no codes and the check engine light goes out when started like normal. I got online checked here for possible solutions.

I also noticed this morning that the key chime was dinging when I opened the door with the keys in my hand. Also the blower and radio were running so I turned them off. The windows still work with the ignition off and key out. The dome lights do go out with the door closing and the chime stops. As soon as I open the door it starts again, at least most of the time. I also tried resetting the door locks with the remote and nothing changed. I tried the WD40 on the door latches and the key switch in the column and also tried the spare key and remote switch to no avail so I am afraid it is in the ignition switch.

Doing some more observing I find that the check engine light and low oil pressure light stay on and the odometer shows all dashes with the ignition off and the key removed as well. Also, when the engine is running, the light on the dash next to the "fuel door", that looks like a seat belt light, will come on and the chime beeps rapidly about 25 times. This happens at about 2 minute intervals but not every time I start the truck. Sometimes after I close the door, with the key removed, this chime will go off again in the same manner but the light does not light with the key removed. I do still have the other aforementioned lights every time I remove the keys. Okay a new development here, it seems that the lights will go out and stay out if I shut the ignition off while in gear or in neutral then put it in park and lock the switch.

These problems all started about the same time and yes we have had some wet weather, even thunderstorms and tornado watches this week but no nearby lightning strikes that I know of.

I was just wondering if it was coincidence or if my issues are are related in some way? Could the ignition switch/key lock in column be causing both issues? I would appreciate any help I can get.

 

I would first suspect the ignition switch because it powers up all the systems.
Good luck.

 

Don't spray WD-40 where keys are involved. It works fine until dirt and other crap sticks to it and then it causes problems. Graphite or other lock lube works well, but is seldom needed. I agree with the other poster, the electrical part of the ignition switch is likely where your trouble is.

 

Thats where I'm looking next. Today the dash lights were flickering on an off with the key out. I guess it's time to drop the column. Thanks for the replies.

 

As a side note, if yer SIL feller keeps running on empty, expect to be changing the fuel pump again. I'd be billin' the feller, and/or make 'im change it, lol.

The fuel is a coolant.

BTW - that fuel filter is a ~15k mile preventative maintenance item. Requires being proactive, not reactive.

==> http://www.agcoauto.com/content/news/p2_articleid/195

Good luck wif the 'electrical gremlins - yer in good hands wif ol' Bluegrass an' Bob.

 

The good news is that the filter should be good as this truck was only run about 5-10 miles per day during the week. and hardly driven on weekends. He only lives 2 miles from work. So I doubt the filter is even close to 15,000 miles in a year and a half. Closer to 4,000 than 15, 000. I have told him repeatedly about the fuel pump being cooled by the gas in the tank. He just won't listen. Last time I had to drop the tank because he "couldn't do it". I told him, if he didn't keep gas in it, he better get to where he can do it. LOL

Now the bad news. Bought a new ignition switch and installed it and got the same results. Nothing has changed. We are keeping the battery disconnected to keep it from running down. I still have to prime it with ether to get it started, not something I like to do, once started it will run normally 'til I shut it off. It may or may not restart without the ether. Still no codes showing up.

 

It's time to revisit the problems a little closer.
First the battery drain issue.
A faulty Alternator will drain the battery and not be related to the ignition switch. Shorted diode stack will not isolate the Alternator from the battery as it should when engine is shut down.
Please differentiate the issues you see because there may be more than one at the same time, we are not seeing in your responses..
Have you checked the fuel pressure and pump action with a gauge?
This is the next thing to look at so you know what the pump is doing otherwise your still at square one for a no fire condition.
.
Here is how the start works so you can check each action.
At key on to Run the pump should run about 3 seconds +/- then shut off.
If yes this tells you the ignition switch is powering up the PCM.
If no, find out where the wiring or pump issue is.
.
At cranking, the Crank sensor tells the PCM the crank is rotating and to turn the pump on full time.
If no, is the crank sensor plugup good? Is the pressure in the fuel rails built up from the cranking?
You can test this by connecting a gage, then repeatedly turning the ignition to run but not crank it to see how much pressure is being built on the gage
You must be sure all this takes place or the motor will not run due to lack of fuel.
This test is how you would also get the motor to run after running out of gas to re-prime the fuel rails.
The other part of cold start is the PCM looks at the values of the coolant sensor and the intake air sensor to set richer fuel and ignition timing. It may be one of these that is giving you a hard start the problem.
The fuel system and cranking won't give any codes because all the codes are issues from the PCM and there are no sensors active of 'any value' for code until the motor turns over and there is no monitoring of the fuel system for this kind of failure.
It pays to find the causes rather than just replace parts on a hope.
.
I feel for you when the owner will not listen. It's partly due to a fall back on you that you will take care of it for him. The other part is he has little interest in it, little knowledge and it's of no importance until something goes wrong.. These people types will run a vehicle into to ground before they will do anything about known problems.
Been there and still there.
Good luck.

 

My first concern is getting those dash lights and accesories to shut off with the ignition switch. The battery has 12.7 volts in it, even after trying to start it a few times. I have put a charger on it tonight to see if it will get fuel with a boost. They said something similar happened with the lights once before about 4 years ago and a new battery solved the problem. I can see that the starter might take all the available power to crank leaving none for otger systems but i can't understand the dash lights and acc problems being from a weak battery.

 

I just went out and checked the charger. It completed so i checked everything. Dash lights and acc were off, as they should be. The truck started fine. In the morning I'll take the battery to autozone and have them check it out.

 

I would like to be clear about all this.
You did say the dash was on with the ignition off or is that incorrect?
Now it is not?
There is no connection except through the ignition switch.
The ignition switch applies power to the dash.
There is no other way around that.
This is why I question what your were saying.
Any way, hope your issue is found with the battery as the major problem.
After replacement I would check the charging system for proper operation or the new battery will go down on you to the same issue over again.
Good luck.

 

That is what i said. It is freaky and I dont understand it. But it happened as described above. Thanks.

At any rate I went to Autozone and the battery checked bad, charging system good. They looked mine up and it was bought in 2012 with a 1 year warranty and a new battery was $114. So I got a 5 year battery for $30 more. Now I gotta return the new ignition switch. SO far everything working right. Will report back if problem not solved.

 

I had the same problem a couple years ago and couldn't figure what the problem was. The issue came and went so I dealt with it until last fall when the truck started missing. After getting a check engine light I was able to get the code (can't recall what it was) for a misfire in cylinder 4. After replacing the plug and COP the truck was good to go.

And so it goes, I just started having trouble with the truck cranking but not starting again. Only happens after driving it, stopping for a brief period and trying to start it again. Truck will crank but not start. I let it sit for a few minutes and try again and it usually starts up. Coolant is a little low but I can't find any on the ground or around the top of the engine. There does appear to be a little oil leakage around the cap with some down the left side of the cylinder cover (1-4).

The only thing I can figure is I am getting some type of fluid into #4. I just need to find the source.

 

Possibly a small head gasket leak. You should do a hydrocarbon test on the coolant.

 

Thanks. I'll pick up a test kit and go from there.

Got six of eight plugs and COPs changed yesterday. Those last two on the driver's side are a pain to get at without removing some stuff back in there. After a test drive and a couple of restarts, it seems my starting problem has gone away...for now...

 

The truck did fine until yesterday. MySIL took it to work and when he left to come home, it would not fire again. I went out and we tried the ether to no avail this time. It finally started when I tapped on the relay panel, specifically on the fuel pump relay. It has started fine since. I did get a check engine light and pulled 2 codes. a 302(misfire #2) and 316(crank position sensor). The CPS was replaced last year and the engine did not seem to have a miss in it when it finally started. I cleared the codes and will see if they come back.