So my truck had a misfire under load and it was tiime to change the plugs anyway. I disconnected the negative from the battery for the 5 or 6 hrs it took me to do the repair. I put the key in and now she turns but doesn't fire. I notice the theft light is rapidly blinking for about a minute then blinks much slower. From doing a search this seems to be a PATS issue. I tried both keys I have and neither makes a difference. I pulled in the code reader, put the truck in ON for a minute and then scanned for codes once the theft light blinked slowly but it shot back "no codes."

Suggestions?

EDIT: I let the rapid blinking theft settle after a minute and then it blinks slower... blink 2.5 seconds blink... 4 seconds blink... 2.5 seconds blink.... 4 seconds blink... 2.5 seconds blink.
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2002 F-150 XLT Sport 4x4 Extended cab shortbed. 5.4L, auto

 

Any fireworks while working under the hood, - did anything short? You sure the battery was disconnected the entire time? But yea, sounds like the PATS imo.

Are you positive all your coil connectors were reconnected connected correctly. Go over your work, - hard to say.

 

I didn't see any shorts and I'm sure the battery was disconnected the whole time.

I did forget to plug one of the COPS back in when I put the battery back on and tried to fire it up. The Theft light started blinking rapidly. I then tried disconnecting the battery again for like a minute and plugged it all back in but it seems same issue.

Also, I think the truck has an aftermarket alarm. It has a remote start and the remote doesn't seem factory to me. Still, would any of this trigger the rapid blinking theft light? Even though I forgot to plug in a COP I would have assumed the truck would have started and run like junk. Or ran fine once it was plugged back in. I don't understand why that would cause the theft light to blink rapidly?

From a search it seems I should take it to the dealer for PATS or would it be more beneficial/economical to call a locksmith out?

 

Disconnect the battery, both pos and neg. Touch the two cable together then reconnect positive first.

 

OK, tried that. Used a jumper since the + and - can't actually touch. Didn't see any kind of spark or anything when I touched them together. Was disconnected from battery for probably about a minute.

Reconnected everything, positive first, then negative. Same result. Same theft light blinking duration.

 

Huh, - check all your fuses. I don't know, - you might have to take it in. Strange one for sure.

 

I'm still stumped. Checked all fuses and they are good. The fuel pump is not priming when you turn the key to start it. The theft light blinks rapidly for a minute and then slows down to blink, 2.5 seconds, blink, 4 seconds, blink, 2.5 seconds, blink, 4 seconds, repeats a few more times.

The truck does have an aftermarket Audiovox alarm with remote start. When I disconnected the battery for the 5+ hours it was the first time I had ever disconnected the battery for longer than 10 mins since I've owned the truck (1.5 months). Could something have reset somewhere that's causing a conflict with the fuel system not engaging?

 

Pumps not priming? That's why it's not starting. Check your inertia reset breaker to see if it tripped. Behind the pass side kick panel in the cab.

Push it downward to reset.

 

checked it and it's fine.

 

Then it's the fuel pump or relay.

 

If the fuel pump wasn't working why would this trigger the theft light to blink rapidly for a minute and then settle down? Everything I've read online suggest it's PATS that's disabling the fuel pump to begin with.

 

'Also, I think the truck has an aftermarket alarm. It has a remote start and the remote doesn't seem factory to me'

Find the After Market do dads and remove or disable.

 

If it has a remote start, the only way to make that work is by fooling PATS into thinking there is a transponder key in the ignition - or very close anyway. I don't know how those work, but I'd bet my life its that alarm. That doesn't mean much as I'm very depressed, but that's where you should start.

If you can easily get your hands on a Super Duty PCM, they don't have PATS.

 

Called the alarm place. Guy was very nice. He said he's certain it's
not the alarm but the factory PATS system. He said they have the
tools to fix it but that would require me to get it there obviously
which I do not want to do. (He's in North Philly and I'm in South Jersey). He suggested it could be many things such
as the key, the receiver in the truck, or worst case scenario the PCM.

He suggested I try disconnecting the battery again for 15 minutes and
then try starting it up again but with the spare key. (I've already
tried this but not with disconnecting the battery again. I'll give it
a shot, can't hurt anything).

If that doesn't work my next call will be to the dealer. I think a
locksmith could fix it if it's just the keys but if it's anything else (PCM or transceiver)
I'd have to go to the dealer. My only concern with the dealer is them
potentially saying we have to take the alarm out before we diagnose/fix
it.

I called my local locksmith and explained the problem. He said he couldn't be certain the alarm isn't causing a problem because sometimes when you disconnect the battery it could cause something in there to reset. He said for $100 he'll come out and look at it and that would include the cost to run the diagnostic and program 2 keys if that ends up being the issue. He said that is the issue 90% of the time in cases like this and he didn't think it would be the PCM or transceiver.

 

Have you tried arming then disarming the alarm? The reason I ask is I had a Viper alarm system installed in a Jimmy that I owned before I bought my F150 and every time I did any work with the battery disconnected I had to do this for it to start.