Background:
2006 King Ranch - non 4x4.
Dealer put a new/rebuilt engine it ~ 1 month ago. "too much end play in the crank shaft" so warranty covered it.
About 1 week ago I began noticing a smell of gasoline when I start it.

Yesterday:
Got off work, walked to car put key in, turned key, nothing.
Thinking I maybe didn't have it all the way in park I grabbed the shifter handle but was unable to depress the button to even move it OUT of park.
Hot day, so I rolled the windows down. (big mistake)
Tried key several times, flipped key over, tried again, nothing.
Called dealer spoke to service writer who mistakenly said I probably set off the PATS system when I said the light on dash was blinking slowly at me.
Called my wife to get the spare key brought down to me, no go with the spare key.
Tried to roll windows up, NOTHING.
Door locks still work, headlights still work, but no windows, no radio.
Got one of my coworkers to come out with a multimeter and tested the battery. 12.4 to 12.5v and NO drop when I tried to hit the starter.
Even when the tow truck showed up he hooked his jumper cables to it, so we could try and get it out of park, but NOTHING.
The entire time that PATS light was blinking slowly at me, it never blinked fast, it never stopped blinking.

Anyone have any idea what's going on???

 

Mine did something similar once, it was the battery. Died suddenly, would not jump start. Shorted out. New battery and never another problem.

 

I guess I should hope it's just the battery, even though the warranty will not cover that.

 

If you have the original battery in a 2006, it is way over due. I change out my batteries every three years as part of preventive maintenance. It's cheap insurance against getting stranded. These newer trucks take lots of juice, even when they are not running.

At least get the battery checked.

 

I like you're idea... a new battery every few years is something I think I'll put on my to do list. My options were looking bleak at about 4pm yesterday with the dealer and rental place closing at 6pm. It was either tow it home and try to figure it out on my own or tow it to the dealer and let them figure it out. Since I was pretty sure it wasn't a battery (no voltage drop when key turned to start) I really didn't want to try and diagnose it myself. I needed a running car today so I took the 2nd option.

 

Did you check the fuses?

 

Probably the battery.....they just go with no warning.....

 

off topic, but i did not know that ford made a 2wd king ranch. thats crazy

 

Don't know why. If I wanted a King Ranch, I would want a 2wd.

 

really? To me, you would think that a truck with just about every option would come with 4wd standard.

 

I have never had a need for a 4wd and sure don't want to pay for it or maintain it if I don't need and use it.

 

If I wanted a 4wd I'd want old school lockout hubs and a manual transfer case - or a fully automatic all wheel drive. I don't see what all the fuss is about for 4 wheel drive on a street vehicle. I lived in the snow belt for over 40 years and never owned a 4 wheel drive, and I don't drive offroad. To each their own, I'm all for choice.

 

On my wife's Jeep we started having trouble with a year ago and went through everything you would usually hit on. Came to the battery and had my neighbor over with his tester on it hit the starter and no drop in voltage but wouldn't kick over either. Took it into the shop the next day and they put their tester on the battery and they said it should of been replaced 6-8 months ago. Anyway good luck at least it was still under warranty for the engine to be replaced.

 

no :o

Just called the service writer. Fuse was blown. They're checking to see if they can figure out WHY it blew... I do have a GPS and my Iphone power cable both plug into the lighter, but neither was plugged in yesterday. I tend to only plug either of them in when I need them and rarely have the GPS plugged in when I'm driving to and from work (makes putting up my windshield screen a pain)

On a side note, I did notice yesterday the battery is only a 650a unit. I'm going to check the date on it when I get it back and if it's original or more than a few years old I'm off to Costco to get a new one. There should be no harm in getting a unit with more cold cranking Amps, right?

"certified pre-owned"... what good was it?

 

Get as many CCA's as you want, the more the better.