I have a 99 f-150 that is having issues when you try to start it at times. It will occassionally do nothing when you try to strart the engine. When you put the key in it has good battery pwer but when you turn the ignition over it will do nothing at all. Twice I've had to have it towed but ech time once it got there or by the time my mechanic checked it it worked fine. My mechanic thinks it is in the PATS. I've had this problem with both of my keys, so I know it's not the chip in it.Sometimes when it does this it will start up after sitting for an hour and other times it's half a day. After the second time it was towed I left it with my mechanic for two weeks and it would not do this once for him. Today I pulled the fuse to the PATS Tranciever/ignition/cluster and tried it. It started to turn over so I stopped and tried it again and then it would do nothing. reinsert the fuse and it doesn't turn over but still have good power through out the system.
Does anyone know if its possible to disable the PATS? Ford says there no way of disabling the PATS that they know of.
Anyone with any ideas or suggestions would be much apprciated.

 

If the starter is not moving, it is not a PATS issue.

If you put in a non PATS key, or a key that is not programmed to the HEC, you will get a crank - no start situtation, not a dead starter, along with the flashing theft light ( do you have this ? No note of it ) . To simulate this, pull the fuel pump relay, and turn the key. Same thing happens when a non programmed key is put into the ign, and turned to the start position.

This is the starting system from the '00 EVTM ( the only one I have access to right now ) :



If could be a few different things :

1. The DTR sensor is taking a powder, and not supplying voltage to the starter motor relay.
1.1. See 2.1. below

2. The coil in the starter motor is not pulling in.
2.1. Check for voltage at the starter motor relay coil to coil ground when the truck is in park, and you turn the key to the start position. This is both the feed from the DTR, and the feed from the fused links, to the relay, and the output to the starter motor.

3. The starter itself is on the way out.
3.1. Check for clean terminals, with a good connection, both the output of the starter motor relay, and the battery feed to the starter.

4. Brake pedal sensor ( plunger switch not workign all the time ).
4.1. Press on the brake pedal, and make sure the brake lights come on, and stay on ( no flickering ).

Those are the 4 major items that I can think of, off the top of my head.
I hope someone else will be along to add some info to the thread.

Maybe a link in the engine section, refering to this thread ( don't double post..adds to the confusion ) might help as well, as in my opinion, this sounds nothing like a PATS issue.

BTW : No there is no way to disable PATS, they are not lying to you. There is even a min key requirement to have the truck start ( min 2 keys programmed ).

 

My 1999 F-150 is in the shop now. Stopped dead on me on a major hwy. I placed it in neutral and she fired right up. Drove it for another 30 minutes and when she was shut off she would not start. It turns over fine. I had it towed, The next day she fired right up. Trouble shot and found a PATS error info code but no fix for it. Now when she turns over the anti theft light flashes very fast. Mechanic says it looks like swapping parts till she gets fixed. Any ideas?

 

While this is not related to the problem in this thread, sounds like you have 2 problems you are describing:

P1. Intermitten stall

P2. Crank no start with the PATS light flashing.

Questions for you :
Q1. What is the PATS error code that was found ?

Q2. When was the last time you changed your fuel filter

Q3. when it stalled on the high way, did you have to do anything but put it in Neutral to start it ( i.e. press the fuel cut off switch ? ).

I would take a look at a common point between the 2 :
Fuel delivery.

T1. If you pull the fuel pump relay, do you get the exact symptoms with the crank no start ( P2 ) ?
T1.1. When you turn the key to the RUN position ( not START ) does the theift light go out ?

T2. If you use a different programmed PATS Key, do you get the exact symptoms with the crank no start ( P2 ) ?

There could be 2 different problems or one common one ( depending on what the PATS error code is, I should add )
I am thinking on the surface the PATS issue could be a bad PATS transciever.
The intermitten stall, that is going to take a bit more diagnoses, but the crank no start will need to be corrected first, to be able to test. There is the Test T1 above to try, to see if they are the same.

 

one of my co-workers has a 1999 F150, same problem you are having, he found out that disconnecting the battery, and reconnecting it will give you one crank, it will run, but if you shut off the engine you will have to disconnect the battery and reconnect it to crank it again. The PATS module is about $800.00 and it has to be programmed. Give it a try!

 

Did you bother to read the dates of the posts? This issue was 9 years ago and was that person's ONLY post.

 

Does it really matter what the date is, other people having this problem can still come to this site for help. Obviously the problem still exist, and those modules aren't cheap, neither is having your truck towed when all you have to do is disconnect the battery and reconnect it to start the truck! *******!

 

Ok - fer completeness... ( fer any future readers ):

Please be advised that doing this can risk damage to other modules in the truck - ( most importantly, the PCM ), due to voltage spikes/inrush/noise from both the disconnect and the reconnect.

[I suggest that it may be marginally safer to pull the related fuse(s) instead.]

Any idea what a new PCM (and programming) costs? The GEM? The ABS module? The cluster?

Additionally - Adaptive learning never runs to completion as the KAM keeps getting cleared. Hence the truck never optimizes fer driveability, mileage, emissions, etc. Speaking of which, in a Emissions testing jurisdiction, the persistent P1000 code may be cause for a failed test.

As a short-term method to a restart or two? Okay. But not a safe, long-term viable solution.

MGD

 

Same to you, whatever you said. It can't be nice if the censor picked up on it.

 

Oye.

Mebbie it's a 'fill-in-the blanks' type-a thang.

Now.... whut'all has 7 letters .....


MGD