I have had two instances this summer where my 2000 F150 would not start. Everything powers up and the starter even turns over. I disconnect the battery and reconnect then everything is fine. If there was a code, will it still be there after disconnecting the battery? I know if I take it in they won't know what to do because it starts now. ANy suggestions on where to start looking? I don't know if this is related, but when the weather changes big drop in temperature the engine will rough idle for a few minutes
Thanks,
Craig

 

I have the same problem with 00 F150. It has happened to me 3 times and it is getting extremely frustrating. I've taken it to the dealer and of course they couldn't recreate the problem so there was nothing to fix.

Yesterday was hot and sunny. Last night it rained and the temp dropped. When I opened my truck this morning I noticed the fan in the dash was blowing, however I still hadn't started the vehicle. I inadvertantly left my a/c on when I shut the truck off the night prior, but the fan normally shuts off when the vehicle is turned off.

The only way I have found to start the vehicle when this happens is to diconnect the battery, reconnect and restart. One intresting thing I have also discovered is you have to reconnect the battery and start the engine almost simultaneously (thus you need another person around to assist). I assume there is an anti-theft feature that will not allow the truck to start. Usually when I have this problem I notice the "Theft" light is blincking on the dash when you open the truck.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

 

It did it again except this time resetting the computer didn't help. The problem I have is that eventually it starts. The dealer does not want to look at it unless they can get it to happen. One place said it might be the key(PATS). Others said it might be the fuel pump, but if it was the fuel pump you think it would act up while driving.

 

I also have a 2000 F-150 with a 5.4L V8 and i have had this problem almost everyday for the past week...Dealer won't do anything because they also cannot recreate it so im goin to run a diagnostic thursday in my shop and see if it runs into any problems. I usually have to let my truck sit for awhile before it starts.


oh yea when it finally starts all the gauges max out...they just shoot up then go down... Does that happen to ya'll too?

 

It happened again and I got it into the dealer. It was the fuel pump. Cost about $550.00 with a new fuel filter.

 

Hey Green_Fox let me know what you discover after you check this out.

I'm not convinced that it is my fuel pump like ckoerner's. I think it is something electrical, but I could be wrong (not a mechanic).

When this happens I notice several weird symptons that go along. When I do start the truck after the problem I notice my radio will automatically turn off when I put it in drive. I also noticed the compass display acts funny. There is also a clicking noise in the dash.

One other thing I have noticed. When I start my truck, very often the odometer does not display for a few minutes. This happens almost everytime I start the vehicle.

Thanks for your posts all ... appreciate the info!!!!!

 

I also noticed that the odometer doesn't always come up on mine. In fact it happned when I picked it up at the dealer after the fuel pump was replaced. IF you are hearing a cliclking, it could be a relay.

 

Ok I found out what was wrong with my truck...

I took it into my shop and of course it was taking awhile to fire up but it was cranking. First thing I did was test the voltage on the stock battery and it gave me about 10volt(supposed to be 12) then using the tester I simulated a load on the battery and it gave my only 9.4 volts... I was like OMG. The cranking aperage was really low...the only way my truck probably started was it was taking power from my capacitor from my audio system.

This was weird because it seemed that everything else electrical was working fine(lights, radio, ect...).
So I went and bought a Energizer battery and replaced my old one. It gave me about 12.7 volts under a load which is very good!. My truck starts FIRST crank over now everytime.

It was the stock battery giving me the problem. The weird thing was the eye on the battery was green. So I say check your batteries even if the eye is green because even though my eye was green the battery was really weak.

 

I thought it could be my battery also. It would drop to 10.4 when starting. I took the battery for a load test and in tested fine. I would of rather had it be a battery then to put a fuel pump in it.

 

true true... I guess I consider myself lucky

 

Ok .... this issue happend to me again a few weeks ago and I couldn't handle it any more. Of course I was 4 hours from home for a weekend get-a-way and it was raining.

Spoke to a dealer and they said they would look at it. The service manager said he heard of this happening when the windshield seal was leaking.

I took her to the dealer and they found evidence that the windshield was infact leaking. Seeing how I'm no mechanic, I caved in and gave them the go ahead to fix it.

The result: windshield resealed, new fuse panel and new GEM module. Total cost was darn near $900. OUCH!!! This better resolve the problem.

Oh, one last parting shot. I asked the deal for the parts they replaced. They complied, but seemed a bit salty that I would ask for them. There sure doesn't seem to be that much corrosion. There is one small spot on the fuse box, but the GEM module looks brand new. Do you know if there is a way I could test it? Maybe I could recoupe some of my expenses and dish it off to somebody ...

I would suggest you ensure your windshield is not leaking ... mine was leaking on the drivers side corner.

Take care and thanks for your feedback!!!

PS: It hasn't rained lately ..... I still have my fingers crossed!!!!

 

wow... 900 big ones spent fixing something that should not break in the first place. Stupid dealers always trying to make $$$


Well I say take a pic of your GEM and put it on E-Bay...
See what you can get.

 

had the same symptoms.

had the battery stock checked. only got 7 volts! well, it's expected after 2.5 years.

changed battery. now doing ok.

btw, it would be good also to check the charging unit (alternator) when you change the battery.

 

Look into the PATS. Mine's doing the same thing. Not sure on a fix.

 

What year ?

I had a no start issue with mine ( after 2 hard starts that day that I wrote off to having my Speed pass too close to the PATS tranciever ) and the last time, crank no start big time. It was the Fuel pump relay that took a powder on my '01 @ ~ 35K miles. $17.00 relay in my case.

To test this case, try to start the truck by turning the key to the Run position ( not start straight away ) and see if the theift light goes out. If so, not a PATS issue. Turn the key to the Start position, and make note again of what the theft light is doing.

Turn off the truck, yank the fuel pump relay, and repeat the same test above. If it is the same, on my '01 the battery tow relay was the same type, swap them, and all was good. Dad still has the relocated relay in the fuel pump relay location, and the new relay in the battery tow relay locations to this day.

Here is the thread I posted after finding this :

https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=192096