Hi all, hope someone can help me with this problem. The truck is a 2002 Ford F-150 XL 4.2L V6 with automatic trans and 210k miles. As the title says, the truck starts and runs fine for days at a time then with no warning just dies while you are driving. No shudder or hesitation, just dies as if you had turned the key to OFF. Turn the key restart and the dash lights up but not a sound: no starter, no clicking, no nothing. Wait a few minutes (sometimes 5 sometimes 30) turn key and it starts and runs like nothing was ever wrong. Runs fine for a few days or weeks then it happens again.

Hasn't happened at highway speed - always while just tooling around at 20-30 mph

Happens when engine is hot or cold - it may die after a day of driving or may die first thing in the morning a block from the house

Misc info - Bought the truck little over a year ago - got it cheap because it was in rough shape. After purchase I replaced warped upper intake, coil pack, all 4 o2 sensors, PCV valve, fuel filter, fuel pump, alternator, battery, mass air flow, plugs and wires. This was all done about a year ago and truck was running great until this weirdness started.

 

Next time it does it and won't do anything when you turn the key, try it in Neutral and wiggle the shift lever up and down.

 

Thanks, but not sure how that ties to the fact the truck is shutting itself off. I know the ignition lockout that prevents the starter from engaging if the transmission is in gear and that a bad shifter cable can cause the truck not to start but there isn't anything there that would cause the engine to die.

 

Doing a bit more research and found that some F150 trucks owners are running into starting problems exactly like mine due to a bad fuel pump driver module. Here are a couple of videos that seem to have the exact same problem as me.
When I look up the recommended repair part, Dorman 590-001, it seems to only apply to 2004 and newer trucks. Does anyone know if the 2002 F150 has a a fuel pump driver module?

 

Nope, your truck doesn't have a FPDM.

Check the fuel pressure when it dies. It's easy to do if you have a gauge.

 

Sounds like I need to start looking for an electrical short somewhere. Or maybe just sell it...

 

A fuel issue won't cause it not to crank. That's why I suggested the MLPS. You have some sort of electrical issue.

 

Finally tracked it down - it was a bad ECM/PCM.
Symptoms that nailed down the source of the problem
-Check engine light that came on yet no errors were listed when an ODB scanner was plugged in.
-The error could not be cleared by the ODB tool.
-Anti-Theft light would flash when truck died

 

Congratulations! And thanks for letting us know!

 

Hate to burst your bubble, but there's a problem with that "solution" - the PCM doesn't have anything to do with whether or not the starter can crank the engine over.

Now, you may have been experiencing multiple issues and the PCM took care of secondary issues, but the lack of cranking would not be resolved by PCM replacement.

 

PCM doesn't have anything to do with whether or not the starter can crank the engine over.

Yes it does. The ECM/PCM is part of the anti-theft system.

One more item I have added to the evidence that pointed to the ECM. A friend told me to check the anti-theft light next time the truck died and see if it was flashing. It was.

I feel a bit stupid for not having noticed it all the previous times but then I was usually sitting in the middle lane with cars honking at me and drivers flipping me off. Not exactly conducive to clear thinking.

FWIW, the last time it died is also when the 'Check Engine' light with no errors popped up.

It appears the anti-theft part of the ECM had a random short/gremlin making it think the truck was being stolen. When the ECM does not recognize or loses the connection to the transponder chip in the key it kills the motor and preventing the engine from cranking. Exactly what was happening to me.

As for why it was so random, for all I know it was just a bad solder connection in the ECM and all the door and hood slamming I did when it would die jiggled it enough to start again.

And to whether I actually fixed it or not, the truck was getting to the point it was dying almost every day - its now going on a week without a hiccup. Keeping my fingers crossed.

 

While the PCM is an integral part of the PATS system, but it has NOTHING to do with the activation of the starter motor. Your vehicle does NOT have a starter interrupt function controlled by the PATS function. That first appeared on the F150 for the 2004 model year. You reported that you have a 2002.

That is ALSO incorrect. Once the engine has started, PATS cannot shut off the engine. Communications with the transponder chip in the key only takes place at the initial key-on time interval. Anything that happens after that is not a PATS issue.

Make sure you are using the correct definition of "cranking". "Cranking" is the result of the starter motor turning the crankshaft, nothing more. It does not describe what is happening if the starter motor is rotating the engine but the engine does not fire, that would be a "Cranks but does not fire" symptom.

 

My 88 ford f150 4×4 with the v6 300. Was driving down the road and all of a sudden it pops, backfires alittle then shuts down. Then won't crank till it sits awhile

 

Start your own new thread in the appropriate forum section for your vehicle instead of hijacking and necro-posting to an unrelated existing thread.

 

I have a 88 ford f150 with the 300. The other day was driving and all of a sudden it pops and backfires alil and shutters down. It cranked back up for 15 seconds then just died again, it got to where it wouldn't crank again. The next day fired it up and rode around the blocked for 20 minutes did nothing. Came back out 30 mins later and it cranked and shut rite back down. Can anyone help me?