I need help Please!
Last weekend my number 4 spark plug blew out while on the highway. The truck stayed on long enough for me to get off the highway and pull over before it died. I towed the truck home. Last night I repaired it with a helicoil and replace the spark plug and coil. Now the truck cranks but won't start. I noticed that my theft light flashes fast and doesn't stop after a few seconds or during cranking. I still haven't tested relays or fuses because it was late after the repair. I will be checking those tonight. I was wondering if anyone has ever had this issue before and what did they do to get it running. If anyone has any questions on what I need to check first or any ideas to get it running again, please reply. I will be reading and taking suggestions and posting my results tonight while I'm working on the truck. I will be checking the fuel pump and PCM relay tonight. I will also try 2 different keys and checking the Inertia switch on the fuel pump to see if that tripped. Are there any other suggestions or test I should do if all these pass? Any help would be greatly appreciated. The truck is a 2001 F-150 Lariat Supercrew with 150k miles on it. 5.4 liter engine.

 

Two things.
First the Heli coil repair is not a good one.
You needed to research what is the preferred method of repair.
Look up 'Time Sert'.
.
Do the following and come back with the result.
Turn key to 'run' only and let set a few minutes while observing the Theft light for a coded blink.
If you see it do it a couple times to be sure you see the same 2 digit code, then tell us what it is so we can tell you what the PATS system is detecting.
Good luck.

 

Hello Bluegrass,
Thank you for your reply. I was incorrect when I said it was a Heli-coil. I used the Ford Spark plug repair kit 5553 make by Timesert. I just thought the insert was called a helicoil.
I didn't get to read this last night. I will try this tonight and post my results. Thanks again for your help.

 

I tried what you suggested. Theft light only flashes fast. No change in speed of flashing or dashes in odometer.

 

The PATS has nothing to do with cylinder repair.
The fast flashing is indicating a problem.
Are you sure you gave the system enough time to self diagnose and flash the code?
Have you tried a second key?
Another way is to trigger the dash diagnostics and read any trouble code off the mileage indicator.
This procedure is a bit complex to explain so you need to look up the procedure and the codes that may be displayed.
The Theft system inhibits the fuel delivery when a problem is detected.
Some one may post the procedure for you.
Good luck.

 

I gave it about 4 to 5 minutes. I can try again tomorrow and see if it changes. I will also try to pull any codes from the dash and post them. I think you are correct that it was caused by a problem. I think it might've been caused when the coil popped out and didn't fire the cylinder. I checked the fuel inertia valve and it's not tripped. Now that the repair has been is there a way to clear the problem?

I found this link online. Could the PATS system have lost it's configuration and needs to be reprogrammed?

http://my.cardone.com/techdocs/PT%2078-0004.pdf

So I went out again and tried it again. this time I did see that it gave out a code. It flashed 1 then 6 more. What does that mean?

 

Some listed codes: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/5...ble-codes.html

Might be accurate for your truck. I'm not sure.

 

Code 16 is telling that the harness between the PATS transceiver and PCM is open or damaged.
This inhibits fuel to the motor as part of THEFT prevention.
Look around where work was done.
Good luck.

 

first off if you threw a plug you need to replace the entire thing, you can get a new plug and wire assembly at autozone for around 56 bucks, second if it died after throwing the plug you may have more issues then just that, cause mine threw a plug and still starts up and runs with out it, causes a lot of rough shaking at constant speeds and dies at the idle due to the now misfire and lack of spark for the internal combustion but still runs, you may have lost more then just the plug.

 

That is really weird. On mine the PATS transceiver is mounted right by the key cylinder. It has 4 wires...white,blue,black and orange that terminate at a white connector right below one of the back mounting points for the steering column. Maybe check that connector? Hard to believe that could come unplugged. As mentioned I would start looking around that area under the hood where you were working for any type of wiring damage. I can't see how the two are related but weird stuff can happen. Good Luck and hope you figure it out soon.