I have an '03 F-150 (Triton 5.4) with only 123,000 miles and never had any electrical issues. Tuesday morning I went out and could get it to even turn over. I cleaned the battery terminals and tried to jump start it but nothing (no clicking or anything). Plenty of battery, all lights working etc. I was out of options so I called AAA. The AAA Tech came and did everything I did as well as checked the starter, no luck. As a last ditch effort he discounectd the battery cables, rubbed them together and let it sit for 3 min. amazingly it worked! He wasn't sure but he said it would clear out any error codes and do a complete reset. Everything worked great. Now 2 days later, the exact same problem but this time the trick isn't working! any ideas?

 

Do you have remote start or an alarm system?
Doing the cable removal thing has nothing to do 'directly' with starting or the computer.
After all the miles you likely have corroded cables or a break at some point.
Notice this; if interior lights go off when you attempt to crank, that is an indication of a corroded connection in the power path or even a bad cell in the battery.
If you hear no start relay click, that circuit is in fault.
Can be the ignition switch, the leads, the connections at the start relay, the relay, or wiring.
Things need service at some point.
Good luck.

 

Bluegrass,

Thanks for the tips. I tried the discounect, rub together, and wait trick again out of desperation but this time I gave it a solid 15 min. It worked!
I will take your advice and check out the other possibilities. I have to say, this is the pretty strange stuff considering the source (I would consider this normal for Volvo, the later models had all kinds of electrical issues).

Thanks,

Frank

 

This seems to suggest you have a system that cuts off the start relay as theft protection.
Again, removing power does reboot the PCM but has no effect on starting except by some other means that resets from loss of power.
You need to find out if there is a cutoff relay and what operates it.
If you have PATS that uses a special key, maybe there is an issue with it.
Some models used a cutoff relay, most will allow cranking but no start.
Good luck

 

Have you checked the cables to your starter? I had this same issue, and it ended up being one of the starter wire ends, just basically deteriorated with age/use, and decided it was not going to make contact that day.

Apparently, it had been like that forever, but one day, my truck just wouldn't start, so it must have finally moved enough, to not make contact. Worth checking out. It was funny...because I never had issues starting the truck prior to that.