I am a diesel guy so I am perplexed as to why my ranger is all messed up. It started doing strange stuff immediately after installing a radio. (not sure if its a coincidence or really is related.) As soon as I had the radio in, the truck would start when the key was turned to the on position. No need to even turn it to the crank position. If you turned the key back to the accessory position the starter would engage but not actually start the vehicle. Nothing would happen in the crank position after it started in the run position. It did this for a couple of days then it worked perfectly fine one day and after I shut it off it never started again. It doesn't even click or anything. I changed the lock cylinder, and the ignition switch. those didn't make any difference. it still doesn't even so much as click. So I am wondering since the gem module can tell when the key is in and what position its in does this mean my GEM module is bad or is it something else? I have struggled with it and nothing seems to be working. any help of advice would be appreciated. Will a bad GEM cause it to not start at all?

 

Welcome to FTE.

You say the vehicle was working ok Before installing a radio, so what kind of radio, oem, aftermarket, CB, short wave & how/where did you connect its power & ground???? If you disconnect the radio, do things straighten up & act right????

Have all of the vehicles controllers like the Body & GEM controllers scanned for trouble codes & post the Numbers, as they can offer up good clues. Let us know how your trouble shoot goes.

 

Its a Dual brand XDM6825 CD player. I use the red with black stripe and the yellow with black stripe wires for my power and the black with green stripe for my ground. these were the factory radio wires. Nope still not a thing after unhooking the radio. I hard wired in the cd player to the factory radio wires. Is this where my problem came from? I was very careful not to let any of the wires touch after removing the old plug to wire in the radio. I have it on a trailer now so I can take it to get it scanned. I was really hoping to avoid spending the green backs at my local ford dealer but I am afraid I wont get anywhere without it. I will keep you updated and post the numbers when I get it scanned.

 

OK, good feedback, your right Murphy's Law might be messing with you!!!! I'm not certain about the wire color code hook up or electronic compatibility of the brands, but it doesn't sound like you did anything thoughtless.

If the vehicle was working ok Before the aftermarket component installation, the GEM & Body controllers might have stored some codes that might be able to shed some light on whats happening if they're at fault, so Hold On & review this thread https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-scantool.html before you spend a wad of gold at the Dealer or elsewhere on trouble code scans.

I just invested $28 shipped on a LYL WiFi ELM327 off Amazon, to scan the Ranger ABS & GEM controllers to extract ABS trouble codes that helped me find the problem & fix my 99 Rangers ABS system, turn off the ABS trouble light & get a state inspection on that puppy last Sat. So now I also have a nifty wireless scantool for my electronic toolbox, thats already paid for itself, as on the code scan, it found other Body & GEM codes I didn't know I had, that'll likely help with my intermittent passenger side power window woes trouble shoot!!!! More thoughts for consideration, let us know how your trouble shoot goes & what you find.

 

BTW, does this vehicle have PATS anti-theft & if so, did you disable it before working on the radio???? If not, the system might think your trying to steal the vehicle & be disabling the ignition!!!!????

 

It does have the anti theft and I did not disable it before installing radio in the vehicle. How would I go about disabling the anti-theft to test it?

 

Thank you for the info on the scan tool. I am checking it out now. I would much prefer to fix the truck myself rather than taking it somewhere if I can and I appreciate your help.

 

OK, if it has the factory PATS anti-theft system & its been triggered, the anti-theft light should be flashing rapidly & it will set a code in the PATS controller that the ELM scantool can read & that could suggest what best to do next.

If the ignition key was on when the battery cables are removed it can trigger PATS & it'll require the Dealer to reset it, or we have to cycle the ignition switch from off to run & off again, something like 50 times as I remember from a years past thread I've not been able to find yet. If you or I cant find it, or you don't get a reply from a member, you might try a FTE site search on how to reset PATS, or ask on the electronics forum, bet someone there knows how to do it. Not certain if the ELM can reset a triggered PATS, as I just got mine a couple weeks ago & haven't had much time to play with it yet but I do know it can see the PATS controller on my 99 Ranger.

 

Here is a PATS TSB that warns that some after market electronic items can interfere with & cause problems with our PATS system. *01-6-2***PASSIVE ANTI THEFT SYSTEM (PATS) - DIAGNOSTIC SERVICE TIPS