Had a no-start flashing theft light fiasco that cost me a ton of money with tows/hotel etc. when out of town... Limited resources to investigate while away...

the truck sat for 2 weeks and killed the battery, charged and problem went away.... So... this is for diagnosis, but what I would really like to do is "reprogram" the proper "black mystery boxes" to eliminate the PATS query entirely... Not worried about somebody stealing my $2k truck ...

Reprogramming request here
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post15253718

'99 Expy w/205K, recent timing chain job, 8 coil swap, did 500 miles after...
I've got the transponder key zip tied to the antenna and tucked well behind the dash, unprogrammed keys for starting, worked fine for 3 years...

Stopped at store while out of town, no-start = flashing theft light

Tried lock/unlock/arm/disarm with fob, keypad multiple times...
Tried lock/unlock manual door key multiple times...
Tried battery disconnect 15x, 1/2 hr attempts and shorting leads ...
Theft light flash code = 16 (wiring/communication problem)
Ran HEC diagnostic, got dtc9232

Finally let the truck sit for 2 weeks, multiple crank no start battery lost the rest of it's juice... Charge, and the problem went away... ran OBDII for codes and go nada.... I'd rather not have this happen again!

Thanks for looking!

 

I didn't really catch a question here.

 

It really is kinda a crappy post ain't it???

I guess the question here would be...

If I can't reprogram/flash out the PATS query... Does anybody have any likely suspects to this failure code and symptoms... What to look at... Locations of associated components???

Inspection of the antenna ring/connections is pretty obvious, but after that I know not much about where else to look...

 

Hard to say, but I do know that a DTC 9232 means the antenna is not connected/or broken or it's a defective transceiver.

 

Check the wires for the antenna back to the PCM, you'll need a wiring diagram to find out where you should check with your continuity tester. Could be broken antenna, bad wiring, bad connectors or similar.

 

Or on the '99 it might go to a separate module. I'm not too familiar with the first generation on the electrical side.

 

Unfortunately the wiring diagrams don't show the antenna.

 

Thanks for the help guys!

Obviously something is sketchy here with the wiring or components...

Update....

I drove the truck a bit later with the coded key.... AND... had a no start at one of my stops... After a few tries she started...

NOW HERE'S THE INTERESTING PART....

I had one final stop to make, and was going to leave the truck running and locked... ONLY... I couldn't lock the drivers door... lock button and manually pushing on the door lock... rolled the window down and heard a nasty clunk/scrape/twang.... Gave up and pulled the door panel off at home...

Turns out the circlip that holds the lock rod to the door cylinder broke, and the rod was dangling...

I'm now thinking that the drivers door cylinder/lock position was causing the theft light/code condition....

I'll put it all together and let ya'll know how things turn out!

 

Not sure if a broken lock rod could cause a no-start condition, but will be eager to hear back from you on this one.

 

There is zero connection between the mechanical issue in the door and the PATS issue.

 

I would have to agree with you guys... BUT... What if the lock rod were wedged, as to not letting the drivers door actually assume a "locked position"???

No electronics there with the exception of the keypad, and it has no position sensors for a locked/unlocked condition... So highly unlikely...

I assume that a PATS "theft condition" would be set with an "armed" system, then a door opening operation... Nothing to do with the mechanical locked/unlocked position of the door latches...

It was worth a dream for a few minutes...

***edit*** still in search of a coder who can write out the PATS query...

 

That is correct.

 

No luck in fixing the dodgy wires you found? If you fixed that, maybe you wouldn't have to deal with the whole flashing and reprogramming thing...

 

The PATS system is solely an integration of the coded key(s) and the processing of that encoding to permit the engine to operate. There is no discernible interaction between the rest of the vehicle's factory-installed perimeter security system and the PATS functionality.

 

Thanks Man!