Hey everybody I'm a new user. But I came here because I have looked everywhere and can't find anything exactly like I have going on. I need help asap it's my daily and I can't figure out what's going on. But first what happened is I went to get in the truck I opened the door and the gauges and blower motor came on by itself like the ignition is in the on position. I put the key in the ignition and the truck didn't do anything. No crank or anything and I did notice the anti theft light blinking really fast. I unplugged the battery and plugged it back up then the truck started but I went to shut it off and pulled the key out the ignition and truck stayed running. But also the blower in the truck and the gauges are still staying on. People keep saying it's my key but why would the stuff cut on by itself inside the truck when I just opened the door? If anybody has seen this before please let me know what I need to do thanks.

 

funny things like that happened a few years earlier with the windshields leaked rain water onto the GEM and wire / terminals corroded inside........also a broken ignition switch could do similar ... if the switch is stuck in the ON position so the accessories work.

 

Where would I start looking first? And if I try to change the ignition is there anything that would need done that it wouldn't read the key or is it something else like a sensor that reads the key?

 

if you see any dampness on the floor or carpet, or if this tends to happen after it rains, then you might guess the window leaks and GEM is wet ( under dash by steering wheel).... another option is to remove the GEM and look inside it to see if there is corrosion..... The ignition switch with the wires is what we are talking about.. the actual "key" lock would not have much effect. You can not change the key, or the pickup ring ( metallic donut) around the key as they are matched to the PATS startup system.

 

the GEM may look something like this

 

Alright thank you. I will check those today and see what it looks like

 

You say it "acts like the key switch is on"........... maybe a good test would be to unplug the harness at the ignition switch, then put the battery cable back on.. If truck does not start cranking and start, then the switch must be part of the problem... if the truck auto starts on its own with the ignition switch unplugged, then you have eliminated the switch as the problem, and need to look further.

 

I can't thank you enough. It's working like it should now. I took the plastic off around the ignition and unplugged it and hooked the battery up and everything was off like it was suppose to be. Then plugged it back up and now it is shutting on and off like it is suppose to

 

so you think you had a "stuck" ignition switch, or dampness between the contacts, or ??? Hopefully it stays "FIXED", but I guess you have narrowed down the area of concern! .............. no pinched wires in the area ?

 

Maybe something in the contacts. I have no idea but yeah I hope it stays that way. And no there wasn't anything pinched under there everything looks clean. But yeah like you said if it does it again now I know where to start looking