I have a 2012 Ford F150. Lately, I have been having problems with it starting. Sometimes it will start no problem. Other times it will just crank in park and I have to put it in neutral to start it. I took it to a Ford mechanic but they couldn't find the issue. They checked the fuel pump but that is totally fine. They said it couldn't be the ignition switch or the neutral safety switch. Has anyone else experienced this problem?

Extra information:
- It always cranks when it can't start.
- It is a console shifter
- The mechanic was able to duplicate the issue but couldn't figure out what it was.
- There was one time where it didn't start in neutral. All the other times it did.

 

Has to be in the Range switch or in the shifter...?

 

I'm not sure on the newer trucks but the Neutral safety switch on the older trucks are wired to interrupt the switch signal. If the switch was misaligned it would not activate the starter relay so the motor would not turn over. The older boxes had two power wires. one for crank, that would retard the timing 10 degrees and one for "run".

When you say the motor doesn't crank, do you mean it does not turn over, or it does nothing, no click , nothing? Do the dash lights ( check engine, battery, etc ) come on when you turn the key to start?

 

It clicks and dash lights up but it doesn't start.

 

In the first post you said it always cranks when it can't start. In the fourth post you said it does not turn over. Which is it?

If it doesn't turn over, then I agree it's probably a safety switch failing.

 

The term "turn over" is not specific unless you're talking about a pastry. Some people use it to mean "Cranks but does not start" while others use it to mean "No crank". The term should be avoided in favor of the specific description of what is/isn't happening.

 

"Turning over" means that literally the engine is turning, i.e. the starter motor is working and the engine is spinning. It's pretty specific.

If he's hitting the key and nothing is happening, then there's clearly no turning happening.

I'm not trying to be rude, I'm just saying that it's important to know whether the engine is turning over or not before you can figure out where to begin diagnosis.

 

OK, If you are getting the dash "test lights" when you turn the key to "start" but the motor does not, turn over, crank, whatever you want to call it. Then I would look at the neutral safety switch.

If it does turn over, crank, whatever you would like to call it, but does not start /run then I would look into the ignition switch.

You might try moving or pulling up / down on the shifter lever while trying to start the truck. It may just be slightly misaligned

 

When I turn the key it makes noise like it's going to start but it just keeps going until I stop turning the key... For the past two days it has been starting right up though. What I have noticed is I haven't moved the steering wheel up and down for a few days. Could there be a wire or something that is being cut off when I move the steering wheel into a different position?

 

The fact that it's turning over but not starting leads me to believe that it's not an issue with a safety switch. It sounds like either an ignition issue, or a fueling issue. I'd check the injectors and make sure they're fueling the cylinders first. If so, check and make sure you're getting spark.

 

You're probably right about the ignition issue. Like I mentioned earlier, I haven't moved the steering wheel up or down in the past 4 days and it has been starting up just fine. My guess is when I move the steering wheel down and pull it out, it pinches a cord or something. Thanks for the feedback!

 

The truck wouldn't start at all last week (even in neutral). Took it to the mechanic and they found that the fuel pump relay had burned out. I guess this has been an issue with the 2012 F150s because Ford put out a notice saying that the fuel pump relay needed to rewired to a different slot.