Good deed gone wrong

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Dec 1, 2018 | 04:36 PM

muddriller

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Trailering

Joined: Feb 2012

Posts: 16

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From: central illinois

Good deed gone wrong

I went to my local auto recycler looking for an alternator for my 1999 Expedition. Found a donor that also had decent interior parts I needed, dash, steering wheel, etc. Took those along and also the speedometer as mine currently has an odometer that needs repaired. Installed the alternator yesterday and all was good. Drove quite a bit today before removing and installing the dash, speedometer and steering wheel. When I went to start after the repairs the theft light flashed rapidly and the engine won't start. Cranks fine, just no fire. My OBD2 reader doesn't show anything either. I had the battery unhooked while repairs were performed on account of the airbag. 1999 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer, 5.4, automatic.

Thanks
Todd

Dec 1, 2018 | 05:54 PM

Hamfisted

Laughing Gas

Joined: Feb 2003

Posts: 877

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From: South Florida

Try plugging your old instrument panel back in and try to start it. If it starts with the old panel but not with the new, the donor instrument panel may have to be programmed to your Expy's security module. ForScan can do it if you have that program (it's free from Forscan.org ....) .

Dec 1, 2018 | 06:51 PM

muddriller

Thread Starter

Trailering

Joined: Feb 2012

Posts: 16

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From: central illinois

Thanks! I just had reached that conclusion based on a search that led me back here, lol. It does flash a 1-5 code which indicates lack of communication. Info on this site shows that there is a board on the instrument cluster I didn't account for. I'll see if I can get the program you mentioned.

Dec 2, 2018 | 12:23 AM

Skauber

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Joined: Dec 2014

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On the 1st gens, 99% of the times when there's no OBD communication with PCM and you got a flashing theft light and no start it's the PCM not getting power. Most of those times it's the PCM relay which has gone bad, easy to check, just swap it with one of the other relays in the under-hood fusebox such as the heated rear defroster or something. If not, check fuses, the diodes etc. Since you just did some work on it, you might have stirred up some fuses or made bad contact or something like that. Not sure if the 99 had "PCM-married" modules in the dash, likely this would be the PATS module for the anti theft key reader or the instrument cluster, but in those cases you would still have communication with the PCM through the OBD port.

Before you dive into the rabbit hole, confirm that the PCM has power and if the OBD port has communication. That should work properly regardless of modules not being programmed. The only exception would be if you replaced the PCM with a blank one, in that case you might need the dealer-specific Ford VCM scantool to communicate with it but that wouldn't be the case now.

Dec 2, 2018 | 06:57 AM

projectSHO89

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Joined: Jan 2004

Posts: 19,760

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From: St Louis

The cluster is one of the three "married" elements in the PATS system. The engine isn't going to start until the "new" cluster is re-married into the system. It would probably have been easier just to repair the odometer blackout issue int he first place.

The question regarding PCM power is a "rabbit hole" based on undocumented flash codes. Stay out of it.