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We have a 2012 Ford Econoline E250 we use as a work van. My guys drove it to a job Tuesday, shut it off when they got to the job, and went to go get lunch but it wouldn't start. At first they thought it was the battery so they hooked up jumper cables but that wasn't the problem. They said that everything worked- radio, headlights, horn, etc except there were no warning lights on the dash and it wouldn't crank. They replaced the ignition switch but that didn't fix it.
We had the van towed to my mechanic's shop, who is also our neighbor. He did quite a bit of diagnosing on on it yesterday. When he was diagnosing it he unplugged the 2nd from bottom connector on the interior fuse panel in my picture to see if there was a corrosion issue. When he plugged it back in the dash came back on but it still wouldn't crank. He noticed the anti-theft light, located at the bottom left of dash indicator lights, was blinking rapidly. In the three years we have owned this van I have never seen the anti-theft light on.
My mechanic ran the codes and got code B10DA-86 which is for PATS Target identifier invalid signal. He also came up with P1602-00 and that code is an immobilizer ECM error. He did some research on the codes and he is thinking that the instrument cluster has possibly gone bad.
The van came with a regular key, not a security key and the key pictured is the key we have always used. My mechanic said on some fleet vehicles the PATS is not activated when the vehicle is built. I think this is the case with ours because it was part of a fleet of utility vehicles before we bought it. The million dollar question though is what made the PATS system activate? I'm guessing something failed and it went back to the hard code in the computer and activated PATS.
We are at a loss at this point. Has anyone heard of anything like this happening, know how to fix it, or what to diagnose next to narrow down what is causing the problem?
As a Ford master tech without the Ford WDS or IDS Turnkey
I'd have it down to the dealer straight away
Those are the scan tools required
You could plug in an Autel or use Forscan but that might take months and be futile IMO
I believe the Autel won't do squat, and Forscan will send you in circles or be futile as well
You tried all the basic tricks, right? Like disconnecting the battery, and then after reconnecting, opening the drivers door with the ley? and unlocking the doors with the remote?
Maybe get a qualified locksmith over to your house
Manic is correct. PATS is complicated because it changed several times over the years. Here is a chart that explains how to program PATS for your model year. You can see PATS procedures changed for different models of the same year.
Forscan may work but it is difficult to learn exactly what to do. I would only tackle this if I had no other choice.
A mobile locksmith is a good option. I don't know if PATS is in the PCM or IPC for your model year. If your IPC is faulty you may want to have a junkyard unit on hand for replacement and programming. Dealerships don't usually deal with junkyard replacements and will require installation of a new IPC.
****Edit****
FYI: PATS is in the BCM for 2013+ Fords like Focus. Usually PATS problems arise from the module they reside in.
As a Ford master tech without the Ford WDS or IDS Turnkey
I'd have it down to the dealer straight away
Those are the scan tools required
You could plug in an Autel or use Forscan but that might take months and be futile IMO
I believe the Autel won't do squat, and Forscan will send you in circles or be futile as well
You tried all the basic tricks, right? Like disconnecting the battery, and then after reconnecting, opening the drivers door with the ley? and unlocking the doors with the remote?
Maybe get a qualified locksmith over to your house
I very much appreciate the advice and info about Autel and Forscan. I talked to a friend that is in charge of a fleet of Ford trucks. He has some kind of Ford software, I think IDS. He is going to try and bring his laptop home one day after work and check it out.
We tried disconnecting the battery and using the keyfob to lock and the doors. I'm not sure if my mechanic tried to manually unlock the door with the key but I'll check on that.
If my friend with the Ford software doesn't work out I do have the number of a local locksmith that does security keys.
Manic is correct. PATS is complicated because it changed several times over the years. Here is a chart that explains how to program PATS for your model year. You can see PATS procedures changed for different models of the same year.
Forscan may work but it is difficult to learn exactly what to do. I would only tackle this if I had no other choice.
A mobile locksmith is a good option. I don't know if PATS is in the PCM or IPC for your model year. If your IPC is faulty you may want to have a junkyard unit on hand for replacement and programming. Dealerships don't usually deal with junkyard replacements and will require installation of a new IPC.
****Edit****
FYI: PATS is in the BCM for 2013+ Fords like Focus. Usually PATS problems arise from the module they reside in.
I appreciate the reply and info. This van is a 2012 and the PATS goes through the dash cluster. We are thinking the cluster is the problem. I appreciate you sending the link to re-program the PATS. I don't think we are going to re-program the PATS because we didnt' get any security keys with the van when we bought it, just regular keys like in the picture I attached.
That's a good idea to have a dash cluster from a junkyard on hand. I wasn't sure if they were re-programmable or not but I guess they are?
I agree a mobile locksmith is a good option and I have the phone number for one I can call if my friend I mentioned in my last post doesn't work out.
I wanted to follow-up on this thread incase anyone runs across in the future.
We got the van fixed. I called a local Ford Dealership asking them about a replacement instrument cluster. They said they are no longer available but they did give me the name of the company that they send ther dash clusters to for repair. I contacted that company and they said they would test it for me. I sent the dash cluster to them. They called me after they "tested it." They said it passed the test. I asked him if it passed the PATS test. He said he didn't know for sure. He said they just hook it up, run the test and it tells them pass or fail.
Since the cluster "passed" the test we moved onto other diagnosing. We swapped a known good ECU into the van but we were getting the same failure. We finally decided to get a dash cluster out of the junkyard. My friend programmed it and the van started!
So, if anyone runs into a PATS issue and can't get it figured out, look at getting a different dash cluster, even if the cluster gets tested and you are told it "passed."
Junkyard parts to the rescue! Frustrating but not uncommon that the dealership could not fix this type of problem. Independent shop with experience is much more useful. Of course the forum gurus are valuable also.
Junkyard parts to the rescue! Frustrating but not uncommon that the dealership could not fix this type of problem. Independent shop with experience is much more useful. Of course the forum gurus are valuable also.
Glad you got the van running!
Yep, $100 junkyard dash cluster got her going again!
Luckily I didn't take it to the dealership; I sent the cluster to who they would have sent it to so that saved me from paying the dealer to tell me they couldn't fix it. I was lucky that I didn't have to take it to a shop at all because my friend had the Ford software and he programmed the cluster.
The forums and the people on them are great also and I usually get stuff fixed and figured out with their help. This is the first time in a long time I had to pay someone to get my stuff running again but I didn't have the software so it was out of my league anyway.
Don Ridley, thanks to you and everyone else who commented in this thread.
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