I’m at a bit of an impasse, and not sure what to do….

i have a 2012 F250 King Ranch 6.7L that is not starting. I put the key in the ignition and nothing happens, and I turn the key and nothing happens. I’ve had AAA come out and test the battery, they say they’re fine, I’ve check all associated fuses finding any issues and the relays all appear to be good as well. That’s as far as I can go electrically, so I bit the bullet, and took it to a shop. They’ve ran a level 1 and 2 diagnostic with no solution, are now telling me their best guess is it’s the PCM, but their unsure if this is the actual issue, and are quoting me $1600.

Here’s a more full version of the story:

Prior to going on vacation I’ve been having issues with power to certain parts of my truck. Tail lights were intermittent, going on and off, headlights, and rock lights were also doing the same thing. I come out at night and the the rock lights would be on despite the truck being off. I’d turn the truck on to see what would happen and they’d turn off, they’d also flicker while driving. I figure I’ll take it to the shop when I get back since I’m leaving for Utah for a week.

While on vacation, I leave my truck at my parents house. My brother in law calls me one day stating every light in my truck is flashing, inside and outside, almost like the alarm is going off, but there’s no audible alarm. He goes and turns the truck on to move it, it starts and then dies. When he tries to start it again, it is now experiencing the current issue.

The truck has power to certain areas like the seats and the lights in the dash, but when you put the key in the ignition, nothing happens. There is also no power to the windows or lights, inside or outside of the truck, from the inside controls, but when I press my FOB to unlock the doors the lights will flash.

Auto shop is now looking to replace PCM, as a best guess. I’m looking for any other options or opinions prior to this happening as this will open a whole new can of worms since the truck is tuned and deleted. Also not looking forward to the ~$1600 they quoted me to replace it.

Any opinion or suggestion regarding this issue would be greatly appreciated.

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Was this a ford shop or local fix it shop.

 

local fix it, also looking to take it to a specialty shop

 

What codes with the scan tool?

 

You may think I am nuts, but my 2015 did that exact same thing and had the batteries checked and checked good, so I replaced the batteries anyways, both, as you need to replace in pairs, and no more problems. That was 5 years ago. I just changed out batteries at 5 years, I will do it from on if it needs them or not at 5 years. It definitely acts PCM has an issue but its a computer. I would definitely check everything before the PCM. My 2 cents.

 

batteries, replace both and you cannot test them in the truck with both connected.

Also check the wiring connections by the emergency brake. That tends to be an issue for those that love the emergency brake as a parking brake.

 

The mechanic had to leave early today, but from what I was told they weren’t getting any codes based on the notes left, but I’ll get a sure answer tomorrow morning.

 

I worried it might be as simple as the battery. I asked the mechanics if they could swap out the batteries just to make sure, but if not, I’ll just do it myself.

just received word, they are now saying that it’s the BCM and not the PCM that needs to be replaced…

 

you need to do it so you get new batteries. Not the used ones they have laying around.

 

Quick update: talked to the shop and recommended it was the battery. They assured me that it wasn’t, stating that they’d need to replace the BCM…

Decided to get the truck towed again, and replace the batteries on my own. Went to start the truck and sure enough she’s running again!

Thank you to everyone’s recommendations in this thread. It was greatly appreciated and saved me bare minimum $1500

 

i would drive by and tell them they dont know what they are doing and ask for your money spent with them back!