Won't start, theft light blinks
Cargo Master
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 3,208
Likes: 13
Pats Has lost its mine. The dealer will rape you to reprogram PATS to your key(s) Any good locksmith can do it for a lot less. I would check power to the ecm just to confirm that it isn't the problem. I have a non pats key for my ranger just to turn on and off the airbag switch. If you put it in the ignition it will not even turn over. I bought my extra keys off Ebay and programed them myself as stated earlier it takes just a few minutes to do if you have 2 good keys.
Posting Guru
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 1,343
Likes: 0
From: Higginsville, MO
Originally Posted by freirefishing
what the hell is a PATS key and does my 06 ranger have one??
Senior User
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 138
Likes: 0
Changed out the relay and the Starter Solenoid on Sunday. So far, has not happened again. We will see.
Don
Don
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New User
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 8
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Has anyone heard of the turn the key on method to this problem?
apparently you can turn the key on and wait until the theft light quits blinking then wait another 15 minutes then turn the key to off position, pull the key, put the key back in and start. Never tried it but my bud is a mechanic for local electric company and he said to put charger on battery so it doesn't go dead, and he said wait 1 hour vrs 15 minutes.
Just putting it out there, i have heard of this working
apparently you can turn the key on and wait until the theft light quits blinking then wait another 15 minutes then turn the key to off position, pull the key, put the key back in and start. Never tried it but my bud is a mechanic for local electric company and he said to put charger on battery so it doesn't go dead, and he said wait 1 hour vrs 15 minutes.
Just putting it out there, i have heard of this working
More Turbo
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 623
Likes: 2
From: Usa
not sure about prices else where but i got a key from ford dealership for 45 bucks,,,,, and to BIG E ,,,,, there is a transceiver under the steering collum that could be bad,,,, there is also a pats modual behind the passenger side airbag that could be bad ,,,, and worse case your computer could be bad,,, you can check from the transceiver to the pats mod with a ohm meter for resistance ,,,,,the wires are color coded not hard to do,,,, the rapid blinking theft light makes me think that where your trouble could be ,,,, maybe pawpaw will put his 2 cents in he is very good at troubles and gives great advice
Moderator
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 13,851
Likes: 111
From: SW Va
For anti-theft problems, come by the inexpensive ELM scan tool, running FORScan on the viewing device of your choice as discussed here https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-scantool.html & have it scan the system for trouble code clues & go from there.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 4,907
Likes: 39
From: suburban atlanta
I bought two keys from this firm:
Car keys | Remote Keyless Entry | Replacement Car key | Auto transponder
Good keys, good service, reasonable price. I got two so I had one and my wife could have one on a long trip. Nothing like loosing a key in the middle of Arizona, with not a person nor dealer close at all. I took them to Home Depot and they cut the keys at no charge, then I was able to program the PATS to recognize these key IDs as valid. The key has an embedded 'antenna' that responds with a specific binary code when prodded by the steering column RF PATS transponder.
That said, if the PATS is blinking with the key in place, the system does not recognize the key.
The RF transponder may have failed, or the wiring gotten damaged. A tilt-wheel option has been known to stretch the turn signal wires on F-150s of certain years, so it may be something similar in this truck. Stretching the wires eventually broke the individual conductors and no more turn signal ...
tom
Car keys | Remote Keyless Entry | Replacement Car key | Auto transponder
Good keys, good service, reasonable price. I got two so I had one and my wife could have one on a long trip. Nothing like loosing a key in the middle of Arizona, with not a person nor dealer close at all. I took them to Home Depot and they cut the keys at no charge, then I was able to program the PATS to recognize these key IDs as valid. The key has an embedded 'antenna' that responds with a specific binary code when prodded by the steering column RF PATS transponder.
That said, if the PATS is blinking with the key in place, the system does not recognize the key.
The RF transponder may have failed, or the wiring gotten damaged. A tilt-wheel option has been known to stretch the turn signal wires on F-150s of certain years, so it may be something similar in this truck. Stretching the wires eventually broke the individual conductors and no more turn signal ...
tom
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