The ol' "check the fuel pressure" trick...Thanks Tommy (though you coulda been a little quicker with such sound advice ;-)

As is my practice, I went off half-cocked and pulled the damn thing Saturday, and got the pump replaced yesterday (didn't get that big damn thing re-installed until today). No help--just me and a couple of jack stands. It was pathetic--thank goodness nobody had a camera...or did they? Anyway, me and my morbidly obese bod crawling and rolling all over the driveway (or hoisting myself up with the nearest tire or bumper), and squeezing up underneath the carriage had to be quite a sight.

So yesterday I replaced the old new fuel filter with a new new fuel filter. But this time I got fuel from BOTH sides--in- and outflow. That, coupled with Tommy's post, made me lose a lot of sleep last night thinkin' that it wasn't the fuel pump after all and I was gonna have to start on the ignition stuff Friday--because I'm all tapped out after spending that $200 or so on tools and parts (you know what they pay teachers, right?).

But, at about 11:30 this morning, after I pushed and pulled and pried and jacked and twisted and turned and crawled and rolled around some more, I finally got that damn tank back up there (ain't it amazin' how much faster things go on than they come off?). Put the rear tire back on (it's a whole lot easier to remove the left rear tire and the spare--LOTS more room), and held my breath.

It started right up (but it'd done that before--and you know, fool me once...)

So I hauled azz over to my favorite mechanic's place (the one I go to when something needs doin' that I'm afraid to touch like the transmission or if I'd rather spend the money than the time on something) and told him to please run a check for me and see if any codes were showing up. He asked me what was wrong (I don't know, but you know how you feel when you go see your doctor after you've seen somebody else?--that's kinda how I was feeling) so I told him that it was giving me some starting issues from time to time (little did he know...)

The kid he put on it I know quite well, so I swore him to secrecy and told him the whole sordid story, and he said it sounded to him like I'd hit it on the head--and guess what? NO CODES! No history, no pending, no nothing (just the 01/01 from having the batter disconnected).

WHEW! Boy was I relieved. It's been running like a top ever since (and I'm feeling like I'm in a really good place now--I'm confident, I've accomplished something--and gosh-darn it, people like me!)

Thanks for all your help guys. It was ALL appreciated. I've had a lot of fun.

 

Glad you fixed your problem. That is always a good feeling. Have a great day.

Tommy

 

So then you never found anything in your gas tank (sugar) right ?

 

HOLY SCHNIKEES! It flipped out on me AGAIN! Everything went just wonderfully for the first couple of days and then, on my way to work--8am, Monday morning--I stop for my morning caffeine, come out and SHAZBUTT! It won't start! I call for a ride, wait about five minutes, try again, and it starts. I call my ride, tell them not to meet me at our friendly corner market and instead meet me at my mechanic's garage. I haul my azz over there, drop the key, and tell him "YOU deal with it!" (Of course, I don't admit my infidelity of having installed my own fuel pump)...

HAH! Takes them FOUR HOURS to track down the problem. He calls--and THANK YOU LORD!--it's not the fuel pump. It's not the ignition system. It's nothing mechanical or electronic under the hood--IT'S THE DAMN KEY!!! THE DAMN KEY!!! THE DAMN KEY is engaging the automatic fuel cutoff--just like I described in my first post! Now, I've said I probably won't shoot her...and I won't. But I'm gonna freakin' melt that damn key (and it will forever be known as "THAT DAMN KEY") down into a pile of undistinguishable crapola and bury it with it's own headstone for posterity--

HERE LIES THAT DAMN KEY! IT WAS EVIL AND HAS NOW MET IT'S JUST FATE

Be warned fellas. It gave all the same indications of a fuel pump being out. No fuel pressure, no nada. If it sounds like everything is working, but you're just not getting gas to the engine, BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE SECURITY SYSTEM! I've learned my lesson--well. Oh, and BTW--my mechanic made me feel even worse--he didn't charge me for the diagnosis...

Oh, and yes--there was NOTHING in the fuel tank--except, I suspect, a perfectly well-functioning fuel pump that I pitched into the trashcan after 10 hours of work.

 

Wow this thread was well worth reading! My wife's 99 Navigator has been doing the exact same thing. It's happened to me twice and I've tried to diagnoss it, fuel cutoff, starting it from neutral, locking/unlocking the doors, listening for the fuel pump...and was stumped up until reading this I was going to replace the fuel pump too! I'm sending her to get a new key.

Great info guys!!! Thanks

 

was it the key for you 2?

 

i have the same problem . starter cranks but no ignition/running engine. How do you fix the key? PLS HELP?

 

Any locksmith will have programmable Ford keys (lot cheaper than the dealership). It's relatively easy. There are basically 5 codes your Expedition can assign to keys. All you have to do is buy one of the keys (should be about $50) and then let your locksmith program it or do it yourself. Never had the issue again after I got a new key programmed. I think Auto Zone also carries keys, but a locksmith is probably the easiest fix. If you want to save a few bucks (and I don't think it will be many) you can go the Auto Zone route, but you'll have to program it yourself.

 

thanks i just don't understand why it does this intermittently. i just went and started it and it starts normally. i saw a post that said turn the remote control key fob on and off (lock and unlock) to reset it . i tried it once and it worked yet i still don't trust it. Give me couple of days to ck it out.

i also went nuts cleaning every wire connection from the battery to the starter relay to the starter and solenoid. it still would not run and was very intermittent .

i saw that in the manual it discusses vaguely about the Securilock Passive Antilock System refering to no starting issues. i'm just researching this system online to figure it out.

 

Mine was very intermittent as well. But it seemed to quit working at the worst possible moments. The mechanic I took it to tried to re-program that key, but when I went to the locksmith, it quit working again--had to leave it on the locksmith's parking lot overnight because they'd already closed when I got there. The guys I spoke to said this usually that happens if you put your keys over the loss prevention magnet at a supermarket or other place and that you really can't get it to hold a code after that.

 

this is a Stupid system!! I can't figure how both the old keys would get corrupted somehow? I bought this epd at the dealership and this intermittent starting problem happens with BOTH of our original keys.

Let me see if i got this right you cannot reprogram the old/original keys effectively. Its best to only buy new keys to solve the problem.

 

That's been my experience. Now, I've also heard that the reader in the steering column can go bad. If both keys have quit working regularly and haven't been through any kind of magnet together, then you might consider that. If I remember correctly, it's not too awfully expensive at LKQ or your local used part dealer.

 

Not for Ford, look at all of that extra revenue this system generates.

 

My local Ford dealer sells the PATS keys for $25 @ and $50 for programming. The owners manuals tell you how to reprogram your key or a new key but in most cases you must have two keys that are already programmed to program any additional keys. If I have any problems like this I will remove the chip from a key and tape it on the inside of the plastic cover on the column next to the sensor.

 

before you go replacing keys, does the theft light blink rapidly when it won't start? if not you have a different problem, if it does take a look at your key ring do you have a second pats key nect to it that could be interferring with, and if the key causes it to rapidly blink put a quater on both sides of the key it boosts the signal