Hello everyone. I should have posted this a week ago.

I am having issues with my truck and I really need a hand. Its usually my wife's daily driver to tote around her and our baby. 3 or 4 times in the past year it has decided it would not start. What it would do is crank and hesitate like its not getting fuel. It would sometimes start and barely run very poorly, like old carborated cars sometimes would chug and putter a few times after you turned them off. The solution each time would be to disconnect the battery for 30+ minutes and it would eventually start again, running very poorly while the engine seemed to re-work its tune out. I read around the internet and deduced it was possibly an issue with the PATS system, as the hard reset seemed to fix it.

Fast Forward to last week. My wife was out and it would not start for her. I drove to the animal shelter where she and our baby were stuck in 95+ degree heat. I tried and it slightly turned over like normal but would not run. I disconnected the battery and had them wait in the AC in my car for 30+ minutes. But this time it would not start at all. Clicks and no crank. So I had to have it towed home.

Next day I went out to look at it and it was just totally dead. Since the battery was original, I decided to start there and ran to Sears to get a new battery. Installed and it cranked fast but still acted like it wasn't getting gas. I did some more reading on the net, found this forum and f150 and dug around. I started looking at fuses and found that fuse 09 was blown. I had never had to replace a fuse in this truck before during the previous issues. Easy enough. Replaced it, started up.

After a few start up tests something new happened (had the parking lights on during my testing). I put the key in, turned it to start and CLICK, DEAD. No crank, no lights, no dings, no power. Totally completely dead as if there were no battery installed. Stumped. But I decided to check out fuse 9 again, so I pulled it. Its fine, not blown. So I re-insert the fuse. Closed the passenger door back and the parking lights magically come back on when the door closes. Truck starts fine.

Since then I have driven the truck very little, but about every other time I go to start it, it goes dead (CLICK, DEAD), I re-seat fuse 9 and it starts. Last night it actually blew fuse 9 for a second time. But I replaced and it re-started.

2 Things I have in the works. A local shop is working on a tune to disable my PATS system. I hate it anyways, and will feel better with it out of the truck. Second, I have ordered a new Fusebox Assembly and am waiting on that to arrive. The truck has never quit on us while running, it seems to be only a startup issue.

Its a 2004 Expedition XLT 4X4 with 4.6 and auto transmission No water leaks I've ever found and no other electrical issues. Everything else works on the truck fine.

I'm not sure if the path which I'm going down will fix this truck. I need to get it to be 100% reliable for us. I do not trust it for my wife and daughter to be safe while in it.

Any help is GREATLY appreciated. Thanks!

 

There is nothing wrong with the PATS, your problem is that you have a bad fuel pump. Replace the fuel pump and everything should then work fine.

Regarding the dead lights issue, it sounds like you lost the battery connection. Did the terminals get cleaned good when the new battery was installed? Since the battery was installed, have you check the terminals to make sure they haven't loosened up?

 

Thanks very much for the response!

The battery terminals were cleaned and protected and look better than new. They were very ugly on the old battery and at first I thought the corrosion was causing a grounding issue, as I helped a friend recently with that exact problem on his Focus.

It seems like a bad fuel pump would be odd as the truck runs perfectly after it starts and the starting problem is about 2 years old now. It has just worsened in the past 2 weeks. Wouldn't a fuel pump cause running issues over that period of time? I'll certainly keep that on the radar though. Unfortunately I don't have the capacity at my house to drop a fuel tank, so I'd have to pay someone to do that and I know thats $$$.

I was advised of the pats issue because of the theft light going off when it was refusing to start. Two mechanics acted like it was a normal problem for Fords to do that as they get older. Then again, this is the only Ford I've has these kinds of issues and in the past 10 years Ive had an F350 (99), 2 Mustangs (99,11), and 2 Focus(03,06).

 

It might be that the wire leading from the PATs sensor that is adjacent to the key switch has rubbed through due to wear or vibration over time. You will have to remove the cover from the Multi Lever Switch to see it and trace it through the column. There was a post regarding this with pics not too long ago. Sorry, no link.

 

Mel- you may be on to something. This morning the re-seating fuse 9 didn't work (for the first time since I started that practice). So I took off the cover to the steering column and had a look at some wires. I didn't see anything blatantly worn or disconnected. The the wire block on the left side looked interesting, so I started feeling around on those wires. I pushed some of them in to the block further and a couple felt kind of loose to me, especially the solid yellow wire. Anyways, the truck started up very strongly right after I did that. Maybe I fell backwards into something. We'll see what it decides to do the rest of the day.

Thanks to everyone who takes time to input suggestions!

 

You may have to dig deeper in that area to find the problem if that is where it is. The post I mentioned showed a very small rub/contact area. Good luck with it and let us know what you find.

 

This truck is going to send me to the looney bin.

This morning, I went to start it and it completely went black as usual. No lights, no dings, no gauges. I opened the driver side door (interior lights didn't come on cause it was dead), then closed the door, then opened the door again (interior lights came back on), and the truck started.

I'm thinking of saying screw it and taking it to the dealer to let them sort it out. I'll just rent something for a few days. I think this truck is going to make me lose my mind if I continue to search for this gremlin. I've been driving it because its not dependable for my wife but I want my '11 GT back!! (though she has been enjoying the short drive to school)

 

So I replaced the fuse box yesterday morning and it has started like a champ for 2 days. Seems something in there must have gone bad. I'm hoping I don't have another PATS incident down the road as I have a strong feeling the PATS system blew up my fuse box.

Back to letting my wife drive the Expedition and getting to drive my new '11 Mustang GT! Thanks everyone for the input and ideas!

btw - a new fuse box cost me $182.77 from silver state ford parts. part # is 4L1Z14A068AB for reference of anyone who sees this in the future.