1999 3.0, crank but no start

[AK Ranger]

Hello all, I’ve been away from the forum for a bit, but will likely be diving back in due to this little truck.

It is a 1999 Ranger 3.0L with an automatic transmission and since he liked the Rangers, I thought it would be a good first vehicle. So far, my gamble is not paying off…

Now to the meat and potatoes of this post. When I bought the truck it was extremely sluggish, had a nasty shake that I figured was a separated tire and didn’t run the best, but the body was in pretty danger good condition. I figured a little once over and tune up should solve some issues.

My son and I did a complete brake job and I replaced the tires & wheels. The brake work went well and the shake was gone with the new tires & wheels.

But… the sluggish issue was still there. It felt like it was starting in 2nd gear and was slipping. Up here, they want $3500-$5000 to rebuild the transmission, that was not in the budget, so I sourced a used transmission from another ’99 3.0L with a 4R44E.

Him and I swapped out the transmission, got it all buttoned up. While he was in school, I added the ATF, started the truck a few times to get the fluid to the right level and pulled it outside to idle for a bit. Honestly, I was pretty excited, as the truck instantly fired up and ran smoother than it had in the past.

It started to run a little rougher, but was okay. I turned it off to let it cool down for a bit, then tried to start it again. This time, it would crank and almost start. I needed to move it from where it was at, so I gave it a shot of ether to the air box and it reluctantly started, ran rough, but o was able to get it moved to a better location.

Now… it will just crank, but not fire.

One caveat, while it was in the garage, I was cleaning up a bunch of garbage wiring from under the dash and an old remote start kit was some of that wiring. Now, I am really careful and made sure to get everything plugged back in correctly and connected back together correctly. And that why I was super happy when the truck fired right up.

One real concern, that I thought of after the fact… What if the previous owner replaced the ignition cylinder and didn’t actually get it programmed, and the old remote start system was the only thing allowing it to start… Unfortunately I did not keep all the garbage I pulled out (not thinking about a transponder key being stuffed in one of the electrical boxes).

A few questions:
1. If the stuff I pulled out was the only reason it was starting, would it have fired up multiple times while I was getting the transmission fluid sorted?
2. If it is not a PATS issue, where should I start?
3. Is there a way to simply bypass the PATS system to rule that out.

Sorry if these are all simple things, but I did a few searches and most threads only had a few responses and no resolutions.

Thanks in advance for reading my “book” of a post… lol

 

[Brain75]

I'm no expert on pats or 3.0, but I know pats 2 started in midyear 1998 and the 2nd truck in the family here (2007) is also pats 2 and has an aftermarket security system so you are in luck... I have googled and researched a bit. As far as I know every single hack guide "defeat pats" that I have seen involves taking a good transponder and taping/gluing/silicon sealing the transponder directly to the pickup ring (ring around the keyhole). I have found nothing about defeating the ring and then putting the transponder somewhere else hidden away in a box. If you didn't yank anything off the key area that looked like a gobbed on / taped on mess you probably most likely have not lost a transponder. The pickup range is extremely close.

What I did so far (have not removed it), is to get a vgate v-linker cable ($30-35) and downloaded forscan (free), programmed in 2 good keys and added 2 good remotes (genuine strattec keys - same as ford oem). The keys (metal bits with teeth) require forscan, the remotes/"fobs" can be added via instructions 2/3 of the way deep into the owners manual.
Once I had those in place then I felt like I might tackle the wiring mess (which I have not done yet).

Diagnostically, I would ask
A) are your keys OEM/ genuine Ford/Strattec?... the reason for this, cheap ebay or ace hardware (ilco) seem to be hit and miss and cause a crank / no start randomly. (one of the PO keys I got was an ebay junk and randomly gives me issues)
B) do you get a flashing theft light/ banging away chime while cranking?- those are dead giveaways for a pats key not recognized.


Now all that said, there are "kill" switches in a lot of these alarms (that have nothing to do with pats) that will kill the engine and how they do it / what they do varies... which is why I haven't tackled yet - first step is figuring out what you have so you can take it out and undo any bypass / "cut and splice through" they did and restore the wiring back to factory.

I would go so far as to dumpster dive to try and get the garbage back so yo know what steps they took if you think it had any "alarm" function and not just a remote start.

If it is purely remote start and not alarm, the changes of a kill switch is pretty slim..

If dumpster diving is out of the question, then I would sit down and write down all the details you can remember - might help narrow the brand down, and with the brand/make/model finding the install instructions so a guy can go backwards through them and put things back together.

I think just generically any remote start is gonna tap into the Neutral safety switch, and ignition though neither of those should be bypassed or re-routed through the box for a pure remote start.

edit: note to self it's spelled strattec

 

[AK Ranger]

Lots of awesome stuff there, thank you.

I did not dig into the steering column yet, just directly under it. Whether it was strictly a remote start or remote start / alarm combo, I’m not sure. All cut or tapped wires were mated back up with the corresponding wires. Nothing weird and it was pretty straightforward.

The kill switch, or only switch for that matter did not stop the engine from starting, when the switch was toggled between positions. I verified that before we dug into the transmission R&R. And it was wired directly to the control box for the system, not to the truck

Unfortunately, there is no amount of dumpster diving that would retrieve the parts. It was picked up over a week ago from our house by a local trash service and likely taken to a central hub for the whole area.

We only received one key with the truck and it was a generic one, no branding. Because this truck did not have door lock cylinders that matched the ignition, I ordered a complete door lock / ignition cylinder setup from eBay. The keys are generic also. I planned to install the new ignition cylinder once I got everything else sorted out.

Not sure if this will work:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1629603274...KBVCWBERF-&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY


I will go check the Theft light situation tomorrow, but I do know the Theft light has blinked the whole time we have had it, even when it was running, if I remember correctly.

The wind should die down tonight, so tomorrow should be a better day to dig into it. I could not have the doors or hood open most of the day. The winds were really getting it today, 45-60 mph gusts.

I have used forscan in the past, but it was a while ago, not sure if it’ll let me in for free again . I’ll have to see what we have for a laptop around here. The one I use is a company owned computer, so there is no adding anything to it.

Thanks again for all the information, I’ll be back with more of my own information tomorrow.

 

[Brain75]

RE Forscan: I suggested to someone they re-apply for a trial with a new email address and promptly told by 2 or 3 people to just reapply with same email, apparently their free trial is very lenient.

I just found this on PATS - more info that I ever knew about the system.

Understanding Ford PATS: The Passive Antitheft System Explained

Ford PATS Passive Antitheft System uses a special key with an transponder in the head of the key. Each key is coded

ricksfreeautorepairadvice.com

scroll down past all the background and history to "PATS activation signs"

from there down it has some good info on what is and what isn't a pats issue.

I don't want to wake the house at 1a by going into the attached garage and playing with it, but I want to say blinking during crank is what my non-oem key does when it is acting up...

 

[Brain75]

I know you already paid for the kit, but should you need it a good guide on keys and key issues:

Ford Chip Key Basics or What Blank Key Should I Buy - The Ranger Station

This article explains the different Ford chip keys and helps you understand which one you need for your Ford Ranger.

www.therangerstation.com

 

[Brain75]

ooh, just thought of something.. when you get into it with forscan do NOT delete all keys and start over... this can be a no win situation. make for absolutely sure you can successfully add your keys and they work before deleting old keys... the system requires 1 or 2 in it to do anything, deleting all and starting over could end up a $$$$$ trip to the stealership.

 

[AK Ranger]

Awesome!!! Thank you Brian!

 

[Brain75]

I re-read (2 am and nothing else to do), and I think I understand something now - you removed the aftermarket junk and then successfully got it to start at least twice and run... If that is right, then you are golden, no need to worry about the aftermarket stuff anymore.

Now blinking theft light and crank but no start means your cheap aftermarket key is doing what mine is doing and that is most likely the reason it didn't start... Mine is very hit and miss, it will work twice in a row then not 10 time, then work again and again... ultimately I just marked it "bad" and put it in the safe and got 2 new keys.

I believe (even before reading the linked how it works) that on yours and mine the PATS system works by disabling fuel pump - so a shot of ether, stumble to life and die a second or 3 later points back to PATS/cheap key. If you didn't have a bllinking theft light I would troubleshoot fuel system, with a blinking light I am pretty firmly looking at PATS.

Also don't shoot ether/starting fluid into the airbox before the MAF, go past the MAF so you don't put that stuff directly on your MAF.

 

[AK Ranger]

You are correct, it fired up and ran beautifully after the transmission R&R, but only a few times.

The old junk was removed during the transmission work. I did the electrical work after I sent my son to bed for the night )school night and all). He was whooped after helping me wrestle the transmission, lol. That and there was not room for both of us under the dash. Him being young, I was not going to put the wiring on his shoulders.

 

[AK Ranger]

Oh, and it’s only 12:40 here.
Nonetheless, thank you for all the help, it is greatly appreciated.

 

[Brain75]

Not a problem at all, I like solving problems and while I dislike the modern computerized cars this site has taught me to be a whole lot less "parts cannon" and more technical and thorough...which if you stop loading up the parts cannon you stop bleeding out the wallet at the same time

You might guess from owning a '48 and a '90 I am not into the latest techno gee gaws and the headache that comes with it.

 

[Brain75]

ooh, one thing that made my cheap aftermarket key more likely to work is to slow down the start process.... put the key in, turn it 1 click so it starts the PATS check then take a deep breath and wait 2 seconds, after the 2 seconds then roll forward to crank.

That extra pause must let the PATS system retry the code a couple times or something, I dunno what but it makes it more likely to work for me.

 

[AK Ranger]

Okay Brian75 (and everyone else),

The Theft light blinks normally when the truck is off. Goes solid, then turns off in the run position and the truck cranks. It has spark and when the Schrader Valve on the fuel rail was depressed, fuel squirts out.

Those is where in my younger days I would have just deleted this post and moved on, but let this be a lesson to all, old and new.

K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid)

With all that said, I’ve been stumped. On a whim, I took a rubber mallet (instead of a stick of dynamite) and rapped on the tank a couple times. Low and behold, she was empty.

Dropped 5 gallons of fuel in and she roared to life, okay, as much as a 3.0L can roar to life.

In my defense, we bought this truck, I drove it 20 miles home and parked it because of the work it needed. The fuel gauge reads full and it likely would not have moved during the short drive home.

Now on to the next issues:
Fuel tank sending unit… lol
No heat in the cab
Electric T-Case does not shift (just blinks 4-Low)
Power door locks not operating
Drivers door hinge pins

 

[Brain75]

In my books, You followed standard troubleshooting - didn't know about the blink vs solid pats so you came here and learned about that, then went back out and started on the fuel system - found it first spot you looked. It's a total win in my books.

 

[Brain75]

Since the sending unit is on your list now, I'm gonna throw out a piece of unsolicited advice... aftermarket is junk... save the old, the pump will probably make it to 200k mi easy. Replace only the part you have to... might not have to replace anything just untangle the float from something etc... OEM is 10x better than aftermarket to repair and rebuid first. (The floats are notorious for getting a pinhole leak, mine did, drilled a hole drained the gas out, soldered it all back up and still working as new 110k mi and 34 years.)