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Hi everyone,
I’ve been driving and fixing up my elderly in-law’s 2000 Ranger XLT. There’s been a major problem that has a rose that has me digging.
It all began when the passenger door would be opened and closed. Truck ran fine, then I would go and start it the next time, and Boom. Nothing, no crank just barely dash lights and a faint open door tone. I would jump it, and it’d run fine, till the passenger door was opened again, then after shut off, it wouldn’t start.
Now today, it seems to do it when the driver’s door is opened. I changed out the battery, it was nasty and old and I happened to have a fresh spare (the battery and alternator check out fine on the multi-meter). Well, this problem is still happening, the new battery seems to of helped me find another clue. Now, with cold cranking amps, I see the THEFT light flashing, so I’m reading up on stuff and trying to figure it all out. Is it a sensor in the door doing this? Is it the PCM? It is really bizarre all this going on. I’ve worked on vehicles all my life and have a auto mechanic diplomas from high school and I’ve never came across it, nor have buddies or family that have worked in the field or messed around for years.
I would appreciate any tips in the right direction, and thanks for the time any of you put into this.
Larry
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Replies
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BCm – body control module – believes vehicle is being tempered with and shuts down power. Indeed one of the sensors can cause this.You don’t have a chipped key, do you? Keys do this. Try pulling ECM fuse out for few hrs to reset the system. You may have several, some cars have 2 ECM fuses.
Presuming PATS key is a chipped key, then sure, key is about the primary suspect in this malfunction. Battery goes low, and BCM stops recognizing the key. Look up key learning procedure. Or, key synchronizing procedure. GM has both, one for new key and one to simply restore lost connection. GM has – Ford might have it.
Presuming PATS key is a chipped key, then sure, key is about the primary suspect in this malfunction. Battery goes low, and BCM stops recognizing the key. Look up key learning procedure. Or, key synchronizing procedure. GM has both, one for new key and one to simply restore lost connection. GM has – Ford might have it.
ukrkoz,
Thanks for the help. Yup I just put those ECM fuses back in and still have the prob. I jumped the battery, ran fine. Shut her down and completely dead. I will take your advice about the key, and look into that next. The In-laws are looking for the other key. They brought two by this morning and none were the one. They told me the key I have is the spare, so I’m hoping when they find the other which would be the original, it will start right up.
Appreciate it, a lot, man
Just a update:
I’ve tried the other key and it didn’t work. I’ve heard of another fix by leaving the battery disconnected for two days and the system resets. It looks like I am going to try this next, and put the battery on a charger to make sure it’s charged. I shouldn’t have to jump it each time I try to start it, or could that be normal? Hell, right now it seems anything’s possible.
[quote=”LarryMgs” post=142473]Hi everyone,
I’ve been driving and fixing up my elderly in-law’s 2000 Ranger XLT. There’s been a major problem that has a rose that has me digging.
It all began when the passenger door would be opened and closed. Truck ran fine, then I would go and start it the next time, and Boom. Nothing, no crank just barely dash lights and a faint open door tone. I would jump it, and it’d run fine, till the passenger door was opened again, then after shut off, it wouldn’t start.
Now today, it seems to do it when the driver’s door is opened. I changed out the battery, it was nasty and old and I happened to have a fresh spare (the battery and alternator check out fine on the multi-meter). Well, this problem is still happening, the new battery seems to of helped me find another clue. Now, with cold cranking amps, I see the THEFT light flashing, so I’m reading up on stuff and trying to figure it all out. Is it a sensor in the door doing this? Is it the PCM? It is really bizarre all this going on. I’ve worked on vehicles all my life and have a auto mechanic diplomas from high school and I’ve never came across it, nor have buddies or family that have worked in the field or messed around for years.
I would appreciate any tips in the right direction, and thanks for the time any of you put into this.
Larry[/quote]
This has me thinking it could be related to a faulty door switch, and the dome light is on all the time, draining the battery when parked, and you haven’t noticed.
Thanks for the reply. Originally, I thought it was the door switch and the wife thought it could be the dome light when I wondered if it was the door switch. We watched it close and the only time it’s on is when it’s supposed to be on. BUT that doesn’t mean it’s not zapping current for some reason. If this reset doesn’t work, I’ll check the dome light if it’s sucking current.
Removing ECM fuse for some time resets ECM by powering it down.
If you want to do hard reboot, remove both battery cables and then touch cable terminals together. This is said to remove all leftover power in the system. Other way is to remove cables and hold horn button down for some time. Same purpose – drain entire everything.
I doubt though you’ll get out easy. from this issue. Find a decent mobile electrician off craigslist.[quote=”ukrkoz” post=142552]Removing ECM fuse for some time resets ECM by powering it down.
If you want to do hard reboot, remove both battery cables and then touch cable terminals together. This is said to remove all leftover power in the system. Other way is to remove cables and hold horn button down for some time. Same purpose – drain entire everything.
I doubt though you’ll get out easy. from this issue. Find a decent mobile electrician off craigslist.[/quote]Thanks for the additional tips. I’ll probably try them all, very interesting ideas
I want to thank you guys for the help. The mystery is solved. It was a bad battery all along. I changed it out once with one I thought was brand new. I had bought it for a previous truck I had, but it developed a cracked head. So when I sold the truck I assumed I had took the new battery in storage and had put a old one in it’s place (the guy who bought the truck knew of the cracked head and it didn’t run). Well, I decided to take this one I thought was new out an put on the charger. It charged up, but my multi-meter was showing current not being held. I put it back in the truck and cranked it, and I heard fuel moving, so I knew the battery was bad. I took it down the road to NAPA and they tested it, and it was bad. I traded that in for a new one, bolted it on and the truck fired right up! I’ve started and shut it off a few times, I took it around the block a few times and it’s running strong. I appreciate ya’ll’s time helping me out with this.
[quote=”LarryMgs” post=142572]I want to thank you guys for the help. The mystery is solved. It was a bad battery all along. I changed it out once with one I thought was brand new. I had bought it for a previous truck I had, but it developed a cracked head. So when I sold the truck I assumed I had took the new battery in storage and had put a old one in it’s place (the guy who bought the truck knew of the cracked head and it didn’t run). Well, I decided to take this one I thought was new out an put on the charger. It charged up, but my multi-meter was showing current not being held. I put it back in the truck and cranked it, and I heard fuel moving, so I knew the battery was bad. I took it down the road to NAPA and they tested it, and it was bad. I traded that in for a new one, bolted it on and the truck fired right up! I’ve started and shut it off a few times, I took it around the block a few times and it’s running strong. I appreciate ya’ll’s time helping me out with this.[/quote]
Glad you got it solved. Thanks for keeping us up to date. Yea, anytime you have an electrical issue, always start at the battery. It’s the heart of the system. If the heart isn’t good, everything else suffers. For future reference on electrical issues.
http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/solving-automotive-electrical-problems
Thanks again for the updates.
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