Home › Forums › Stay Dirty Lounge › Service and Repair Questions Answered Here › Why won’t my PCM give out any codes???
- This topic has 51 replies, 9 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 4 months ago by Larry Bible.
-
CreatorTopic
-
August 8, 2016 at 4:12 am #864895
Does anyone have an answer to the basic question of why my Ford Freestar would be “dead” (no start, no crank) and the PCM won’t give any codes for us to look up??? The battery is fine, it’s not a “key” issue, and someone used a tester and checked the wiring and fuses for me. I then replaced the PCM, it was supposedly programmed, but still no codes……..
Thanks for any ideas you might have 🙂
-
CreatorTopic
-
AuthorReplies
-
August 11, 2016 at 4:36 am #865160
[quote=”MarineWife” post=172543]1) When you turn the key, the engine doesn’t turn at all, and there is NO click that you can hear. But you can feel the click in the mini relay in the fuse box.
2) There is NO crank, NO start. The only way you can get the car to crank is to hot wire the starter.
3) The starter has power to it. But unless you hot wire it, it does nothing. The way he knows the starter HAS power to it is with the volt meter, by touching the ground and the hot wire and getting a 12.5v reading.[/quote]
ok what you have to do is connect the multi meter to the post on the starter and test it when the key is out and when the key is in and when you have the key turned to the start position….
what Im looking for is what the voltage drop the starter is getting… and is the system really sending a singal to the starter or are we reading something weird… basiccly Im looking at corrostion in the cables or a bad connection… or a failed relay… in those test and checking if we are testing it correctlyAugust 11, 2016 at 5:08 am #865167after that and you think the starter is getting a signal to run… wich it sounds like it might by you saying the lights are dimming when trying to start it… but I would still test the voltage at the starter first…. you will disconnect the battory and remove the starter from the block and connect it back up and run a wire to the block and the starer caseing…. to get a ground wire sometimes starters use the engine for ground some have a dedicated ground so to be sure run a ground cabe to the engine block… make sure the starter will not eat anything or damage anything..if holding it by hand make sure your hand is away from the gears inisde it…. with the starter removed from the engine block and connected…. reconnect the batttory and try turning the key to the start position… you should hear the winding of the starter… a click for the gear coming out basiclly a soft hammer sound and the winding noise of the starter… I would also bring anoth er car battory over and jump start it to your battory just incase your battory is weak now or is bad some how even if it tested good try it with a good battory jumping yours….
if that all works you reconnect the starter back in to the engine and try again… that means you are not getting engough amps to the starter ofr some resonPS when ever you move the starter always disconnect the battory
August 11, 2016 at 5:48 am #865171See if this logic works. I think your hubby is getting battery voltage off the main wire to the starter. And he is simply using a screwdriver or such to jump battery voltage to the solenoid wire and the engine then cranks?
August 11, 2016 at 7:48 pm #865208[quote=”Rob781″ post=172545][quote=”MarineWife” post=172543]1) When you turn the key, the engine doesn’t turn at all, and there is NO click that you can hear. But you can feel the click in the mini relay in the fuse box.
2) There is NO crank, NO start. The only way you can get the car to crank is to hot wire the starter.
3) The starter has power to it. But unless you hot wire it, it does nothing. The way he knows the starter HAS power to it is with the volt meter, by touching the ground and the hot wire and getting a 12.5v reading.[/quote]
ok what you have to do is connect the multi meter to the post on the starter and test it when the key is out and when the key is in and when you have the key turned to the start position….
what Im looking for is what the voltage drop the starter is getting… and is the system really sending a singal to the starter or are we reading something weird… basiccly Im looking at corrostion in the cables or a bad connection… or a failed relay… in those test and checking if we are testing it correctly[/quote]There is no voltage drop, because when you turn the engine to START, it’s not sending power to the starter.
August 11, 2016 at 7:52 pm #865209[quote=”Rob781″ post=172552]after that and you think the starter is getting a signal to run… wich it sounds like it might by you saying the lights are dimming when trying to start it… but I would still test the voltage at the starter first…. you will disconnect the battory and remove the starter from the block and connect it back up and run a wire to the block and the starer caseing…. to get a ground wire sometimes starters use the engine for ground some have a dedicated ground so to be sure run a ground cabe to the engine block… make sure the starter will not eat anything or damage anything..if holding it by hand make sure your hand is away from the gears inisde it…. with the starter removed from the engine block and connected…. reconnect the batttory and try turning the key to the start position… you should hear the winding of the starter… a click for the gear coming out basiclly a soft hammer sound and the winding noise of the starter… I would also bring anoth er car battory over and jump start it to your battory just incase your battory is weak now or is bad some how even if it tested good try it with a good battory jumping yours….
if that all works you reconnect the starter back in to the engine and try again… that means you are not getting engough amps to the starter ofr some resonPS when ever you move the starter always disconnect the battory[/quote]
……So therefore, no, the starter is NOT getting a signal to run. The “lights are dimming” is not anything that I have posted, nothing like that happens. And the starter has tested fine, so figuring it must be something else……
August 11, 2016 at 7:55 pm #865210[quote=”shaun” post=172556]See if this logic works. I think your hubby is getting battery voltage off the main wire to the starter. And he is simply using a screwdriver or such to jump battery voltage to the solenoid wire and the engine then cranks?[/quote]
Yes, he gets voltage off the main wire to the starter. No screwdriver…..the way he does it is he puts a jumper wire on the solenoid and then touches it to the positive on the battery.
August 11, 2016 at 8:00 pm #865211ok thanks so now I know that it is not sending signal to the starter… what is the mfg/year/model/sub model/ 8th of vin maybe I can check some TSB’s and check the wireing diagrams because sometime I can pull them up myself… I might find something…
August 11, 2016 at 10:12 pm #865217[quote=”Rob781″ post=172596]ok thanks so now I know that it is not sending signal to the starter… what is the mfg/year/model/sub model/ 8th of vin maybe I can check some TSB’s and check the wireing diagrams because sometime I can pull them up myself… I might find something…[/quote]
2005 Ford Freestar SEL VIN# 2FMDA58 2 65BA23589
August 13, 2016 at 2:54 am #865312It may be the ignition switch itself since it did originally just die on you and now won’t fire with the key on and jumping starter solenoid to crank engine
August 13, 2016 at 4:17 am #865324hope this help…. pass 1
willl not allow me to upload mult picAttachments:August 13, 2016 at 4:18 am #865325hope this help…. pass 2
willl not allow me to upload mult picAugust 13, 2016 at 4:20 am #865326hope this help…. pass 3
willl not allow me to upload mult picAttachments:August 13, 2016 at 5:22 am #865334I am not familiar with the Ford line. How old is this car?
August 25, 2016 at 1:21 am #866354[quote=”Rob781″ post=172707]hope this help…. pass 3
willl not allow me to upload mult pic[/quote]Thank you so much for all the photos you posted for me–I didn’t get notice for some reason that they were there, so I will now share with my husband. In the meantime…..
I actually came on the site just now to post an update & question for you….maybe you’ll know bestif this fits with your previous ideas:
The Tech that had me replace the PCM but after there was still NO CRANK, NO START, now tested the fuse box. There was “power to the block that plugs into the fuse box, but no power at one of the fuses” (the one that goes to the starting system).
He said that box is obsolete, but even if I could get a used one, & replace it:
1) does it make sense that this could have been my original problem and only problem (when the van died on the road with no warning)?
2) Is there a way to know for SURE that the problem IS the fuse box & that replacement will fix this vehicle? I am beyond out of money to spend on this vehicle…August 25, 2016 at 1:27 am #866355[quote=”MBDiagMan” post=172715]I am not familiar with the Ford line. How old is this car?[/quote]
2005 Ford Freestar — there have been numerous developments, though, and actually the PCM now probably won’t give out codes because it’s now a replacement PCM, and might need to run through and cycle everything– except that it won’t crank or start so I can’t run/drive the car to get it to cycle.
-
AuthorReplies
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.