PATS Question

[gatordeere]

I have a 98 expedition with 5.4. I had the whole windshield leak about a year ago and got that all fixed up. Its been fine until now! It would not start friday. Tried unhooking the battery and all the little tricks i read about but none worked. Changed relay for computer and it started right up. Thought great thats the problem. Took down the road and it died and would not restart. The theft light flashes fast it will crank just not start. Towed it home and fired right up! Been fine since. Will the pats kill the vehicle while driving or could it be something else? Also when it wont start i tried my code reader and it says no link. Any thoughts. THANKS

 

[Thermo]

Sounds like the ECM is loosing power and that will cause the engine to stop. Then, because the ECM still has no power, it will allow the engine to crank, but no power is making it to the coils, leading to the no start condition.

 

[gatordeere]

I have that much figured out just dont know why the ECM is losing power!

 

[Thermo]

gator, I would start with replacing the fuse. If it has cracked due to age, that can cause really wierd things to happen. I would also look to see if the fuse is loose inside the fuse box. I have seen fuses get loose and cause intermittent problems like this. After that, you are going to have to narrow it down to a wiring or computer issue. If I had to take a guess, more times than not it is a computer issue.

 

[WSS1]

The fuse thing can get wierd. I changed all my fuses two summers ago due to a crack in an original. The AC went out when my wife hit a low curb on a left hand turn (kinda hidden, she's a better driver than me), it did not seem that hard, have done much worse off road. But it was enough to lose the flow of current through the cracked fuse. It took a magnifying glass to see the crack, I missed it doing a regular visual, only indicator was the trouble followed that fuse and finally my DVM showed no flow.

WSS1