My truck has been acting up lately. If I turn the key the theft light flashes and the odometer reads ......... The the sukker won't start. I have a 1999 ford f150 with a 5.4 tried two different keys... does this when use the remote start as well. No the radio does not reset. lights do not dim. The theft light blinks repeatidly and odometer looks like this ........ If I let it sit for a few minutes it might start. It has done this when running as well. It was idling and when I backed out of driveway it stalled. I turned the key and it... theft light blinks repeatidly and odometer looks like this ........ I let it sit for 5 and it started..

 

my wife's truck was giving simular problems
related to remote starter
ended up needed to replace lock acuator on drivers door
was not funtioning properly screwing with the theft system
mitch

 

I had a similar problem about a year ago. Don't ask me why, but I had to have the key reprogrammed. Makes absolutely no sense, but it fixed my problem.

I don't know if reprogramming a key will fix your problem, but I would investigate further. The dealer charged me about $40 - $50 bucks. Ridiculous!!

Plus I only had one key at the time.

 

Happened on the little woman's car. Would act up in extreme cold. Turned out to be an adjustment on a resistor for the remote starter. The place that installed the starter fixed it for free. Twice. Then they put a new starter in it the third time.

 

Sounds like a bad key.

 

Key

 

have tried two different keys, must be something to do with remote start

 

Well, this problem is really beginning to **** me off. It seemed to disapear for about a week then began to do it again. I haven't used the remote start all this time either. It will stall out while driving...and when I try to re-start the thing it won't. The theft light flashes and won't start. If it does start it will run for about 30 seconds and will stall out again. It eventually will run and might not give me a problem for a few days, then back to the same ole bull-****.

 

had a mechanic at ford clean some connections as well as test a bunch of crap. He was unable to pin point the problem. He installed a data recorder and I ran it for one week. Just waiting for appointment. Also, I have noticed that my odometer light goes out every so often. After I had it in the shop and he checked a bunch of ****, the light never wen't out for a week. The truck ran fine during this time. Then one day it began stalling out while driving and I noticed the odometer light was going out again.

 

If it's a digital odometer the fix has been posted here. somewhere. Basically there's a small crack in the circut board. Fixing it requires pulling the guage cluster and using a low voltage soldering iron to tighten up the solder on the pin. HTH.

 

thing is... the truck will stall while driving. It might restart again right away... go ten feet, and stall again. Then it might just start right up and run fine for a few days. Well, I woke this morning to a dead battery. I am taking the truck to the shop so they can read the data recorder they placed in there a couple weeks ago. This **** is really beginning to bother me......

 

I have an '01 F150 and it won't start. At first my odometer read blank and the theft light kept blinking. I saw someone here had a similar problem and many suggested he try switching keys. I used my spare and it started. I took my girlfriends key off my keychain and it worked a few times after that. Then it wouldn't start again. I also read that someone suggested the battery might be dying so I went out and got a new battery and it still won't start. The engine turns and makes like it wants to start but it won't. Now it won't start with either key. Any ideas and/or suggestions?

Try adjusting the anti-theft needle valve or the roll-over prevention spring.

Mine did the bucking/theft light thing back in the day, but not the gauge sweep.
Then one day, the truck just died.

My K&N intake that I had at the time came with the wrong mounting hardware, and allowed the filter to slightly rub the wires under it. Some wires to the ECU were chaffed, and eventually shorted out the ECU.

Thankfully, K&N paid for the repair.


You could take a look under the steering column cover, to see if the PATS transceiver is loose. If this is loose, it could cause issues with reading the RFID on the key.

I discovered that the fuel pump relay feeds the odometer also. So to test I pulled the relay and tried to start the truck. Doing this gives me the same symptoms as my intermittent starting issues. This problem was always worse when it rained or rapid temp changes occurred or it was just real cold out. New fuel pumps relay and no problems so far. The relay was triggering a PATS issue due to the connection with the instrument cluster. At least now I know what circuit is giving me problems and if the problem comes up again I can trace this circuit, I hope this info helps someone out.
When these 2 loose communication, '------' and THEFT is what you get. Possibilities are loss of ground or power, connection problems, aftermarket installations, loose fuse tap ins.


This is a bunch of different posts I found in relation to this problem. I will follow all leads and post reply. I removed the superchip and got new battery today

 

You could have a fuse panel corrosion problem. A windshield leak in the right spot will allow water to settle on the fuse block connections. The only way to verify is to pull the fuse panel behind the passenger's foot panel. Also check the connector to the PCM for corrosion.

 

Well my friends, looks like we might have the problem licked. My brother "the mechanic" at our Ford dealship removed my Superchip and all seems to be good. He said it was wearing and wasn't connecting properly. Frikkin thing.... argh.

 

Some of the same problems as others. Turns over strong, but no start. I listened to rear driver wheel well and didn't hear the fuel pump go on. When turning the key the theft light flashes quickly and the odometer shows --------. My problem was fixed with 2 things. 1) got new Powertrain Control Module PCM relay (underhood fuse box location 304). This fixed the odo problem right away, BUT... still wouldn't start. So then 2) got new fuel relay (underhood fuse box location 301). All good.