When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
This is my first pick up truck and I have owned it 17 days ( warranty expired after 15)
2004 F150 180k miles
Ran fine then when dropping someone off I put it in park.
When i tried to leave i could not shift out of park.
I decided to turn it off and back on again and that triggered that Passive anti-theft, based on the fast flashing light on the dash.
I could also hear something ticking/running under the truck. I thought maybe fuel pump??? When I pressed the horn it did not work but the ticking stopped until i let go of the horn and it started again.
Thanks in advance for anyone who takes the time to read or answer.
Pry back the plastic kick panel cover on the passenger side and look between the door opening and the fuse box see if the ground terminal is all rusted and crusty. If it is simply drill a new hole higher up and reattach the wires to some good metal.
this is what it should look like
Here's the ground location in my truck. This is what it should look like. It's right in front of the passenger door jamb
Clean your battery connections. You may want to use jumper cables to another vehicle and see if problem still exists while jumpered. Could be weak battery.
The first time this happened the day before i got a boost and it started and i was able to drive it to autozone. they put there machine on the battery and said the battery was good although the girl working the machine said it was the first time using it so it is possible she made a mistake.. today I cleaned up all the terminals and gave the car a boost. It started for about a minute then turned off and PAT light started flashing again.
I purchased this vehicle for a job i am doing in new mexico, closest ford dealer is 60 miles ( a very expensive tow)
I dont see any rot, I think it was garage kept and I purchased it in Las Vegas New mexico , very dry climate. I looked at the ground next to the fuse box behind the kick plate
and it looks clean.
Did you both sides? If not, check the other side just to be sure.
Most of your reported symptoms suggest a "bad" ground somewhere in the system. Checked the "easy" and most common one, now it does get harder.
FWIW. PATS cannot cause an engine to stop running after the engine has started. However, it can and will cause a no restart if PATS isn't able to prove out successfully when the ignition is cycled OFF and back to RUN or START. Sounds like your PATS observation is a secondary symptom.
See if you can identify exactly what's ticking under the truck.
Check that other side, then compile a concise list of anything odd electrically - stuff that doesn't work at all or stuff that only works under odd or illogical situations. Make sure you also check the third brake light. That info will help to understand better where the problem is.
Last edited by ProjectSHO89; 06-18-2022 at 02:03 PM.
I concur that now you have checked the pass side check the driver side ground.
Another thing that is common that can play hell is the FPDM which is on the rear frame crossmember in front of the spare tire.
it's not usually the cause of the issues you describe but If that gets corroded it can cause stalling and or no starts and it's pretty easy to get a visual on and see if it's crusty.
If you Google ford FPDM or just look at the sticky post at the top of this forum you will find lots of examples.
06-17-2022, 09:27 PM
PAT engaged and cant shift out of park
