Here's a long story that I'm hoping that someone can help guide me in the right direction...

About 5 months ago I drove my 2007 Lariat 5.4L F150 to the landfill about 30 minutes away. I backed my truck to unload and parked it, turning off the engine. I got out to unload and realizing I should have backed up a few more feet, got back in the truck to start it and it would not fire, just a click click click. I unloaded the truck, got back into it about 10 minutes later and it fired right up. I watched the truck over the next 2 months and noticed that anytime that I drove it more than 20 minutes or so that the same issue with not starting would happen and after I let it sit for 3-5 minutes it would fire back up.

At the end of June I took it to the dealer to figure this out. They kept it a day and could not figure it out. I went back and explained the problem to them again and they were able to replicate it and determined that the PCM was overheating. They did not want me to drive it due to it the likelihood of it overheating...so I would do without the truck for 2 months.

Luckily, the vehicle was under warranty for this part...However, Ford could not supply a new PCM due to back order. Ford continued to set new dates that the dealer would receive a new PCM and every time they missed the date. So, I spoke with the Manager at the dealer and asked it I could purchase a used PCM to put into the vehicle. He said it would require them to program it, but he would get it installed. I found one on Ebay and purchased it. It was installed today. The manager tested the vehicle out before he returned it and said they had left it running for over an hour and then turned it off and immediately restarted it. It worked, problem solved...or so I thought.

After picking it up at lunch, I drove it around town and turned it off and restarted it, with it working each time. I drove it an hour to Asheville for a meeting and after driving it home I restarted the truck when I got home and it wouldn't restart...click, click, click again!! I let it sit for about a minute and it restarted.

I'm going to call my mechanic tomorrow (not the dealer) and get his thoughts, but wanted to see if anyone else had any guidance.

So my questions are:
1) Logic would say that the PCM was not the problem but any ideas what this might be?
2) Is the truck safe to drive in it's present condition?
3) Based on the answer to #1, is this something that the dealer needs to fix or can I take it to my regular mechanic? Needless to say, I'm a little disappointed in the dealership's service department.

Thanks in advance for reading this long post and any assistance!

 

Off the top of my head, it sounds like a bad starter (weak bendix) causing an intermittent starting condition. If you had access to a used starter in working condition to test, that would save you a few bucks if it is not the cause.

 

Before that though, I would check all related connections between the battery and starter for cleanliness and inspect to see any are loose.

 

So here's an update...I took my truck to my normal mechanic and he hooked it up trying to figure out the issue. We decided to switch the starter relay on the truck. I drove it to Asheville for a meeting (over an hour away) and the truck restarted after parking it and turning it off. Looks like my problem was solved!! We decided to go back out this evening and drove it another hour and on the return trip home it would not restart.

At this point, I think it's got to be some sort of electrical short, does anybody have any ideas?