I have a 2003 FX4 with 5.4 & 88,000 miles, a garage queen. I'm in a company service truck all week, that I also drive home in every day after work, so, my F150 rarely comes out of the garage. I keep a battery tender on it 24/7, & the truck is extremely well taken care of. I just went out to start it up & it just cranks & cranks & will not fire. Also, the "theft" light on the dash keeps flashing, even after I remove the key. It ran just fine the last time I pulled it into the garage,( about 6 months ago). Any thoughts?
Thanks!

 

It sounds like the vehicle is not recognizing the key, or is unable to read the key. If you have another key, try it to see if it will start.

 

I think that the PATS light always flashes until it starts. You just don't notice it until you have problems.

How old is the fuel? Have you checked a spark plug? Tried starting fluid? Vehicles like to be driven. Fuel gets old, condensation happens in the tanks, even with all of the filters and protection. Especially with today's ethanol-containing fuels.

 

Tried a different key, no luck. Although, this year/model doesn't have a chipped key anyhow.
Thanks!

 

You can try disconnecting neg. battery cable for 5 min. to do reset. You can listen for fuel pump by turning key to run. Use rubber mallet and thump bottom of fuel tank to shock fuel pump (may have locked up sitting). My '99 F250LD, '02 Taurus, '11 Fusion, '14 F150 and sons '09 Focus all have chipped keys.

 

al f150s 99 and up has chipped keys.

 

I have the same truck and it most definitely has a chipped key. As a matter of fact, I was told to never try to start this generation of truck with a non-chipped key as it can screw up the theft system.

 

I never knew that, it looks like a regular key. When I turn on the ignition, there is nothing coming from the fuel pump. Dead quiet. Once the key is removed, "theft" keeps flashing continuously, not fast, maybe once every second or so. It never stops, just keeps flashing. Issue with PATS maybe?

 

That's what the theft system does, it turns off the fuel pump so it can not be started.

 

Is this something that needs to be done by a dealer? Or, is it just a module that can be replaced at home?