Team Ranger,

I have an issue with my 2004 Ranger 3.0 (145,000 miles). It's been a grueling week trying to figure it all out. It's related to my anti-theft system. Stopped for lunch, and when I came out the truck wouldn't start. Just complete silence when turning the key. Flashing red padlock blinking about every second. Power on truck still going strong. Interior lights, horn and clock all working. Just won't crank. I tried everything I could. Turned the key to "on" 8 times, disconnected the battery (negative first), and had two different locksmiths come out and attempt to reprogram keys. They both said the keys were initially programmed, but when they placed it in the ignition it wouldn't pair/read. I needed to now get it towed. I called all the auto shops in the area and they wouldn't take it. Said they would have done what I already did. I called Ford and they wouldn't take it! They said it's probably a module issue and they can't get those for older trucks like mine. I have a hard time believing there's no fix for this through Ford. No shop wants to take my money and get this fixed. I ended up towing it back home. A couple of interesting points. I recently cleaned out the idle control value, and disconnected the battery. A day later the anti-theft was on and it wouldn't start. I left it for a few days and when I came back it started right up. Drove it for a week. Then replaced the idle pulley (did not disconnect the battery). It ran for a couple days then anti-theft got triggered again. This time it won't start back up. I'm not sure if those fixes are related. I wouldn't think so? I could really use some guidance. Need this truck for work! Any help is appreciated!