Drive home from work
Home for around 30 mins leave to go back to work and now
Turn key and Theft dash led rapid flash, ebrake led lights as well.

Both the Key on my keyring and one I keep inside have the same issue
2001 Ranger XLT


Know all I need is the ranger to be accessed and told to recognize my Keys again. like 60.00 from the dealership

Issue: I live in Chicago. Auto Mechanics 701 union on strike. 5 ford Dealer in 30 mile range, all union all striking

Any thoughts on what I can do?

 

Mobile lock smith with Ford software can add keys back to memory

But could be transceiver problem(antenna around the key cylinder)
It is just an antenna no electronics, have you done any recent work under dash or in steering column?

 

No recent or past work. Guess I will call around , thanks for the reply

 

You could try unhooking battery for 5 minutes, then hook it back up any, that might reset PATS and alarm system

 

Left it disconnected for 48+hours, still no go
I called a mobile locksmith and conformed they should be able to either rekey me or reprogram the PCM . Will be coming to me tomorrow.

 

If that fails, you can program keys yourself. Forscan (free) combined with a laptop and an ELM327 (12 bucks from china) and you have something very very close to a dealer level scan tool. Pays for itself the first time you use it, and it's not hard to use either.

 

Locksmith could not fix, used 2 different computers and nope. suggested not to rekey as it looks to be an issue with the PCM itself. only out 50 for the diagnostic work
moving on
ELM327, so a ODB2 dongle? I have one already. used it on an off when I was having issue with some misfires. Laptop is at work... so will try Forscan on monday

Something just occurred to me.
I have a remote starter (added 5+ years ago) and certain it has a Bypass Module (no alarm just a remote start)
I lost the remote some time ago so never give it much thought. I was just looking under the dash and and saw the receiver dongle sticking out, and did a headsmack
I did not do the install of it but thinking this may be the cause of my issue!


/sigh

 

I would pursue that before going any further.

 

Yes, remote start is most likely the issue.

It is not really a "by-pass" it uses a PATS key ID same as using key in the ignition

 

Was not the remote start.
I had it towed to a Dealership not in Chicago. 30 mins away (thanks to Geico for a free tow) Looked at it today and its my Trucks PCM. Bonus! The PCM is obsolete for my 16 year old truck so it will need to be special ordered from a Vendor, which may take a week to arrive, by 9/8
Cost of it with install and labor, $815.

I had been having some issue with misfires and random codes about 3 or 4 months ago, but felt I tracked it to Tmobiles Drive ODB2 reader as when I pulled it out , no more misfires. But it was most likely the warning signs that the PCM was on its last legs

Thanks for the support here.

 

I'm fairly sure you can get a PCM from another truck and have it reprogrammed for your truck. They usually don't die out. My 99 ranger still has it's original PCM, and so does my father's from 03. Goes without saying that it needs to come from a truck with the same engine as yours. For example, if yours had the 3.0 v6 vulcan with flex fuel, it needs to come from another 3.0 v6 vulcan with flex fuel.

 

Resolution for this
PCM replaced and then the transponder itself would not talk to the pcm
Transponder replaced and keys programmed,. no issues now
They did disconnect my remote start as well due to voltage issues.
So it was the remote start that ive had for years that caused the issue

 

Sounds about right. Thanks for posting the fix.

 

I see this post is 2 weeks old and the OP resolved his issue, I had to comment on this though.

Depending on the year of the vehicle, FORScan migh not work. I'm not certain of other vehicles but in the f150 15+ trucks can do a lot with FORScan. 10-14 years have less options and 09- have even less because they changed the PCM or similar vehicle management system.

If it works that far back, great. It's a great tool to use. Myself I've used it to change my DRL's, leave fogs on with highbeams. I still have to do the GPS override mod and one or two others.

Like artic wolf said it's easy to use and free (for now), I would just be leary of the ELM device, the Chinese ones are hit and miss. I think I paid $30 for mine. Also don't get a Bluetooth one, they're connectivity isn't reliable. Get a USB connector one.

 

It definitely works for '99. You can read through the version history on the website, but as I recall, PATS support is there for pretty much any Ranger.

Agreed on the USB cable probably being a safer choice, but I tried it with mine ($30) and didn't have any trouble using Bluetooth.