Hello,

I've been reading some posts in the forum and haven't quite found my exact issue. So about three months ago my 2007 Ford Ranger XLT, 2.3l, 4x2, manual started having this weird issue where, whilst driving, it would randomly show dashes on the ODO, the RPM and MPH gauges would stop working, and the CEL would come on. This would happen for maybe a few minutes, then resolve itself and things would go back to normal. No loss to power or trucks ability to drive, no weird sounds. This has happened maybe 5 times in total over three months. Not progressively worse, just every few weeks maybe.

Just this weekend, I had planned to go out and take care of some errands and ran into an issue with the PATS. The truck was locked down and wouldn't turn over. I received a 1-6 code from the PATS light blinking. I only had one key so I didn't have another to see if maybe the chip in my key was faulty. I had tried an assortment of things like unhooking the battery, resetting the PATS with various key turns in the ignition and the door, letting it sit for 90+ minutes with battery hooked up to see if it would clear. Nothing seemed to get it going. I ended up doing a visual inspection of the wiring (no multimeter currently), I put it in Engineering mode and can see the voltage looked fine (couldn't start it to see if it was fine whilst idle). I ended up letting it sit for a couple of days and ordered a USB OBDII sensor and a couple of blank keys to use with FORScan to make more, since I should have multiple copies anyway. I've also checked fuses in both fuse boxes, and checked anything that might indicate a loose wire (without cutting sheathing).

Yesterday and this morning, I was able to start the truck without issue. No issue with PATS, no issue with turning over. Drove it around to a few places and started back up every time. No CEL. Nothing. Basically working like it had before. I got my new keys cut and will be making them today. I had AutoZone check the battery and they said it was good (purchase date was 01/23). Wanted to reach out to ya'll to see if anyone else had a similar issue and if so, what the cause ended up being. I did use the ODBII device I ordered and FORScan which showed codes B1600, B1601, B1868, B1352, U0100, U1900, P1260, P1000. The CEL is not on to be clear, so I'm guessing these may have been the last codes thrown, not the current codes?

I'm not a "car person", but I really like this truck, first manual I learned to drive and it's great, so I'm trying to get into the spirit of it and looking to correct this and maybe learn something new. Based on the codes and what I've found online, it could be some sort of wiring issue, the ignition cylinder, IC, or PCM? I'm willing to put in the work to get this going again, but any advice to narrow this down or save me some hassle would be awesome. If I'm missing a piece of information please let me know!

Thanks!