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'07 Ranger starting problems

I have a 2007 Ranger automatic (4.0L, 4x4) with 34500km, which I purchased in October 2009. Haven't had any issues with the truck until about a week ago, when out of the blue the truck wouldn't start. Nothing, not a gig. The radio, lights, etc would all work, but the engine wouldn't even attempt to trun over, even with a boost. I called roadside assistance and they towed the vehicle to the nearest Ford dealership.

When the Ford tech looked at the truck, it started fine on the 1st try. They told me there was nothing wrong with the truck (DUH! if there was nothing wrong with it, I would never have had it towed in!). I drove it away and 2 days later had the same problem. After 40-50 attempts with the key, it finally started fine and continued to do so for another 4-5 days.

This morning, the truck again wouldn't start. I took the wife's car to work and by the time I got home, the truck was again starting fine. This time, I called the dealership where I bought the truck (Honda), as they offer free labor on repairs for the 1st year. I am taking in the truck tomorrow morning.

I did have an independent mechanic I trust have a quick look at the vehicle. He gave me two possible causes:

  1. The aftermarket remote starter (brand name "AutoStart") may have thrown out an error code and is thus causing the problem. We took out the fuse for this, thus disabling the remote starter for now.

  1. There is a *small* amount of greenish-blue corrosion on the ground wire to the starting motor, but doesn't look to be enough to cause any problems. Hard to tell without removing the wheel and getting a better look at the starter.

Has anybody else had any similar experiences with their Ranger (or other Ford truck)? How did you solve it, and what was the cost? The only warranty remaining on this truck is 19 months of Ford powertrain, and 7 months of labor only from the Honda dealership where I bought the truck.

PS: I have been a customer of the Honda dealership in question for 15 years, so I have faith in their honesty & work.

Reply to
Stunning Steve
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Take everything you know about Honda and set it aside. Nothing, except perhaps the gas tank, will apply to the Ford. Their honesty and work may be top notch, but not on a Ford. You'll have to play it by ear when you start mixing automakers and the service staff. They may very well do an excellent job, but you would be smart to figure out as many repeatable tests as you can, and then go in and show them exactly what's going on.

Some cars these days have a "smart key" that the vehicle will not do anything unless it sees the right key. I can't say for certain how the systme works, because you can give the valet service a Valet Key which is a stupid key by definition, and the vehicle will start fine. If you can operate the with the valet key, then my guess is that the smart key is dead. Or dying.

Comparing apples and oranges for just a moment, my daughter has a BMW 3 Series that would not start. It would not turn over or anything, but there was plenty of electricity, and by every measure, there was abslutely nothing wrong -- refusal to start notwithstanding. I fussed around with the car for an hour or so checking everything I could think of, but ev erything was fine, except the part about starting.

I don't remember what happened, but I tried a different key. Viola! If fired right up. The key has an RFID thing built in, and it became confused somehow. They loose battery power after several years, but I'd not expect an '07 to develop old age this early.

My advice is to try another key and see if that solves the problem. If so, then you'll have to buy a new key.

Another thing is that the vehicle must be in P or N, if it has an automatic transmission, or the clutch pedal must be fully depressed if it has a manual tranmsission. There can be trouble with the Neutral Safety Switch (automatic) or the Clutch Safety Switch (manual) that can keep the vehicle from starting and have symptoms similar to those you have described. Work the gear selector to P or N, or depress the clutch, and see if there is any change to your symptom set. Set the parking brake, and see if you can move the gear selector and affect a change in the truck's attitude about starting. Of course, play with the clutch pedal if so equipped.

The symptom set you have described leads me to the key. If the key is not the right one -- I know it is the right one, but the truck thinks it's the wrong one and that's the only thing that's important now -- then the truck will think it is being stolen, and lock out the ignition sequence so that the truck won't even try to turn over. The question is, does your truck use the Smart Key? I do not know one way or the other, but switching the key will go a long way in helping to figure this out.

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

Thanks for the insight. I never thought of the smart key theory, but the truck was tried with 2 different keys nonetheless. The Honda salesman told me that they have an experienced former Ford mechanic now working for them, so hopefully he'll have a good idea what's causing the problem.

I'll post a follow-up if/when I get this resolved. Thanks again.

Reply to
Stunning Steve

On Mon, 29 Mar 2010 16:41:19 -0700, Jeff Strickland rearranged some electrons to say:

Ford PATS keys do not have batteries. They are passive RFID devices.

Reply to
david

I forgot to mention that an aftermarket alarm system with Ignition Bypass can cause the problems you report.

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

I understand. But the passive RFID can get confused and the vehicle does not accept the key if that happens.

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

On Tue, 30 Mar 2010 08:23:00 -0700, Jeff Strickland rearranged some electrons to say:

Only the reader in the vehicle can get confused. There is not much you can do to the key except destroy it.

Reply to
david

Got a call from the Honda tech today. Basically said as long as the truck starts, they can't diagnose the problem. Removing the fuse to disable the remote starter may or may not work; we won't know unless it acts up again. Diagnostic check shows no errors.

I should add, on all 3 mornings when the truck wouldn't start, the temperature was below 0c. It has started fine when the temp was above zero; but then again, it was starting fine all winter long and in all weather conditions, so why it would get fussy now on a cold morning may only be a coincidence, we just don't know. The Honda garage is keeping the truck overnight for a cold start in the morning, but if the truck starts fine I will be getting it back again with no resolution.

Remember, there is no Ford warranty remaining except for the powertrain. It is currently at a Honda dealer because I purchased it there, and they are not charging for labor. Any other insight would be greatly appreciated.

Reply to
Stunning Steve

Personally, my experience says if there is an add-on remote starter, then the probablilty is about 95% that the problem is with the starter module, or the wiring.

Reply to
PeterD

Ditto.

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

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