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Theft Light Flashing! Car won't start!

222K views 48 replies 31 participants last post by  DetroitMuscle99 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
My buddy has a 2001 Gt Auto. It's been down for a few months now, he said he was driving home and out of nowhere the car just shut off and when he got to the side of the road, it wouldn't start back up, and the "Theft Light" was flashing like crazy, all the car would do is turn over but never start.

I've looked at the car and I have NO clue what it could be.

He took it to a very well-known shop and they refused to mess with it or even diagnose it, they said that they don't deal with that kind of thing. And now after sitting for a while, the car won't even turn over anymore, and yes we made sure the battery was charged lol

I've checked all fuses and we swapped out all the relays from my 99 Gt (the same engine basically) so I know they were all good relays, and the car still kept setting off the theft light and not starting, now it's not even turning over. I'm lost.

He wants to have Ford look at it, but they charge quite a bit and he really doesn't have the cash to spend at the moment.

But I have never heard of this or experienced it, so ANY advice would be appreciated.
 
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#31 ·
Same thing happened on my 1999 mustang.
I...(and a mechanic) ..first thought that it was the fuel pump...it wasn't.
I noticed that the theft light was flashing.
Under the dash was a small disconnect that had a wire come loose.
This is a design flaw...as using the tilt steering puts pressure on the very small (and short) wires coming from it.
I removed the disconnect, spliced in additional wire and hard-wired it back together...and it WORKED !
This disconnect is located under and to the right of the steering wheel if seated and facing forward.
It is a small square and has 4 very small wires coming from it.
Hopefully this will help someone.
 

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#34 ·
Theft Light Flashing! Car Won't Start!

I have had problems with my '99 mustang for months. I put in a new fuel pump and I was ready to start testing the relays when I ran into this post. I moved the steering column down and up and down, and the car started in a snap. Pushed the steering wheel up, and the Theft light started flashing like crazy again and it wouldn't start. Pushed the steering wheel down again and it started. If anyone would have suggested this I would have said they were crazy. As a creature of habit, I always started the car with the tilt wheel up and put it down when ready to travel. I would have never connected the problem to the tilt wheel. Anyway, I did check the module and wires and no visual impairments or shorts that I could see. I will just have to leave the tilt wheel down. Thanks for the information.
 
#35 ·
happened in my 2004 it ended up being the sctbank 4 eliminator chip from bama i would have to hit the computer by the passengers right foot to get mine to start and it would go crazy lock up and turn off flash the theft light i would hit her again and she would fire up again. got tired of doing that removed the chip and no more problems.
 
#38 ·
some how it was effecting my ecu causing it to think it had a different computer saying it wasnt for that car but it was it ended up being a corrupted chip but wasnt like that when i bought it so it must of shorted out some how:confused: and the way i found out was my wheel locked up while driving and i had to pull over i tried shaking my steering wheel shaking my wires from my aftermarket alarm till finaly my freind started hiting stuff in my car and it started when he kicked the plastic by his foot ...:lol: from then on i knew it was something there so i would literaly drive around with a crowbar on my side for when it acted up and turned off when i was driving i would just give her a llittle hit and she would fire right back up. if not she would flash theft and only turnover but no start.:facepalm: got pissed took the chip out bama refunded me and i got my lovers for my new stang.:D
 
#39 ·
1998 V6

So im not sure if this is related, but the other day a car charger piece got broken off in the charger port. I asked my boyfriend if the terminals needed to be unhooked from the battery and he didn't think it was an issues, so we tried to remove the piece out of the port and sparks flew and thankfully I didn't get electrocuted. So after that we unhooked the battery and unclipped the cigarette lighter and tried to remove the piece and couldn't get it out. So we plugged the cigarette lighter back up and the battery, then tried to start the car and our lights in the cab came on and then we went to crank it and we heard a click... so my boyfriend hopped out and played with the terminal because our terminal doesn't fit perfectly and we thought it may have came loose. He then pushed the terminal back down and I turned the key and we had lights in the cab again so he hopped in pushed on the gas and it cranked right up. ONLY problem is now any time we turn the car off and let it sit for a little bit, it does the same thing and we have to pop the hood and play with the terminal. But if we drove it and turned it off and then cranked it back up again it would run. Any ideas of what could have happened with the spark? We tested our battery and the battery is fine. A guy at OReilly's said it might be the fuses or fuel pump.. also we asked him about getting a better battery then the standard battery because we are adding MACH speakers in and we noticed any time we charge something in the car, it seems to make the car run rough or bogg it down. So we thought we needed a higher powered battery, and the guy said all the other batteries except the standard wont fit because they are too tall. But cant you get a battery tray from like a F150 and put it in and it would give you more room for a bigger battery? Please help, any info would be lovely. 1998 V6 base.
 
#41 ·
So im not sure if this is related, but the other day a car charger piece got broken off in the charger port. I asked my boyfriend if the terminals needed to be unhooked from the battery and he didn't think it was an issues, so we tried to remove the piece out of the port and sparks flew and thankfully I didn't get electrocuted. So after that we unhooked the battery and unclipped the cigarette lighter and tried to remove the piece and couldn't get it out. So we plugged the cigarette lighter back up and the battery, then tried to start the car and our lights in the cab came on and then we went to crank it and we heard a click... so my boyfriend hopped out and played with the terminal because our terminal doesn't fit perfectly and we thought it may have came loose. He then pushed the terminal back down and I turned the key and we had lights in the cab again so he hopped in pushed on the gas and it cranked right up. ONLY problem is now any time we turn the car off and let it sit for a little bit, it does the same thing and we have to pop the hood and play with the terminal. But if we drove it and turned it off and then cranked it back up again it would run. Any ideas of what could have happened with the spark? We tested our battery and the battery is fine. A guy at OReilly's said it might be the fuses or fuel pump.. also we asked him about getting a better battery then the standard battery because we are adding MACH speakers in and we noticed any time we charge something in the car, it seems to make the car run rough or bogg it down. So we thought we needed a higher powered battery, and the guy said all the other batteries except the standard wont fit because they are too tall. But cant you get a battery tray from like a F150 and put it in and it would give you more room for a bigger battery? Please help, any info would be lovely. 1998 V6 base.
You guys are on the right track. One of the grounds is loose and not making good contact. When that happens the engine eill gove that one loud click and wint turn over. Start by making sure that the ground on the battery is tight with no play in it. You may need to go out and buy a new terminal to get it to fit properly.
 
#46 ·
Ok so my 2000 GT Mustang has a theft light blinking, won't start now, just turns over. There's a button you have to click before u put the key in too... I'm thinking I didn't press it all the way but idk. I've tried so many things... someone please help I just bought this yesterday and now it's effd and I don't want to pay lots of money to fix this crap.
 
#48 ·
1. turn on the ignition to the run position (don't try to start it)
2. wait 2 minutes.
3. look at the security light.
there are several codes that it can flash
ex.
1 blink then a wait then 5 blinks indicates that the system is recognizing the key but the signaled code is wrong...
if you are using the original key and it was working properly you can reset the system by locking the car and turning the key in the driver door to almost unlock direction ( NOT FAR ENOUGH TO UNLOCK THE DOOR! )
WAIT for 40-60 seconds (no more or less) then repeat the same thing in the lock direction.
within 1 minute enter the vehicle close the door and try to start it. this will reset the system if it was triggered by the battery being low or someone trying to start it with a
non-chip key. if you don't get the timing right you will have to wait 10 minutes and start over.
if the issue is still present any shop (or locksmith) with a capable scanner can reprogram the system.
Personally I use the Snap-On Solus to do it.
BE AWARE THAT WITHOUT 2 TRANSPONDER KEYS PROGRAMMED THE SYSTEM WILL NOT ALLOW THE VEHICLE TO START (secret: the key doesn't have to be able to turn the ignition just has to be the same type of transponder ) [i have an uncut transponder key that I use to reprogram for anyone that only has one chip key... it probably disarms the pats on 30 vehicles at this point but it is still just a key blank and could be cut to fit any of them if i really needed to ]
 
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