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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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#2 · (Edited by Moderator)
Alrighty, there are a few things this can be that I have run across.

Has he tried a different key? The key has a chip in it and if the chip goes bad then it will do this, Try a different key.

Another thing to try is to move the steering wheel tilt in different positions making sure the steering wheel is locked in place, then try to start it. I have seen this on mine.

Third, the anti-theft mod has gone bad and you will have to take it to Ford there is something you can do about that though like I did.

Since my car is hardly driven, garaged kept, and when it is it's driven to the store, track, or somewhere no one will bother it. I took it to the shop that did my tune and they programmed the tuner to shut the anti-theft module to be turned off so that it didn't affect the starting of the car. Yes, if anyone tells you differently then it has been done because my car is proof.

If you take it to Ford and it is the module then it's going to be at least over $1,200 in parts and labor because it does have to be programmed or at least that's what I was told.

I hope that helps.
 
#5 ·
Disconnect the negative cable from the battery for about one minute. Reconnect the cable ( make sure it's tight ), press the unlock button on your remote; start your vehicle. This worked for me. But when I was researching it I had read that if the PATS had failed then you're SOL and only a dealership can fix it. So I hope this fix works for ya.
 
#8 ·
Passive Anti-Theft. Either your key is now bad (bad chip) or PATs is acting up. You'll need Ford for one (or both if you don't have two keys). My friend rebuilt a Mustang and triggered PATs. It shuts you out of using the car pretty hardcore.
 
#9 ·
that is what happen to mine when I rebuild the engine....I dunno if it was the turner that went bad when I plugged it up to tune it that cause this issue. I would go to crank the car and it would run for a few secs backfire, then die and it wouldnt run again. It would get fuel to the plugs but the plugs wouldnt fire. Took to the shop that did the tune and they disable the anti-theft and the car ran normal. I wasnt going to pay the amout ford wanted for the repair cuz it was high....
 
#10 ·
Eturner said:
Had some thing similar happen to me the other day!.. I simply cleared the codes with my tuner and flipped the key over, and it worked just fine!.. But I went to the Ford Dealer and got two new keys, plus the old one reprogramed for $120.00 total!...
That's cheap...last time I priced it they were $120 per key!
 
#16 ·
Azure said:
Man! I feel like if you own the car, you should be able to get key replacements for cost. That should be something they are happy to do cause you own a Ford. If you actually bought the car there, they should do it for free!
I wish I owned the car, he's just a really good friend and I'm trying to help him out by posting it on here, but he's talking about selling it for $3k obo. I'd buy it if I had the money. I think he's taking it to ford sometime next week but I'm not sure. If it's a cheap fix, he'll probably keep it.
 
#21 ·
cokmaster69 said:
just get a new car man
That is such a B$*#h @$$ comment. I bet you go out and get another car every time you need a oil change don't ya?

OP So may options have been presented to you. Talk to your friend and show him the loss he will be taking if he sells it with a problem that can most likely be easily fixed.
 
#37 ·
Only how the car will start without a chip is if the PATS is disabled, when u switch the ignition on the transponder receiver looks for the chip in the key and if it dont get it then it will trigger the system and the car wont start, so either ur key has a chip in it and u just dont know it or ur computer has a tune file programmed in it with the pats disabled


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