'01 ST won't crank - SOLVED

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Duane Foster

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Des Moines, IA
I posted this on the other forum and got little response, so I'll try here.



BACKGROUND



My 5' 0" daughter has been driving my '01 ST for several weeks. Monday night she stopped by and mentioned the rear turn signals weren't working. Brake lights weren't either. I started checking fuses, but gave up on that since it was dark, cold and windy. Did some research online, then moved the tilt wheel up out of the lowest position where she had it. Turn signals and brake lights now work again.



CURRENT PROBLEM



When she went to leave a few minutes later, the truck wouldn't start, and hasn't since. Nothing happens when the key is turned. I charged the battery and cleaned the terminals, but that didn't help. I've tried moving the wheel to different positions, and moving the shifter. Everything electrical seems to work, except it won't engage the starter. The THEFT light blinks at its normal steady pace regardless of the position of the key. In my '02 ST, the theft light blinks until the key is turned to "on", then it is on solid for a second or two, then goes off. The '01 theft light just keeps blinking steadily. It's like it doesn't recognize there's even a key in it even though the switch does turn. I've tried both the original key and the duplicate my daughter was using. Moving the steering wheel to a different position doesn't help.



We've not had any problems starting the truck before this, and this happened immediately after moving the tilt wheel up - and after I pulled several fuses to check them. It is possible I put a fuse back in the wrong place, or maybe there's a blown fuse. When I get a chance in the daylight, probably Saturday, I'll check all the fuses and compare placement to my '02 to be sure they're in the right place.



Any help/suggestions are much appreciated! I need to get this fixed so wife and daughter can argue over who gets to drive this truck when it's snowing!
 
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Try a jump start. If it starts drive directly to where you can buy a battery. An alternate move would be to take battery out of truck and take to Sears or Interstate store to have it checked. Battery is heart of your electrical system so make sure you've got a good 'un first.
 
There is a known problem with shorter drivers pulling steering column wires from their connectors when tilting the steering wheel down. Check these:



<a href="http://www.mysporttrac.com/shared/faq.asp?VIEW=123&PageHeader=Frequently%20Asked%20Questions" target="_blank">FAQ: My brake lights do not work ...</a>



<a href="http://mysporttrac.com/shared/msgboard9e.asp?BOARDNAME=MSG&VIEW=1232926&REPLYCOUNT=15&sitename=mysporttrac" target="_blank">Rear Signal and Brake Light out - 2003 ST</a>



<a href="http://www.mysporttrac.com/MySportTrac/projects/Steering_Column_Wiring_Repair_Gen1.pdf" target="_blank">Projects: Steering Column Wiring Repair - Gen 1</a>
 
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Thanks guys!



Vic, my 1st thought when I read your suggestion about the battery was to dismiss it, but hey, it's easy enough to check. I could even swap the batteries between my STs to see if the '01 starts with the '02's battery and vice versa.



Yardsale, I was aware of the problem when tilting the wheel all the way down. I just forgot in the "heat of the moment", so to speak. Those links are just what I was looking for, but they didn't come up in my search. At least one even mentions the wire for the theft light.



Regardless of the condition of the battery, I think I need to check the wiring in the column.
 
Duane, I can't count the number of times when I went to "fix" a car and I ended up overlooking the most basic item. It always cost me extra time and frequently additional money. Now I try to start from simplest items and work up. Good luck with the repair and let us know what you find.
 
Seconded.



The battery terminal build-up happened to a friend last week while car camping. He was ready to call a tow truck and get a new battery. I had him open the hood, and there it was. Cleaned it and all was good.



ALWAYS do the easy and inexpensive first.



Go get 'em!
 
Slightly corroded battery terminals have caused my '02 to not start twice, and it happened once with this '01, all without any warning at all, so that was one of the 1st things I checked. The STs are very sensitive to electrical issues. It doesn't take much to cause problems.



Years ago my '74 Ranchero would occasionally not start after stopping to get gas. I'd clean the positive terminal and be good to go. I think my voltage regulator was the problem there. It was allowing the too much current to go to the battery, which caused buildup on the terminal.
 
I got off work early and spent most of the afternoon trying to figure this out.



I checked the wiring to the multifunction switch first. The locking tabs are broken off the connector, so it was loose. And some of the wires were loose in the connector - i.e. come out the back of the connector - and probably weren't firmly connected. At least none of them are broken. I think I have them connected well now.



Then I swapped batteries with the '02. Also traded starter relays between the 2 trucks temporarily. I even swapped a couple of relays within the fuse/relay box under the hood. Checked all the fuses.



Still won't start. One of the relays in the fuse/relay box under the hood clicks once when the key is turned to "on", and again when it's turned to "start". I don't think it's going to start until I figure out why the THEFT light isn't behaving like it should and I get that fixed.
 
I went to the salvage yard today and got a good connector that plugs into the multifunction switch. The wires are held in the connector by plastic tabs. Pry the tabs out of the way, and the wires pull out the back. Several of the tabs were broken on the connector in my truck. I inserted my wires into the "new" connector, and plugged it into the multifunction switch. NO CHANGE, but at least I know the connections are all tight.



Yesterday I hooked up my scanner to see if there were any codes, but the scanner said it couldn't connect to the truck.
 
Did you check fuse 19, for the Pcm Power Diode, and fuse 24 for the starter relay, in the fuse box on the drivers side of the dash?



Under the hood in the battery junction fuse box, check fuse 7 and fuse 11, also check the Pcm power relay and Pcm diode as well.
 
I checked all the fuses, both under the hood and in the side of the dash. I swapped the PCM relay with the starter relay. I did not check the PCM diode.



I'm going to have the Ford dealer take over. I don't know what else I can do myself, and it's way too cold to continue to try to solve this in my driveway. Winter has set in early, and it's not going away any time soon.
 
Well, it turns out the connector I got at the salvage yard actually fixed the original problem, but somehow I failed to put fuse #19 for the PCM back in one of the times I checked the fuses. I checked the fuses one at a time, and even had the diagram from the owner's manual in hand, and still missed that fuse. I only took the fuses out to check them after the truck wouldn't crank, so that missing fuse wasn't the original problem.



The good news is, the connections in the steering column are now good and snug, and the wires have a little more ability to flex after I cut the tape that holds them tight. And the dealer says all the components - transceiver, transponder, key, etc, - are all good. And there were no stored codes.



Thanks to all who offered help!
 
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One last post to correct what I said earlier.



As I was thinking about this again, I realized the missing fuse was the problem all along. When my daughter said the turn signals weren't working, the 1st thing I did was check fuses. That must have been when I didn't get fuse 19 back in, even though I compared the fuse panel with my other ST. I checked the fuse panel twice after that, with a diagram of it in my hand at least once.



The wiring in the column did need to be repaired with a new connector, but had nothing to do with the no crank problem.
 
It is possible I put a fuse back in the wrong place, or maybe there's a blown fuse.
Click to expand...



Turns-out, yes.



This sort of thing catches me once-in-a-while (Huh - why won't the new light fixture work? 'Cause you have to switch the breaker back on.).



Such is life.
 

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