98 4.0 sohc only starts after sitting without battery 2 days

[two98exploders]

New member here. I have two identical 1998 Explorer Sports, green, 4x4, 4.0 sohc. One of them is driving me crazy. When it runs, it runs great with zero issues. When I turn it off (hot or cold, driven or not), it will crank fine, but not restart. I have to unhook the battery completely and let the truck sit a minimum of 48 hours. Then I can hook the battery back up and it will fire right up and run perfect again. I can't seem to find any discussions where someone has solved the exact same issue. Any ideas out there? I'm guessing computer related since it requires disconnecting the battery for something to reset over a 2 day period. Thx, Rich

I checked for codes during a no start, nothing.

 

[mark2016]

Does the theft light come on within the gauge cluster?

 

[two98exploders]

I already checked...don't think it has anything to do with PATS. Dash lights are doing what they are supposed to. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[2000StreetRod]

Keep Alive memory

It shouldn't take 48 hours for the "learned" corrections (fuel trims, etc.) to be reset to factory settings when power is removed. You can shorten the time to a few minutes by turning on the headlights after disconnecting one of the battery terminals. I suspect there is some other issue.

Have you checked for spark? If you have spark, have you tried spraying starting fluid into the intake manifold?