2003 XLT No crank issue Help!

[notforgotten343]

Hello,

I am having a No-Crank issue with my 2003 XLT, 4.0 V6 Flex Fuel and am in dire need of some help...

I am not sure if this may have caused anything but I thought I would provide the background info just in case. A few weeks ago I replaced the fuel filter in the XLT, In order to shut off the fuel I pulled the fuel pump relay under the hood and ran it out of fuel. I then chaged the filter, plugged the relay back in and had no problems. The very next day I was rearended at a stoplight, there was very minor damage to my vehicle's hitch (the other car was going about 15).

About 2 days later when I went to start the vehicle, I turned the key and the radio and A/C came on but the engine did not crank at all. I turned the key to off and tried it again with the same results, after a few tries it started as normal. This issue has been going on for the last 2-1/2 weeks now and it has progressed into not cranking at all. It does not happen all the time I would say about 1 in every 10 starts, the number of on/off cycles of the key grew with each no crank condition. I have yet to find any contributing factors; the issue does not seem to be related to the engine temp, or the time the vehicle sits.

Today after leaving a store I attempted to start the vehicle with no luck, I tried many many ingnition cycles with nothing.

I have the following symptoms:
-No cranking
-No numbers on the odometer just ---------.-
-No number on the dash thermometer
-Radio, AC, and windows all work fine
-The "check engine" light stays on
-The 4x4 High light flashes
-I have several "additional" accessories that draw off of the battery and are controlled by a relay, the relay is tripped with a fuse tap off of the "fuel injector" fuse under the hood. When I experience the no-crank condition none of the above "additional" accessories turn on.

I have performed the following troubleshooting steps;
-Checked the battery (Excellent shape)
-Attempted to jump start just for shi**s
-Checked all fuses and relays
-Checked all underdash connections
-Tapped on the starter while attempting to start
-Checked all battery and ground connections
-checked all of the fusible links

The only thing that I could find wrong is that the fuel injector fuse is not getting power when the key is turned. I was able to start the vehicle by jumping power to this circuit and turning the key. When I turn the key off but leave power to this circuit the vehicle stays running, when I remove the power the vehicle dies regardless of the key position.

Any help would be appreciated... I apologize for the extreme length of my post I just wanted to provide the best background.

Thanks

 

[matt0248]

Is the "theft" light flashing? You may be having an issue with the PATS system. Try another key.

 

[notforgotten343]

I have tried both keys without any change. I did not notice the theft light flashing but will pay more attention to it today.

The theft light is the red LED on the dash not an indicator on the instrument cluster right?

I do have a DEI remote starter installed but have had no problems with it before. I will try to remove the bypass module from the system and see what happens.

Thanks for the reply keep them coming please!!

 

[notforgotten343]

More troubleshooting

Alright so now I have been able to start it kinda...

This am I it cranked over, I had removed the fuse for the "fuel injectors/fuel pump relay" (#39) yesterday so I replaced that fuse with a good one, I also placed the truck on a battery charger since the voltage was 11.9v after a few mintes I tried it and the truck started...

The check engine light was on so I drive it right to work to read the codes, I had several emissions codes. My guess on the emissions codes is the amount of cranking that I did caused it to run real "rich" setting off the codes. I did not have any PATS code, after erasing the codes it started fine and I drove it home. Once home I shut it off and started it a bunch of times with no problems at all.

I let it sit for about 20 min then attempted to start it, the issue had resurfaced

I removed the fuel inj. fuse (39) and checked it for power, I noticed that I only had 6.8v on #39,38(Coil on Plug), & 37(AC clutch relay, transmission) I checked the battery and had 12.9v I checked all other fuses and relays and had the same 12.9-.7.

So what could be causeing the low voltage to only those circuits?

I placed the charger on the truck and could watch the volts rise after a minute I attempted to start it and it started. I decided to take it for a drive back to work to look for any codes. It died while driving half way there but started up... now I am home

any ideas?