Help with anti-theft recognizeing key

[Dmarr1010]

I HAVE A 2000 EXPLORER XLT 4DR 4WD 80,000miles

i am the 3rd owner, my grandmother's cousin owned it and passed away a few years back. it sat for 2.5 years then it was given to my grandma who wanted nothing to do with it and gave it to me free. it needed fuel system work (easy). anywho, it had an cheap aftermarket alarm system put on by who knows. i removed the after market alarm and returned the wiring to stock! the truck has ran better then excellent for the last 8 months (since it was fixed). i live in florida and i noticed when the temp was getting down to below 50 at night the anti theft would not recognize the key. the light in dash flashes really quick and the truck will crank but not start. i have to heat the steering column and play for a long time (sometimes 1 to 2 hrs) to get it to work. the light will not flash and boom it starts. now i work nights for the police department so i use the truck overnight and its becoming a huge issue.

ANY IDEAS? ANY SUGGESTIONS?
THANKS

 

[DAT05EXPLODER]

you will most likely need a new unit that recognizes the key. sounds more like an electrical problem than a key problem. the unfortunate part is the dealer would probably be the only way to get the part and it be set to work properly.

 

[koda2000]

well you got the truck for free and it has low miles, so if you have to pay a dealer a couple hundred bucks to get it sorted out, do it.

 

[budwich]

since you know that heating a specific area "solves" your problem, you are close to a possible solution. In this case, the pickup is located in the ignition switch (a ring pickup). You need to take apart the ignition area and check the wiring and the pickup itself.