Truck Wouldn’t Start

[gobaylor]

Left truck in parking lot for 5min when I returned it wouldn’t start. Had full accessory power and all kinds of warnings with the terrain management system, advance trac, etc. ultimately it showed a yellow wrench symbol and said see manual. I called for roadside assist and left it there and went home to wait. Returned to meet tow truck about an hour and a half later and truck started with no issues. Last Monday I had a flat tire and took it to dealer for repair. They had to order a new tire so I’ve been running the spare since then with the yellow tire pressure sensor warning light on. Don’t know if it’s connected or not. Anyone else experienced this or know what the issue could be? Planning on calling the dealer tomorrow to setup service and a loaner but wanted to check here as well.

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[DHare]

I had an older model Ranger do the exact same thing. The starter wouldn't work (could hear the solenoid click but starter wouldn't spin) when the truck was hot, but once cooled off, it started fine. Dealer replaced starter under warranty and no more problems.

 

[MotoWojo]

Left truck in parking lot for 5min when I returned it wouldn’t start. Had full accessory power and all kinds of warnings with the terrain management system, advance trac, etc. ultimately it showed a yellow wrench symbol and said see manual. I called for roadside assist and left it there and went home to wait. Returned to meet tow truck about an hour and a half later and truck started with no issues. Last Monday I had a flat tire and took it to dealer for repair. They had to order a new tire so I’ve been running the spare since then with the yellow tire pressure sensor warning light on. Don’t know if it’s connected or not. Anyone else experienced this or know what the issue could be? Planning on calling the dealer tomorrow to setup service and a loaner but wanted to check here as well.

I've had this happen once, the warnings on the dash cycled thru quite a few warnings, too fast to read, ending with "see manual". At the time, I was trying to drive a couple miles down the road from where I work to grab some lunch, and this happened. I got out of the truck and returned about 5 minutes later and this time, it started, but the wrench light was now on. I drove it that way anyway, to pick up lunch, and shut the truck off, when I went inside. When I came back out and started the truck again, the wrench light was out and everything seemed back to normal. I brought it up the next time I was in for service, but the dealer told me they couldn't find any reason for it. It has not done it since, which was about 6000 miles ago.

 

[gobaylor]

I had an older model Ranger do the exact same thing. The starter wouldn't work (could hear the solenoid click but starter wouldn't spin) when the truck was hot, but once cooled off, it started fine. Dealer replaced starter under warranty and no more problems.

Thank you for the reply. My suspicion is that it is something computer related. I didn’t hear any noises at all like it was trying to start or turn over. It’s like some sort of fail safe kicked in and disabled the option to start the engine.

 

[gobaylor]

I've had this happen once, the warnings on the dash cycled thru quite a few warnings, too fast to read, ending with "see manual". At the time, I was trying to drive a couple miles down the road from where I work to grab some lunch, and this happened. I got out of the truck and returned about 5 minutes later and this time, it started, but the wrench light was now on. I drove it that way anyway, to pick up lunch, and shut the truck off, when I went inside. When I came back out and started the truck again, the wrench light was out and everything seemed back to normal. I brought it up the next time I was in for service, but the dealer told me they couldn't find any reason for it. It has not done it since, which was about 6000 miles ago.

Thank you for the reply. Only peace of mind I have at this point is that I can wait it out and not completely be stranded somewhere.

 

[HenryMac]

Based on others having this same thing happen.... I carry a 10 mm wrench in my console.

If this happens, pop the hood, take the wrench and unhook the negative battery cable. Wait a couple minutes then hook it back up.

It's like rebooting your laptop computer when it does stupid shit... so to say.

 

[Dr. Zaius]

This is my only long-term concern over this truck: all the tech will make it virtually impossible to fix at home.

Of course this is now the concern with ANY new vehicle so it's not like it can be avoided any more.

At least I have my old standby 1990 Bronco.

Oh wait, I had to replace the ECU in it.

If I think too long about this, I start considering never again purchasing a vehicle and just leasing from now on.

OP, please let us know what the issue turns out to be.

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