Hi All, Got my Ranger Lariat in July, 2019. Similarly love this machine. However, I have been struggling with this exact problem of random, unpredictable failures to crank or start. This began at about 7,500 miles.
I am at about 10,000 miles now. It has happened to me on 10 occasions;
Three times when the truck was sitting at rest in a parking lot or at the curb and 7 times when I was actively driving and the start/stop system shut off the motor and at brake release there was no restart. Four of these incidents found me at the front of a traffic signal on a busy highway and once at night. Even worse was the rush hour traffic that I was impeding on, of course, a Friday . Two of these incidents I would classify as dangerous and the night failure on Route 47 at rush hour was absolutely perilous. Trying to diagnose the problem under this level of duress was intense. And no combination of button-pushing,
gear-shifting, brake-stomping or anything could cajole this engine to start. The accessory buss was fully powered up and in fact would not power off either. A complete electronic lock up, as it were. The looping messages on the display made no sense and were of no help. The only
thing that eventually allowed a restart was when getting out of the vehicle to direct traffic around my marooned Ranger or calling for tow assistance , a number of minutes elapsed and upon returning to the cab, the display was dark and the truck started normally as if nothing was ever wrong. Scary would be a gross understatement. I have had the truck to my local dealer 5 or 6 times now and the last time a new Battery and more PCM upgrades were done. Nothing has has eliminated this gremlin. Failed again last Friday. I can hear a relay clicking somewhere under the dash but nothing. It acts as if there is a timing reset taking place (like the maximum engine-off time of 120 seconds that is built into the AS/S system) that brings the electronics to square one. It is going back to another dealer for one last attempt to identify the source and repair the problem. Every time I drive I feel like I am trying to outwit an insidious enemy. I raced Motocross for 12 years and love a good adrenaline rush but I can do without these. Anybody else out there trying to slay this dragon?
This problem started coming back to me again last week.Hi All, Got my Ranger Lariat in July, 2019. Similarly love this machine. However, I have been struggling with this exact problem of random, unpredictable failures to crank or start. This began at about 7,500 miles.
I am at about 10,000 miles now. It has happened to me on 10 occasions;
Three times when the truck was sitting at rest in a parking lot or at the curb and 7 times when I was actively driving and the start/stop system shut off the motor and at brake release there was no restart. Four of these incidents found me at the front of a traffic signal on a busy highway and once at night. Even worse was the rush hour traffic that I was impeding on, of course, a Friday . Two of these incidents I would classify as dangerous and the night failure on Route 47 at rush hour was absolutely perilous. Trying to diagnose the problem under this level of duress was intense. And no combination of button-pushing,
gear-shifting, brake-stomping or anything could cajole this engine to start. The accessory buss was fully powered up and in fact would not power off either. A complete electronic lock up, as it were. The looping messages on the display made no sense and were of no help. The only
thing that eventually allowed a restart was when getting out of the vehicle to direct traffic around my marooned Ranger or calling for tow assistance , a number of minutes elapsed and upon returning to the cab, the display was dark and the truck started normally as if nothing was ever wrong. Scary would be a gross understatement. I have had the truck to my local dealer 5 or 6 times now and the last time a new Battery and more PCM upgrades were done. Nothing has has eliminated this gremlin. Failed again last Friday. I can hear a relay clicking somewhere under the dash but nothing. It acts as if there is a timing reset taking place (like the maximum engine-off time of 120 seconds that is built into the AS/S system) that brings the electronics to square one. It is going back to another dealer for one last attempt to identify the source and repair the problem. Every time I drive I feel like I am trying to outwit an insidious enemy. I raced Motocross for 12 years and love a good adrenaline rush but I can do without these. Anybody else out there trying to slay this dragon?
nd is to open up a trouble ticket with Ford Customer Service and have this concern elevated to a level where you would likely get to a diagnostician that can work with your dealer. There was a similar issue on these forums that involved the power distribution box and you likely have a similar problem....It was a pinched wire as I recall....
When it is occurring, I see the green light in the start button blinking, and a red battery indicator come up each time I try to start.Hi All, Got my Ranger Lariat in July, 2019. Similarly love this machine. However, I have been struggling with this exact problem of random, unpredictable failures to crank or start. This began at about 7,500 miles.
I am at about 10,000 miles now. It has happened to me on 10 occasions;
Three times when the truck was sitting at rest in a parking lot or at the curb and 7 times when I was actively driving and the start/stop system shut off the motor and at brake release there was no restart. Four of these incidents found me at the front of a traffic signal on a busy highway and once at night. Even worse was the rush hour traffic that I was impeding on, of course, a Friday . Two of these incidents I would classify as dangerous and the night failure on Route 47 at rush hour was absolutely perilous. Trying to diagnose the problem under this level of duress was intense. And no combination of button-pushing,
gear-shifting, brake-stomping or anything could cajole this engine to start. The accessory buss was fully powered up and in fact would not power off either. A complete electronic lock up, as it were. The looping messages on the display made no sense and were of no help. The only
thing that eventually allowed a restart was when getting out of the vehicle to direct traffic around my marooned Ranger or calling for tow assistance , a number of minutes elapsed and upon returning to the cab, the display was dark and the truck started normally as if nothing was ever wrong. Scary would be a gross understatement. I have had the truck to my local dealer 5 or 6 times now and the last time a new Battery and more PCM upgrades were done. Nothing has has eliminated this gremlin. Failed again last Friday. I can hear a relay clicking somewhere under the dash but nothing. It acts as if there is a timing reset taking place (like the maximum engine-off time of 120 seconds that is built into the AS/S system) that brings the electronics to square one. It is going back to another dealer for one last attempt to identify the source and repair the problem. Every time I drive I feel like I am trying to outwit an insidious enemy. I raced Motocross for 12 years and love a good adrenaline rush but I can do without these. Anybody else out there trying to slay this dragon?
Hey Shawn,
Picked up my truck, in Aug--has currently 6500 miles on it--My truck did the same thing--intermittent "no start"--I had to shut off the "Auto Start/Stop system" to drive the truck into get repaired.--The fix for the problem, was to replace the starter assy.(had to be ordered, but only took two days to get the part) Dealership guys did a good job, and have currently, had no additional issues on this!
It started coming back last week. Went back to dealer, all they did was another PCM update (they could not recreate the problem).Shawn
Have you had any further "start" issues????
Surprise Ford, on Hwy 303. A significate diagnostic item on my issue---When issue occurred, (no start), there was a solid "click" noise, present, when truck tried to start. Noise was near left rear area, of engine,(starter location), and only occurred when "start" was requested, either from key, or Auto Start.Who was the dealership you worked with?
I am glad you weighed in on this Phil. I have seen your posts on other sites and respect your opinion. Today , for the first time, the truck would not start, no crank, regardless of how long I left it to "reset". it is sitting out in front of my hangar building 100 miles from home. I disconnected the negative terminal on the new battery and am letting sit overnight in hopes it might start in the morning. Earlier today I scheduled another dealer visit to the shop where I bought the truck where a loaner is available......100 miles east of where I am now. I'm in a pickle !! I'm sure Ford won't tow this baby 100 miles. And there is not a master mechanic at the local ford dealer out here. The shop that has been working on this issue for the last 5 visits has been in touch with Ford engineering in Detroit. I think substantial invasive inspections will be necessary to track this down. I just don't need another science project at this moment in my chaotic life. You can hear all the clicking and whirring and noises associated with the starting process, but no cranking at the starter. There is an answer, but it lies deep in the bowels of this machine. I would love to eventually know what caused this. There is only one other guy on this forum that has my exact problem. I'm hoping his techs find the demon.Hi Vic,
Intermittent problems like this are a bugger to diagnose and fix. I have a hunch this is a unseated electrical connector that is causing the erratic nature of this problem. What I would recommend is to open up a trouble ticket with Ford Customer Service and have this concern elevated to a level where you would likely get to a diagnostician that can work with your dealer. There was a similar issue on these forums that involved the power distribution box and you likely have a similar problem....It was a pinched wire as I recall....
Good luck!
Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired
It is terrible to have you trapped when depending on your Ranger to be reliable. The silver lining is if it will not start, it is much more easily diagnosed. Something likely gave way, like a connector falling apart for example. A pinched wire that broke in half... I also do not see Ford refusing to tow your Ranger to a Ford Dealer, but back to the selling dealer might not be in the cards....However, you might get a loaner from this remote Ford Dealer.I am glad you weighed in on this Phil. I have seen your posts on other sites and respect your opinion. Today , for the first time, the truck would not start, no crank, regardless of how long I left it to "reset". it is sitting out in front of my hangar building 100 miles from home. I disconnected the negative terminal on the new battery and am letting sit overnight in hopes it might start in the morning. Earlier today I scheduled another dealer visit to the shop where I bought the truck where a loaner is available......100 miles east of where I am now. I'm in a pickle !! I'm sure Ford won't tow this baby 100 miles. And there is not a master mechanic at the local ford dealer out here. The shop that has been working on this issue for the last 5 visits has been in touch with Ford engineering in Detroit. I think substantial invasive inspections will be necessary to track this down. I just don't need another science project at this moment in my chaotic life. You can hear all the clicking and whirring and noises associated with the starting process, but no cranking at the starter. There is an answer, but it lies deep in the bowels of this machine. I would love to eventually know what caused this. There is only one other guy on this forum that has my exact problem. I'm hoping his techs find the demon.
Thanks, Phil.....Everything in the vehicle seems to be fully operational during these events. I will audit everything tomorrow if it does not start after I connect the battery. The service dealer on the past work orders is Hawk Ford in St Charles , IL. They kept the truck 6 weeks when I was out of town in February and drove it 60 miles with no failure but the battery was below 85% so not a definitive test.It is terrible to have you trapped when depending on your Ranger to be reliable. The silver lining is if it will not start, it is much more easily diagnosed. Something likely gave way, like a connector falling apart for example. A pinched wire that broke in half... I also do not see Ford refusing to tow your Ranger to a Ford Dealer, but back to the selling dealer might not be in the cards....However, you might get a loaner from this remote Ford Dealer.
What I might advise if the battery disconnect does not work, which I think is likely not going to work as something mechanically has happened, not electronically related....JMO... is to grab the wiring harness in the engine compartment on both sides and just wiggle it as much as you can. If this results in the vehicle starting, note which harness seemed to "fix" the problem. Also, document exactly what still works with the no start...this is a very good aid for the diagnostics. For example, does the center mounted screen come on? Does it go past the Ford Logo? Can you adjust the seats via the switches. Does the blower motor for the HVAC run? just do a mind dump onto paper or to the Tech.....Do the brake lights work? Headlights work? So on and so on. My SWAG is that the problem is relatively simple, but the diagnosis is extremely difficult and the more info you can share the easier it is as the Tech will throw out the meaningless data and consolidate the relevant data...Make sense?
When I was diagnosing problems, I had about 20 questions to ask the owner...much to my dismay they were annoyed to have to answer. Unbelievable but they assumed we were all knowing. Worst were noises..."It makes a clunking sound"...Okay. Where is the general direction you hear the clunk.
"IDK...you figure it out..." Very hard to pry info from the customer in such cases.
Good Luck and keep me in the loop...
Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired
I have the sameSurprise Ford, on Hwy 303. A significate diagnostic item on my issue---When issue occurred, (no start), there was a solid "click" noise, present, when truck tried to start. Noise was near left rear area, of engine,(starter location), and only occurred when "start" was requested, either from key, or Auto Start.
No "click", in this area, during "no start" occurrence, may indicate cause is not "starter" related.
My Ranger also emits clicking sounds in the same way when it is not responding to start button. At first, my truck only failed to start after A/SS system activated engine shutoff. Then it began failure to start when just sitting at the curb or parked. It is getting more frequent and yesterday would not start at all. Ima gonna hook up battery in a few hours and give it one more try before the tow truck.This problem started coming back to me again last week.
Once again, I sent back to the dealer. They had it for a day and could not get it to occur. They did a PCM rewrite again, and I havent seen it since again (but I am careful to disable auto SS manually all the time now, and we are doing minimal travel lately because of covid-19 work from home.
It does make me feel good to hear others have this problem. I think we should get the dealers talking to each other.
Shawn