Huge problems. PATS?

35th

New Member
May 25, 2011
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1
Okay first off, hello everyone.
My Ride:
1999 35th Anniversary GT
White

Okay, the car was in a flood. Now, the car had an aftermarket remote start. Which I took out. All the cars dash lights come on when the key is OFF, if you keep the ignition off for to long the THEFT light blinks and keeps the car from starting. Even the mileage is on [No numbers just looks like this (--------)], so ive changed all of the following.
Ignition module.
Starter.
Alternator.
Is the ECM bad?
PATS system faulty?
There are relays underneath the dash, which I unplug and NOTHING works.
Some help would be greatly appreciated!
 
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The cluster showing all dashes normally means that the cluster and the PCM are not talking to each other. This can because the PCM is not powered up. Or in your case, the cluster is powered up when it shouldn't be.

I'm afraid I can't help with an car so far from stock. Focus on the relays. Likely the water has damaged one of the them and it's powering the cluster when it should be off.
 
For a stock Mustang, there aren't any relays between the fuses and the Cluster. Are the relays non-stock or could you be confusing some of the electronic control modules?

F2.21 5a Hot at all times
F2.34 20a Hot in start or run - PATS transceiver, Ignition coil
F2.5 20a Hot in run
F2.37 5a hot in park or head

Pull each fuse above one at a time. Start with F2.34 and F2.5. Which fuse causes the cluster to go off while the ignition switch is off?

Consider getting a Ford service CD/DVD for your Model year. Likely you will need the wiring diagrams. Try ebay.

Note, a remote start is going to have to bypass the ignition switch. If you take the relay out, then the connection through the ignition switch will have to be restored. It's seems likely to me that the F2.34 circuit is being powered with the key off.

F2.34 is the RD/LG wire from the ignition switch. Review the attached wiring diagrams for starters. Diagram-13-5 is the overview of the ignition switch. Flag "B" powers circuit F2.34 which is the circuit in question.

Good luck.
 
What if I go to the junk yard and get a WHOLE new ignition module plug to where they spliced in? Rewire everything under there and solder the points? Wouldnt that deal away with that problem down there?
 
Something "clicks" when you put the cable on the battery. Sounds like a blinker click. Its coming from underneath the dash. Ive unplugged the Dash cluster and hooked the battery up, and it still had a huge spark. Like something is always ON.
 
You know that sounds a lot like problems I was having with my 96 when I first got it. Turns out it had a security system on it that kept setting itself off. The dash lights would flash on and off and that "blinker click" you described was there as well. Also, the theft light would blink and keep me from starting the car. Do your headlights flash at all? We ended up removing the brain and and components from under the dash and spliced all of the factory wires back together. Now it's fine.
 
I'm not sure if you have the same system that my car did but what we did was take off the big plastic panel under the drivers side dash. Behind that is a metal plate similar in size. Remove the metal plate. There were 2 little electrical boxes resting on the crossmember one was the brain for the alarm and the other I assume was some kind of antenna. The brain box was wired between the ignition wires and the wiring harness which is what prevents the car from starting if the brain doesn't say it's ok. We just snipped the wires going from the car to the brain box on both sides, matched up the colors, and reconnected them. Not sure how yours is but we also had several wires tied into the tail lights, headlights, and I assume dash lights to make them flash when the alarm was tripped. It's really not that bad once you start looking at it. All of the wires in the factory harness that they spliced into for the brain box are color coded. Its just a matter of snip, match the colors, and wires them back together. Just try to cut as close to the box as you can so you have enough wire to reach the other end. Like I said yours could be totally different but this is what we did. Let me know if you have any questions, hope this helps.
 
Be very careful here. The 96-98 has a different PATS system from the 99-04. PATS is contain within a separate module for the 96-98 MY.

For the 99-04 MY, PATS is integrated into the cluster. No separate modules (other than the PATS transceiver).

The ignition switch SHOULD cut power to the cluster. If the cluster is still getting power from somewhere, it's a problem. Did you review the wiring diagrams? Did you do any tests? Which fuse is powering the cluster?

The 99-04 MY PATS can not be bypassed by cutting a few wires. It requires a coded signal from the cluster to the PCM to start.

A hand held tuner is generally the easy way to disable PATS in a 99-04 MY.