PATS BYPASS: Does grounding the wire going to the PATS module work for 2004 Explorer?

[Vmuse777]

I read the post from an owner of a 99 ranger with a 98 ecu swapped in that lost his keys and needed to bypass the PATS system.

Will this work for a 2004 Explorer? Thanks!

 

[adsm08]

I doubt it. The two vehicles use different PATS strategies to disable the engine.

 

[Dirtman]

No

 

[Vmuse777]

What will work to bypass PATS for 2004 Explorer?

My mother in law has been using this vehicle to go out of town - about a 2 hr drive one way. On at least 3 different trips she said everything shut off while she was driving 60 - 70 mph on the highway. She pulled off the road and it wouldn't start back. She sd she waited about a half hour, and then it started again. I think that's got to be the PATS system, right? Maybe the key needs to be reprogrammed?

 

[Vmuse777]

Since the Explorer shut off while driving down the highway, then I assume the PATS system for it is interrupting the fuel pump and/or the fuel injectors. Is there any way to bypass PATS? Thanx!

 

[Dirtman]

The PATS system wouldn't/couldn't shut off fuel while driving. Literally impossible. Check the fuel pump inertia switch and fuel pump fuse, relay, ect.

 

[adsm08]

What will work to bypass PATS for 2004 Explorer?

My mother in law has been using this vehicle to go out of town - about a 2 hr drive one way. On at least 3 different trips she said everything shut off while she was driving 60 - 70 mph on the highway. She pulled off the road and it wouldn't start back. She sd she waited about a half hour, and then it started again. I think that's got to be the PATS system, right? Maybe the key needs to be reprogrammed?

The only way to bypass the PATS system would be to have a custom tune written for the PCM that would delete that part of the software.

I doubt the PATS system is involved, in my experience the fuel pump is FAR more likely culprit. I am curious as to why you jumped to that conclusion though, it doesn't really seem logical if you understand how the system works.

The PATS system wouldn't/couldn't shut off fuel while driving. Literally impossible. Check the fuel pump inertia switch and fuel pump fuse, relay, ect.

While this is supposed to be true, I have found it to be false, in at least one situation. A former co-worker of mine had a Freestar that would randomly shut off while driving and we eventually did track that back to the PATS antenna.

On paper Ford claims that the PATS system can't shut the engine down once it's running, and that it is only a start inhibt, but it would appear that if the signal is lost once running it can shut things off. I don't believe this is a universal thing though as I have started vehicles with a non-PATS key by holding a programmed one to the antenna and then removed it from the vehicle completely and the engine kept running.

 

[Dirtman]

Leave it to ford to make the impossible come true...