Shut off while driving, engine cranks but no fire?

Tiny
MARKD1977
  • MEMBER
  • 1998 FORD F-150
  • 4.2L
  • V6
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 168,308 MILES
I was driving and it just shut off, will crank but won't fire.
I have replaced the coil pack, crankshaft sensor, camshaft sensor, computer/ PCM,
Checked wiring harness for burnt/damaged wires, checked fuses and relays multiple times. No check engine light, battery went dead took off to charge, I need help
This is driving me nuts.
Tuesday, July 22nd, 2025 AT 2:42 AM

58 Replies

Tiny
AL514
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Hello, sorry to hear about your issue here. But with no check engine light, that is a sign the engine computer is not being powered up, have you checked all the grounds on the vehicle, even the frame to body grounds and engine block grounds, since the ECM will usually be grounded to the block. I'll pull the wiring diagrams for the ECM power and the ground diagrams for you, you could probably put the old computer back on until we find a reason it's not powering up. It's good to have the original computer on the vehicle if it hasn't actually failed.
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Tuesday, July 22nd, 2025 AT 12:18 PM
Tiny
AL514
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And do you have power to all the fuses in the engine compartment fuse box? Id would check them with a test light and a multimeter to make sure there is full battery power to each fuse since they all have a direct connection to the battery in that fuse box. I'm getting the wiring diagrams for the PCM together for you, powers and grounds. The grounds for the PCM do go to the engine block, so does Battery Negative, the PCM has at least 4 or 5 grounds I see so far, they look like they're all black wires with a White stripe. G123 is Ground at the Rear of Engine Compartment, which is also where the Battery Negative wire goes.

Here are some guides to help. I will post the diagrams next.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-check-a-car-fuse

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-use-a-test-light-circuit-tester

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-use-a-voltmeter
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Tuesday, July 22nd, 2025 AT 12:34 PM
Tiny
AL514
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Sorry for the delay, some of the aftermarket diagrams were incorrect, so these are the OEM Ford diagrams. Diagram 1, 2 are the PCM ground locations.
Diagrams 3, 4, 5 are for the PCM Connector so you can check for power and ground right at the connector, hope fully it's not too confusing, you just need to concentrate on the 6 Grounds and the 3 Power feeds to the PCM. D
Diagram 6 is for the PCM power relay, if you take the relay out of its location, out of the 4 pins where the relay sits, 2 pins should have power at all times, and 1 pin should go directly to ground. So, if you use a multimeter to check for power here, just touch the pins lightly without pushing the meter leads into the pins, that will spread the pins and the relay will not make good contact afterwards.

Something else you should check is the 3 sensors in diagram 7, marked in Green on that sheet as well as the PCM connector sheet. Those 3 sensors use a 5volt Reference, and if one of those sensors shorts out and pulls the 5volts down to ground, it will disable to the PCM and can act the same as if the PCM was not powered up, So if you find power and ground where it should be at the PCM connector, unplug one of these three wire sensors and check for a 5volt feed on one of the wires, the throttle position sensor is the easiest to check, you're just looking for missing voltage here with the key On. If it's missing, unplug the next one. If the 5-volts is not missing when one specific 3 wire sensor is unplugged, check for a Check engine light, you may have to cycle the key.

The trick here is if one sensor is pulling the 5volts to ground, and you unplug it, the issue is no longer there, so not effecting the other two sensors at that point, but plugged back in and the issue is back, this is where you would have to back probe the connector with a pin and see if that specific sensor is bringing down that reference voltage.
It may sound confusing, but the idea is checking the sensor while plugged back in to see if the 5-volts is there or not.
A shorted sensor causing the computer to go down is common but can be difficult to find. Thankfully there are only 3 sensors on this truck that use that 5volt Ref.
The last diagram is the aftermarket PCM connector just in case. Sorry for the long post.
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Tuesday, July 22nd, 2025 AT 2:38 PM
Tiny
MARKD1977
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Thank you for helping me. I have checked fuses with a tester and multi meter. I have checked the power at the PCM plug and getting power to the plug. I'll check the grounds ASAP.
Does my truck have an ignition control module separate from the PCM or is it made into the PCM?
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Wednesday, July 23rd, 2025 AT 7:27 AM
Tiny
MARKD1977
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Oh and if I use my multimeter and test the PCM connector, at the main positive terminal, can I find out if it's a ground issue by voltage or continuity?
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Wednesday, July 23rd, 2025 AT 8:49 AM
Tiny
AL514
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You want to check for voltage at the PCM connector on the 3 wires that I marked on Red, and the 6 Grounds marked in black. The Coil pack is controlled by the PCM, it has 4 wires to it, one wire is power, the other 3 wires are control for each coil. The coils are ground side switched, and one coil sends spark to 2 cylinders, it's known as a waste spark system. But with the key On, you should see the Check engine light come on for at least a few seconds. You can also look at your Tachometer, if you have lost a crank sensor signal, the tach won't move at all when cranking. But you should see a check engine light, that's why I mentioned checking the powers and grounds for the PCM. But remember if one of those 3 wire sensors shorts out, it will have the same effect. It can cause the PCM to go down.
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Wednesday, July 23rd, 2025 AT 3:39 PM
Tiny
MARKD1977
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Okay, I checked for power to the PCM, all red (positive) gets power.
I'll check the grounds tomorrow, and get back with you.
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Wednesday, July 23rd, 2025 AT 7:19 PM
Tiny
KEN L
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Please do, AL514 is one of our best!
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Friday, July 25th, 2025 AT 9:19 AM
Tiny
AL514
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Sorry the delay, working nights due to the heat down here. Be sure to check under the truck as well for any braided frame to body grounds, they can have high voltage drop across them, even if they look okay, run a large temporary ground and see if it starts.
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Friday, July 25th, 2025 AT 3:50 PM
Tiny
MARKD1977
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I understand that, I have to do stuff early in the morning or at night.
I'll check the grounding points in the morning.
Thank you for your assistance.
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Friday, July 25th, 2025 AT 7:24 PM
Tiny
AL514
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Okay, unplug the throttle position sensor and with the key On, see if you have 5-volts on one of its wires as well.
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Friday, July 25th, 2025 AT 7:44 PM
Tiny
MARKD1977
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Sorry for getting back to you so late, had stuff come up lol.
I checked the grounds at the PCM connector, using a DMM set to resistance. 000 at every one.
The positive pins is getting 12.6 volts at them.
What should I check next?
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Monday, July 28th, 2025 AT 9:01 AM
Tiny
AL514
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Okay, I will usually load test the powers and grounds to make sure they can carry current, I'll use a turn signal bulb most of the time, they pull a few amps, but for now see if you have a 5volt reference on the throttle position sensor. Out of the 3 wires one will read 5volts with the key On. If the 5volts is missing, plug the TPS back in and recheck at the Differential Pressure Feedback (DPFE) Sensor on the EGR valve for a 5volt reference. Let's see if this is a sensor issue.
Another quick test to rule out any bad engine or body grounds is to run your own grounds for testing purposes, you can use some jumper cables, just connect to battery negative, to the engine block, and to the body/frame. That way you're grounding the entire vehicle, it's good to use jumper cables for this since they can carry high current loads. If you ground everything out, and it starts or at least the Check engine light comes back, you know your dealing with a bad ground.
You can even hook a test light to Battery negative and touch the block, a bad ground will light the test light, but try the jumper cable method since its quick.
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Monday, July 28th, 2025 AT 9:25 AM
Tiny
AL514
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I assume the check engine light would work prior to this issue? Its not burned out or anything I hope.
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Monday, July 28th, 2025 AT 9:27 AM
Tiny
MARKD1977
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Yes the check engine light worked before it did this I'll check the other in the morning, check for the reference voltage at those sensors. And get back to you.
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Monday, July 28th, 2025 AT 4:43 PM
Tiny
AL514
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Sounds good.
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Tuesday, July 29th, 2025 AT 9:44 AM
Tiny
MARKD1977
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Ok I used jumper cables to ground the engine to the battery negative, then checked the throttle position sensor for the 5 volt reference only getting 1.2 volts on the brown / white stripe wire, , what next
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Wednesday, July 30th, 2025 AT 8:33 AM
Tiny
MARKD1977
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I also noticed that my drivers window won't roll down. I don't know if that alhas anything to do with the problem or not
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Wednesday, July 30th, 2025 AT 8:35 AM
Tiny
MARKD1977
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Are you still there?
I found that fuse #20 in the interior fuse box is not getting any power at all. It is for the pcm/ gem. Correct?
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Saturday, August 2nd, 2025 AT 6:58 AM
Tiny
KEN L
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Is your battery in good shape, can you test the volts at the battery?
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Saturday, August 2nd, 2025 AT 11:01 AM

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