After Attempted Theft, Not starting. No obd2 codes

[Dixie.Delight]

My ex tried to steal my 01 Explorer. He drilled out the ignition, in the process he broke the pats transceiver.. After a failed attempt he broke the 2 side, tail gate and driver passenger windows. He threw the original key in the lake when he realized he had it , tried to use it and couldn't because he broke the transceiver.

I've put in a new key cylinder (chip-less) and got a new transceiver from the junk yard. I put the original spare key right next to transceiver. I never tried the spare key until after the attempted theft. No luck..

Theft light blinks rapidly for about 20 seconds, then it goes blink-blink_pause_blink-blink repeats maybe 8 or so times and then stays off. I turn it off and back on and does the same patterns every time..

The 4wd high and 4wd low blink as well for about a minute then go out .. I can't remember the pattern..

Also none of my power windows work.. not from the master switch OR the individual door switch.

So now 5 months later the police marked my car and said I have 72 hours to move it. That was 2 days ago.

So today I borrowed the OBD 2 from autozone. pulled the explorers codes or so I thought drove back to auto zone so they could print the codes for me and they told me there we're no codes. so I drove back home reconnected it to the explorer waited till it said done, disconnected it, drove back to autozone, and they once again told me there were no codes.

Mother*&@%!*

So here I am with a day to move it. and no idea what to do.

 

[German Engineer]

My ex tried to steal my 01 Explorer....
…
...

So here I am with a day to move it. and no idea what to do.

My first recommendation:
Rent a cheap trailer from Uhaul or wherever and ask a friend (with a car that has a trailer hitch if you don't have one yourself) to help you tow it to the nearest Ford dealer. (You can also call and ask the nearest Ford dealer what it costs to have your car picked up for repair, that might be cheaper than having it towed there by a towing company)
Only Ford can really program you a new original OEM key when you don't have any key. Other places like Ace hardware can clone keys and program chips with a key that you have but not generate new factory programed keys.

But please keep in mind that now you replaced the lock cylinder. So the key that you're going to need to drive the car is not just the original factory OEM key, but rather a key that is cut to work with the new lock cylinder and that at the same time has the chip programed to work with the cars original codes.

By the way, the fact that the OBD2 reader has no codes, is probably just a good sign in the sense that the on board diagnostics system (which doesn't check everything in the car - it mostly just checks sensors for the engine and transmission etc.) tells you most of the vital components in your car should be pretty much fine, that is assuming the PCM (main computer of the car) really did communicate with the code reader properly and the code reader actually did check for codes and didn't just cancel after several failed communication attempts, which may very well also be possible if you didn't get the car turned at least on without turning the ignition.

The On Board Diagnostics (OBD2) don't check if the car is being locked or whether the antitheft protection is still engaged. My guess is that your car simply just does not recognize the new keys (because of the missing chip code of the missing key).
I also don't know if the (chip less) lock cylinder you put in will really do the job or not.
All I know is that my own 1999 Explorer has a chip inside the key that needs to be read out and the mechanical lock cylinder is NOT enough to start the car.

If you're "lucky" all you need is a new factory programmed key to get the car unlocked properly. Sadly it's not really cheap to get a new OEM key from Ford. Having a key cloned by a local hardware store like Ace is a lot cheaper.
But since you don't have the original key you won't be able to get the missing key cloned.
And if the spare key doesn't work cloning that won't help either.

If I get it right, then normally on your car the chip inside the key should probably be read out by a "ring" around the lock.
That chip reader around the lock cylinder could very well also be damaged. If that is the case, then maybe you could get that chip reader fixed and possibly get your spare key to work that way again.

The remote with the buttons (which I assume is what you mean by transceiver) only unlocks the door, it doesn't start the car. To start the car you will need to have the chip reader around the lock read the proper code of the chip inside the key (And that's either in the lake - or the spare key in case your spare is really a working chipped key and the reader on the lock - or the wiring to and from it - is broken).

I have no idea what the blinking codes tell you, but you should be able to google them to find out what they tell you. My first guess... it could be some code telling you that you're trying to "steal" your car without the proper key or something like that, who knows….


PS: Maybe this trick here could help you start your car in case the chip inside your spare key really works to unlock the car:
How to use cheap, non-chipped keys in a truck that requires a chipped key.

 

[96eb96]

Aside from picking better men next time, seems you have to get it towed. The guy should be responsible for all your costs, but from the story, I doubt he has anything to give.

There is a scan tool called Forscan that can help you. The good thing is, it is mostly FREE besides the adapter. The autozone tool can only read emissions related codes. Forscan is very comprehensive and can program new keys and read PATS error codes. It is bit involved, if not an alternative is a mobile locksmith that would be able to help, but that won't come cheap.

The forscan adapter is $20, I use BAFX from Amazon. On the Forscan site, you may have to register (free) to get a special code that can work with keys. Before that though we have to know what codes are coming off the truck.

 

[96eb96]

Page 37 explains how to read the flashes:
http://www.codekey.com.ar/public/tcodepro/Ford_Manual.pdf

Here is something else that can be helpful:
https://www.motorcraftservice.com/pdf/pats_job_aid.pdf