- electrical problems - 2014 flex sel
 

The other day i introduced myself on the new member page and was very unpleased with ford and the dealer...mostly the dealer and i stated," To be continued" at the end of my introduction ...
let me first explain from the very beginning ...I was doing some "Stereo" work yes i said stereo..Yes, i disconnected the battery first thing. yes i put a subwoofer in the flex without the stereo diagram like an idiot but i don't think i hooked up anything wrong..
After completing the subwoofer installation with stock radio i turned the car on and the stereo was working but not the subwoofer i must have tried multiple things at this point and my battery started going really low and everything started blinking i then realized with a quick google search the car was in anti theft mode and after really trying everything to clear that i realized the car was not communicating at all and the stereo dash was saying the car will now shut down to save battery ..the next day i grabbed the battery out of my super duty and plugged in a snap on scan tool..
i was getting zero communication ..
At this point I'm thinking pcm..I drove 2 hrs away and grabbed a used one from a junk yard took it home, hooked it up and nothing the car was acting the same, no communication and would shut off ..i disconnected the pcm and was checking for power in all the appropriate spots ..I'm no pro but all the power seems be be inline ....EXCEPT (5TH FROM VERY RIGHT MIDDLE WAS SHOWING LOW VOLTAGE) on the cluster to the pcm i will be happy to show someone but i had no volt meter at the time just a test light seems to be about 5-6v .
I took the flex to my local ford on a Saturday to be worked on the following Monday everything was now stock and i had an extra pcm if need be ...
Monday goes by no word..Tuesday goes by no word, Wednesday i get a call at 300pm with a message that my car has a dead battery, so i call back and the lady who directs calls pushed me to a line that was a message machine so then i left a message ....saying that i agree to put in a new battery..I then hear nothing the rest of the day ..Thursday is thanksgiving so on Monday morning i go in there at 700am to see whats up with my car and explained i have been kind of upset with the communication from ford and the person helping me..the gentlemen then happily appointed me to the same person again that I'm having this break down in communication with like... ummm ok- did anyone just hear me...She tells me sorry about that, the mechanic got the computer to take and all he has to do now is make sure everything is good and that he would be in about 9am ...at 300PM i get a message saying the car is on then off spuddering on and off and need to know if i have an extra key laying around ..its been over a week and now your asking for a second key..i say ok make me a key and flash it agian please, but i started talking to the mechanic and he told me the car was never running at all....i was shocked.he tells me he wants to make sure the electrical power and ground is good still and i told him that i had checked it but that it would be great if he could double check it , we hang up...the next day evening i get a phone call that my wires are good and they want to know if the key can still be made....i was shocked again i thought i said yes to the key and yes to reflash it again after he checked the wires were ok and not shorted or grounded ..the mechanic then tells the lady to tell me he will not flash the computer untill the smart junction box is changed out and thats 800..i asked if i could buy one and put it in myself they told me if i did, not to return the car to them in so many words.so i said ok and went and picked up my car with AAA
the AAA guy was an ex employee at the ford dealer and was friendly with many employees ...this guy gave me the break down...the long time electrician got stage 4 cancer and is gone.. the diesel tech left after 25 years and a few others have left to cummins and other shops the turn over was really bad and that the facility has been going down hill..my buddys dad will retire at that facility soon but he sells cars ..i need some help guys girls the other ford shop says the 17 of dec is the first opening.
the f250 was another episode but its good now..my body is just super sore 30hr job.

Hi Stormydays,
You certainly got your hands full.
I don't know how much help I might be able to offer, but this is what I would do.

Completely remove everything you installed and place the vehicle back to stock condition.,as built !!!!!
Your vehicle has a CAN system (Controller Area Network) with a series of modules in the network and Guess what,,,,,,,,, the radio is one of the modules.
If any module is faulty or not functioning , "No Communication" . and anything can happen from there.
Without a capable scan tool to check "Module Health" not sure what you will finally get You could get lucky and not have to replace anything , I don't know !
I hope I was able to put some light on the situation and maybe we'll just have to wait and see.
In either case you should have 2 coded keys that hopefully came with the vehicle. That will get into another area that we may or may not have to enter.
A lot is going to depend on if any damage was done . Best to take these things one at a time and see what we get. What do you think?

The vehicle is back to stock as I stated before..but this can system I will research further thanks..

Another little tid bit gets into the mix,
If,,,,,,,,,,you installed the other PCM in your vehicle problem #2 comes up. A PCM has to be programmed to your particular vehicle (Parameter Reset) , and for instance, your vehicles anti theft system will not recognize the replacement PCM and therefore will not start. In addition to that, now when you reinstall your original PCM it will no longer recognize your vehicle and will not start. The way this is corrected is to have a capable locksmith with the reprogramming ability or dealership, reprogram the entire system to " as built " specs. A locksmith is cheaper than a dealership. After that is done , your anti theft system should not prevent it from starting. At this point we don't know what the past dealer shop found with the SJB (smart junction box). Hopefully,,,,,,,,,, maybe nothing !


Suggest you not use the test lite around computer circuits. Voltmeter Yes,, test lite No.That is the rule. We're working with millivolts now .