PATS won't recognize keys after 30 minutes

I've got a 98 SVT Cobra. The PATS anti-theft system is acting very screwy. I lock the car and I can unlock it right away without problem. BUT, if I lock and wait about 30 minutes it no longer recognizes either set of keys! I have to pop the hood and disconnect the battery to stop the panic alarm. Has anybody ever heard of anything like this? Yes, I've tried the put a key in the ignition, give it a half turn, wait 10 minutes, remove key, lock and unlock driver door with key trick. Doesn't work.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. My gut feeling is a loose wire in the steering column, but it's just a hunch.

01HellionGT said:

I've heard of this many years ago and it did it with my 98 Cobra. There is a way to fix it and I do not remember right now. Is it pulling any codes? How's the key and key fob itself? Hows the Cobras battery? You can even take the key to a Ford dealership to see if the chip is good.

Is this whats happening in the video? Read some of the comments they might help too.

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No, this is a different problem. Don't know if you remember the derecho (incredible wind storm) that came through the Midwest last year. But this is what happened to her:



Well, after 10 months and a lot of money she has been restored perfectly. I got her back last week. Locked her. Next morning, put my key in the lock (no keyless entry), open the door and the panic horn goes off. Can't turn it off. Inserting the key doesn't do anything. Have to disconnect battery. Both keys do the same thing. Had an appointment with the Ford dealership today to fix it. Guess what? Lock it. Unlock it. No problem. Take her home. Lock it. Come back out and unlock and it's PANIC horn again!. There is some point where the PATS loses its mind. 10 minutes? 30 minutes? I will have to do an experiment to determine how long after locking the PATS stops recognizing the keys.

My gut feeling is that maybe the transponder in the steering column got whacked. It was just replaced about 18 months ago.

The codes are: B1600 and B1681