mustangcruzer2011

Hey guys im new to the forum so bare with me. but anyways, here's my problem. i have what i thought was a 98 mustang 3.8L. turns out it was made in september of 1998 so its technically a 99. i dropped a true 98 4.6L 2v into the car and swapped the engine wiring harnesses out and everything hooks up 100% (besides a little female 4 prong plug right next to my coolant fan connector). i had a ford tech reset my computor and try to reprogram the keys. 1st problem is that it only recognizes 1 key. Now the engine will crank but i have no spark. i am pretty sure its a PATS system thing. i know that the 98s use PATS system B and the 99+ uses PATS system C. my question is, can i get my ecu reprogrammed to recognize the PATS system C? i know that the system c has the module stored in the ecu whereas the system b has an actual external module, if the reprogramming is not an option, what do i have to do to swap the dash clusters (i have a donor 98 convertible GT) and add the PATS system B into my car? also, if swapping dashes is too big of a deal, does any one know of a way i could bypass the PATS system altogether without running into any problems down the road? what i dont understand is why the 98 harness hooks up 100% to the 99 inside the firewall and the only thing stopping me from driving this car is PATS. please help me out guys, i got this engine out of the donor, pulled my 3.8 motor, and dropped the 4.6 in and got it hooked up in 2 weeks flat (thats with school to work around lol). im not trying to brag, i just want this project done so i can get her out on the road

Z28KLR

There may be some helpful PATS info here... http://www.paladinmicro.com/pmicro.php#

Scroll down to "Shop Manuals/Docs", you will find a PATS section. Hope this helps.

ttocs

I thought you could disable it through a programmer but I am not for sure.

mustangcruzer2011

Thanks for the info n here's an update. First off, the car was made in October of 98. Second, I had a buddy of mine try to disable pats with the ford dealership computer with no luck. Secondly, I switched the "pats control" box located near the interior fuse box with the one from my donor 98 convertible. The part numbers are identical n the only difference is that the 99 is labeled "tester #1" and the 98 is "tester #2". now my theft light flashes a code that says that the keys are not programmer into pats whereas it was solid before the box switch. I'll have my buddy come over n try reprogramming once more. And also, is the actual pats located in my dash cluster because I have the 98 one as well. Are the dashes interchangeable and is the box I switched my actual pats brain or just another relay/transmitter?