Three problems related to starter have been reported for the 1998 Ford F-150. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
The contact owns a 1998 Ford f150. The starter would engage and seem to restart itself as if she were turning the ignition. She stated that there was a loud noise when the failure occurred. The dome lights inside would turn on and off without warning. The four wheel drive warning light would illuminate on the instrument control panel. The radio compartment also made a loud clicking sound. When she turned the vehicle off, the heater would still run without the key in the ignition. The vehicle was taken to a local repair facility, but the mechanic could not determine the cause of the failures. A service representative at the dealership stated that water entered through the firewall. He speculated that this could be the cause for the failure (according to similar vehicles he repaired). She replaced the windshield at a glass company but realized that the windshield was not the cause for the problem. The mechanic who installed the windshield told her that he could see daylight where the emergency brake was located and he believed that was the location where the water was coming in. The contact called the manufacturer and was referred to NHTSA. No repairs were made. The current and failure mileages were approximately 174,000. Updated 02/1710 updated 02/19/10.
I have had numerous problems with the starter and/or ignition in my 1998 F-150 Ford truck. Beach Ford in myrtle beach, SC has replaced the starter about 7 times and today the truck left me stranded.
Starter shorted out, causing vehicle into garage. The key was not in ignition. Damages were made to vehicle. Safety defect allowed vehicle to move w/o the key in the ignition.