A 2015 Ford Transit Connect II rolled in with a crank-no-start condition, dropping four codes including a P068A. The technician's notes were brief: it started, died immediately, and refused to fire up again. This vehicle also logged P244D00, P24D68, and P24D98, but the immediate no-start condition pointed squarely at the P068A.
Sorting the power loss
P068A indicates the ECM power relay de-energised too early. The vehicle started but died immediately, showing the relay could deliver enough initial power to crank but failed to sustain it. The diagnostic platform we build ranked this specific ECM power relay circuit failure at 90 percent probability with high severity. The relay might have worn contacts, corrosion at the power distribution terminal, or an intermittent feed from the ignition switch.
To confirm this, the diagnostic path requires four direct checks. A visual inspection of the relay comes first, followed by a swap test with a known good unit. If the relay is sound, the next steps are a voltage measurement at the ECM input and a wiggle test on the wiring harness to expose any intermittent breaks.
Ruling out the electrical foundation
When an ECM drops power, I always suspect the foundation of the electrical system. Our engine ranked a weak battery or poor battery connection at 80 percent probability. A weak cell or corroded terminal can cause the voltage to drop below the ECM operating threshold during the transition from cranking to running. The required checks here are a battery load test, a visual inspection of the terminals, and a voltage drop measurement during cranking.
Close behind at 70 percent probability was a corroded or loose chassis ground. High resistance in a ground circuit causes severe voltage drops when high-draw components activate. The tests for this involve a visual inspection of ground points, cleaning and tightening those connections, and measuring resistance across the ground circuits.
The ignition switch variable
Finally, the system flagged the ignition switch and its harness at 60 percent probability. An intermittent fault in the switch can cut power to the ECM relay even when the key remains in the run position. Diagnosing this involves measuring voltage at the ignition switch output, testing the continuity of the switch circuits, and inspecting the switch contacts.
Moving forward with electrical faults
Tackling a no-start condition with multiple codes requires isolating the fault that actually stops the engine. By starting with the ECM power relay and its supporting electrical foundation, you avoid chasing other codes on a vehicle that will not even run. Check your relay circuits first when a P068A appears, and see if the voltage holds steady under load.
Reference pages for the codes in this article
- P068A, what we measure for this code across real diagnostics