Motorola makes the pcm for Ford and that's the only way to go. You have the first failure that I've heard of. I'm sure there have been some bad ones out there because they are man made if you know what I mean. If you see gray glue or epoxy on the sides of the pcm when you get it back, that's because they used a remanufactered unit not a new one. When I did my transmission swap I bought a reman unit and it's been fine.

 

dude, i been having problems with my car too!! i just tried to install the 93 octane tune into my car, and screwed up at first, cuz the dealer already did it, so it was in there. so when i went to do it, i think it might have erased it. so i pulled it out and plugged it back in and it downloaded a backup tune. The engine warning light came on, i drove her for like maybe 2 hours or so on that tune with that light cuz that was my only choice and she ran fine. Then today, i called my dealer and told him the problem, and he had me take the cables off the battery for 10 min. and put them back on and reload the 93 octane tune. he said that if i drive her for like 50 miles, she will be fine. well i drove a good 80 miles today on errands, and she still is showing an engine light, so idk what to do. i guess i will call them in the morning. but this **** is pissin me off man, i could kick myself for even messin with the tuner. ugh, i am so mad at myself right now, cuz i know i have done somethin to it. but idk, hope they can fix her.

 

strange thing

The really strange thing about this PCM failure is that I didn't even do any modifications to the car, it's bone stock, there is no reason for the PCM to fail.
At least I am gald to hear that I have the first known PCM failure. I was concerned that 06 Munstang were prone to this problem.

Can't wait to get my car back tomorrow, I love the car!::drool:

Faspony

 

You definitely don't have the first pcm failure. Just the first that I heard of. Any module or computer is prone to failure just because it's another part. I mean some cars will go 200k miles on the same water pump and others will fail at 50k miles. You know how that goes.

 

Really Strang

Well, this is day eight and the Ford dealer called me to tell me they installed the third PCM and they are still getting the orginal error message " check the charging system." It appears there was nothing wrong with the PCM after all. :livid:
Now they want to install a new Altenator thinking this was the problem all along. :shakehead

The service rep. did say that even Ford is stumped with this one, there is no record of this type of problem with an 05 or 06 Mustang. If they ever figure this out it will be one for Fords records. :lol:

I am just concerned that my car is in the hands of fools and at their mercy. :evilgrin:

Stay tuned for the next update regarding the phantom problem.:hammer:


Faspony

 

I was waiting to hear you say that it wasn't the pcm.

 

dang, lol i feel bad for u, lol i caused my problem because of ignorance of myself and my dealer not fore-warning me. but i hope w/e it is is fixed, cuz i know how it feels to not drive the car for a while, it really does suck, and i am only on day two, lol. but yea, i hope u get it fixed buddy, later.

 

Seems like Ford is blaming the PCM for everything. I had a guy call me last Friday and again today that had his car towed to the local dealership because he didn't read the instructions on the new TB before trying to install it.

All he had to do was turn a spring with a pair of pliers (as clearly stated in the instructions). The Ford dealership told him it was the PCM and that he had also smoked the TB motor. After I walked him through the instructions and told him how to rotate the spring he called me back (from the car as he was driving it) laughing at how stupid the Ford service department made themselves look by blaming the PCM and TB motor.

Obviously, a lot of these so called technicians only go by their books and don't think about the problems they are faced with much beyond that.

 

So much for Ford techs!

As many of you have pointed out, Ford techs are limited in their knowledge,
they do blame the PCM for everything.

Here's the latest update on my car as of 8-29-06. The Service Tech called and said my car is ready to go, it turned out the problem was the Altenator after all. :rofl:

The computer was telling these guys that the charging system was faulty but they chose to egnore the warning because the charging gage indicated the altenator was charging ok. This is a case where the car's computer was smarter than the techs, why am I not surprised. :lol:

This is a listen learned for all of us, if the Ford tech says the PCM is the problem, get another opinion from someone other than a Ford tech.:bs:

I'm just glad to get my black beauty back!

Faspony

 

Glad to hear your problem is solved Faspony. The guy who was working on your car obviously had problems. But, in defense of the techs at Ford dealerships, some are pretty darn good. You also have to keep in mind that they are working against "The Book". Every job has a specified number of hours. Taking the time to look at something for longer than is written in "The Book" is a no-no. So, they get squeezed by the system somtimes.

 

God forbid they take time to look at something.

If they did that they might see what's really wrong with the car with their eyes instead of some scan tool!

 

7 second Don Burton......best Ford tech I've met. Hinder Ford, Aberdeen Maryland.

 

Quick question... Was the car showing an overcharge on the gauge? I understand that the message is "check charging system" and they replaced alternator. My guess is that if its still charging as per the gauge that the problem is in the regulator. (I dont know if they are internal or not). Just curious as to the failure of the part...

 

192TJH

You asked if the dash gage was indicating the proper charging or not?

This was what confused the service guys, the gage on the dash inidcated normal charging and a check of the voltage output showed 13.5 volts.
According to that everything looked normal. It was at this point they figured it had to be the PCM that was seeing a problem that did not exist.
It wasn't until they had replaced the PCM and got the same error message as indicated by the orginal PCM that they decided they should replace the Alternator.
I have had the car back since yesterday 8-29-06 and so far no error messages. I think it is safe to say the problem is solved.

As far as faulting the service personel, I don't know what to say. I think if I was wroking one my own car I would have corrected the problem in computer was telling me rather than ignore the message and replace the PCM. I like taking the simple route rather than making more work for myself.
The only reason I would take my car toa Ford dealer is if it is a warranty issue. Once the warranty is gone so am I.

I have a friend who is really good with Fords and he know his stuff. I would take the car to him before I go back the Ford.

Thank you all for sticking by me through this, I hope my problem helps you guys in the future.

Faspony

 

HI, I am having the same problem. FORD MUSTANG GT 2006 CONVERTIBLE-V8 AUTOMATIC I got a new battery from Autozone and a new alternator with a lifetime warranty. Now the the red battery light and the check charging system light come on and then it will go off. The car start every time. The battery has been tested and it is charging and the alternator has been checked also and it is performing correctly. But when driving the lights start blinking, the windows will not let down, the air conditioner putts on and off, the doors lock and will not open, the convertible top will not let down. It's like the whole electrical system shuts down. PLEASE HELP!!!!!

 

Sounds to me like you have a loose connection somewhere, A major one. When all these things are happening does the engine continue to run normally? If it bucks and stalls etc, I would suspect a loose battery connection or ground. Has it rained recently? Any dampness on the passenger side floorboard? I'd start by looking at the SJB behind the passenger kick panel, looking for evidence of water or corrosion first. Then start checking electrical grounds for loose connections.

Yes it could be the PCM, but it would be the last thing on my list to check. Only because these things are so hearty, and rarely fail. Do you have a performance tune installed? (I am assuming you're running the factory PCM and tune, right?)

 

Sounds like a wet SJB problem, not the PCM.