I am ready to choke a bitch.

"NKato" (NKato)
04/04/2018 at 20:59 • Filed to: Killer Queen, Crown Victoria

Been trying to call dealerships, even ones as far as South King County, to locate a service shop that:

A) Knows what the fuck they’re doing with Engine Control Modules on 2010 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptors.

B) Doesn’t try to give me the run-around with “needing to get a diagnosis”. Asswipe, I ain’t a money-teat.

I already diagnosed it myself. The original ECM failed to send signals to the EVAP Purge Valve a month ago, leading to me replacing it outright with a different ECM from another 2010 Ford Crown Victoria PI belonging to a different jurisdiction.

The result? I no longer have traction control, because Seattle PD did not order that with their cars. However, my car, which is from Pierce County Sheriff, came with it from the factory. I trust you see the issue here?

Technically I don’t need to get the ECM reflashed, since I can drive without TCS. But its lack of availability bugs me every now and then, plus the throttle behavior seems different from the original ECM at times. I have wasted an hour trying to call these dealerships when they either keep forwarding me to an answering machine, or giving me the run-around with “we need to diagnose it ourselves”.

Yes, I know the risks of having service conducted on the car going off of my own diagnosis, and no, I’m not paying $200 for a diagnosis , and then a reflash on the ECM (assuming the dealership has the balls to guarantee their work, I’m not taking anything less) for another $200. Fuck that.

Edit: If anyone can recommend a Ford-capable service shop that can reprogram my ECM for me, I’d appreciate it. I’m ready to try third-party shops now...

DISCUSSION (32)

DipodomysDeserti > NKato
04/04/2018 at 21:08

Seattle seems like a city you’d want TC in.

NKato > DipodomysDeserti
04/04/2018 at 21:10

RIGHT?? I occasionally chirp my tires in the wet, even without traction control.

crowmolly > NKato
04/04/2018 at 21:13

Dealers are very wary to take a customer’s word for it, especially with Google making every Tom, Dick, and Harry think they are Edd China. Sucks, but they can get burned if they don’t do everything by the book.

Might need to find an indy mechanic or talk to one of the dealership guys to see if they will do it off-hours, off-the-record for some cash.

AestheticsInMotion > DipodomysDeserti
04/04/2018 at 21:14

Where’s the fun in that?

NKato > crowmolly
04/04/2018 at 21:16

I already had an indy mechanic diagnose the car. I have the goddamn paper right here stating that the ECM is the likeliest cause which prompted me to source the replacement ECM... motherfuckers, this ain’t hard.

Svend > NKato
04/04/2018 at 21:21

As these are police spec, have you tried contacting your local police department to speak to someone in vehicle maintenance?

NKato > Svend
04/04/2018 at 21:26

I’m probably gonna try that next...but they are incredibly unresponsive (hell, everyone is) over email...

Svend > NKato
04/04/2018 at 21:55

As an outside chance, try.

http://www.starcarhire.co.uk/alone_category-134-england

http://american-action-vehicles.com/

There are several places that have quite an inventory of police spec American Ford Crown Vics in the U.K. who I’m sure would be more than happy to help.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > NKato
04/04/2018 at 22:00

Do you have any idea how many customers and third party shops come in saying the exact same thing? Only to end up being completely wrong? I’m not saying you are wrong, but these places are going off of experience. I can count on one hand the number of customers and third party shops who have correctly diagnosed an issue in the more than a decade I’ve been doing this.

NKato > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
04/04/2018 at 22:15

I’ll spell it out for you:

Car started having problems a month and a half ago. It was traced to the EVAP Purge Valve and the EGR. The OBDII error codes pointed at them. Third party mechanic recommended replacing the purge valve, which I did myself. It was an easy swap.

CEL came back, same codes. Mechanic does an inspection of the wiring, tests the wiring for any failures/bad resistance, and concludes that since the EGR is still functioning when commanded, that the problem lay in the Engine Control Module.

I decide, instead of buying a new $800 ECM on an issue that is not 100% resolved, to buy a used ECM from a car of the same model and make, for $75. Swapped it in.

Car does not throw a CEL for more than a month. My conclusion: It was the original ECM that was the source of my troubles. Now my problem is getting the replacement ECM reprogrammed with the correct software settings for my VIN, which includes traction control being re-enabled.

Was that hard to follow? I’ll TL;DR it for you -

Car had a boo-boo, special doktur diagnosed initial issue, replaced presumed broken part, problem continues, said the brains may be the problem instead. I replace the brains with another set of brains....problem solved. That’s all. Now I just want to resolve the last hitch to that brain-swap.

I’m motherfuckin’ Frankenstein here, man.

and 100 more > NKato
04/04/2018 at 22:15

Maybe talk to a taxi service and see who their mechanic is?

No help from anyone in the crownvic forums?

Dogsatemypants > NKato
04/04/2018 at 22:24

O.N.B. automotive. Ask to speak with Dave. They are in north everett. He took over the shop from a ford genius named Mark.

smobgirl > NKato
04/04/2018 at 22:33

I realize you’re frustrated, but maybe rethink that phrasing in the future.

NKato > Dogsatemypants
04/04/2018 at 22:36

Thanks. I will check it out.

NKato > smobgirl
04/04/2018 at 22:45

I will take that into advisement.

NKato > and 100 more
04/04/2018 at 22:46

The community is spread across the United States, there aren’t any members active that are local to me at the moment, so getting help from them on this specific issue is next to impossible.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > NKato
04/04/2018 at 23:25

Take a deep breath. I was just trying to give you perspective on why shops are treating you the way they are. I was not commenting on how competent you or your mechanic are.

NKato > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
04/04/2018 at 23:29

Yes, I understand what you mean. It’s just...I gave them enough information to comprehend the situation, my due-diligence, and they still treat me that way. Come on.

His Stigness > NKato
04/04/2018 at 23:41

I know you’re not going to want to hear this, but I doubt you find any shop that has the ability to properly program the ECU will do it without first diagnosing it themselves.

I saw AMG Tech already sort of explained this, but let me go further as someone who has run multiple auto shops.

We don’t require diagnosis because we’re all greedy bastards, we do it because we have either been burned in the past by trusting another shop or the customer, or we know of other shops who have been majorly burned. It happens ALL OF THE TIME. And it happens on simple shit. I had two cases just today. One customer literally cussed me out because another shop told them to change an oxygen sensor to get it to pass, and then I tell them it needs a new converter and thermostat. Had that person come in without changing the O2 sensor and asked me to change it and smog I would have refused without properly diagnosing it and I would have been right to do so. And oxygen sensor with labor on most cars can be around $300-500, and I only charge about $125 to diagnose. Simple math shows I would have saved them money.

So I’m sorry you haven’t been able to find a shop who can and will program your ECU, but I think you should know you probably won’t without paying them to do their own diagnosis, even if it turns out to be the ECU.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > NKato
04/05/2018 at 00:00

You would probably have better luck going in and talking to them in person. On the phone you’re probably just talking to someone who can only follow policy. In person, you can talk to someone who does more than just set appointments and make them understand that you’re willing to accept the risks that go with telling them what you want them to do.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > DipodomysDeserti
04/05/2018 at 00:01

Even TC won’t keep you from spinning tires in Seattle. There’s a good reason the entire damned city comes to a screeching halt the moment there’s even a dusting of snow or ice.

Dogsatemypants > NKato
04/05/2018 at 01:30

His shop has done right by me and my mom.

UserNotFound > NKato
04/05/2018 at 06:23

Do you still have the old ECM?

NKato > UserNotFound
04/05/2018 at 08:46

Good morning. Yes, I do. It’s in the trunk.

NKato > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
04/05/2018 at 08:49

Yeah, I figured. Problem is, I get off work at 3PM, which doesn’t leave me much time to go to the shops, and my job wants me to give 2 weeks advance notice if I’m going to take time away from work.

Schaef_Camaero Z/28 > NKato
04/05/2018 at 09:22

Try being a little more condescending next time.

Holy shit.

NKato > Schaef_Camaero Z/28
04/05/2018 at 09:42

*loudly farts*

UserNotFound > NKato
04/05/2018 at 23:53

Was just curious if you’ve opened it up to look for bad solder joints of components. Maybe theres somebody out there who repairs those ECMs, even.

NKato > UserNotFound
04/06/2018 at 08:43

I have not. A bad solder joint may be possible since it stopped sending signals entirely for the EVAP Purge Valve, and nothing else.

UserNotFound > NKato
04/06/2018 at 12:51

Yeah if just one function stopped working and if you can unplug the ECU, ground the pin that controls the purge valve (I’m assuming the ECU grounds the low side of the valve to actuate it) and it works, then likely you have a bad solder joint or a bad component in there.

UserNotFound > NKato
04/06/2018 at 12:57

Also, just did a quick search, and the PCM (apparently that’s what Ford calls it) might also supply the positive voltage to the purge valve (which apparently they call the vapor control valve). If that’s the case, there could be a problem on either side.

NKato > UserNotFound
04/06/2018 at 14:25

On the used replacement ECM, purge valve is working fine. The Chevy mechanic did test both sides prior to my sourcing the replacement. I had replaced the valve, too.