Coils.. PCM.. Xcal?? Help!! My LS is on the fritz.

dtx01

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Hey everyone. So my LS has been misfiring & my check engine light had come on. I stopped @ a meineke & they read the code & said it was a coil. Since ford has an 100k mile warranty on 03 LS coils I dropped it off @ my local ford Lincoln mercury dealer. They looked at it & said it's not my coil and it was just a bad ground in the trunk to the PCM (I think it's the main computer of the car). So $125 later I got my car back. 2 days later ny car starts to rough idle again & starts misfiring & my engine light goes on. I call them back & tell them it's happening again. They said drop it off & they'll look at it again for no charge.

I decide to goto another mechanic to run my codes & he said his reader is saying Engine coil A & o2 sensor.

I go back to the dealer & drop it off, they call me back the next day telling me they need to replace the entire PCM but it's covered through ford.

Now I don't know if they are going about the right path. I have xcal2 in my car with codes from torrie so would that make them think it's the PCM??

Now my other dilemma is that if they change my PCM & I don't set my LS to default will my xcal2 be no good? If so I'm gonna sneak down to the dealership & set the car to factory.

Help!!!! Thanks,
Dave
 
You didn't return your PCM to stock before taking it in for service? :facepalm:

I don't know for certain but it is reasonable to assume the aftermarket tune could be causing the dealership to assume it is a PCM issue when it is not. If I were you, the first thing I would have done would be return the tune to stock and see if that resolves your problem - if it does you know it's something in the tune, if it does not, you know the tune is not the issue.

If a different PCM code is on the new PCM than on the one replaced, I believe it will render your XCAL2 useless. Don't know what the odds are of that happening though - it would seem reasonable to expect the same PCM code on the new PCM, but I can't say for certain.
 
You didn't return your PCM to stock before taking it in for service? :facepalm:


If a different PCM code is on the new PCM than on the one replaced, I believe it will render your XCAL2 useless..

this is correct, even IF the new pcm has the same code.

the original poster NEEDS to get to the dealer, flash the original PCM back to stock otherwise he's turning the xcal into a nifty paperweight that will read and clear trouble codes.
 
I would think the new PCM has to be "married" to the VIN (and by extension the PATS), so your Xcal should still work, since it reads the VIN off the PCM.

As far as the revision codes... I don't know. You can always try to request the dealer upload the same catch code revision firmware as your old PCM...?

When the computer on my 08 F450 went out, they replaced it with a new one and uploaded the same software revision as the last revision their software said the old one had in it.
 
I would think the new PCM has to be "married" to the VIN (and by extension the PATS), so your Xcal should still work, since it reads the VIN off the PCM. .

in laymans terms what you said is correct.
but the xcal doesnt actually marry itself to the VIN as often thought.
it marrys itself to a value it puts on the pcm.
The new pcm wont have this value and the xcal will be a paper weight..

the VIN marry is a layman term it's not 100% factual
 
i just wanted the original poster to know that aint gonna work and he really needs to run to the dealer and flash his car back to stock...other wise he'll have to jump thru hoops which include paying to ship the xcal to SCT and begging them to unlock it.
SCT should unlock it for him when he provides documentation of his PCM being replaced by the dealer.

BUT it's a PITA he wouldnt/shouldn't have to deal with.
 
I would think the new PCM has to be "married" to the VIN (and by extension the PATS), so your Xcal should still work, since it reads the VIN off the PCM....

PATS is not married to the VIN, or effected by changing the programmed VIN. (It would be very bad security if it was because the programmed VIN is changeable.) PATS checks the ESNs (Electronic Serial Numbers) of various electronic modules. The ESNs can't be changed. (When you change a module, the dealers scan tool tells the PATS to accept the new serial number(s).)
 
I'm only speaking from what experience I've had with the 08.

Computer died, bought a junk yard computer, took it to my FORD dealer, and they could not change the VIN on the new computer to match the VIN of the truck.

They had to order a new blank PCM.

They also had to program a 2nd key (only had one) for some reason or other. Thankfully, this was all done under Warranty, so I wasn't out any $$. Not even the $100 deductible I expected to pay.
 
ok. yea im gonna find my xcal2 and goto the dealer tommorow morning and clear the codes to default. luckily they had to order the pcm so it wount be ready till mon or tues to get swapped out.

i'd go now but the gates are probably locked and they think im stealing a car or something lol.

yea they called me and left a voicemail saying they needed my other key b/c everything is getting reprogrammed.



i didnt think it was my tunes b/c A. torrie made them and he's really good and B. i've been running these tunes for like 2 years., oh and C. bad coils are a common problem on LS's & thats what 2 dif. mechanics said was wrong with my car..
 
ok so i reset it to stock. i went to the dealer today and since service was closed i had to bother a salesman so let me into the garage b/c they left my car in there and outside. i told him i had to get something lol.. & then 10 mins later after reflashing my pcm my xcal was not going to be a dud.

i'll let you guys know if replacing the pcm fixes it when i get my car back sometime next week.
 
got the car back and so far so good it's working. they replaced the pcm and the guy said they also replaced coil#8 making me think it wasn't the pcm after all and when they put it in the car still was misfirring.

i'm gonna load back in my xcal2 tune soon so i'll let you know how that goes.
 

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