Mechanic says computer module bad?

I'm really not sure where you would get that info unless someone on here already knows but you have time going against you right now. I would want to know why everything has grease smudges but not the PCM. You should contact the Lincoln dealer and explain what happened and see if your VIN# will give you the answer you need. He's talking like he knows it needed a year specific code or he found out it needed one. What you need to know is what yours came with. If the Lincoln dealer will provide the proof, I would get them to print out the proof. If what he has in hand does not match, then you know he lied. No grease being on it already is proving to be a lie but you have grease all over other stuff in the car, except what was "replaced"

Someone will chime in where to find the catch code numbers. When you get off work and have time, disconnect your battery, remove the PCM and check it. Take pics and show us some up close sticker shots. One of us might notice something. Ford should be on the PCM too.
 
Just called several lincoln dealers and no one knew what the hell i was talking about lol. They said they can only look up vehicles 10 years old and newer.
 
Ya know the funny thing is now my AC works everytime i turn it on lol. Before this whole nightmare it wouldn't work, sometimes it would if i hit a huge bump it would go on then off.
 
In just looked, i have a EBP2, a WWX2, a FRS2 and the one that is hooked up now is a SQF0- There is also a date stamped on the tag, they either have a date that ends in late 95 to spring 96. I do know that you cannot use a 96 in any other year, and any other year will not work in a 96-so, examine the tags on you 'old' and new to look for scams-he may have investigated this enough to find out he might have a problem proving that he replaced yours. I would also NOT bring the Mark with you-you can only lose if you have it there and you hook up a wrong or damaged ECU (your old one)-tell him you'll take it (old one) with you and install it IF it has the right catch code for a 96.

If it works, you owe for diagnostic work only-if not, you could complain you did not authorize the work, and then find a ECU on your own-I am not the only one who has extras, lots of guys who bought a 96 made it a point to get spare ECU's, IMRC's and VCRM's-they are unique to the 96, and I would help you out if it comes to that. I even have a friend who is coming down from West Islip for my birthday and I could send it back to you that way if it helped.
 
Just took out the pcm and that DOES NOT look like something he installed, more like straight from 1996 when this girl was new.

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Just a few observations that I have made on this topic. First off, depending on where he got the PCM, it would probably take a few days for the PCM to arrive. I would bet money that a Ford dealer would not have been able to get a PCM that old. You need to find out if it is from a junkyard, because it is going to look like a 14 y/o part. If it is a reman from Autozone or something, then I would bet that it would look like a 'new' part. Last thing, DID YOU authorize any repairs beyond diagnostic. This is a big deal, I think a few people have asked you so far, but I didnt see an answer.
 
Well yeah sorry i didn't respond to that question. He originally told me on friday afternoon that he is getting it from a junkyard, then i called him the next day to see if it was fixed and he said he has to wait for a shop in brooklyn to get back to him because the other place didn't have the right code (the whole 96 pcm deal).

I shouldn't have jumped the gun and said yeah change it but i was in a jam.

I still think that he didn't change it though, why would the car not start when i went there sunday and i redid the wire to the positive terminal and it fired right up. Another thing i'm still gonna want to see the invoice/order for this part he claims he got and installed.

PS on the work order that i filled out when i dropped it off all i wrote down under the what's wrong section was "car doesn't start-battery". It's my word against his if he starts some bs i'll just say i never authorized it. I'll let you guys know, and if he don't have the "old part" tomorrow it's gonna be hell for him, and if he does i'll see what the catch code is, and i'll reinstall it, if it still works i'll pay him only the money for his mechanic looking at it. If the code matches and i reinstall and it don't work, then FUDGE me lol i got raped on a repair i should've known how to do and i'll pay the piper........talking him down in price lol. What a learning experience this has been, seriously.
 
guinnessman said:
Well yeah sorry i didn't respond to that question. He originally told me on friday afternoon that he is getting it from a junkyard, then i called him the next day to see if it was fixed and he said he has to wait for a shop in brooklyn to get back to him because the other place didn't have the right code (the whole 96 pcm deal).

I shouldn't have jumped the gun and said yeah change it but i was in a jam.

I still think that he didn't change it though, why would the car not start when i went there sunday and i redid the wire to the positive terminal and it fired right up. Another thing i'm still gonna want to see the invoice/order for this part he claims he got and installed.

PS on the work order that i filled out when i dropped it off all i wrote down under the what's wrong section was "car doesn't start-battery". It's my word against his if he starts some bs i'll just say i never authorized it. I'll let you guys know, and if he don't have the "old part" tomorrow it's gonna be hell for him, and if he does i'll see what the catch code is, and i'll reinstall it, if it still works i'll pay him only the money for his mechanic looking at it. If the code matches and i reinstall and it don't work, then FUDGE me lol i got raped on a repair i should've known how to do and i'll pay the piper........talking him down in price lol. What a learning experience this has been, seriously.
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With this new info that you DID authorize him to do his "repair" this changes things. You are definitely going to have to pay him for this. The law is on his side here. The only thing you can do is pay to prevent him from pressing charges and take him to civil court for not performing the repair. You are 100% correct that its is his word against yours but I'm telling you man in this situation the police are going to side with HIM. Basically all the cops are going to hear or care about is that you told them to fix the car, they "fixed" it, you picked the car up off of the lot without their knowledge or permission while they were closed, and you owe for "repairs" that were completed and are refusing to pay. At that point the cops really aret going to care what else you have to say and the ball will be in the shops court.

Again I wish you luck.
 
Ok so i just got back and he had the invoice and the old one which had the same catch code as the one he got. I grabbed the old one and installed it, and it didn't start. The old one was not tampered with that i could see, no tool marks or broken pins etc. I put the rebuilt one back and it fired up.

I did get raped on this crap though and i'll admit i feel like a sucker bigtime. He charged $280 for part with 1 year warranty and 2 hours labor totalling $480..i talked him down to $440 and payed cash, he said his mechanic was going over everything to rule out everything, and he went on to say how all lincolns are "electrical nightmares" lol, friggin guy.

May this never happen again, sheesh..

Thanks alot everyone this was a learning experience. If i would have known a bit more about this, i could have picked up the part for like $130 and wasted only 10 minutes of my time installing it.

I'm gonna go vomit.....
 
i have 100 computers in my garage, i would have sold you one for $50 bucks! they are paper weights to me!
 
Sounds completely fair to me. I think your lucky that they didnt jack the price up on you after you kinda did a no-no (taking your car off the lot with their part in your car)

Edit: PCM was 280, but that doesn't suprise me if it came from anywhere other than a JY

I don't know why you would be upset about this, sounds like they were honest afterall?

They had a PCM with the same catch code in it. And your car didnt start with your old PCM. What are you upset about, other than you could have done it yourself... but still, would you have been able to diagnose the PCM yourself?
 
DieselDan your 110% right bro, how the hell would i have diagnosed it myself....i know something about cars but when it comes to electrical I know SQUAT lol.

Paying the extra amount is for convenience in a way. I would have never thought it was the computer, and keep in mind i spent around an hour fiddling with the battery and alternator to try and get it to start and nothing.
 
I'm not trying to be down on you. I just see this stuff sometimes where I work. I also believe that a lot of mechanics get a bad rep no matter where they are. It may suck that you had to pay a shop to fix it, but honestly even I am nervous diagnosing failed modules, because on average, they dont fail that often... It just seemed in my opinion that they did you right. Maybe for a bit more peace of mind, call the local autozone or something and see what they want for a PCM. That price for the PCM seemed a little high, but I wouldnt be suprised if it came from a parts store. If they charged you 280 for a JY PCM, then I would be a little upset too.
 
DieselDan said:
I'm not trying to be down on you. I just see this stuff sometimes where I work. I also believe that a lot of mechanics get a bad rep no matter where they are. It may suck that you had to pay a shop to fix it, but honestly even I am nervous diagnosing failed modules, because on average, they dont fail that often... It just seemed in my opinion that they did you right. Maybe for a bit more peace of mind, call the local autozone or something and see what they want for a PCM. That price for the PCM seemed a little high, but I wouldnt be suprised if it came from a parts store. If they charged you 280 for a JY PCM, then I would be a little upset too.
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I still have a hard time believing that his PCM was bad but I do know their fragile. The 93 WZ3Z that I have was in a running Mark and running damn good. Had a wreck on the pass side. Nothing wrecked on the drivers side at all. PCM died from that impact without a scratch on it. At least the old one was tested.
 
Power fluctuations can kill a PCM especially an older one. When you have irregular voltage going into the PCM and it starts acting strange (goofy warning lights, driveability issues, etc) that is the PCM malfunctioning and crying for help. If just one resistor, capacitor, or whatever pops in the PCM it can cause partial or complete failure. Like your A/C for example. You said it works properly now but didn't before. The A/C command request is just one of the functions the PCM regulates. You said you definitely had a bad connection at the battery. That was probably the cause. In that case the bad PCM was collateral damage.
 
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