PCM repair recomendation please

[Victorslik]

Hello all,

Looking for recommendations on having a mail order vendor repair my pcm. '08 GT manual with a mild aftermarket tune. My own troubleshooting, confirmed by a full dealership diagnostic suggests there are some faulty solder joints in the pcm. My symptoms are very similar to the ones experienced by Tinkertech & DrProfessor in last years thread “Need New PCM”. A/C compressor erratic engagement, Sometimes works when weather is cold but when the weather is warm enough to want a/c & after engine bay is warm no ground signal from pcm to the SJB. Also getting random & intermittent 02 trouble codes that are becoming more frequent and go away without being reset with a code reader.

The a/c charge, compressor function when clutch is energized and pressure switches/functions have all been confirmed. I am preferably looking for pm repair service recommendations based on first hand experience, or if anybody has personally known somebody who has sent there unit off for repair.

The companies I have found on-line are;

ecmrepairs.com

protechautosystems.com

autopcms.com

moduleexperts.com

ecmrepairs.com

These all seem to located in FL. I had hoped to find one in the Dallas, TX area, but I don’t find any on-line. Of course the local dealerships & independents all say no, no-one repairs pcm’s.

Any recommendations?

Thanks,
Victor
Near Dallas, TX

 

[Cum Grano Salis]

I’m probably not the one to answer but having 38 years so far as electronics tech w/DOD, a few ideas perhaps:
1) If soldier connections are poly-sealed doubtful that bad unless inter-connecting blown out capacitor or such.
2) Where circuits marry up with pin connection blocks is likely bad connections problems.
3) Looking for moisture corrosion, bent or pushed out pins and/or unseated plugs both M and F.
4) Adjustable low temp soldering iron remelt of terminal solder joints child’s play. Jeweler could perform if facility non-available.
5) Use magnification of some sort, human eye can’t see that fine detail.
6) IF all seems OK then send out or get refurb. Possibly same thing goes wrong with all of those and you’d get back one that appears as new. Tune, may want to look at mechanical upgrades in unison with that?

What’s to lose? Now watch, somebody will show up and say I haven’t any clue and to leave forum, wasting your time lmao. If you want to believe it?

 

[DieHarder]

Hello all,

Looking for recommendations on having a mail order vendor repair my pcm. '08 GT manual with a mild aftermarket tune. My own troubleshooting, confirmed by a full dealership diagnostic suggests there are some faulty solder joints in the pcm. My symptoms are very similar to the ones experienced by Tinkertech & DrProfessor in last years thread “Need New PCM”. A/C compressor erratic engagement, Sometimes works when weather is cold but when the weather is warm enough to want a/c & after engine bay is warm no ground signal from pcm to the SJB. Also getting random & intermittent 02 trouble codes that are becoming more frequent and go away without being reset with a code reader.

The a/c charge, compressor function when clutch is energized and pressure switches/functions have all been confirmed. I am preferably looking for pm repair service recommendations based on first hand experience, or if anybody has personally known somebody who has sent there unit off for repair.

The companies I have found on-line are;

ecmrepairs.com

protechautosystems.com

autopcms.com

moduleexperts.com

ecmrepairs.com

These all seem to located in FL. I had hoped to find one in the Dallas, TX area, but I don’t find any on-line. Of course the local dealerships & independents all say no, no-one repairs pcm’s.

Any recommendations?

Thanks,
Victor
Near Dallas, TX

Sounds like somewhat of a crap shoot. For me, entrusting it to them would depend on if any of them guarantee their work and able to verify/validate they were able to fix the problem without introducing other errors. Do your research; how many have they fixed in the past? Have all repairs been successful? Examples of problems they haven't been able to fix? What's their guarantee after repairs? Etc...

 

[Juice]

I'm pretty sure any vendor fixing pcm will do it on an exchange basis. So, dont lose your tune.
Restore to stock first.
Send pcm out.
When you get it back, reload tune.

 

[Victorslik]

To me the issue is getting the pcm opened up, including removing the silicon overlay on the circuit bd, identifying which joints need repair and then confirming that repair is successful. It may well be a board level relay failing under heat stress instead of soldered joints. I have seen muti-function relays from other manufacturers have issues with soldered joints intermittently failing but those boards were much simpler (3 or 4 pin relays vs 48) easier to access (take a snap-tite cover off and slide the board out of it's slot) etc. I ask the question because this delicate of work is beyond my skill set and that of the electronics techs I know. This is not as simple as a jeweler being able to reflow. The previously mentioned multi-function relay boards were at that level and reflowing those ourselves was successful. Just knowing which connections to reflow....etc. With at least 5 companies in FL advertising this kind of service, I would expect pcm repairs to be more common than they are seeming to be. Anyway, if anybody has any personal experience, please reply.

Approaching it from another direction, perhaps someone has experience purchasing a replacement that comes programmed with keys just plug and play. I find them advertised for under $600. That would still be way ahead of $1300 the dealer wants. If anybody has experience going this route, I'm all ears/eyes. Oh, and did I mention the dealer wants to install an aftermarket unit branded "Domain" which I can't even find any reference to on the interweb... no warm & fuzzy there

 

[Juice]

Its Dorman.
They make a lot af non-OEM products.

A programmed pcm, VIN and flashed for your stock engine, will still need PATS to be programmed after installation. Need IDS or Forscan.
None of that addresses keeping the mild tune.

 

[Victorslik]

From the allfordmustangs forum

"I have similar issues myself (I have the same ground dropping issue on the A/C as well), and have reached out of a few of those on the list. Everyone that I have contacted and explained what issues I'm having, they say that's NOT something they can fix... The three dealerships I've called told me straight up they cannot get a replacement PCM and it would have to be third party.
I would like to know the answer to this myself, because I've been dealing with this issue since I got the car. As a temp fix, I actually piggy backed off of the PCM ground for the A/C clutch relay with a switch. Switch on (grounded) A/C works fantastic.”

I'm thinking this is just going to make the compressor run any time the switch is "closed".
I have seriously considered unplugging the pressure switches, wiring in series through both sides of the dual function switch (at the condenser) then through the "call for" switch on the firewall using a separate spst switch to power the a/c clutch. Would add a step to turning on the a/c and should work but doesn't address the issue of deteriorating soldered connections in pcm. I have had some "hill-jacked" rigs before and would like to avoid that if possible. If I understand PATS correctly it is just the "chipped key" system that stands alone from the pcm. Or does PATS moule work in conjunction with pcm to identify the key chip, and therefore, even though pcm is programmed to the vin, old keys would not work with new pcm.
Several companies offer out-right, no exchange pcm's pre-programmed to the vin with keys that only need to be cut at the local locksmith. One such company is allcomputerresources.com. They claim a lifetime warranty, programmed to vin, with keys, out-right sale no exchange $572.50. This way I keep my old pcm, have extra keys, can always throw the old one back in, still have any aftermarket tune available, etc. Any experience here with this company or any others like it? doing some follow up on this company and others making same/similar claims. Starting to sound like best option but I'm still open to suggestions.

 

[Cum Grano Salis]

Roger that on repairs, I could not do much myself either with that type repair. Did know a few that could though, Avionics thing. I would seriously just look… always had good luck with gently used pre-owned? https://www.bing.com/shop?q=salvage...&originIGUID=59D7135BE127459A887DC39580BF8584

 

[Juice]

05-09, PATS is contained in the pcm. The sensor ring around the ignition lock is connected directly to the pcm. The key chip is stored in the pcm, so the keys need to be added (PATS progeamming) This is not VIN dependent.

11&up, keys are stored in the instrument cluster.

 

[cwaypony]

Had a different issue that finally turned out to be the pcm. Since Ford no longer offers this part I ended up dealing with moduleexperts.com. My own pcm was not repairable so I purchased a rebuilt unit from them. Supposedly with a lifetime guarantee. Once received I took it to my Ford dealer for the PATS programming. Turned the key and all has been well since.............

 

[Helgi Hilmarsson]

I had the same problem on my 2006 Mustang. started with O2 sensor codes... then additional codes kept on adding.. 0011 and 0021 the VVT Solenoids, 0443 and 0645 one of them being the AC clutch. I spent months on replacing parts.. O2 sensors VVT solenoids, AC Clutch and Compressor and so on.. was starting to suspect the PCM and tried to buy a new one from the dealership but they are obsolete now.. not made any longer and zero stock. I tried to do exchange with some of the PCM shops in USA listing their services on ebay and similar. Some took order and my money for exchange and could never ship me unit.. in the end I found a computer shop in Dubai who could do these PCM (am located in Dubai) They managed to repair the unit and not only did all the codes stop but the car changed a lot.. so much more power and smoother running engine.. so the repairs can work well and are possibly the best option as new ones are not available and seems like very limited availability of second hand/used units on the market as these fail quite a lot...

 

[Jcode68]

I had a similar problem with my 07 GT where when the car was up to full temperature and then shutoff, it would not turn over due to a PATS issue. The car essentially behaved like it had the wrong key being used to start it - turnkey and nothing. I had the dealership repro the issue and verify what was happening and essentially said a short was occurring in the ECM when the car was hot. This was an intermittent problem but started happening with increased frequency. Dealer quoted $1600 to replace ECM with used refurb unit and would not provide guarantee on parts. So I did some research ended up buying a refurbished ECM from ProTech Auto Systems with 2 blank/uncut keys they programmed to the unit for $600. I had the keys cut locally by a locksmith who had the right machine for these keys and swapped the ECM myself. Note I run a Bama tune so I loaded factory tune before doing anything, swapped ECM and drove the car with stock tune for a couple of weeks to be sure there were no problems. I contacted Bama and had them send me an updated tune which I then reloaded and has been solid for the last almost 3 years now. I had no issues with ProTech, I spoke with the owner on the phone and he seemed very stand-up. Hope you get it sorted out, post back as you make progress.

 

[JC SSP]

Yeah my 05' GT had a similar issue. Found a PCM with same code at a local auto recycling and a mobile Ford Tech downloaded latest software and reprogrammed my PATS, keys, etc.

Car runs like new ever since...

 

[Robert Larimer]

Approaching it from another direction, perhaps someone has experience purchasing a replacement that comes programmed with keys just plug and play. I find them advertised for under $600. That would still be way ahead of $1300 the dealer wants. If anybody has experience going this route, I'm all ears/eyes. Oh, and did I mention the dealer wants to install an aftermarket unit branded "Domain" which I can't even find any reference to on the interweb... no warm & fuzzy there

I believe the name of the company the dealer was using is "Dorman". They are a big aftermarket parts supplier for all makes.

https://www.dormanproducts.com/?gcl...MWVSKRFAepEHmxp5RRfaaa3BqrtoVJQgaAu2zEALw_wcB

https://www.ebay.com/itm/393259336702

https://www.googleadservices.com/pa...=2ahUKEwjX7qKnrNT8AhUSVTABHe98CuMQ0Qx6BAgGEAEhttps://www.googleadservices.com/pa...=2ahUKEwjX7qKnrNT8AhUSVTABHe98CuMQ0Qx6BAgGEAE

 

[Victorslik]

Yes, well .... I considered that but the service writer assured me it was "Domain" and I can't find any info on such a company servicing auto pcm's. The Dorman site returned the results displayed below. Considering a different route even yet but still undecided. I will post up my final course of action here. This one is still unresolved. thanks to all who have responded so far.

 

[JC SSP]

I have used Dorman for many, many years, they are a trusted company.

Not sure they make PCMs?

 

[Robert Larimer]

I have used Dorman for many, many years, they are a trusted company.

Not sure they make PCMs?

Ebay is just full of Dorman "remanufactured" ECU's but I have not seen the one that he needs.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/3932593367...=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&ufes_redirect=true

 

[Victorslik]

Still putting this off as I can't find anybody sells a PCM outright and doesn't have a laundry list of complaints either in forums or BBB. Not willing to give up my original pcm through the "mail-order" and just hope I don't get burned. Planning to do some pick and pull lots try to find a PCM from same year, options & tear tag, send that off to be repaired if it doesn't work right, right off....maybe... longshot???? I am reading a lot of ads talking about a "PCM induced mis-fire" being what a lot of the rpr outfits are aimed at. Is that a common issue??? Getting ready to replace the after-market coils on newly acquired 07 GT that is having some misfire codes setting and seems to be isolated to the after market (SR performance or something like that) cop's. Dealer replaced 2 with "8L3e's" because of mis-fire codes on test drive. the "8L's" don't get codes even when I've swapped coils around. Reading here, I decided the SR's gotta go,
8L's just arrived today.

 

[Victorslik]

hold presses/key strokes....J code above recommended [email protected] and I hadn't been able to get anything but a "searching" response. I just ried again and it returned a result for an outright sale.... $499 plus key programming. This is the only outfit I've had anybody claim to have experience with. Any body else done business with them? If they take paypal and I don't get negative feed back, I'll be ordering tomorrow

 

[JC SSP]

I just did a Google search and there are hundreds of companies that repair or exchange ECMs? Ebay has several vendors too...

I suggest you buy from a place that has a warranty, and you can pay with a credit card (so you can contest the charges if there are any issues).