QuestionQUESTION: Sometimes the car would start, and sometimes not - you would have to wait a few hours before it would start. Finally would not start at all. Shop said it was the PCM and replaced it. Car would not start the following day, towed back in. I was told there was a "pin" that was bent and they straightend it out and the problem was fixed. Two days later battery seems to go bad, so put in a new battery. Next day car will not start. Went to another shop thinking maybe fuel pump. Told it was okay but their machine said the PCM was bad. Is this car fixable? I am out of money and patience.
ANSWER: Hi Kim,
Any progress on fixing the problem?
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Hi Kim,
I would want to know what are the diagnostic fault codes that the replacement pcm has stored in its memory. And they should get those codes again, after first disconnecting the battery for a minute in order to erase the old codes and so get 'fresh' codes after trying to start it again. Ask them for the 4-digit fault code numbers that they get, what they mean, and what will be the cost of remedying those faults. Then write me back with a follow-up question and tell me the numbers and what they said. Then we'll compare notes and decide what to do.
The first shop may have put in a used or wrong pcm so they should be forced to correct that if indeed the current code is one that says the pcm is bad. Your original pcm may have been ok, so they should give you back that one and make good by either fixing the problem or give you back your money and taking back the pcm they put in.
It seems to me that the first shop is wripping you off. Let me know about the current fault codes and I can help you make sense of what is happening. A replacement pcm should not fail is a day or so. I believe that you may have to really threaten small claims court action against one or the other, but try tough negotiation first. You were charged for a repain that was not effective.
I think the car can be repaired by competency.
Roland
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Hi Roland. Hope your holiday was blessed. Okay, I got these codes. 42 (automatic shut down relay circuit); 43 (ignition coil 2 circuit); 43 (ignition coil 1 circuit). I know you said there would be 4-digit codes, but this is what was given to me. Does this help? Upon my insistence, the shop that replaced the pcm has the car back. They claimed that they tried over the course of 4 days starting the car and it started each time. I went by there on my way home from work last night and used my spare key to try and start the car, and it would not start. Today they said they are pushing the car in to take a look at it. Of course I am not overjoyed to have them working on my car, but I strongly feel that they should have to make it right since they were so sure it was the pcm from the beginning.
AnswerHi Kim,
The 42 code would be the one responsible for not starting, the 43 would be responsible for poor running, but at least it has to be running for that code to be logged. What is strange to me is two things about the codes: first that you were told 2-digit code numbers when by the time of the '97 model year the new 4-digit code system should have been part of the pcm. The only explanation I would believe is that either the replacement pcm is from a '96 or earlier car or that the car was really manufactured for sale as a '96 but labelled as a '97 in the place (nation) where it was originally sold. So find out what is going on with that discrepency from whoever told you the code.
The 43 code would certainly cause a no start. It says that the relay (an electrical switch that the pcm controls) is not being activated when the pcm says it should. If it doesn't activate then there will be no fuel pump or spark plug action so 'no start'. It can be due to a faulty ASD (autoshutdown) relay, the voltage needed to activate the relay is not getting to it from the ignition switch, the wire from the pcm to the relay activation coil is 'open or shorted', the pcm circuit that order calls for the coil to be activated is bad, the entire pcm is bad (but that would produce another code in the range of 56-63 if true), or something else with the wires/connectors. Their job is to sort out which is the cause of the code.
You can tell if the ASD is working if you listen carefully when you turn the ignition switch from "off" to "run" in that for about a second or so the fuel pump in the tank behind and under the front seat (in the gas tank) will produce an audible hum. It will hum again when you start cranking it but the noise from the starter usually drowns out the hum. So if you turn the ignition switch to run and you don't hear the hum for a second then you won't get a "start" either.
So let us see what the shop finds and compare to the above.
The 43 is a 'can of worms' with approximately 18 different possible causes, none of which is horrible, but you have to divine/test for which it is. Again, if you can get one or the other shop to figure out which, after the no start is solved, for free, that would be great. But let them get it started, refund your money and go elsewhere, before dealing with the 43. In fact you can't really deal with the 43 until the no start is solved.
By the way, I assume this is a 2.5L V-6 engine and so another problem I have with their code readout is the "coil 2 circuit, coil 1 circuit" dichotomy. That engine has only 1 spark coil (because it has a distributor), so that type of code result is not possible to get from that pcm, or they misinterpreted their code reader. So use that bit of knowledge in a pinch when/if the going gets rough, to put them in their place and show that you aren't going to be 'snowed'. Please let me know what happens as things move along, and hang tough!
Roland
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