Eric1981

21 hours ago, dabangsta said:

The keys for my 1982 F-150 (note that the blade is a mirror image/opposite and each one only fits in the slot designed for it):

Same with my 79 Zephyr, 81 Fairmont, 80 Fairmont, and one of my Mustangs, it was the earliest vehicle I remember with that style key.

 

Yes, I will stop now, just thought I would throw out more better ideas on not getting into a state where you might be locked out at a bad time. I don't compute short term ownership.

Well, as far as short term ownership, I usually don't either. But she blew the motor in her car right when we separated, and this is something her grandpa helped her buy, was literally the only thing available at the time that had enough space for the kids and their all their gear that was in the price range, and it's a HUGE POS. I've done nothing but work on it since we got back to speaking terms. We even rekindled, sold this to her friend and she drove my Durango that I bought to run kids around as to not have to unload my quad cab pickup to fit kids in the back seat. But we split up and her friend wasn't making payments like agreed, so she took it back, since I took my Durango back...kinda, she wrecked it and I just refused to fix it cuz we weren't on good terms. She experienced the dating world again and came running back, and now this POS is my headache yet again. So I might be fixing just enough to get it sold and let her drive the Durango again, until I get the trans rebuilt (about a 4 yr project now) on her Grand Cherokee, then let her take that back.

17 hours ago, dabangsta said:

If it was me, and I was in this situation, I personally would also buy the door lock cylinder kit that you can setup to match your existing key. I haven't done one in awhile, and it wasn't the easiest thing for a shaky person to do, but Standard Motor Products sells a kit with a new cylinder, 4 sets of the 5 possible key positions, and hopefully detailed instructions on how to do it. I think it is possible to do with a torx T20 bit as the only tool, I don't think the existing lock cylinder needs a working key to be removed (like the ignition cylinder). I think the Ford kit is also like that, and isn't a non PATS key matching pair, but I get conflicting pictures looking up the part number for it.

 

I would go bonkers not having a physical key that worked to open up my vehicle. I would try to match the existing key that works in the ignition instead of adding another key to my ring, but for the longest time my older Fords used a different key for the door/trunk than the ignition (round head for one, square for the other) which I always thought was weird.

I don't recall Fords having separate keys. I remember GM did for a LONG time, My dad had a 71 Cuda that had two keys, but a 70 Charger that didn't. We had a 78 F150 that was 1 key, and my dad had A LOT of Aerostars and Windstars as company vehicles that were single key. I appreciate the advice, I'll definitely look into it, but I'm not sure how long we plan to keep this car, so not sure how much money I want to put into it at this point.

3 hours ago, dabangsta said:

Search eBay for your year and model, the same 3 button remote is used by a number of the same generation Fords (3 button like the trucks, hatched vehicles like the Focus). Should be around $5-$7 for a pair. Make sure it isn't just the shell/case!

 

I bought the key and remote combo, but I find many of the fobs only (but only in pairs for cheap).

 

To program it you turn the key from off to run 8 times, the door locks cycle indicating programming mode, then you press a button on the remote(s), turn the key to off, and any remotes you just programmed in will lock/unlock/panic alert.

AWESOME, Thank you SOO much!!

2 hours ago, dabangsta said:

The older external button type can eventually break, I had one on my 2000 Grand Marquis do this, at the worse possible time. It froze, and when trying to unlock it (with the key in it, running) it broke.

 

This is my current key lineup for my 2012 Fusion:

 

Thank you for the reply!!! The key looks like the far right. but no fob. Is that easy to get a fob and program it?

07 Edge. Lately wife says keypad acting up. Says she puts in the code and doesn't unlock right away, pushes random buttons after and it unlocks. We need to figure this out, as it's the only way into the car. Key doesn't work in door, no key fob either. She bought this car while we were separated...and we know nothing about the history. Anyone have any clues or tips? Besides a rag in the gas tank, cuz that's about the next step, nothing but problems with this thing...can certainly tell why it was traded in and bought off the budget lot.

19 minutes ago, WWWPerfA_ZN0W said:

I have found being an engineer and actually repairing electronics are two different skill sets LOL.

 

But if you are willing to try, you can certainly repair the PCM yourself, you seem to have enough handson experience to do it.

 

Testing the drivers is very straightforward:

 

COILS

JB9 CHECK THE SECONDARY COIL RESISTANCE FOR THE MISSING CYLINDERS

• Ignition OFF.
• Suspect coil connector disconnected.
• Measure resistance between: Suspect coil connector, IGN START/RUN, component side and ignition coil spring, located in the ignition coil boot.

Is the resistance between 5,000 and 6,000 ohms?

Yes	No
GO to Pinpoint Test Z .	INSTALL a new COP. Clear the PCM DTCs. REPEAT the self-test.

 

DRIVERS

JF5 CHECK THE SUSPECT COIL DRIVER CIRCUIT FOR AN OPEN IN THE HARNESS

• Ignition OFF.
• PCM connector disconnected.
• Suspect coil connector disconnected.
• Measure the resistance between:
   

  ( + ) PCM Connector, Harness Side	( - ) COP Connector, Harness Side
  Suspect coil driver	COP

Is the resistance less than 5 ohms?

Yes	No
GO to JF6 .	REPAIR the open circuit. Clear the PCM DTCs. REPEAT the self-test.

 

JF6 CHECK THE SUSPECT COIL DRIVER CIRCUIT FOR A SHORT TO VOLTAGE IN THE HARNESS

• Ignition ON, engine OFF.
• Measure the voltage between:
   

  ( + ) PCM Connector, Harness Side	( - ) Vehicle Battery
  Suspect coil driver	Negative terminal

Is the voltage less than 1 V?

Yes	No
GO to JF7 .	REPAIR the short circuit. Clear the PCM DTCs. REPEAT the self-test.

 

JF7 CHECK THE SUSPECT COIL DRIVER CIRCUIT FOR A SHORT TO GROUND IN THE HARNESS

• Ignition OFF.
• Measure the resistance between:
   

  ( + ) PCM Connector, Harness Side	( - ) Vehicle Battery
  Suspect coil driver	Negative terminal

Is the resistance greater than 10K ohms?

Yes	No
GO to JF14 .	REPAIR the short circuit. Clear the PCM DTCs. REPEAT the self-test. If the concern or DTC is still present, GO to JF8 .

 

as to worth, i can't say, not knowing the vehicle's condition at time of purchase, the maintenance history, or how long she intends to keep it.  i WILL say, all fluids need to be changed immediately to get a good start.  if you hear any rattles at startup, that is a warning that the timing system/water pump need to R&R'd not too far down the road, usually around a 1500-2000$ job.  if it is an AWD vehicle, then you will have to check the condition of the PTU, driveshaft, and RDU.

 

I know what you mean as far as engineer thing goes...But you are thinking along the lines of design engineer. My dad was a service engineer for MRI, Cat-scan, and x-ray equipment. The first half of his career they had to repair the circuit boards onsite, and thus I learned how to solder at a young age. While my degree was in electrical/electronics engineering, I was following his footsteps. Life has a funny way of throwing obstacles at you and thus I am now an industrial/controls electrician, but have a very deep understanding in both design and repair. I agree that many of my co-students are far from my caliber in understanding the troubleshooting aspects vs making calculations and being flabbergasted when real world components with tolerances doesn't work out the same as on paper. Thank you for the info, I didn't have time to look it over indepth yet, but it was a good skim.

Is there a way I can test to see if it is the driver for sure? Is there a way I can get a schematic for the PCM? I am an electronics engineer, as was my dad for 40 years...I've been soldering and messing with circuit boards since I was 4 yrs old...But I understand the biggest issue is the source of the schematic to be able to repair things like that myself. Also, I don't know much about this car, she bought it shortly after our splitup cuz she blew the motor in her Pacifica by refusing to learn how to check the oil despite how many times I tried to show her in all her vehicles she had in our 5 yrs together. But it does have 190K on it...Would it really be worth the $300 to repair PCM?

Hey Guys,

My ex wife bought an 08 Edge after we split up. I'm trying to help her with it. It had random misfire codes and a specific Cyl 6 code. I put new plugs in (motorcraft) and it runs better, and the random misfire code disappeared, but the cyl 6 stayed. I swapped coils with cyl 5 to see if it was a bad coil...but it is still saying cyl 6. I also ran some Techrom cleaner through it. I'll do a compression test soon, but I just wanted a few ideas to look at at once. Is there a pretty common problem on these cars that causes this issue? The car seems to run fine to me under acceleration and mid-high RPM, I can hit 80 pretty easy without getting on it too hard...but it sputters pretty much at idle only maybe a little still in lower RPM range.