Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Car turns over, no response on OBD-II scanner

95SE 2.5L Dura
Car starting cutting out today. On the way home today, it just quit completely. Brand new battery checks fine (12+ Volts, and cranks fine. No CEL or other trouble dash lights).

Got it home, checked for spark. None. Checked all the fuses under the dash and in the dist block. All fuses are good. Hooked up the OBD-II scanner, says that "engine not responding". The OBD-II isn't getting any reading whatsoever from the PCM. I removed dmy superchip and checked again, same thing, no response.

IF I have to take this to the dealer, any one have any suggestions? The car is obviously out of warranty. I'd hate to think my PCM is shot. What has been the going price for these?
I'd have to check my paperwork, but I believe my PCM may have been changed out at one time for some warranty work I had done. On my original PCM cover, the code said "XXY7 REMAN" which led me to believe that it was replaced already with a REMANufactured unit.

Any ideas? Right now my car sits deaed in the driveway.

  If the PCM were alive, and if the connections from the OBD?II connector to the PCM were good, you would surely get some response.  The most obvious possibility is that your PCM itself is dead.  Another possibility is that some electrical connection either from the PCM to the OBD?II connector, or from the PCM to its source of electrical power, is bad.

If your sticker says reman, then it certainly has been replaced at one point. You wouldn't believe the piles of PCMs that get reman'ed at my old plant. I personally wouldn't want one of those to be honest. Swap a few parts, test the unit, and assume you found the root cause of whatever problem got it into reman in the first place.

Just checking, but you did have the key in the "ON" position when trying to hook up the OBD-II scanner? The same position that turns the dash lights on, etc. I find myself forgetting to do that sometimes when I am clearing/checking a code.

Um, you say you have a 95 but you are using OBD-II? Now I'm confused.

Should be OBD I, OBD II came in 1996 and later. OBD I has a unique Ford connector under the hood mounted on the fender next to the brake booster and speed control module. Set your scanner for OBD I in the scanners software. If you do have ODB II in a later model you may need to set the scanner to generic mode if you didn't purchase the factory unique software. AutoXray scanners will have to be reset to get the OBD II generic mode to respond because you already loaded the factory mode and it wasn't there so it does nothing.

Definately agree with 2x95se on the OBD1 computer in the 95. There is also a wiring harness recall on the 95s which could cause a number of problems. Do you have any cracked or brittle wires leading to the TPS sensor or back by the coil pack? I think the recall is good for 100K miles.

Originally posted by 2X95SEs:
Should be OBD I, OBD II came in 1996 and later. OBD I has a unique Ford connector under the hood mounted on the fender next to the brake booster and speed control module.
Not there.

AutoXray scanners will have to be reset to get the OBD II generic mode to respond because you already loaded the factory mode and it wasn't there so it does nothing.
Yep, it's an AutoXray and yep, it was reconfigured. It is completely up to date. It will read from 1980 on up. I've used it before on my car for many things in the past. My connector is under the driver dash, right next to the door.

Now here's my new dilemma. The dealer wants $302.12 for a new PCM. I don't think so. I found on FordPartsOnline ("FPO") a unit for $236. The other online junkyards have them for about $60 give or take. BUT BUT BUT... the ford part number that the dealer gave me and the part number that comes up on "FPO" match (p/n: F6RZ12A650JH)(case sensitive). The junkyards are coming up with 94BB12A650FB. This doesn't come up on "FPO". I have gotten close at least with the middle part of 12A650. It's that initial "94BB" and ending of "FB" that has me nervous.

What are your suggestions? My Contour is my daily driver and it's really pinching me right now not having another car to use. Can someone shed some light on this numbers game? Pleeeease?