Hi,

New to the forums and Ford in general. Bought my first Ford, An 06 500.
Was great at first, now I am having a problem with the car losing power while driving. I have to put the car in neutral while coasting and then turn the engine off and back on, then back in to drive before it will respond again. I've done some research and found that the 500s have a common problem with the throttle bodies, so I tried cleaning the throttle body, that didn't work, I replaced the throttle body, that didn't work, and now I am at a loss. It's like it loses connection between the throttle body and the pedal until i turn the engine off and then back on. It does it so frequently I don't even drive it anymore. It happens about 5 minutes after driving and the frequently and sporadically after that every time I drive it. Anyone have any ideas, any help is appreciated. Thanks!

 

The computers (PCM) in Ford cars have an unusual memory and when you replace a defective electrical part with a good part the PCM doesn't always know the problem has been corrected. What may help is, if you remove the battery negative cable from the battery and hold it on to the positive cable for 10-15 minutes it will erase the "Keep Alive Memory" which was aware of a problem and tried to compensate for it. Now the PCM sees a new set of parameters and adjusts accordingly. Let us know how you make out.

 

Thanks for the reply hanky. I have tried the remove the negative battery cable and then ground the negative cable with a clip for a day to drain the memory and then reconnect thing. Is that what you mean, or am I misunderstanding?

 

The negative cable has to be connected to the battery positive cable end to discharge the capacitors and erase the memory.