Sonofabiscuiteater!!! (CCRM)

[Rumblesnake]

Howdy folks. My DD Termie has decided to take a nap on me without warning and I'm having one helluva time figuring this one out.

I've searched and searched the forums and founds LOTS of great information to point me in the right direction, but not all of my questions have been addressed, so I'm hoping maybe someone can chime in here and give me some answers.

Ok, in a nutshell, I was on my way home the other night and as I was slowing down for a red light, I noticed a slight hesitation. The same thing happened again at low RPM's (2-4k) in 1st and 2nd all the way home, both accelerating and under braking. Other than in those RPM ranges, I didn't notice any type of hesitation whatsoever. Of course, once I realized something wasn't right, I shortshifted under partial throttle and limped to a friend's house close by.

My buddy and I went outside to take a look and when I turned the key, it wouldn't start. The engine was turning over, but it sounded like there was no fuel or spark. So, I turned the key off, spat out a few curse words, and when I was done with my tirade, I turned the key on again and there was a loud buzzing noise under the hood in the right front fender. It sounded like a burned up relay, but before I could comment on it, the noise went away. I then turned the key and she started right up.

Well, I limped home safely, but the hesitation was still there. Once I got home I decided to try to start her again and the relay buzz came back louder than before and she wouldn't start. I had the dashes all the way across the odometer and the theft light blinking like crazy too. I pulled the codes with my Predator and nothing was thrown.

Soooo...after searching through the good ol' SVTP forums, I've determined that the "relay buzzing" was coming from the CCRM, which apparently controls
some a/c functions and the fuel pump.
If I'm understanding all that correctly, a fried CCRM is why I have no fuel pressure. I can't analyze any a/c symptoms because I almost always drive with the windows down and the a/c off.

Anyway, here are my questions:

1) Is there anything in particular that would cause a CCRM to fry?

2) Is the PAS theft light system activating as a result of a safety feature because of a lack of fuel pressure?

3) What kind of complications could I have possibly endured as a result of limping along for a few miles with a failing CCRM and surging fuel pressure?

4) What can I expect to pay for a CCRM? I was told they could be found on eBay, but I haven't had such luck.


Any help y'all could offer would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ShelbyGuy]

the theft light is probably unrelated to the dying ccrm. try reflashing your tune.

i dont know what would cause the ccrm to die, but parts fail sometimes. thats all i can tell ya.

check your plugs. if they look fine with no speckles, they you're mostly likely fine internally (your engine too ) your biggest problem would be a lean condition under boost and heavy load.

i forget what i paid for my spare ccrm, and i owe a certain someone some help sometime for loaning me his used one. i did not forget. but anyway i now carry a spare.

call steve @ tousely ford for the nice price.

 

[CobraBob]

As ShelbyGuy said, some parts just let go. This isn't a common one to fail. In case you don't know, Steve is our Ford dealer contact here. E-mail [email protected] or call 1-800-328-9552 and ask for Steve.

 

[Rumblesnake]

Thanks for the replies, guys. It's my daily driver, so I had to jump on this project pronto, but thanks for the heads-up on Steve's parts connection.

Nobody anywhere around me had one in stock, so I guess it really is a fairly uncommon part to go out. I ended up finding one in Arizona and had it flown in this afternoon. Hopefully, it will be here soon and I can quickly find out if the busted relay was the only problem.

I haven't pulled the plugs yet either. To be honest, I'm terrified of what I might find, so I've been putting it off until I get going with the CCRM install.


Anyway, I have another question maybe you guys can help with also. If I reflash my tune with the Predator (to attempt to address the dashes on the odometer assuming they're still there after the new CCRM is in), will the Predator remember the custom parameters I have mapped, or will it just put the boxed pulley tune back in and force me to start over again?
I spent a lot of time on the dyno and doing live datalogging to get my tune the way I want it and I just dread the thought of starting over with the box tune.
Any experience with this?

Again, thanks for the comments!

 

[ViciousJay]

Rumble the tune shoudl be fine after reflashing... was it a custom tune by a tuner or done by you?

also for someone 3 posts that used a search button and explained their situtaion so well i ve you made props... :beer:

 

[Venomous04]

I just replaced my CCRM thinking it had died but in fact it was the FRPS that died. So I have a stock one I'll sell ya for a good price shoot me an email to marc.gagne _@_ hotmail.com

Marc.

 

[Rumblesnake]

Thanks again, folks. I ended up getting the new CCRM installed and everything put back together before I turned the key...and I've got the same results as before.

I was so convinced that the CCRM was bad that I didn't even test the new one before putting it all back together nice and clean and tight. Ugh.

I guess I'll be using the search button a little more.

I'm about to flip now because I tried to install the factory tune from the Predator and I'm getting a message that my car type cannot be found! WTF? I guess this means some serious ECU problems if the handheld can't even recognize the car.

I'll play around with the search button over here and around the net for a while and see what I can come up with, but it's not looking good. I've come across bunches of people with similar symptoms as I am having, but nobody has had ALL the problems I've got at the same time, so troubleshooting is getting difficult.

I think when this is all over and I am up and running again, I'm going to just nut up and buy a factory manual. It sure would make it easier.

Thanks again, guys.

 

[ViciousJay]

check your oil see if it smells like gas....

 

[Rumblesnake]

No fuel is the oil. Checked the FRPS.

I may have figured it out...

I read a post on here about someone having a similar buzzing coming from the CCRM and it ended up being a loose connection at the fuse box.

Well, I just went out and started messing with it. I've already checked all the fuses, pulled the battery, cleaned the terminals, and made sure everything looked solid, but I figured I'd give it another look anyway.

I turned the key on and got the buzzing from the relay, and then I started jiggling wires under the fuseblock and, sure enough, the buzzing stopped.

I hopped in the car and the odometer was reading normal and the theft light wasn't blinking. I took a deep breath, smiled up at the Cobra gods, stepped on the clutch, and turned the key...only to get the buzzing and the theft light again.

I played around with the wiring a bit, but it's too dark now to track down the short, but at least I've got a pretty good idea of what's going on now.
I guess the CCRM just was just getting grounded at the connection, causing the buzzing. And since it's all tied in with the PCM and PAS, it explains most of my symptoms.

I'll track the short down in the morning and hopefully be back on the road by noon, on my way to attempt to return the new CCRM I had expedited to me today. <sigh>

Anyway, thanks again for all the comments. If not for this site and the wealth of knowledge available via the SEARCH button, I'd be up a creek without a paddle. Incidentally, I haven't posted here much, but I've been a lurker for a couple years. This site (and particularly CobraBob's tips) taught me so much about the 4.6 4v when I was researching the car before I started shopping. I spent close to 6 months searching for the perfect Terminator (in my mind, anyway), and I feel like I owe a great deal of gratitude to this site for preparing me in the best possible way for my Cobra purchase.

Thanks, SVT Gearheads. Keep pumping the knowledge!

 

[CobraBob]

You are persistent and thorough for sure. Let us know how you make out. It does sound like you're close to fixing it.

 

[Rumblesnake]

Well, sometime around 4:30 in the afternoon, I turned the key and my precious beast roared back to life with a thunderous fury!!

WOOOO!!! HOOOOOOOOO!!!

It turns out that it was this little sonofagun:

http://imageshack.us][img=http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/7251/burntconnector1vc2.jpg


I won't bore you anymore with the details, but it was was a COMPLETE PITA to fix this one. It appeared to be a simple replacement of a simple connector, but the limited amount of slack in the wiring made for some serious contortions and copious amounts of cursing.

From the looks of it, it appears as if the connection wasn't completely pressed together and it ended up shorting fusing itself together, even melting the plastic on the connector. So, the chattering relay I heard in the CCRM wasn't failure, it was just getting grounded out there and the switch was going nuts.

Ugh. It's amazing how a .79 part can bring a 30k car to a grinding halt.

The good news is that the plugs look good, the tune is still active, and she's running strong again.

It took an insane amount of troubleshooting to figure this one out, but I learned sooooo much more about my car's electrical system as a result of it. So, I guess that's a plus anyway.

 

[texaswrx]

Change up the address and posted the picture for you. Good to see it worked out for you!