I heard from a worker at Ford....

[Rydin Dirtay]

a well trusted mechanic told me that every year or so you should discon the battery to clear the system and wait a while. then reconn it and drive it for like 20 mins to relearn. he told me that after a while your engine looses its performence and the computer in you engine needs to re learn how your engine runs. ive worked on a lot of engines in my time and have never heard of it.. anyone else hear anything like that? I mostly work on older engies but i know a bit about the v6 in my truck and have never even seen anything on this.:redexp:

 

[aldive]

I doubt this is necessary unless you have had problems or done a mod .Anyway, it can't hurt anything.

 

[woodychitwn]

The computer is constantly adjusting your engine performance to deliver peak efficiency, however storage space is limited. So it can't remember what your driving habits were last year. Which means there's no point in clearing the memory. The only reason you would want to clear the memory is if you make a modification to the engine. But most likely the battery was disconnected for more than 10 minutes anyway, so you've already taken care of that.

 

[Rydin Dirtay]

thanks. and thats a speedy reply

 

[woodychitwn]

Ya can't expect me to work while I'm at work. That's just crazy talk.

 

[Alec]

Sometimes if the weather changes drastically overnight I'll reset the computer since it will act funny. I did this stock, before the s/c, and now. What he said does have some merit, but not on an annual basis.

 

[Runnin'OnEmpty]

It's my understanding that the computer uses the most recent 70 (or so) start cycles to adjust the parameters. This makes the engine as efficient as possible, and gives an on-going adjustment for parts that wear. I wouldn't think a re-set was necessary, unless a new part was installed.

 

[james t]

Originally posted by Alec
Sometimes if the weather changes drastically overnight I'll reset the computer since it will act funny. I did this stock, before the s/c, and now. What he said does have some merit, but not on an annual basis.

if i did that here, i would need to disconnect it every day. its 30, 65, 24, 71, 40, 68, and 52. and that was just last week.

 

[Alec]

I mean a 40 degree change between starts. It can be close to 80 here in the afternoon and in the 30s or 40s that night or in the morning.

 

[410Fortune]

HECK I got that covered I am lucky if I have it CONNECTED for more then a month, damn presets on the radio............

 

[MONMIX]

It is true that your on board computer does in fact have a learing curve. After disconncecting the battery or servicing the drive train it will need to relearn a thing or two, but I can see no reason to voluntarily disconect it to relearn.

 

[chevyh8r]

Ive never herd of it did it work for any one

 

[MONMIX]

Well, let me put it to you this way. When we have cars in the body shop where I work, after disconnecting the battery to save from drain wile the doors are removed or what have you, reconnecting it to drive it 30 feet to the paint shop, disconnecting it again, bla, bla, bla.
Some times upon test drive some cars will run like crap for a wile. Drive around for a wile and they get back to normal. Kinda' like blowing out the cob webs ya know?

 

[tcbarney]

If ya figure that the computer is learning to get the most out of your slowly wearing parts, the only thing clearing the memory would do would let the engine run inefficiently (i.e. like crap) for a while until it re-learned how to get the most out of your worn parts again.

Now, if you put in NEW stuff, sure, reset the computer and let it learn how to run with your new plugs and wires and clean air filter and so on.

But I don't see the benefit if you don't change anything.