(no subject)

[technoir]

Oh wel the world is not what we want it to be. This is a truth that must be accepted. My car is suffering from a bad pcm. I took it to mieneke and they checked it out. They sadly cannot replace and then program the pcm. That has to be done at a saturn dealer. That will not be done till tuesday. grumble. The car is drivable till then, but according to the mechanic it could completely fail at any time. today or 6 months from today. grumble again.

Oh well I will use today and tommorrow productively as i can. Catch up on some stuff, finish reading somebooks I have reading, try and get some writing in.

my head hurts.

oh well, time to survive. I can always do that.

Comments

[moosea1.livejournal.com]

Perhaps I'm completely car ignorant, but what's a pcm?

[outlawcoon.livejournal.com]

I don't know either. Good luck on getting it fixed, though.

[technoir.livejournal.com]

thank you.

[technoir.livejournal.com]

Powertrain
Control
Module

Its essentially the computer in a car. Some times called an ecu as well.

this is the explination I snaged from how stuff works.

The PCM uses closed-loop control, a control scheme that monitors outputs of a system to control the inputs to a system, managing the emissions and fuel economy of the engine (as well as a host of other parameters). Gathering data from dozens of different sensors, the ECU knows everything from the coolant temperature to the amount of oxygen in the exhaust. With this data, it performs millions of calculations each second, including looking up values in tables, calculating the results of long equations to decide on the best spark timing and determining how long the fuel injector is open. The ECU does all of this to ensure the lowest emissions and best mileage.


Add in to that the contol of the transmission as well and that about covers what a pcm is. If it has a glitch the engine has a glitch. If it fails completely the engine wont work. The control signals to various items in it dont get sent. it is why if we ever have a massive emp your car will turn into a big paperweight.

Sorry lately i have been working at a place where I have to know this stuff cause I have repair shops calling in to get paid for fixing that stuff. the upside is with my tools at work I should be able to tell how long that will take and how much the part should cost.

oh well.

[moosea1.livejournal.com]

Oh. That sounds really bad, then. Good luck on getting it fixed without spending TOO much!

[ikara-fox.livejournal.com]

Everything needs a manual override! Your fuel economey might not be as good, but the car would still run.