what does it take to restart the computer in my ford escort?

jon z

New member
i have a 2000 ford escort zx2 and i brought it to get inspected in Pennsylvania and they guy told me he Had to drive it some to restart the computer and when i got it back he had put about 500 miles on it.... does it really take all that driving to restart the computer?
 
My dad always says to reset a computer without messing w/ it too much is to unhook the battery for a little while and then hook it back up. Worked for me :-)

That's how he got my engine light to shut off when it was coming on for no reason. It reset it every time, along with all my radio settings lol.

I've never heard of driving it to reset the computer...but I'm not an expert, but my dad was a mechanic for over 30 years.
 
After the computer has been without power for a time (1hour or more) it will need to re-optimize it's settings. The relearning takes about 20min of driving. During this time the computer re-optimizes for your location(altitude, temp, fuel quality, etc.) and your driving style. If your computer has thrown some error codes, a mechanic will normally clear the codes using a OBDII reader and then drive it for 10-15 mins to see what are the current codes are if any. Many tempory faults can cause codes to be thrown, water in the gas, bad gas, Running the car on empty and sucking air, plugged air filter, leaking egr valve, etc.

At no time should it take 500 miles, 20 miles tops. contact local law enforcement and state licensing.
 
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