Yes you can just wait for it to do it by itself, or you can reset it in about 15mins.

Pop bonnet, remove keys from ignition

Disconnect battery at terminal,leave DC'd for 5-10mins

Re-connect battery, start engine but DO NOT TOUCH THROTTLE or you will have to start again

Let engine idle until it reaches normal operation temp,and bobs your fathers brother all reset.

Info complements of my mechanic,ex ford technician.

hehe. i think everyone on here know how to reset ECU sorry mate

its cool... good stuff... least ur not sitting back n watching... i think i might try it on my car... is idling so crap atm... thats when its not stalling!!

mice didnt know that you could do that, think ill be doin that tomorrow

are there any advantages to doing this?

if so.. what are they?

and why doesn't just disconnecting the battery for an hour.. or a day do the same thing?

or does it have to be started and not touched after disconnecting the battery?

No advantage at all as it will re-learn in about a week and you will be back to square one. Basically what you are doing is resetting the KAM (keep alive memory)

NOw we know why he is an EX ford technition that is NOT the way Ford say to do it in their technical Manuals.

post up the correct way bob!

(this is not my post i came across it)

I found this thread the other day while doing a search as despite what people have said, that all you need to do to reset the ECU is just a matter of taking the Negative off the Battery for 2 hours or overnight then re-connecting it and then thrash your ride for the next 2 days. Nooo not at all! As their is a complete set of steps you have to do to after you have reconnected the battery which are as follows. Thanks to GTBob and Itchione for their input with these instructions from the EF & EL Workshop Manual:

Any time the battery is disconnected, the transmission must re-learn the closed and wide-open throttle positions to enable the PCM to determine the proper gear to select for the appropriate throttle position. If the calibration is not performed following power source interruption, the transmission will shift hard and perform poorly from then on.

So to calibrate as follows:

First of all drive the car to normal engine temp and the thermostat has opened etc
Then to verify the correct idlespeed of the engine the following 4 steps should be taken with the vehicle being idled while stationary for approx 1-2 minute in each of the following conditions.
NOTE- DO NOT TOUCH THE ACCELERATOR DURING ANY PERIOD OF THE 5 FOLLOWING ADAPTIVE PROCESSES.

1. Neutral with all electrical loads OFF.
2. Neutral with Air conditioning ON.
3. *Drive with all electrical loads OFF.
4. *Drive with Air conditioning ON.

After all this has been done then proceed to go on and to do these steps which actually set the TPS values;

5. *To set the closed throttle referance position , place the transmission
in Drive, Air con off, and let the engine idle for a minimum of 1 minute.
6. Next, set the wide-open throttle reference position by turning the
engine off- but leave the ignition switch to the "ON," position, ie;Idiot lights on etc, then press the accelerator
pedal to the floor and hold it their for 1 minute, minimum.
7. Then Place the gear selector to Park and switch off the ignition.
8. Drive the vehicle and check for proper shifting patterns.

*As a clarifying note, I guess that for steps 3, 4 & 5 you can place the car in D with the handbrake firmly applied.

I recently followed these steps and I must say my Falcon has a lot more smoother and responsive acceleration now

If you change the exhaust system or some part of the intake system on most ECU cars...how long does it take for the ECU to "learn" and operate itself poperly with the modification????

It appears i now look the fool!!!

although i think this info cums from an ef-el handbook, i drive an ea and my method always showed improvement!

Wow lot of instructions to reset ur ECU you think ford would have better things to do with there time, like maybe a bypass?

It looks like a few dont!!!

that still hasn't helped me in any way... having an EA falcon....

so it would seem.. this thread only applies to auto ef-els?

i have a 5 speed EA....

I didnt know how to do it. I notice sometimes that my XR6 AUII occasionally when stationary at lights, etc. shakes. Kinda like a power bump. Anybody know if resetting the ecu would fix this or could it be something else?

If your car has a slight "bump" in it's idle its normal. My previous ED, EB and current AU all do that.



I wouldn't bother resetting the ecu for an intake mod. Also, your car will respond to most mods without needing to reset the ecu at all.

Some mods like big lumpy cams or way bigger injectors are unlearnable by the ecu so you'll need to chip/edit the car.