First, I want some clarification.

If I disconnect only the negative terminal of the battery, what does this clear in the computer? I've never found a definitive list of things that will get reset when you do that.

Second, when I disconnect the negative terminal, after reconnecting, do I need to do the throttle reset proceedure?

Sometimes I just wish we all went back to cable-controls. Less confusing and less black-box.

 

It clears the computer's KAM(keep alive memory) which deletes its long term memory's WOT timing and A/F ratios, and the max rpm and max speed that was attained. Also deleted are the radio's settings.
Doing the throttle recalibration is a good idea.

 

That's odd, because my radio settings/stations never get deleted. Neither does my MyColor settings, or the dash readout settings.

 

neither did mine, it was all the same, so was everything else

 

than you either did not properly diconnect the battery or you diconnected the wrong terminal, because there should be no powerer going to the car in order for it to keep that info. Another thing may be that you did not disconnect for long enough.

 

Definately the negative (black cable), definately undone.

When I reconnect, the horn beeps, and the radio changes to the AM mode, but none of the presets are changed. All my keys still hit the same stations.

 

Strictly from an electrical perspective, it doesn't matter which terminal you disconnect. You're opening the circuit and no current can flow. The negative is preferred because there's no risk of a short if your wrench touches a ground point.

My guess on the computer is that certain info is saved to Non-Volatile RAM. Once the data is written, it stays there until it is overwritten.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NVRAM

 

By the way, I think your radio settings are stored in some non-volitile way. I completely unplugged and removed my head unit for about 30 minutes to an hour, and when I put it back in, all my presets were still there. Good job Ford.

 

Yes, but the time still resets. I like that the radio presets stay, but I wish the time stayed too. I use the clock more than the radio, my stingers are all the music I need!

 

My bad. I've lost too many gray matter cells over the years.
I remembered that the radio was affected when I did this about 6 months ago, and thought all of its settings were lost.

 

I disconnected the battery when I installed my CAI. It took a couple more seconds to start, but that's about all. I didn't reset anything. Should I have?

Car runs fine!

 

Yeah, I always thought it was kinda dark-ages to lose that stuff in this day and age. Very good of them indeed!

To be honest, I haven't noticed if the clock was off. Hmm...I guess that means....

BRB!!!

 

Yeah, my clock doesn't lose its setting, either. Time stays correct, even after the neg terminal's been disconnected for at least an hour.