I'm going to look into this FORScan you speak of and report back... you might be on to something here!

I'd like to get the car back on the road soon... it's been sitting for much too long for such a simple issue, however I have brought it back a long way for the least amount of money since it got wrecked. 

I guess since it's paid off, and it's not costing anything while off the road being fixed -- nobody seems to mind looking at it because it reminds us all of my Grammie Bea... but I'd really like to see that car standing tall and roadworthy again.

I'll be very grateful for your suggestions if this FORScan works out! It's been more or less a brick wall for the past two months since installing the wire harness and new ECM.

My strategy is as such, fix it progressively -- I started with the suspension because it couldn't be moved, not even pushed because the strut became detached from the lower control arm. After that I started on the wiring and computer so that it will actually start, run and drive. Once it's starting and running and driving again, I'll be testing it to get it driving properly. I haven't had it on the road since the accident, so I'm sure the alignment is out, and it may need a pull and tug here and there after that. Once it's roadworthy I'll buy an entire front clip the same color to save on paint costs, and they are coming down in cost as the car ages... once it's running and driving good again I'll start replacing the three air bags that went off and then it should be a pretty solid daily driver. Since I have no plans of selling the vehicle (for sentimental reasons already mentioned) it will be there for my family to drive as needed, just like it was when my Grandmother and my Mom owned the vehicle -- before it was given to my son for school and some idiot rode the center lane and hit him doing 40 MPH.

Here are some photos of the progress,

This photo above is of the Focus right after the accident. It is shown here in the towing impound lot right before I had it towed back home.

This photo above shows how hard it got smacked in the corner where the ECM lives. Wiped out the harness and the ECM!

This photo above shows the entire knee assembly removed.

This photo above shows it re-installed with the spare tire because,

It got plugged right in the corner while he was turning (as seen in photos of the accident on page 1)

And finally, this shows the old and new wire harnesses side by side before installing the new one along with the new ECM.

Oh don't worry PowerStroker, the photos are just for people following along. I've already started to research this FORScan tool and plan on giving it a try! I will post photos and once confirmed I'll probably start a second thread about this specific subject -- along with all the photos and details that we hash out in this thread.

In fact, I just now purchased the FORScan adapter -- which comes in many different flavors and it's actual call sign part number is known as ELM327. This call sign number is significant I think as I will explain a little later.

For now here is a photo of the ELM 327 FORScan adapter that I just purchased on eBay for $14

So the adapter is on it's way, and you were right! It was far less expensive than the J2534 adapter ($200+) and WAY cheaper than the Autel MaxilM IM608 Pro II ($2,700) and for sure way less than Ford Rotunda's own IDS interface ($2999.99) which is on backorder currently anyway.

So when it arrives you can bet that I will be giving it a try and documenting the process so I can create a new thread that is polished and specific to this issue, rather than the bench testing going on in this thread.

Speaking of bench testing and side information, I mentioned above about the part number or call sign for the FORScan being ELM327 -- this part number looked familiar to me and I just figured out why! I recently purchased a customer a wireless OBD-II bluetooth adapter so she could clear her codes on her option code 422 California emissions equipped vehicle to clear lazy 02 codes in an effort to "Federalize" it without having to spend for the UBER expensive California converters... anyway, to the point -- the part number for this connector was also ELM327!

I have already used this device for simple code pulling and erasing via iPhone wireless connection and was flat out SHOCKED at how deep it got into the computer pulling up every module in the vehicle like a high dollar scan tool!

It also claimed to work on Android and iPhone, it too came with a mini-DVD disc that could be used to install the software on a laptop!

So it may be possible this ELM 327 part number extends to wireless versions as well! But for now, and only $14 -- I'll try this wired unit to ensure there is a solid connection between the vehicle and the laptop.

-- edit -- I'd also mention this ELM327 connector seems to be more "Chinese" than "Russian"... at least the hardware anyway! I don't know yet what to think of the software yet, but we will know soon!