hey thanks for the reply. im with ya on what your suggesting but im getting lost on a few things. to start with i know for sure its not the ipdm bc i plugged in a known good unit and it still had short. just to do it, i unplugged vent and purge solenoids but short still there. however, which i could be wrong, this car doesnt have a VIAS solenoid. like i said i could be wrong, but in prodemand, it only shows VIAS on 3.5 engines. this is an 2007 2.5s. am i going bananas here or have we gotten mixed up with each other? or maybe its my wiring diagram, these things have been wrong before. on my diagram, i only show vent solenoid to be connected to fuse 42. havent checked wires on vent and purge solenoids yet, just unplugged to rule out component problem

also im not sure if there is a 1610 code bc i cannot scan ECM when the fuse 42 is blown it will not communicate. blows fuse every time i turn ignition on.

 so an update to my issue- had a short in the harness in the coil pack connectors. someone before me had been doing some wiring or something in this area and had it all jacked up. but anyway, now fuse will keep power and all is good except for my need of a harness. however, now that i can communicate with the PCM, I do have the 1610 code you mentioned. is this because i have been monkeying around with the security? i tried another BCM just for the heck of it before i found the wiring issue- still couldnt do the c/u initialization procedure. all i could do was the steering unlock, and then after inserting the keys into the key slot it seemed to recognize them. the ignition will go to on position but i cant get car to start/ spin over. any ideas?

 also, if you look at a wiring diagram (im using mitchell) under engine performance look on page 2 near coil connectors. the grounds and the power circuit come together at something they are calling "condenser 2- rear of engine. anybody out there know what this is?