Keep Alive Memory (KAM)
WARNING: This page does not describe the selected car, but rather 32 other vehicles, including the 2009 Mercury Mountaineer, 2009 Mercury Milan, 2009 Mercury Mariner, 2009 Mercury Grand Marquis, and 2009 Lincoln Town Car. However, it is still accessible from the selected car via links, so may be relevant.
The PCM stores information about vehicle operating conditions in the KAM (a memory integrated circuit chip) and then uses this information to compensate for component variability. The KAM remains powered when the ignition is in the OFF position so that the information is not lost.