Hi, my buddy just intalled a jet chip in his 2000 f150 5.4. When we first installed it the truck wouldn't start just crank over. We removed the chip and it fired right up. Reinstalled the chip and this time it started. Later that night he had some troubles so he removed the chip again, it started reinstalled the chip again in got it started. Now it won't start at all with or with out the chip. The theft light flashes, so we think that has something to do with it. He called the dealer and they said that it is prolly some sensor (they said what sensor it could be but I can't recall at this time). We're thinking he may need a new ECM. Is there some troubleshooting procedures you guys could recommend. All the fuses are good and we tried both of his keys. We are stummped. Please Help

 

If the chip installs onto the service port of the PCM, I'd say there is a good possibility the edge connector is not making solid contact with the goldfingers on the PCM board.

Pull the PCM, scotch brite the gold fingers on the PCM. If this does not help, you probably need to build the goldfingers up in thickness.

Sit down at a bench, ground yourself to an outlet and disassemble your PCM. Some pry apart; others are screwed and pry apart. Be gentle - the metal is thin and bend easily.

Put a little flux on each goldfinger and then tin a 15 or 20 watt soldering iron. Very quickly, touch the iron to a goldfinger, starting at the inner edge and dragging the tip outward to the end. The solder should flow right onto the goldfinger smooth and making it a tad thicker. Do this for every goldfinger, being careful not to make a short between them. Be careful, take your time and be sure to use the solder sparingly. It doesn't take much to build them up. After you are finished, clean the flux off the PCM with alcohol and re-assemble.

Install in your truck and fire it up. If it starts, shut it off, disconnect the battery and install the chip. If it doesn't start, pull it out and look with a magnifying glass at your solder job. Be sure there are no shorts.

I had to do this to my SuperCrew and my friends SportTrac. Both have worked flawlessly since the chips were installed...

 

But it still doesn't answer why it doesn't start without the chip.

 

You might have fried the PCM. If it sparked its cooked. Disconnect the PCM connector to see if one of the pins is bent.
You should also check the DTC in the instrument cluster.

To enter the HEC Dealer Test Mode, depress and hold the instrument cluster SELECT/RESET button and then turn the ignition switch to the RUN position. Continue pressing the SELECT/RESET button (five seconds) until tESt is displayed in the odometer. The SELECT/RESET button must be released within three seconds of the odometer displaying tESt to begin the dealer test mode. Depress the SELECT/RESET button to advance through the following steps until dtc is displayed. Depressing the SELECT/RESET button will display any continuous DTCs stored before proceeding to the next step.

EDIT Let us know the codes if any.

Regards

Jean Marc Chartier

 

What does DTC, and HEC stand for? It would help me understand what exatly I should be doing. And where to I look to find the SELECT/RESET button?

 

tanzuki,

Sorry about the confusion. DTC stands for Diagnostic Trouble Code. It is a Code used to aid in the diagnosing of problems.
With the code (s) you can follow a pinpoint procedure to repair the problem.

HEC stands for Hybrid Electronic Cluster. It is the Instrument Cluster. The Reset button is the Odometer reset button.

The Instrument cluster recieves and sends a signal to various modules in the truck. One of them involves the ignition key. If something is wrong with the Passive Anti-Theft System (PATS) your truck may not start. There may be a code stored in the HEC that will lead to the problem.

JMC