I've created an article based on my Superchip install experience tonight. There's a link to it off my website, or you can get right to it from here:

http://bloodog.com/superchip.asp

Please let me know what you think.

--Duke

------------------
2000 F-150 Lariat, 4x2, 4.6L automatic Supercab, Styleside, Blue with gold two-tone, 3.55 slip axle, class III towing package, overhead console, sliding rear window, keyless entry, leather interior, in dash CD, Ford/Duraliner bedliner, Ford chrome nerf bars, Ford bug deflector, Steel Horse billet grille, Leer hard tonneau cover, Superchip, Airaid, Billet door sills & antennae, Gibson split rear exit

[This message has been edited by Duke (edited 02-02-2000).]

 

Great article, Duke. I wish I had that when I installed our chip a few weeks ago. Your pictures and descriptions were exactly the way it was for me (except I took out the battery, I couldn't get to that 10mm bolt).

Couple questions (for everyone), though.

1. When I first put the chip in, I taped it up real good (like Duke shows in the photos). But when I went to start it, it would not kick over. Thinking I really screwed somthing up, I removed the chip (left the computer in place & used a razor to cut the tape). Started just fine. Turned off the motor, and put the chip back in place (no tape), started it up and it has run fine since. Never missed a start. Now, I don't think the tape has anything to do with my no-starts, but I thought it odd when it was nice & tight with the tape it wouldn't start, and now, with no tape (& the possiblity of it sliding out) it is fine. Any ideas/thoughts?

2. You mentioned the best & worst gas to use (as mentioned by Mike T.) I have always used Chevron Supreme with Techron because it is rated at 93 octane here in Dallas, yet it was rated as one of the worst. Anyone have any problems with it? Should I go try Texaco, even though thier Super Unleaded may be rated at a lower octane?



------------------
Silver_Roush
1999 Ford F150 Roush

 

Thanks Silver_Roush! As for the initial problems you had, I could only suspect that one of the contacts wasn't quite cleaned off enough and simply by removing it and putting it back on made the contact cleaner--thus allowing it to start. Maybe Mike Troyer has some other explanations?

The best/worst gas stations list is directly from Mike, and I'm sure the quality of gas varies from city to city. He did stress that BP gas is the worst overall gas and to avoid at all costs!

--Duke

------------------
2000 F-150 Lariat, 4x2, 4.6L automatic Supercab, Styleside, Blue with gold two-tone, 3.55 slip axle, class III towing package, overhead console, sliding rear window, keyless entry, leather interior, in dash CD, Ford/Duraliner bedliner, Ford chrome nerf bars, Ford bug deflector, Steel Horse billet grille, Leer hard tonneau cover, Superchip, Airaid, Billet door sills & antennae, Gibson split rear exit

[This message has been edited by Duke (edited 02-02-2000).]

 

Mike, I just knew that there had to be a simpler way--however being in the computer field has taught me a good lesson: read the manual. So, I didn't hesitate to ignore the green sponge method and try something else.

I'll update my How-To page to reflect your suggestions as they surely would have made it easier for me and now we can hopefully get the suggestions to someone else before they start their own install!

Thanks again for all of your support and help answering my questions--please continue to send your tips my way and I'd be happy to add them to the site.

I also plan on doing similar How-To's for my
Gibson exhaust, aiming headlights, installing the Airaid, and whatever else
pops up.

--Duke

------------------
2000 F-150 Lariat, 4x2, 4.6L automatic Supercab, Styleside, Blue with gold two-tone, 3.55 slip axle, class III towing package, overhead console, sliding rear window, keyless entry, leather interior, in dash CD, Ford/Duraliner bedliner, Ford chrome nerf bars, Ford bug deflector, Steel Horse billet grille, Leer hard tonneau cover, Superchip, Airaid, Billet door sills & antennae, Gibson split rear exit

[This message has been edited by Duke (edited 02-02-2000).]

 

Mike, I've updated the article with your tips:
http://bloodog.com/superchip.asp

Look for "Tips from Mike for cleaning the contacts" under the growing Tips section

--Duke

------------------
2000 F-150 Lariat, 4x2, 4.6L automatic Supercab, Styleside, Blue with gold two-tone, 3.55 slip axle, class III towing package, overhead console, sliding rear window, keyless entry, leather interior, in dash CD, Ford/Duraliner bedliner, Ford chrome nerf bars, Ford bug deflector, Steel Horse billet grille, Leer hard tonneau cover, Superchip, Airaid, Billet door sills & antennae, Gibson split rear exit

[This message has been edited by Duke (edited 02-02-2000).]

 

Great job Duke. I read with great interest you article as I am just getting ready to do mine. It was very helpful to see the related components. And thanks Mike for the "scraping" technic update. I owe you both a cold one.

Now, as soon as Mike T. and the "Super Cartel" drop the price of high test....

------------------
97 F-150 SC Lariat, Styleside, White over Gold, 4.6L (Windsor), Automatic, 3.55 rear end, electronic 4X4, w/ every option of Lariat and ORP packages except the 17" wheels (I even got the OR decals now!) Almost completed the Towing Pkg. options, MOD's so far: K&N air box mod, Gibson Super Truck, clear Bugflector II, Leer TSC 600 hard cover, Bridgestone Dueler OWL ATP 265/75 R-16's, TrailMaster Invader N7 shocks, Smittybilt step bars, Ford moulded mud guards, "White-white" head lamps, Cloud Rider Design's SS Grill and bumper opening, Bosch Platinum + 4's, Hayden 30K+ Tranny Cooler, Superchip on the way!

 

Very cool, Duke. I bookmarked your site and can't wait to follow your suggestions when my chip comes in.

Jim

------------------
'99 F-250 LD 5.4L SC XLT 2WD 3.73LS in White/Silver (w/ EVERYTHING 'cept leather and engine block heater) -- added: SnugTop Hi-Liner & carpet kit, Donnelly electrochromatic/compass mirror, K&N filter, 3" Induction Tube Airbox Mod., SuperWhite 9007 bulbs, IAS shocks, Mobil 1, Bosch +4 plugs, Flowmaster-70 3" cat-back exhaust, SuperChip FlipChip is on order, more to come... (Westin side bars, electric fan, and silver fender/wheel flares are next)

http://hometown.aol.com/jimorama/myh...ollection.html

 

Show off!

Now I really need to clean up those instructions!! Still won't be anywhere near the quality of yours. Good job!

 

Thanks nomo--actually after posting that article I read about yours here in the forums somewhere, so I added a link to the article at the end. Good job yourself!

--Duke

------------------
2000 F-150 Lariat, 4x2, 4.6L automatic Supercab, Styleside, Blue with gold two-tone, 3.55 slip axle, class III towing package, overhead console, sliding rear window, keyless entry, leather interior, in dash CD, Ford/Duraliner bedliner, Ford chrome nerf bars, Ford bug deflector, Steel Horse billet grille, Leer hard tonneau cover, Superchip, Airaid, Billet door sills & antennae, Gibson split rear exit

[This message has been edited by Duke (edited 02-02-2000).]

 

Dear Duke,

WOW, what an article, very nicely done! I do have a comment or two........

1.) When I do my installations, I do not remove the covers for the computer, nor do I use the green Scotch-Brite pad that comes with the Superchip, though I have done it like that in the past. What I do is to use a very small straight-blade screwdriver, such as from a jeweler's or eyeglass screwdriver kit to scrape the contacts, instead of hte green pad. I use the edge of the blade to scrape the conformal coating off of each individual contact. Doing it this way, I have plenty of room to work on both sides of the edge connector without disassembling the computer itself, and my total installation time is perhaps 12-15 minutes. The other reason I do not use the green pad (I have tried it a few times) is simply because this conformal coating, which is silicon-based, is clear, and sometimes hard to see just exactly how thick it is, until you start to actually remove it. So using my small screwdriver allows me to "shave" this coating off very precisely and neatly, one at a time, so I know just how much I'm removing, and when I have a good electrical contact. Once I have finished each contact, about 5 minutes for all of them, then I take a couple of Q-tips dipped in a little bit of rubbing alcohol to "dress" the connector, and make it nice and clean and smooth. If you don't have rubbing alcohol, do not use any type of solvents or nail thinner, as they will tend to attack the plastic. You can simply use a pencil eraser to clean the contact instead of rubbing alcohol on a Q-tip.

2.) Most of the 99 & earlier Ford computers will have a coating of lithium or dialectric grease on the connector that has to be cleaned off first, before you get to the part where you scrape the coating of the contacts, and I use Q-tips for this. You'll know right away if you have this, it will be very obvious. In the last couple of days, a few guys with '98's didn't have the grease, but it's unusual not to have it. Most 2000's do not have this grease on the connector.

3.) Chris has posted a wonderfully thorough set of instructions and great photos, and I would like to thank him on behalf of everyone who ever sees his beautiful work! It really looks sharp, and you can tell this is somebody who knows his way around. I am simply amazed at how quickly he did all that work last night and got it posted, all in one evening. You must have eaten 2 helpings of Wheaties, Chris!

------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Online Superchip ordering system:https://www.f150online.com/scpp/index.html

 

Dear Silver_Roush,

It sounds to me like you just didn't have a good connection the first time, and it could be as simple as just one of the contacts having just a little bit of that coating left on it, which was subsequently removed just by you removing and reinstalling the Superchip. It happens!

There was a fellow some months ago right here on F150online who did the same thing, installed it, got a no-start, and he had to clean the contacts some more, then it fired right up. He posted a very interesting note, in which he described looking at his computer's connector under a magnifying glass that he just happened to have laying around the house. He said when he did that, he could then see just exactly how much more material was actually left on the contacts, and was then easily able to see that he did in fact need to clean them a bit more, and then it fired right up. I don't mean to say that you need a magnifying glass, it was just an interesting anecdote.

Have fun,

------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Online Superchip ordering system:https://www.f150online.com/scpp/index.html

 

Dear Duke,

That's right, what's the old saying about those who won't check their documentation before calling Tech Support in the computer field..."RTFM", right?

Good job, to say the least!

------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Online Superchip ordering system:https://www.f150online.com/scpp/index.html

 

Dear cphilip,

That "cold one" will have to be a soda, as I don't drink these days. But I'm always happy to watch others drink and all of us have a good time!

Can't seem to get anywhere with the "Secret Cartel", though. Heck, I can hardly spell it!

------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Online Superchip ordering system:https://www.f150online.com/scpp/index.html

 

cphilip, I hope it helps you out... I am also continuing to add information to my article as I learn more about certain things, so be sure to read it all again before you begin... and I'll definitely take you up on that beer one day!

Mike, yup--it's RTFM, or in my case RTFA (Read The Freakin' Article)

--Duke

------------------
2000 F-150 Lariat, 4x2, 4.6L automatic Supercab, Styleside, Blue with gold two-tone, 3.55 slip axle, class III towing package, overhead console, sliding rear window, keyless entry, leather interior, in dash CD, Ford/Duraliner bedliner, Ford chrome nerf bars, Ford bug deflector, Steel Horse billet grille, Leer hard tonneau cover, Superchip, Airaid, Billet door sills & antennae, Gibson split rear exit

[This message has been edited by Duke (edited 02-02-2000).]

 

Nice article and photos. I'll be referencing your work when I need to install a chip. What brand and model of digital camera did you use for the photos? The macro photos are very clear.