I have a 97` F-150 extcab flareside with a 5.4L. I had a Hypertech chip installed within a few days of purchasing my vehicle.Let me back up and say that i bought this truck used(19,000 miles). The truck performed without any problems for over a year then one day i was towing my bassboat up a hill and the engine started spitting and sputtering and the check engine light came on. I managed to cripple over to a nearby friends house. We tried to figure out what the problem was. Water in the fuel system was our first guess then we thought maybe the fuel filter was clogged up. I installed a new fuel filter and put a fresh tank of gas in and stil she wouldn`t run good. I loaded my truck on a flat bed and took it to my dealer. Later that day the mechanic called me and said that the after market chip was the problem,because when he took it out the truck ran like a sewing machine. Any of you guys ever had this problem? After this incident i`ve kinda lost faith in after market chips,but at the same time i miss the performance gains. Does anyone have any guidance for me? Any input would be appreciated.THANKS!!

 

stickman,

Was your chip taped into place? Is the lip on the PCM mounting bracket bent straight so as to not interfere with the chip. Is the connector to the PCM that goes to the firewall properly connected and tightened? And last but not least are the contacts on the PCM clean? If you answered no to any of the above or you are not sure then verify that they are done.

Regards

Jean Marc Chartier

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00 F-150 XLT SC Flairside 4x4 4.6 w/5spd 3.55LSD
Warn XD9000i, skid plates, Draw tite class III,
Rancho RSX Reflex shocks,
Borla Cat Back, Headman Headers,
Modified Air Cleaner Outlet Tube
and air box, Shortened MAF sensor tower,
K&N air filter,
Superchips





[This message has been edited by JMC (edited 10-01-2000).]

 

Hate to sound like a whiner,but my 98 supercab never ran right with the Hypertech chip. It detonated(pinged)from
the first drive after the install. When I pulled it, The performance was still there
for a while,but the ping went away immediately! I've since bought a Superchip,and haven't had a single problem at all,,,,,,,98

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98 F-150 4.6 Litre XLT2wd Ext. cab
prarie tan/tan int.
K/N gen.II fipk
custom dual exh/gibson rectangle tips/rear exiting.
color matched snuglid
Superchip!!!
Westin nerfs blk .powdercoat
Clear front corners
Cobra 75WXST cb w/weather alert
Kenwood cd w/Radio Shack speakers,don't laugh it sounds pretty good
On the way/wheels,tires,air dam, etc..etc.......
doin the monochromatic boogie
on the front end.Billet grilles on order
Hoping for deliverance from door crack hell.

 

Hi Stickman,

Welcome to F-150 Online!

All you probably need to do is to re-seat the chip, and you shouldn't have any more problems in most cases. It is possible that the chip failed, but usually failure rates on those things are pretty low, it most likley just lost it's connection, and simply need to be re-seated.

Most technicians at dealerships know absolutely nothing about either performance chips, or even how the external override data path in the Ford computer actually works, so they blame the chip, very typical. Unless they personally have experience with performance chips on Ford computers, they don't know how they work, or how that circuit inside the computer works, as there are no dealer-servicable parts inside the Ford computer. It's easy to blame the chip, but the majority of the time it's the connection between the module and the computer, and nothing with the chip itself.

You see, this circuit, this external override data path that is used to connect the chip to the computer, acts like an on/off switch, basically. When you connect to that circuit, and this is Ford's design by the way, what happens is this circuit tells the computer to turn off it's internal EPROM chip, and to seek it's instructions externally. Conversely, when you remove the chip, once again it acts like an on/off switch, and turns back on the factory EPROM, so the vehicle runs like it used to. This is perfectly normal, and is what is supposed to happen.

Now, anytime you engage this circuit, but do not have a good connection between the connector and the module, then the computer still turns off it's internal EPROM chip, but since it cannot communicate with the external module (chip), it usually will revert to it's "limp-home" mode. This limp-home mode is characterized by a rythmic variation in idle speed, constantly hunting up and down, and vastly reduced power. It is literally what it's name implies, a limp-home mode. And of course as soon as you pull the chip, this goes away right away, making you think that the chip has to be bad, when the vast mnajority of the time you simply need to re-seat it. You may also need to go back and re-clean your contacts on that connector a bit better, even though it ran for a long time before having problems, this is still possible to have a very small amount of that coating migrate just a bit and interrupt the connection.

I hope this information helps you a bit, & good luck!

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Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
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