I installed the Superchip yesterday and today my "check engine" light came on and it wiil not go off. Does anyone know what's up? Is there a prob. ? Everything with the engine checked out. Has this happened to anyone ??
Do I need to disconnect the battery ??

COOP

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1998 XLT Super Cab, Flare side, 4x4 off-road, Black W/ grey interior, Superchip, K&N filter, Dual exhaust, Glass packs...

 

Hey Mike :

Thanks for the reply. I disconnected the battery tonight and did the headlight on and off thing. The Check Engine light is off. I then went out to see if the SuperChip was still programed and YES , I burned rubber and I bet I was 0 to 60 in 5 sec.

COOP

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1998 150 XLT 4.6L, Flare side, 4x4 off-road, Black W/ grey interior, Superchip, K&N filter, Dual exhaust, Glass packs...bedliner, LeBra hood cover....

 

Hi Coop,

Most Check Engine lights have nothing to do with the Superchip, but it is possible. For example once in awhile we'll find that a computer has been reprogrammed at the dealership, and while most of the time when that is done the vehicle doesn't start with the incorrect code in the Superchip, there are a few codes that are close enough to allow the vehicle to run, but throw a Check Engine light from an out of range condition, etc.

It's a good idea to go ahead and do a battery disconnect, to clear the Check Engine light, to see if it comes back, or if it was just a temporary condition. You can get a Check Engine light in these vehicles just from a bad gas cap, or not putting the gas cap back on just as they describe on the owner's manual, in these new vehicles it can be a bit silly sometimes the things that will throw a Check Engine light. We had a 1995 Explorer that would throw a Check Engien light anytime it was driven at 75 mph or faster for a period of 2 hours or longer, due to a marginal O2 sensor.

You should also check your contacts on the connector, to make sure they are thoroughly cleaned, as having a bit of that clear conformal coating remaining can throw a Check Engine light as well.

You might want to give us a call on this, and let's go over everything, to see if we can determine what's going on there. Our number is just below.

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Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer

 

Hi COOP,

OK, good! Sounds like it might have been just a temporary out of range condition, etc.

If it comes back, you should have the vehicle checked out by your dealer, etc., where they can hook your vehicle up to their SDBS diagnostic system, to retrieve any error codes that may be present. If you need to do that, you'll want to remove the Superchip of course.


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Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer

 

Mike T,

From above, I take it one can simply remove the chip, and leave all error codes intack for the dealer? We're now driving on Ford's program? Obviously disconnecting the battery distroys the codes. So we can leave the battery connected, and just remove the chip when going to the dealer?

frank

 

Hi Frank,

Yes, you could, but that isn't how I would do it. I would want to isolate this, so I would pull the chip and do a battery disconnect to return to baseline in *that* case. Then do the same type of driving, and see if the light comes back on.

In this case here in this thread, doing the battery disconnect was perfectly reasonable to see if this was just a temporary condition, as Check Engine lights can be set for anything from a loose gas cap to a minor "hiccup" in the emissions systems.

Anytime a Check Engine light coes on, but the engine is running fine with no obvious symptoms, we always disconnect the battery to see if this was a temporary condition, which it usually is on those few occasions that a Check Engine light may come on. That has happened in our vehicles here at Performance on only 1 vehicle over the past 6 years, and of course they have always been Superchipped. If there is a true mechanical problem, the Check Engine light will come back on, assuming it's the type of problem that will throw a Check Engine light in the first place, of course. So disconnecting the battery won't "hide" any real problems, it will always come back if there is a mechanical problem.

Removing the Superchip will of course disengage the external override data path circuit, which will then automatically turn back on the factory EPROM chip. If you don't disconnect the battery, it will take a day or two of driving for the factory program to slowly overwrite what's still in memory, and the performance drops off gradually rather than all at once. If you disconnect the battery for long enough, the computer's memory is cleared of the previous program (whatever it may have been), and you get complete fresh program load, so you feel the results immediately.

Because of who we are, we leave our chips in when we go to the dealer, but for everyone else we advise removing them, simply so the technician doesn't get the "false" error code telling them that the computer's internal EPROM chip is not functioning (this will occur anytime you have anything with the proper pinout sequence connected to that J3 connector, that is Ford's design), as three are no dealer-serviceable parts inside the computer, so the technician's next step is to replace the computer! There is nothing wrong with the computer of course, the technicans, unless they are personally into performance chips, simply have no knowledge of how that circuit works, so if they get that error code, they automatically assume the computer's internal EPROM chip has actually failed. They don't stop to look at their papewrwork to see if the vehicle was driven in or towed in, as if it was driven in then obviously the internal EPROM chip *can't* be "bad". So for that reason, we advise removing the Superchip prior to serive, whether it's warranty service or out-of-warranty service. That way you simply avoid any potential confusion.

I hope that answers your question,
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Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer

[This message has been edited by Superchips_Distributor (edited 10-04-2000).]