weird superchip failure
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Joined: Jun 1999
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From: Fort Wayne IN
weird superchip failure
I purchased a superchip (Ford Flash Blue "FOUI") back in June/1999 for my 1998 Flareside SupCab 4x4 4.6V8 and it worked flawlessly up until Nov/2002.
I have always used 91-93 octane fuel so I was stumped as to why this happened. I had just filled up and was driving home when all of a sudden the truck felt like it had cut off. I looked down and could see that the tachometer was still registering RPMs so I knew the engine was still running but I had no power. I could only get up to about 20mph. The engine began to sputter and did cut off...but I was able to restart her. I got her into the dealership and was thinking it was either a tranny problem or engine/fuel problem.
The dealership hooked the truck up and found out that cylinders #s 5, 6, 7, 8 (all on the left bank) were misfiring/not firing. Then I realized that it may be the chip...so we unhooked the battery and removed the PCM. I thought maybe the chip had wiggled out over time...but it was still snug and secure with the duct tape still holding it in securly. I removed the tape and pulled the chip off and re-seated it in the PCM. Hooked the battery back up and started the truck and everything was okay again.
Has any one else have this happen? Is there anyway to test the chip to see if it is still performing correctly?
I have always used 91-93 octane fuel so I was stumped as to why this happened. I had just filled up and was driving home when all of a sudden the truck felt like it had cut off. I looked down and could see that the tachometer was still registering RPMs so I knew the engine was still running but I had no power. I could only get up to about 20mph. The engine began to sputter and did cut off...but I was able to restart her. I got her into the dealership and was thinking it was either a tranny problem or engine/fuel problem.
The dealership hooked the truck up and found out that cylinders #s 5, 6, 7, 8 (all on the left bank) were misfiring/not firing. Then I realized that it may be the chip...so we unhooked the battery and removed the PCM. I thought maybe the chip had wiggled out over time...but it was still snug and secure with the duct tape still holding it in securly. I removed the tape and pulled the chip off and re-seated it in the PCM. Hooked the battery back up and started the truck and everything was okay again.
Has any one else have this happen? Is there anyway to test the chip to see if it is still performing correctly?
Former Sponsor
Joined: Mar 1998
Posts: 13,385
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From: Virginia
Hi feaqs,
Actually, that's not a failure of the Superchip at all.
There are only 2 symptoms possible when there is an actual failure of the Superchip itself:
1.) Your vehicle will never even start at all with it installed. Never.
Or............
2.) It will start reliably and will run normally, BUT, it will *always* stall as soon as the PCM & Superchip module are up to normal operating temperature. This is the symptom you would get if a failed cold solder joint occurred.
There are only 2 kinds of basic "failures" you can have with the Superchip module itself, and that is either a total failure of a component, whether it's the scrambler or the EEPROM or the PCB inside, (rare, as it's failure rate is measured in tenths of a percent), or a failed cold solder joint.
Your symptoms were nothing like that however, and your vehicle runs just fine with the Superchip installed right now, making it a physical impossibility for it to be any kind of failure of any sort with the Superchip. It can't just fire a few cylinders some of the time like that.
Now *if* your symptoms actually had anything to do with the presence of the Superchip, what has happned is a simple connection problem. It *is* possible that you had a connection related issue, even with it taped to the PCM, taping it to the PCM has nothing to do with conformal coating, it just secures the module from slowly backing off over time from rough roads, potholes, curbs, speed bumps, etc.. You may very well have had some very small amount of conformal coating (maybe not even visible to the naked eye) still remaining somewhere, that over time migrated to cause the PCM to go into limp-home mode, thus the reduced power, only running on a few cylinders, etc. This is most likely what happened, as just as soon as you removed and reseated the Superchip, the vehicle started right up and ran normally and continues to run normally with the Superchip installed.
It only takes a little bit of conformal coating to cause a problem, and it can happen *years* after installing the Superchip, we've seen that exact scenario happen with a dozen or so of these vehicles over the past 5-8 years or so. And in each case, it was simply not removing 100% of the conformal coating from every bit of surface area on the connector covered by the slot on the Superchip. This can and will jump up and bite you anywhere from immediately to years after the installation.
The bottom line is, if this actually had anything to do with the presence of the Superchip, it could *only* be a connection problem, there isn't any other possibly given the symptoms & with it running fine now with the Superchip installed. A connection problem can cause the PCM to go right into it's default limp-home mode, which is designed to allow the vehicle to do just that when the PCM cannot get it's instructions properly, literally limp home. It will have little power, won't run more than about 40-45 mph at best, and so on. That's limp-home mode.
At this point, I would pull the PCM back out, re-check that connector with a magnifying glass & strong bright light to make sure that *ALL* conformal coating from every bit of surface area on that connector that is covered by the slot on the Superchip has been removed. And I would also make sure to clean out the slot on the Superchip module too, or this could happen again later on. This is easy & simple, just use a clean dry toothbrush to do that, point the slot down and use the toothbrush to gently "scrub" back and forth over the contacts inside the slot a few times, and then blow it out from one end to the other just using your breath. Don't use compressed air, & don't blow directly back into the slot, blow from one end of the slot to the other, & do that from each end a couple of times after using the clean dry toothbrush, and that will get any conformal coating that has transferred over into the slot on the Superchip out of there.
Good luck!
Actually, that's not a failure of the Superchip at all.
There are only 2 symptoms possible when there is an actual failure of the Superchip itself:
1.) Your vehicle will never even start at all with it installed. Never.
Or............
2.) It will start reliably and will run normally, BUT, it will *always* stall as soon as the PCM & Superchip module are up to normal operating temperature. This is the symptom you would get if a failed cold solder joint occurred.
There are only 2 kinds of basic "failures" you can have with the Superchip module itself, and that is either a total failure of a component, whether it's the scrambler or the EEPROM or the PCB inside, (rare, as it's failure rate is measured in tenths of a percent), or a failed cold solder joint.
Your symptoms were nothing like that however, and your vehicle runs just fine with the Superchip installed right now, making it a physical impossibility for it to be any kind of failure of any sort with the Superchip. It can't just fire a few cylinders some of the time like that.
Now *if* your symptoms actually had anything to do with the presence of the Superchip, what has happned is a simple connection problem. It *is* possible that you had a connection related issue, even with it taped to the PCM, taping it to the PCM has nothing to do with conformal coating, it just secures the module from slowly backing off over time from rough roads, potholes, curbs, speed bumps, etc.. You may very well have had some very small amount of conformal coating (maybe not even visible to the naked eye) still remaining somewhere, that over time migrated to cause the PCM to go into limp-home mode, thus the reduced power, only running on a few cylinders, etc. This is most likely what happened, as just as soon as you removed and reseated the Superchip, the vehicle started right up and ran normally and continues to run normally with the Superchip installed.
It only takes a little bit of conformal coating to cause a problem, and it can happen *years* after installing the Superchip, we've seen that exact scenario happen with a dozen or so of these vehicles over the past 5-8 years or so. And in each case, it was simply not removing 100% of the conformal coating from every bit of surface area on the connector covered by the slot on the Superchip. This can and will jump up and bite you anywhere from immediately to years after the installation.
The bottom line is, if this actually had anything to do with the presence of the Superchip, it could *only* be a connection problem, there isn't any other possibly given the symptoms & with it running fine now with the Superchip installed. A connection problem can cause the PCM to go right into it's default limp-home mode, which is designed to allow the vehicle to do just that when the PCM cannot get it's instructions properly, literally limp home. It will have little power, won't run more than about 40-45 mph at best, and so on. That's limp-home mode.
At this point, I would pull the PCM back out, re-check that connector with a magnifying glass & strong bright light to make sure that *ALL* conformal coating from every bit of surface area on that connector that is covered by the slot on the Superchip has been removed. And I would also make sure to clean out the slot on the Superchip module too, or this could happen again later on. This is easy & simple, just use a clean dry toothbrush to do that, point the slot down and use the toothbrush to gently "scrub" back and forth over the contacts inside the slot a few times, and then blow it out from one end to the other just using your breath. Don't use compressed air, & don't blow directly back into the slot, blow from one end of the slot to the other, & do that from each end a couple of times after using the clean dry toothbrush, and that will get any conformal coating that has transferred over into the slot on the Superchip out of there.
Good luck!
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Joined: Jun 1999
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From: Fort Wayne IN
Thanks for the info Mike...you wre great to deal with back in 1999 and you still are "da Man"! 
Would using a small amount of dialectic grease on the connectors be a good idea, too? Or would that be a no no?
Would using a small amount of dialectic grease on the connectors be a good idea, too? Or would that be a no no?
Former Sponsor
Joined: Mar 1998
Posts: 13,385
Likes: 4
From: Virginia
Hi feaqs,
You know, in my response I didn't even think about the fact that you haven't dropped by in a while, it's good to "see" you again!
The question of using dialectric grease has come up a number of times, and while that certainly *could* be used, I wouldn't and don't on any of our vehicles.
The issue is simply that if we ever need to test or reprogram that Superchip module, all of that dialectric grease would have to be removed from the slot on the Superchip, otherwise it fouls our gear. Anytime a Superchip comes in here with conformal coating inside the slot or dialectric or anything else in the slot, we send it right back to the customer without touching it. That way our equipment isn't fouled, so we don't have to disassemble & clean, etc. And it's darned hard to get all the dialectric grease back out of that slot.
We do have some customers that have chosen to use the dialectric grease, and that's OK, it won't cause any operational problems. It's just the issue of any future serviceability of the module, basically, as all of that would have to be cleaned out of there before we'd attach it to our hardware.
Dialectric grease may well not have prevented what happened to you, by the way, so I don't think I would look at it as a "sure cure" that is absolutely going to prevent your situation, for example. It might, it might not, and if it did, it would be more luck than anything else, as the root cause is a small bit of conformal coating somewhere. Then when you removed & reseated the module, it's running fine, and should continue to for years.
Best of luck whatever you decide on that, & don't be a stranger!
You know, in my response I didn't even think about the fact that you haven't dropped by in a while, it's good to "see" you again!
The question of using dialectric grease has come up a number of times, and while that certainly *could* be used, I wouldn't and don't on any of our vehicles.
The issue is simply that if we ever need to test or reprogram that Superchip module, all of that dialectric grease would have to be removed from the slot on the Superchip, otherwise it fouls our gear. Anytime a Superchip comes in here with conformal coating inside the slot or dialectric or anything else in the slot, we send it right back to the customer without touching it. That way our equipment isn't fouled, so we don't have to disassemble & clean, etc. And it's darned hard to get all the dialectric grease back out of that slot.
We do have some customers that have chosen to use the dialectric grease, and that's OK, it won't cause any operational problems. It's just the issue of any future serviceability of the module, basically, as all of that would have to be cleaned out of there before we'd attach it to our hardware.
Dialectric grease may well not have prevented what happened to you, by the way, so I don't think I would look at it as a "sure cure" that is absolutely going to prevent your situation, for example. It might, it might not, and if it did, it would be more luck than anything else, as the root cause is a small bit of conformal coating somewhere. Then when you removed & reseated the module, it's running fine, and should continue to for years.
Best of luck whatever you decide on that, & don't be a stranger!