Is anybody having cold start problems with Superchip installed?
Former Sponsor
Joined: Mar 1998
Posts: 13,385
Likes: 4
From: Virginia
Hi yysenhimer,
What you have is most likely an installation issue - and it doesn't matter that you've had it for a couple years, by the way, we've seen vehicles run fine for *years* with an improper installation when they really shouldn't have, but luckily for the vehicle owner did - and then have big problems 2 or 3 years or even later that are in fact an original installation issue.
The fact that you did not tape it in place clearly shows improper installation, that is a strict no-no, my friend.
The manufacturer's documentation really doesn't go over everything that can possibly happen in great detail, so there are some people who are not aware of all the potential issues.
The fact is, not taping that module into place properly is a good way to take a chance (albeit small) of damaging not only the Superchip module, but also your vehicle's PCM - if that module becomes loose (and it can over time) from railroad tracks, speed bumps, etc., and/or has a partial connection for any reason while the engine is running, or if it is removed or replaced while the ignition is on, there is a chance of blowing the Superchip and possibly even the PCM itself - now that is rare in the extreme, but it is within the realm of possibility, so to be prudent, we need to deal with that up front, during initial installation.
This is just one of many reasons why we write our own installation instructions & documentation for installation of the Superchip in these F-150-platform vehicles and other FoMoCo vehicles, too - we provide 4-5 additional pages of highly detailed instructions, explanations, troubleshooting tips, etc., that are designed to take a first-time installer thru this smoothly, with no surprises - and we send them to to every person that orders a Superchip from us.
As you can see from the others who have responded, there is no inherent problem or pattern of failure to start in cold weather, as you are asking about - just to let you know, we've used Superchips in every one of our vehicles for the past 12+ years now, in conditions ranging from 117 degrees ambient to 38 below (without the windchill factor, with that factor 66 below zero F).
You make some good points with reference to the potential issue of thermal expansion & contraction and it's potential effects on the actual connection between the PCM and the Superchip module - however, we have found over many years of testing that this actually is *not* an issue any time the Superchip is installed properly. In other words, there is no significant change in effective dimensions on either the PCM's connector or the slot on the Superchip due to weather-induced temperature change & temperature extremes. the vehicle's PCM has to be able to operate at 50 below (F), and so does the Superchip - they are both manufactured for those kinds of "industrial" grade applications - where something like the Micro Tuner, which flashes the PCM, is not - it cannot be used at temperatures below freezing (32 F).
Now there *is* a situation that we saw in some 1999 Lightnings where the actual thickness of the J3 connector on the back of the PCM was just a tad thinner than normal from the factory, and in *those* PCM's we have seen that this can cause the module to not "grab" the connector consistently throughout wide temperature swings - and in that case, it's a manufacturing problem in the PCM itself, not the Superchip module, and can cause no-start or stalls - and it's cured by simply laying down a nice bead of solder over each contact, until the connector (actually, it's contacts) is back up to it's spec thickness and the module then has a good "grip" on that connector as it's designed to. Even then, the module still needs to be taped to the PCM, as over time, it might eventually work it's way loose from bumps, rough roads, etc.,, and the normal vibration of vehicle operations over years. For example, I had a nice gentleman call me to say his Expedition wasn't running as strong or shifting as good as it did when he first installed the Superchip, and he wanted to know if that program in the Superchip could somehow be overridden while installed or just "go away" over time - and no, of course the shift commands & other tuning specs cannot just change on their own, aside from the mild effects of adaptive strategy. Well, come to find out later in the conversation, he told me that he had hit a curb, and hit it hard enough to bend one of his custom wheels - so I instantly knew what had happened, and told him to look in the passenger side floorboard and pick up his Superchip - which is exactly where he found it laying, where it had come flying off from hitting that curb - because he failed to follow our instructions and tape it in place so that just such an event couldn't cause that kind of issue.
To give you an idea of our experiences in this regard, not once (aside from some deliberate testing) has any vehicle we have installed a Superchip in, either our vehicles or customer vehicles, every had any issue of failure to start, or stall when running, due to the Superchip or it's installation - in other words, a proper installation *prevents* such occurrences.
BUT..........
You do need good documentation, and we feel additional documentation is needed which is why we write our own & send it to all our customers.
So the bottom line in all of this is, you need to pull that PCM out and take both top & bottom covers off of it, and go over our documentation (if you bought it from us, I should say, that's the only way to get our docs) and reclean that connector, then clean out the slot on the Superchip itself (and be very careful doing that, you have to follow our instructions), and then you can reinstall it and tape it in place, then reinstall the PCM and then no more problems.
Last......
There were some changes made in 2003 model year FoMoCo's that required some changes in the Superchip module itself, and it *was* with regard to occasional cold-start issues, but only in *very* cold weather, like zero degrees (f) or colder, and even then only on occasion - that design change was made many months ago, and those are what we call the "F" revision modules, which are identified by the letter "F" after the word "Superchips" on a white sticker on the back of the Superchip (the black side, where the connector is). Keep in mind that this affected only a small number of 2003 model year vehicles, and that change was made very quickly, and all our customers who had purchased a then-current Superchip module were provided with free replacements to the F rev module - and that was only a few. So that can potentially be an issue in some 2003 models, and was taken care of long ago, in late calender 2002.
If you continue to have problems after a proper re-installation, please call whoever you purchased your Superchip from (whether that was us or another dealer, etc.) and have them work with you on this, as there is *always* a reason and a pretty quick cure - this sounds like a simple installation issue, one of not getting literally 100% of the conformal coating off of *all* of the surface area of the J3 connector on the PCM that is covered by the slot of the Superchip module when slid into place. That conformal coating is clear in color, so to the "novice" (at removing conformal coating, that is) it can be tricky to really know if you actually have *all* of it removed (not just from the contacts, but from the green areas, too, and the sides, edges, etc. - everywhere that is covered by the slot on the Superchip when it's in place) - another reason why we write detailed instructions on how to clean that connector, and how to check it, etc.
I hope this info helps, and good luck!
What you have is most likely an installation issue - and it doesn't matter that you've had it for a couple years, by the way, we've seen vehicles run fine for *years* with an improper installation when they really shouldn't have, but luckily for the vehicle owner did - and then have big problems 2 or 3 years or even later that are in fact an original installation issue.
The fact that you did not tape it in place clearly shows improper installation, that is a strict no-no, my friend.
The manufacturer's documentation really doesn't go over everything that can possibly happen in great detail, so there are some people who are not aware of all the potential issues.
The fact is, not taping that module into place properly is a good way to take a chance (albeit small) of damaging not only the Superchip module, but also your vehicle's PCM - if that module becomes loose (and it can over time) from railroad tracks, speed bumps, etc., and/or has a partial connection for any reason while the engine is running, or if it is removed or replaced while the ignition is on, there is a chance of blowing the Superchip and possibly even the PCM itself - now that is rare in the extreme, but it is within the realm of possibility, so to be prudent, we need to deal with that up front, during initial installation.
This is just one of many reasons why we write our own installation instructions & documentation for installation of the Superchip in these F-150-platform vehicles and other FoMoCo vehicles, too - we provide 4-5 additional pages of highly detailed instructions, explanations, troubleshooting tips, etc., that are designed to take a first-time installer thru this smoothly, with no surprises - and we send them to to every person that orders a Superchip from us.
As you can see from the others who have responded, there is no inherent problem or pattern of failure to start in cold weather, as you are asking about - just to let you know, we've used Superchips in every one of our vehicles for the past 12+ years now, in conditions ranging from 117 degrees ambient to 38 below (without the windchill factor, with that factor 66 below zero F).
You make some good points with reference to the potential issue of thermal expansion & contraction and it's potential effects on the actual connection between the PCM and the Superchip module - however, we have found over many years of testing that this actually is *not* an issue any time the Superchip is installed properly. In other words, there is no significant change in effective dimensions on either the PCM's connector or the slot on the Superchip due to weather-induced temperature change & temperature extremes. the vehicle's PCM has to be able to operate at 50 below (F), and so does the Superchip - they are both manufactured for those kinds of "industrial" grade applications - where something like the Micro Tuner, which flashes the PCM, is not - it cannot be used at temperatures below freezing (32 F).
Now there *is* a situation that we saw in some 1999 Lightnings where the actual thickness of the J3 connector on the back of the PCM was just a tad thinner than normal from the factory, and in *those* PCM's we have seen that this can cause the module to not "grab" the connector consistently throughout wide temperature swings - and in that case, it's a manufacturing problem in the PCM itself, not the Superchip module, and can cause no-start or stalls - and it's cured by simply laying down a nice bead of solder over each contact, until the connector (actually, it's contacts) is back up to it's spec thickness and the module then has a good "grip" on that connector as it's designed to. Even then, the module still needs to be taped to the PCM, as over time, it might eventually work it's way loose from bumps, rough roads, etc.,, and the normal vibration of vehicle operations over years. For example, I had a nice gentleman call me to say his Expedition wasn't running as strong or shifting as good as it did when he first installed the Superchip, and he wanted to know if that program in the Superchip could somehow be overridden while installed or just "go away" over time - and no, of course the shift commands & other tuning specs cannot just change on their own, aside from the mild effects of adaptive strategy. Well, come to find out later in the conversation, he told me that he had hit a curb, and hit it hard enough to bend one of his custom wheels - so I instantly knew what had happened, and told him to look in the passenger side floorboard and pick up his Superchip - which is exactly where he found it laying, where it had come flying off from hitting that curb - because he failed to follow our instructions and tape it in place so that just such an event couldn't cause that kind of issue.
To give you an idea of our experiences in this regard, not once (aside from some deliberate testing) has any vehicle we have installed a Superchip in, either our vehicles or customer vehicles, every had any issue of failure to start, or stall when running, due to the Superchip or it's installation - in other words, a proper installation *prevents* such occurrences.
BUT..........
You do need good documentation, and we feel additional documentation is needed which is why we write our own & send it to all our customers.
So the bottom line in all of this is, you need to pull that PCM out and take both top & bottom covers off of it, and go over our documentation (if you bought it from us, I should say, that's the only way to get our docs) and reclean that connector, then clean out the slot on the Superchip itself (and be very careful doing that, you have to follow our instructions), and then you can reinstall it and tape it in place, then reinstall the PCM and then no more problems.
Last......
There were some changes made in 2003 model year FoMoCo's that required some changes in the Superchip module itself, and it *was* with regard to occasional cold-start issues, but only in *very* cold weather, like zero degrees (f) or colder, and even then only on occasion - that design change was made many months ago, and those are what we call the "F" revision modules, which are identified by the letter "F" after the word "Superchips" on a white sticker on the back of the Superchip (the black side, where the connector is). Keep in mind that this affected only a small number of 2003 model year vehicles, and that change was made very quickly, and all our customers who had purchased a then-current Superchip module were provided with free replacements to the F rev module - and that was only a few. So that can potentially be an issue in some 2003 models, and was taken care of long ago, in late calender 2002.
If you continue to have problems after a proper re-installation, please call whoever you purchased your Superchip from (whether that was us or another dealer, etc.) and have them work with you on this, as there is *always* a reason and a pretty quick cure - this sounds like a simple installation issue, one of not getting literally 100% of the conformal coating off of *all* of the surface area of the J3 connector on the PCM that is covered by the slot of the Superchip module when slid into place. That conformal coating is clear in color, so to the "novice" (at removing conformal coating, that is) it can be tricky to really know if you actually have *all* of it removed (not just from the contacts, but from the green areas, too, and the sides, edges, etc. - everywhere that is covered by the slot on the Superchip when it's in place) - another reason why we write detailed instructions on how to clean that connector, and how to check it, etc.
I hope this info helps, and good luck!