Got my chip today, why do you have to take the computer out, it look's like you can plug it right in with out removeing it.
Also if the chip was in wrong would the car still start etc.And should i feel improvment right away or does it take time.And one other thing,that silcone that is on the computer itself the contacts, can you rub it too hard and mess them up with that green cleaning pad they send you.
THANK'S JOE S.

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1999XLT,Supercab,Gold,5.4Styleside,Flowmaster#70 Series Catback,Rockford Fosgate 400a4 Amp.MTX-5000 Dual Eight's Sub.
Uniden Radar Detector,
Black Tinted Window's, Super Chip!
*************************
[HAVE FUN]

 

Do yourself a favor and take it out. It will NOT work without cleaning. That crap is thick and similar to woodworking shellac.



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1999 F250 SD CC, LWB, 5.4L, Auto, 3.73, 4x4, Power TT mirrors w/ marker lights, White, Full Tint, PendaPro SR, Flowmaster Delta 40 series, K&N filtercharger, Superchip(Airbox removed for a second try, maybe in the winter it will be advantagous?)

 

I don't think you can clean the contacts both sides with the computer still installed. It was tough enough for me to clean the back (narrow) side with the computer on the bench and using a big light.

When I cleaned mine, I scraped the contacts carefully with a very small screwdriver (from an eyeglass frame repair kit) then used the green pad. I went back and forth until nothing more came off. If you scrape too hard, you'll start to see silver. Stop, that's too much.

Use duct tape to hold the chip onto the computer and relocate the black clip below the chip when reinstalling.

 

Dear Joe,

You have to remove the computer from the vehicle for the first-time installation of the Superchip, so you can properly clean the edge connector that the Superchip mates to. The edge connector has a clear coating that covers the contacts, and prevents a proper electrical connection. Also, 1998 & earlier vehicles also usually have a coating of grease that needs to be cleaned as well. If you make the mistake of trying to install the Superchip without cleaning that edge connector properly, it will not work, and you may well get garbage into the contacts on the Superchip, if it's one that has the grease on the connector, so don't try to take any shortcuts, if you were thinking of trying to.

Every Superchip has an orange label wrapped across the female data slot, reminding you to properly clean the connector it mates to, according to the step-by-step directions.

Superchips has just this year started including a piece of green Scotch-brite pad to use to buff the contacts on that edge connector, in order to remove this clear coating. I don't use this myself, as I have always preferred to use a very small straight-blade screwdriver, to sort of "shave" off this clear coating from the contacts. That way, I can actually see how much material I'm removing, which you can't do very easily with the green pad, or at least I can't. Maybe it's just because I've been doing them that way for years, and I don't "fix" what isn't "broken", to coin a phrase.

One thing to watch for, is that there is more room to work on the top of the edge connector thant there is on the bottom, so sometimes people will not get all the contacts clean on the bottom side. I never have this problem, as I've done hundreds and hundreds of them, so I know when the contacts are cleaned, and there's plenty of room to work there, if you use the "proper" tools. I use Q-tips to remove any grease from the edge connector, and then I scrape each contact individually, going back and forth across the contact maybe 3-4 times with my trusty small screwdriver blade, and then once I'm finished with that, I take another Q-tip dipped in a little rubbing alcohol to "dress" the edge connector, and make it nice and clean. Figure maybe 5 minutes to do this cleaning of the edge connector once you have the computer in your hands. The contacts have a silver coating to protect the actual copper contact below, so if you see silver shavings come off, stop, you've removed enough from that particular contact. Again, this is also why I prefer to scrape them individually with my trusty screwdriver from a little "jeweler's" screwdriver kit, as I can easily & quickly see when each contact has a good electrical contact, and it's small enough that I have plenty of room to work on both side of the edge connector without removing either the top or the bottom computer covers.

If the contacts are not cleaned of enough of that coating, your engine will turn over but not fire up, so you have more cleaning to do yet. There are a few '98 Expeditions (JAS3 codes) and '99 Ford of various types that have a misconfigured jumper from the factory, which needs to be closed to enable communications to the edge connector, and I can tell you if your code has ever been affected by that or not, so you'll know whether or not you could be one of the vehicle affected (which is so far about 85 out of over 26,000 '99 Fords that have been Superchipped) if you shoot me your computer code.

A few months ago, one of our F150online participants did this, and his truck wouldn't start. He took a 10X magnifying glass that he just happened to have around the house, and took a good close look at the contacts on the edge connector, and then he could see that he still needed to remove more material. Just don't damage the contact as you clean it. You have to scrape kinda long & hard to actually cause damage to the contacts, so this shouldn't pose any problem for you.

If you have any problems, please feel free to give us a call, our number is below for your convenience.

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

[This message has been edited by Superchips_Distributor (edited 11-08-1999).]

 

the reason you have to remove the computer is that you will not be able to insert the chip into the slot (regardless of cleaning) until you move the computer away from the brack it is in. The bracket has a lip which will block your superchip from seating all the way in. Once you install the chip, and duct tape it, and return the computer to the truck you will notice that the lip from the computer harness now pushes against the chip..you should bend the lip back out of the way so that the computer rests completely up against the side of the harness.

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David
'99 F150 XLT SC, STYLESIDE
3.73, 4X4 ORP 5.4L, AUTO,
139wb, Medium Red Tor.,
Rhino, K&N, BugGuard,
RainGuards, Superchip, Soft Tonneau
f150online sticker!!! GET ONE NOW!

 

Thanks for the help I took the computer out of the truck and just used the scotch cloth, did not use a small screw driver and alcohal.I am going to take it out this weekend and do it the right way.
thank's again joe

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1999XLT,Supercab,Gold,5.4Styleside,Flowmaster#70 Series Catback,Rockford Fosgate 400a4 Amp.MTX-5000 Dual Eight's Sub.
Uniden Radar Detector,
Black Tinted Window's, Super Chip!
*************************
[HAVE FUN]