'99 F-150 Computer Problem; (Mike)
#1
01-05-2001 | 08:48 PM
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'99 F-150 Computer Problem; (Mike)
I was told by a Superchip dealer today that there is a soldering problem with some '99 boards that will render the Superchip useless. They stated that there is two points that may not be soldered on my computer board. They were also trying to charge me $65.00 to install and solder if needed. Any knowledge of this problem?
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'99 F-150 Lariat
Flowmaster Exhaust
K&N in stock airbox
Polaris Sport 400 ATV highly modified and lightened for 300' sand drags. 0-60 in less than 300 yards, under 5 seconds.
You only live once; so ride hard!
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'99 F-150 Lariat
Flowmaster Exhaust
K&N in stock airbox
Polaris Sport 400 ATV highly modified and lightened for 300' sand drags. 0-60 in less than 300 yards, under 5 seconds.
You only live once; so ride hard!
#2
01-06-2001 | 04:51 PM
Former Sponsor
Joined: Mar 1998
Posts: 13,385
Likes: 4
From: Virginia
Hi Red,
Sure, I can tell you all about that, we've discussed it here many times over the past year and a half or so since it first appeared.
What happened was simply that Ford's supplier of that component left open the jumper(s) that control the J3 edge connector on the back of the Ford computer. These jumper(s) were supposed to be closed, and on a few vehicles they simply weren't. If you install the Superchip on a computer with the jumpers open, you'll get a no-start and the anti-theft light will falsh rapidly, along with the odometer usually displaying dashes while it's like that, though not always. Doesn't hurt anything, the vehicle returns to normal as soon as you close the jumpers or remove the Superchip, the vehicle just won't start with any kind of chip attached to the computer until the jumpers are closed, which is very simple to do. All that needs to be done is to finish the supplier's job, and apply a drop of solder on each jumper to close it, and you're all set.
This jumper misconfiguration is completely random in nature, and cannot be predicted by computer code, VIN, or anything else, other than it's primarily a few early 1999 vehicles affected, along with a very few late 1998's. We do keep a list of all codes that have ever been affected, which is about all we can do, so we can let our customers know that they may be affected, and we also write additional documentation beyond what the manufacturer includes that goes out with every Superchip we ship about this specific issue.
The way our customers handle it is they usually have this work done locally, just about any CB Radio shop, TV/VCR repair shop, etc., can drop the solder on the jumper for you. However, for those who do not have access to anyone in their area to do this, we can have Superchips do this for them directly, they overnight the computer in, the work is done the same day the ECU is received and then overnighted back out, for a 48-hour turnaround.
If you are having your dealer do your installation for you, then that sounds like a fair price to have them take care of this for you, and do both the closing of the jumpers and the installation of the Superchip itself as well.
If you want to know if this harms your computer in some way, no, it does not, what is being done is to simply to complete the work that should have been done in the first place, and enable the J3 connector by closing it's jumper(s), so it can function just as Ford designed. On some computers it's just 1 jumper, and on some it's a pair of jumpers, it's very straightforward & easy.
If you're just wondering if what your dealer is telling you is correct, yes it is, as I have described here in this response to you.
What most people do is to go ahead and install the Superchip, and see if they have that problem, so they're not paying someone else the labor just to do the basic installation of the Superchip. Then if you need the jumpers closed, approach that separately, so your expense is smaller, as you can always just pull the chip and your vehicle will start right up and run as before. If you prefer to have your local dealer to do all the work, the installation as well as close the jumpers, then what you're being told sounds reasonable. And if it gives you peace of mind to just let them handle all of this for you, that's perfectly fine, and can make a lot of sense, certainly, so don't let that stop you.
Best of luck whatever you decide,
------------------
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 01-06-2001).]
Sure, I can tell you all about that, we've discussed it here many times over the past year and a half or so since it first appeared.
What happened was simply that Ford's supplier of that component left open the jumper(s) that control the J3 edge connector on the back of the Ford computer. These jumper(s) were supposed to be closed, and on a few vehicles they simply weren't. If you install the Superchip on a computer with the jumpers open, you'll get a no-start and the anti-theft light will falsh rapidly, along with the odometer usually displaying dashes while it's like that, though not always. Doesn't hurt anything, the vehicle returns to normal as soon as you close the jumpers or remove the Superchip, the vehicle just won't start with any kind of chip attached to the computer until the jumpers are closed, which is very simple to do. All that needs to be done is to finish the supplier's job, and apply a drop of solder on each jumper to close it, and you're all set.
This jumper misconfiguration is completely random in nature, and cannot be predicted by computer code, VIN, or anything else, other than it's primarily a few early 1999 vehicles affected, along with a very few late 1998's. We do keep a list of all codes that have ever been affected, which is about all we can do, so we can let our customers know that they may be affected, and we also write additional documentation beyond what the manufacturer includes that goes out with every Superchip we ship about this specific issue.
The way our customers handle it is they usually have this work done locally, just about any CB Radio shop, TV/VCR repair shop, etc., can drop the solder on the jumper for you. However, for those who do not have access to anyone in their area to do this, we can have Superchips do this for them directly, they overnight the computer in, the work is done the same day the ECU is received and then overnighted back out, for a 48-hour turnaround.
If you are having your dealer do your installation for you, then that sounds like a fair price to have them take care of this for you, and do both the closing of the jumpers and the installation of the Superchip itself as well.
If you want to know if this harms your computer in some way, no, it does not, what is being done is to simply to complete the work that should have been done in the first place, and enable the J3 connector by closing it's jumper(s), so it can function just as Ford designed. On some computers it's just 1 jumper, and on some it's a pair of jumpers, it's very straightforward & easy.
If you're just wondering if what your dealer is telling you is correct, yes it is, as I have described here in this response to you.
What most people do is to go ahead and install the Superchip, and see if they have that problem, so they're not paying someone else the labor just to do the basic installation of the Superchip. Then if you need the jumpers closed, approach that separately, so your expense is smaller, as you can always just pull the chip and your vehicle will start right up and run as before. If you prefer to have your local dealer to do all the work, the installation as well as close the jumpers, then what you're being told sounds reasonable. And if it gives you peace of mind to just let them handle all of this for you, that's perfectly fine, and can make a lot of sense, certainly, so don't let that stop you.
Best of luck whatever you decide,
------------------
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 01-06-2001).]
#3
01-06-2001 | 08:24 PM
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Member
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 18
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#4
01-07-2001 | 05:43 PM
Former Sponsor
Joined: Mar 1998
Posts: 13,385
Likes: 4
From: Virginia
Anytime, Red. 
------------------
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 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