I have had a Superchip in my vehicle for about two years now and have loved it. But I need help. I took the chip out after having many problems with stalling and hesitation under all driving conditions. I took the truck repeatedly to the Ford dealer to have work done to fix the problem that I believed to be the truck. Well, I put the chip back in today and 2 miles into a drive the truck started stalling again . I then took it out and have no problems. Please tell me what to do. I did buy the chip from performance products so if you can help me Mike I would be appreciated.

 

Hi Wantmorespeed,

Sure, I think we can help you, & we're sorry to hear you're having a problem!

The very first thing to do anytime you have a problem that you think may be related to the Superchip is give us a call to let us know you're having a problem, so we can help you with it. Our phone number is below in our signature line for your convenience.

If it's related to the Superchip, we'll get it figured out post-haste so you can get back to enjoying the Superchip like everyone else.

What you're describing is definitely not normal behavior, and it can be anything from a simple installaiton-related problem (which is what this sounds like and what it is over 95% of the time), to an actual problem with the Superchip itself. It's very rare to have a problem with the Superchip, but if there is a problem, we'll take care of it!

Talk to you soon,

 

I talked to you the other day about re-installing my superchip, anyway I cleaned the contacts as mentioned and cleaned out the chip as mentioned. Plugged it in and let it idle for a bit and it started idiling rough again. Please let me know what I need to do to enjoy my superchip again. Thanks

 

Wantmorespeed,

When you installed your chip did you bend the lip on the PCM bracket out of the way. On my 97 the lip was in such a position that it would end up in between the chip and the PCM. After a period of time the chip would fail to make proper contact. On my 00 I bent the lip and have never had a problem.

Regards

Jean Marc Chartier

 

I'll have to check this out. The chip doesn't seem to push as far in as it could. Next time I pull the pcm out I will check this out. Thanks.

 

Hi Want,

The information that JMC kindly pointed out in his response is also included in our supplemental Performance Products documentation. Some of these vehicles have a "lip," or "tab" on the mounting bracket/plate that the ECU is held up against by the black plastic pressure clip. If your vehicle has this, it will have to be dealt with, as sooner or later it will cause an interference problem, and the symptoms are a no-start, or stumbling, or the vehicle stalls, as with any connection-related issue basically. What happens is this lip gets between the Superchip and the back of the ECU, and can shift the Superchip on that connector. This is why we go over that in our docs, so that it can be dealt with properly at time of installaiton.

I just had a thought (finally!) here...........you mention that the Superchip will not go all the way on, meaning it doesn't fit flush to the back of the ECU (which is normal, some will and some won't due to variances in ECU dimensions) which leads me to believe that you have not read our Performance Products documentation, as that too is another very specific issue we mention in our documentation.

In fact, what I'm wondering is if perhaps you obtained your Superchip long enough ago to have gotten it from us *before* we started writing our own supplental documentation, meaning you would never have seen any of this additional & very helpful information! That's what it sounds like to me. A few years ago (I don't remember precisely when) we began including all of that additional info in our own supplemental documentation that we send out with every Superchip we ship here at Performance, that has our name on it. It really sounds like you never got any of that, as almost everything you're mentioned is covered *specifically* in our docs, so it sounds like we need to get you provided with a copy ASAP!

In fact, I don't remember who it was I spoke to, but sometime in the past week or two I did speak with someone either on the phone or in email who is a customer of ours to whom we tried to send a copy of our docs via email file attachment; but it got kicked back as an invalid email address and was not delivered to the recipient. Maybe that was you?

At any rate, please do give us a shout when you can, we can email, snail-mail or even FAX over these docs, we want to get you this current info so you will always have it and be able to refer to it. And of course we'll be happy to go over this problem with you in detail if you'd like to give us another call, we're always happy to speak with you in detail about any problems you're having, in addition to wanting to get you the Performance Products documentation for your Superchip!

Talk to you soon,

 

Once again Mike thank you for all your help here on the boards. I purchased the chip about 2 years ago and don't have any of the original documents(whoops ) If you could fax me the info that would be great. (503) 413-4666 Thanks

 

Hi Want,

OK, I just got here to see your message, and we'll have someone fax over our supplemental Performance Products documentation, that is specific to the F-150 and more thorough than the manufacturers, so it should be a big help to you. We'll get that over to your shortly!

If that doesn't take care of your problems, then please give us a call so we can help you properly, ok?

This info you're going to be getting is more detailed than what you probably got a few years ago, so you'll basically be doing a new installation again, for lack of a better term, and this will most likely take care of any problems you're having, just go thru all the steps thoroughly. If that doesn't solve the problem, please call us right away. Heck, call us anyway, we always want to speak with any of our customers, especially anyone who is having a problem!

Good luck & talk to you soon!

 

Mike I bought a flip chip without papers. It has been reprogammed but I don't want to dive in the deep end without swimming lessons. Could you email me the directions or put it on the message board. It could really cut down on the questions. Not that you don't want to talk to us rookies. Thanks for your unwavering support.................Scott

 

want....in the times that you had it in to a dealer for service/diagnosis of this problem, would they have reprogrammed the PCM at any point? You would need to take it to a dealer to determine whether or not it was (software levels and part numbers) If it was ever reflashed and the program remained unchanged on the Superchip, they would no longer be compatible and the chip would need reprogramming. This is a minimal charge and can be provided at a Superchips modem dealer. I do a boat load of these things, and it usually is unclean contacts between the PCM and chip, but I have seen bad chips as well. Good luck.

 

Hi doodee,

If Want's ECU had been reflashed, his vehicle would not have started with the Superchip installed, that isn't his issue at all, that's easy to see in his posts.

Please allow us to provide Tech Support to our customers, thanks.

 

Hi TopJake,

Actually, you can get a good look at the installation process by checking the Tech "How-To" articles here on F-150 Online (click the link on the left side of your screen here that says "Technical Articles"), as there is a How-To install the Superchip there. It was done a few years ago by a customer of ours, but the basics are still the same and will be very helpful if you have no documentation, which is usually the case when you buy a used Superchip. It has great pictures of just about every individual step, and you'll easily be able to get this done with that article's info.

What I'd suggest is to print out that How-To article, take a good look over it, and then give us a call with any questions you may have, we'll be happy to go over any of the details with you. We can only provide our Performance Products documentaton to those who purchase their Superchips directly from us hee at Performance Products, but don't worry, as that How-To article will get you thru this, and if you have any specific questions or a problem, we'll be happy to answer them for you, just give us a call at our number listed below!