No Start Issues
Thread Starter
|
Member
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 73
Likes: 0
From: College Station, TX
No Start Issues
So, a friend of mine ordered a superchip, it arrived on Thursday. Seeing as how he's not very handy at all, he lets me take care of the whole issue.
I'm very extremely careful in sanding the coating off of the contacts. The first time I wasn't sure if I had cleaned it off enough. We pop out to the truck and stick it back in, no start. It won't turn over. I take it back out, I'm super-careful this time, go after it with an eraser several times after I'm about 95% I've got all the coating off, just to make sure. We go to plug it back in, again a no-start.
I've read in the past on this board about cases where one has to solder something, but it wasn't mentioned in the instructions that were shipped with the Superchip. I'm curious what this entails, and if it will really fix the problem.
The computer code is BIK2, says it clearly on the passenger door jam and on the end of the computer. This is what my friend ordered. What are the next steps for us to take? Do we have to ship the chip back to you? Do we have to ship the chip AND ECU back to you? If it's a soldering issue, I'm very very good with a soldering iron, I can probably do it by myself, but I'll need the instrutions from you, Mike.
Hope to hear from you soon!
Infamous Tim
I'm very extremely careful in sanding the coating off of the contacts. The first time I wasn't sure if I had cleaned it off enough. We pop out to the truck and stick it back in, no start. It won't turn over. I take it back out, I'm super-careful this time, go after it with an eraser several times after I'm about 95% I've got all the coating off, just to make sure. We go to plug it back in, again a no-start.
I've read in the past on this board about cases where one has to solder something, but it wasn't mentioned in the instructions that were shipped with the Superchip. I'm curious what this entails, and if it will really fix the problem.
The computer code is BIK2, says it clearly on the passenger door jam and on the end of the computer. This is what my friend ordered. What are the next steps for us to take? Do we have to ship the chip back to you? Do we have to ship the chip AND ECU back to you? If it's a soldering issue, I'm very very good with a soldering iron, I can probably do it by myself, but I'll need the instrutions from you, Mike.
Hope to hear from you soon!
Infamous Tim
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 204
Likes: 0
From: MADISON, WI
I am not Mike and don't pretend to be Mike T., But if you ordered your Superchip from him, by all means pick up the phone and call him. Mike wants all Superchip customers to be up and running. The best and quickest way to resolve your problem is to call him (540-862-9516).
It may very well be that you do not yet have all the conformal coating scraped off the connector. That Superchip is an all or nothing deal. If even a little coating is left on connectors and they all aren't making proper contact, then the truck will not start.
When you call Mike, he will be able to tell you if your particular computer is the one that needed the soldering iron.
It may very well be that you do not yet have all the conformal coating scraped off the connector. That Superchip is an all or nothing deal. If even a little coating is left on connectors and they all aren't making proper contact, then the truck will not start.
When you call Mike, he will be able to tell you if your particular computer is the one that needed the soldering iron.
Former Sponsor
Joined: Mar 1998
Posts: 13,385
Likes: 4
From: Virginia
Hello there, Infamous Tim!
As Peddler kindly mentioned in his post, our Performance Products documentation points out to call us right away if you need Tech Support, or if you have any kind of problem.
In your case, you called us this morning (Monday the 17th), so we've had a chance to go over this with you in some detail and you now know what to check for. Thanks very much for calling, that's always the way for us to help you!
We have not had any F-150 that wasn't a 1999 model be affected by the jumper issue, which is what you're talking about in speaking of using a soldering iron. There were a few early 2000 Rangers, and a few very late 1998 Expeditions that were affected by the jumper issue (which is easy to solve), but in the F-150 it's only happened in a few of the 1999 model year vehicles among our customers. So I rather doubt this is your problem, we've never had a BIK2 have this problem, though it cannot be accurately predicted by computer code, the fact that it's a 2000 pretty much makes that a non-issue.
It sounds to me like we have a reflashed ECU here, meaning this vehicle's powertrain computer has been reflashed by a dealership service department to a different code at some point in it's life. That is what we talked about today, and you're going to be checking to see if there is a sticker under the hood confirming this. Those stickers are only put on about half the time at best, so you may not find a sticker and this could very well still be a reflash, and most likely is.
Keep in touch with us about this & we'll work thru to the solution, it can only be a couple of things and we'll get to the bottom of it!
As Peddler kindly mentioned in his post, our Performance Products documentation points out to call us right away if you need Tech Support, or if you have any kind of problem.
In your case, you called us this morning (Monday the 17th), so we've had a chance to go over this with you in some detail and you now know what to check for. Thanks very much for calling, that's always the way for us to help you!
We have not had any F-150 that wasn't a 1999 model be affected by the jumper issue, which is what you're talking about in speaking of using a soldering iron. There were a few early 2000 Rangers, and a few very late 1998 Expeditions that were affected by the jumper issue (which is easy to solve), but in the F-150 it's only happened in a few of the 1999 model year vehicles among our customers. So I rather doubt this is your problem, we've never had a BIK2 have this problem, though it cannot be accurately predicted by computer code, the fact that it's a 2000 pretty much makes that a non-issue.
It sounds to me like we have a reflashed ECU here, meaning this vehicle's powertrain computer has been reflashed by a dealership service department to a different code at some point in it's life. That is what we talked about today, and you're going to be checking to see if there is a sticker under the hood confirming this. Those stickers are only put on about half the time at best, so you may not find a sticker and this could very well still be a reflash, and most likely is.
Keep in touch with us about this & we'll work thru to the solution, it can only be a couple of things and we'll get to the bottom of it!
Thread Starter
|
Member
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 73
Likes: 0
From: College Station, TX
Well, after all of that, I searched for a reflash sticker, no dice. Nor had the owner ever needed a reflash. I took the ECU back out again and put on a pair of high-magnification jewler's gogglers. It turns out the very end pin on both sides was still somewhat coated. I went after it very carefully with a small screw driver, as well as all of the spaces in between the pins just to be sure.
It finally started, weeeee. And we had fun in it, that's for sure. I love the shifts most especially, it really pulls harder now. Awesome product! Thanks for your help Mike, even if the fault was on my end.
Tim
It finally started, weeeee. And we had fun in it, that's for sure. I love the shifts most especially, it really pulls harder now. Awesome product! Thanks for your help Mike, even if the fault was on my end.
Tim
Former Sponsor
Joined: Mar 1998
Posts: 13,385
Likes: 4
From: Virginia
Hi InfamousTim,
For some reason your screen name puts a smile on my face when I see it, and I needed a smile first thing today, thanks!
We're glad you got the actual problem identified & solved, so this person can enjoy their Superchip!
Over 98% of the time in a no-start, it's just like your situation Tim, a little bit more conformal coating is *somewhere*, whether it's on one of the actual contacts or on the connector itself. All conformal coating on the entire surface area of both sides of that connector that is covered by the slot on the Superchip when installed must be removed. And the kicker is, that coating is clear in color, so when there's just alittle bit left, it can sometimes be harder to spot. This is why we suggest in our documentation to do this under strong, bright light and to look at the connector with something to magnify the view a bit if you have a problem, and it looks like that is what got you to the problem, looking at it with a little magnification.
Have fun & thanks for your post, Tim!
For some reason your screen name puts a smile on my face when I see it, and I needed a smile first thing today, thanks!
We're glad you got the actual problem identified & solved, so this person can enjoy their Superchip!
Over 98% of the time in a no-start, it's just like your situation Tim, a little bit more conformal coating is *somewhere*, whether it's on one of the actual contacts or on the connector itself. All conformal coating on the entire surface area of both sides of that connector that is covered by the slot on the Superchip when installed must be removed. And the kicker is, that coating is clear in color, so when there's just alittle bit left, it can sometimes be harder to spot. This is why we suggest in our documentation to do this under strong, bright light and to look at the connector with something to magnify the view a bit if you have a problem, and it looks like that is what got you to the problem, looking at it with a little magnification.
Have fun & thanks for your post, Tim!