I have had my supership installed in my S'Crew since new with no problems, and last week the ECM went dead. The dealer got my truck on a hook and towed it in. After diagnosing the truck they pulled the chip and it ran fine. I have sent the chip back to the factory to ensure that it is or hasnt become flawed. Is this an issue anyone else has had?

 

Hi F150Canuck,

Sorry to hear you went thus that!

You may not want to hear this right now, but it was easily avoidable, and I'll explain in a second................................

While it is possible to have a failure of the Superchip, that is *extremely* rare and highly unlikely. To give you an idea just how unlikely, for calendar 2002 year-to-date, our failure rate here at Performance for the Superchip has been less than 1 tenth of 1 percent, which is incredibly low for any electronic component.

This sounds like a very simple installation problem that could easily have been solved with some proper Tech Support from whoever you bought your Superchip from.

Here is something very important that you'll want and need to know about using any performance chip on a Ford ECU: Removing the chip and having the vehicle start running again does *not* mean that there is anything at all wrong with the chip, that is just how that circuit works in the ECU. There is rarely anything actually wrong with the Superchip module, it's almost always just a very simple connection-related issue.

When you attach the Superchip to the Ford ECU, that basically makes that circuit (J3) act like an external override data path, changing the location from which the ECU gets it's basic powertrain operation instructions from it's normal internal source to an external source, very simple and neat. However, if the ECU cannot communicate fully and properly with the external instruction source (in this case, the Superchip module), then you can get a no-start, or low power from going into what's called "limp home mode," etc. Remove the chip and voila`, the ECU can now communicate with it's original instruction set internally, and the vehicle immediately starts right up and runs fine, so it's a natual assumption to think that there is something wrong with the chip. There usually isn't anything wrong with the chip at all, this is almost always a simple installation issue, where the connector was not fully cleared of all conformal coating, or the module not properly attached to the ECU, etc.

Just so you'll know for future reference, anyone who is using any performance chip of any kind on any FoMoCo vehicle should always pull the chip and see if the vehicle starts up anytime they have any kind of problem such as a no-start, stall, etc. This is just basic Troubleshooting 101, so to speak, for any Ford vehicle owner with a performance chip. This is very simple and easy to do in about a minute or two in these vehicles, the 1997 & up F-150 platform.

Here at Performance Products, we write a significant amount of additional documentation and instructions that we provide with every Superchip we ship in addition to the manufacturers instructions. This very thing is just one of numerous points we go over in great detail in our supplemental documentation.

In your post you mention that you "sent it back to the factory," so I'm assuming that means you have already made arrangements to have your Superchip tested. I doubt they'll find anything wrong, but many times if you're dealing directly with Superchips the manufacturer, they'll just replace it anyway.

You're going to most likely find that this is just from not having the connector cleaned properly, which requires removing the ECU (your powertrain computer) from the vehicle, and removing both the top and the bottom covers to get proper access to both sides of the connector. You will also need to do more than just use the small piece of green Scotchbrite pad that the manufactuer includes to remove the conformal coating, it takes more to remove 100% of the conformal coating from every bit of the surface area of the connector that is covered by the slot on the Superchip when installed than just using that Scotchbrite pad.

If you have any problems when you get your Superchip back, give us a call here at Performance and we can go over this with you in proper detail so you'll know exactly what to do, and what will cause the kind of problem you experienced, and how to avoid it, etc.

Hang in there, this is just a simple matter and easily fixed, and easily avoided in the future as well. You should be back to enjoying your Superchip here very quickly!

 

Thanx Mike, I figured it was a small issue. Do you recommend using any dielectric on the contacts when reinstalling the chip into the ECM?

 

You're very welcome.

No, we do *NOT* advise using dialectric grease on virtually any automotive connection with the exception of a dab on the spark plug boot.

That's very messy, and in the case of the Superchip, you'll never be able to have it serviced or reprogrammed or tested with dialectric grease ever having been in that slot, as that will foul our gear so we wouldn't touch it. We would have to completely disassemble our hardware to thoroughly clean it after testing, programming, etc. any Superchip that has had that grease get into the slot in any amount.

So no, do not ever use dialectric grease on that connection, or any other electrical connection on that vehicle except the spark plug boot to aid removing it in the future.

It's a great question though, as dialectric grease sure has it's uses, just not on the Superchip.

 

Mike

I have removed the ECM and followed the instructions to the "T". The truck will not start with the chip installed. With the key in the "run" position, the odometer shows ------------. I have checked and rechecked all the processes and the result is the same. . I feel I have no other choice that to ship it back to the factory? I have installed other superchips before without this particular problem! Your thoughts and comments are appreciated.

Cheers Les

 

I'm sorry to hear you are having a problem, but it will be easy to solve, so hang in there!

If you follow all of our directions, you'll see they also include a section titled "How to Get Technical Support," and then again on the last page of our documentation, where is says to call us for help. This is where it also says not to try to get assistance from us by posting your problems here on F-150 Online, as we can't help you here, you *have* to call us.

You'll find that we're more than happy to help you, and we *want* to help you of course, but until you make that call for Tech Support, we can't help you, my friend, so please give us a call ok? Thanks!

We look forward to speaking with you soon,