FICM question

WOW neat........

1-5-3-6-2-4 said:
I highly doubt either is the case, but I can only tell you what my truck does.



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You can do a brake stand on ice cold pavement.......good for you.....:kick::lolly:
 
matty169 said:
You can do a brake stand on ice cold pavement.......good for you.....:kick::lolly:
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That's four 37s, it was pretty nice out actually. But I have no doubt it'll do exactly the same come summer.


Kev, how I understand the scenario. The 58v allows obviously a stronger pull on the spool in the injector. Thats fine, you'll get better cold starting, you can overcome stiction in marginalized injectors, for a while anyways.

I don't believe you need it, if your sticks are good, and you are running a quality oil. 0w40, or 0w30 5w40 at least. No 15w40 at anytime. And put a PHP tune on it. It'll make you power no question. I run esso xd-3 0w40, and the tuned ficm now. Zero starting issues.



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As long as your batteries load test good and the FICM voltage doesn't drop below 48V, it's fine. Or so they say. I have a few FICM's on my bench that test 48V across the board but wont even start the truck if it's less than 50* out and it's not plugged in. The voltage test is a GOOD indicator, but not a end-all. Start by testing the FICM voltage, AFTER you have the batteries load tested. Weak batteries will simulate a dying FICM and will slowly kill a FICM as well. If yours is dying, I suggest having it repaired. A 58V unit would be nice, but unnecessary IMO. You'd be better off going with some rollback tuning from PHP IMO. Just my 2 cents. My truck has probably seen 75 different FICM's on it. I removed my stock 4 pin for an old 03 7 pin, mainly for the old programming. Way smoother start ups, buzzes the injectors much faster, idles smoother, and best of all... more throttle response. It just seems like the truck moves so much easier with less throttle with this older programming.
 
Mdub, what do you have to do to change from the 4 pin to the 7 pin?

Thanks Luke. I think that is what I am going to do is just try some tuning first. It will start, but just not like what I am used to with a cummins. I sure have to tell you, I am quite impressed with this 6.0, it really is a decent unit. A little bit of work should make this thing a pretty decent vehicle
 
Who else has FICM programming available? And what tuners do you need to tune your FICM?
 
There is no difference externally between the 4 or 7 pins, you can use any year FICM on any year 6.0. I see no difference in failure rate really, they both fail. Both benefit from soldering the common break points. The board layout is a little different interally (thus the 4 and 7 pins). There are many different Ford flashes, some good, some not, some in between, and PHP can roll back to some of the better older stuff and mix in some of the new good features too. For tuning I know PHP does it, as does Innovative, and KEM. KEM is the most expensive from what I remember. They all kind of suggest going with FICM tuning from whoever does your normal tuning too, but not a necessity. The PHP Gryphon tuner is nice, since you can then change your FICM tuning as easily as you can with your SCT tuning. He loads 4 FICM tunes on, and you get the gryphon itself which is similar to the scangauge I believe. I think that runs like $400.

I would highly suggest making sure everything is in proper working order before trying to solve a starting problem by tuning the FICM. Most have noted rougher idle in cold weather with aggressive FICM tuning as well.

Have the batteries been load tested? The FICM itself has been tested and passed with 48V across all three circumstances? (key on, engine off/cranking/running?) When you turn the key can you hear the injectors buzz strongly?

When starting a 6.0 in really cold weather (at least in my case), I turn the key forward and listen to the FICM buzz the spool valves. I let them run through until they stop. I then cycle the key off and back on again and let them run another complete cycle to "pre-lube" the injectors. Once they've stopped I start the truck. I essentially pay no attention to the WTS light. It is usually off long before the injectors stop buzzing and the glow plugs are independent of that light anyways. You can easily tell how long the glow plugs are on for if you turn the headlights on against a garage or wall or something, when they get noticeably brighter, the glow plugs just went off. I've got a chart kicking around explaining glow plug on time, but probably not important right now.
 
As soon as I get a moment I am going to check the voltage on the FICM, batteries are brand new. Get a good buzzing from the injectors.. have to check glow plugs, but I am thinking they are ok too... if I do a 2 or 3 time cycle it will start every single time. I may be over zealous on this, as I am so used to running a common rail unit before (Dodge, chevy and ford 6.4) and they start so excellent in the cold
 
My 6.0 starts up crisp and clean down to about 0* weather with no smoke on start up. Rotella T6 and rev-x certainly aid in smooth running. Mine will usually start with one cycle of the key, but it's a little choppier, with two cycles it seems to run smooth.

You can certainly test the GPCM and the glow plugs, very easy to do with a multi-meter though the glow plug systems on these are pretty robust and rarely go bad.

Disconnect the 4 pin connector at the valve cover. Measure each glow plug resistance to battery ground, the glow plugs should fall between .1 and 2 ohms. Then measure the engine harness resistance to the GPCM, those should fall between 0 and 1 ohms.

I would expect the HEUI truck to run a little rougher on start up than the CR for sure though.
 
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