Opinions

6speedsd · Mar 11, 2013

And I like cheap! Only cost me about 2 hours of my time. I just don't understand why it all of a sudden went to crap. Both of my batteries pass a load test with flying colors. I guess that's just how it is with a 6.0

CCRICE · Mar 12, 2013

That's how it is with electrical on any vehicle. It can decide to let go at any time without warning.. One wrong vibration or bump and it's over. Good thing you caught it before it started killing injectors also!

6speedsd · Mar 12, 2013

Yea tell me about it. I still think #5 is weak, but I will find out for sure in the morning.

Mdub707 · Mar 12, 2013

They start easier when plugged in because it's just far less work for it to fire the injectors when everything is already up to temp. Oil is much thicker when it's cold, so if it's pre-heated a bit, the injectors can fire easier, and it's more noticeable on a weak FICM that can't fire the injectors fast enough. You should be fine now. It's amazing how these run with good batteries and a proper FICM.

6speedsd · Mar 12, 2013

Well, did a buzz test this morning. Truck wasn't plugged in last night, 31 degrees outside. 1,3,5 and 8 wouldn't click. Ugh! But, it did run a lot better than it had been until warm. Still romped a bit, smoked a little, but nothing like it has been. I still think I'm gonna need to replace some injectors.

Lassie · Mar 12, 2013

On your AE power balance graph, don't think of anything below the zero line as "bad". An indication of a cylinder cont issue is a downward sloped rpm after that cylinder fired. The graph you posted shows an RPM drop after 1,2, and 3 fired. I wouldn't use any of that data since you had a bad FICM, but thats how that test is used. An overfueling injector may also have a higher than average contribution.

If you get a chance to play around with it, disable an injector in a healthy cylinder, then run a power balance and watch how the graph responds.

6speedsd · Mar 12, 2013

Gotcha! As I said I'm still learning what all the data I get means.

Still stumped with the buzz test though. If those 4 wouldn't buzz, shouldn't it run worse than it does on a cold start? I mean it ran a little rough at first today, but only like maybe one was sticking. Not all four. Being random injectors, it doesn't point to a harness issue either.

Mdub707 · Mar 12, 2013

I'm honestly still not convinced the FICM is good.

6speedsd · Mar 12, 2013

Only way to tell for sure is with a new one right?

Mdub707 · Mar 12, 2013

Or if you have a known good one to swap on, don't know anyone else with a 6.0 do you? I see you just repaired yours too, may want to pull it back apart and give it an inspection. I've seen those little resistors "tombstone" on the boards before believe it or not... which means it gets hot enough to reflow the solder, which I could not believe.

Lassie · Mar 12, 2013

Get a FICM halfshell from a local INT dealer. International's price is $129 here (+core). Will fix your power supply half good as new and you wont have to sweat over how long a repair will last.

6speedsd · Mar 12, 2013

Well my dad has one, but we are trying to work out bugs with his as well, and I'm not sure what condition his ficm is actually in.

Mdub707 · Mar 12, 2013

Lassie said:
Get a FICM halfshell from a local INT dealer. International's price is $129 here (+core). Will fix your power supply half good as new and you wont have to sweat over how long a repair will last.

Instead you'll just have to worry about how long the new half shell will last??? I don't get it. If the repair is done properly it should out last a new half shell I would think. The new half shells are no different than what's on there, just a good inexpensive option to those that don't feel comfortable soldering their FICM's.

Mdub707 · Mar 12, 2013

6speedsd said:
Well my dad has one, but we are trying to work out bugs with his as well, and I'm not sure what condition his ficm is actually in.

I wish you were closer to help out. All of my spares are currently out to help avoid down time with trucks. If I get another unit in this week or next, I'll just ship one to you to try out.

Lassie · Mar 12, 2013

Mdub707 said:
Instead you'll just have to worry about how long the new half shell will last??? I don't get it. If the repair is done properly it should out last a new half shell I would think. The new half shells are no different than what's on there, just a good inexpensive option to those that don't feel comfortable soldering their FICM's.

Haha...Easy partner.

I often use these to replace soldered FICMs. Soldered or "repaired" FICMs typically never are correctly resin coated and fail within months. If a garage solder job is what you want, then rock on..........just keep a halfshell on hand for when your cold joint cracks!

6speedsd · Mar 12, 2013

I resoldered the one on my 04 the same as I did this one. Was still going strong over 2 years later when I traded it.

6speedsd · Mar 12, 2013

Ok I'm still having a hard time understanding this. To me, in my mind, if my module was bad, regardless of if its reading a good 48v across the board, shouldn't I have some drivability issues? I mean once temps are up, this thing runs great aside from being a little sluggish. That repair I did cleared up that slight miss I had at idle. It just seems like, seeing as how important a ficm is, if it wasn't working as it should, I would have issues all the time. An not just when the engine is cold.

Maybe I'm looking at this all wrong.

Mdub707 · Mar 13, 2013

Lassie said:
Haha...Easy partner.

I often use these to replace soldered FICMs. Soldered or "repaired" FICMs typically never are correctly resin coated and fail within months. If a garage solder job is what you want, then rock on..........just keep a halfshell on hand for when your cold joint cracks!

Sorry, didn't mean to come off like an a-hole LOL

All of the one's I've repaired get a new staking compound put in place. I've probably done close to 75 of these things and haven't had a single one come back. Each and every one gets tested on my truck though, not on a bench, and I do a "cold start" with it at least one time to ensure it will start properly. I do actually have a few I wouldn't send out, they test at 48V across the board, but the truck doesn't run good at all with them. My point was, they've done nothing to improve the reliability on the new half shells, so you will likely just run into the same issues again down the road. I'd take a repair over a new half shell any day. Just my thoughts on it though.

6speedsd said:
Ok I'm still having a hard time understanding this. To me, in my mind, if my module was bad, regardless of if its reading a good 48v across the board, shouldn't I have some drivability issues? I mean once temps are up, this thing runs great aside from being a little sluggish. That repair I did cleared up that slight miss I had at idle. It just seems like, seeing as how important a ficm is, if it wasn't working as it should, I would have issues all the time. An not just when the engine is cold.

Maybe I'm looking at this all wrong.

You wont have issues all the time. You should take a good look at this: http://www.fordtechservice.dealerconnection.com/vdirs/subsites/diag/6.0L_FICM_Guide.pdf

The FICM's job is to electronically "fire" the injector. It moves the spool valves inside the injector. Sticky spool valves cause this to be a slightly slower reaction, and we can "overcome" this with voltage. If the FICM isn't putting out the proper voltages, it becomes more difficult for it to move that spool valve and you get misses and poor running. As the engine warms up, everything just moves easier with warm oil, and you don't notice it as much.

6speedsd · Mar 13, 2013

That makes sense.

After looking at that document, where it talks about sync and ficm sync, if I remember correctly, mine will not stay at "yes" all the time. It stated sync should read yes with engine running. Could that be causing an issue? Maybe a faulty CKP or CMP? I know I've always heard neither of those are prone to fail.