[ynpmoose]

Only sometimes, and only when it's really cold, the CTS alarms that my FICM volts have dropped below 45. Usually only to 44v and only for a second or two. Once it warms up a bit it's solid between 47.5 and 48.5.

My background is in electronics and I have a lot of soldering experience, so I'm thinking I'll try to re-solder myself. I'm hoping that's the only problem is it's very marginally bad at this point and not a total disaster. If it works, I save a ton of dough. I've read the DIY re-solder instructions, but have only seen 4 pin FICMs documented. I believe I may have 7-pin. If I do, I'll try to write-up my process for others to reference. (If anyone knows of an existing reference, that would be even better.)

My main questions is, if I re-solder and it doesn't work or only lasts for a while, would this impact my ability to recover my core charge if I have to replace the FICM power supply at a later time?

 

[kinnisoj]

My wife was a avionics tech in the military and I know she has worked on a ton of computer stuff so when my first ficm started acting up I handed it over and said "here fix this..." well she laughed for 20 minutes then a weird nerd look over came her and she tore it apart and went nuts. It kinda helped it but not reeley.
I did later send it to ficmrepair.com and never heard any complaints from Ed.

 

[kinnisoj]

Last time I commented on a FICM issue I had a airplane pilot that was waiting (I beleive) to take off from a airport in Hong Kong with a load if rubber dog chit and fake puke gave me crap for a week about when to change one out or not. So let me just say I dont wish to disturb the airline community in this time of heavy travel with any bad ficm advice!

 

[ynpmoose]

Hmm, reading up on FICMs and found that weak batteries can be a factor, so I decided to focus some attention there.

A "cool" start at lunch after sitting 4 hours in 30-35 degree weather and I caught a glimpse of 10.6v during cranking after 12.3v koeo. Those both seem low to me. 14+ volts while idling, so I think the alt is ok. I guess I need to get them load tested.

 

[a2elvis]

Hmm, reading up on FICMs and found that weak batteries can be a factor, so I decided to focus some attention there.

A "cool" start at lunch after sitting 4 hours in 30-35 degree weather and I caught a glimpse of 10.6v during cranking after 12.3v koeo. Those both seem low to me. 14+ volts while idling, so I think the alt is ok. I guess I need to get them load tested.

Yep, have the batteries load tested and go from there.

In my opinion anything less than 47V would be a sign of a bad FICM Power Supply.

 

[Qholic]

12.3 volts is not bad for KOEO, when you do that the glow plugs are powered and they draw a lot of volts and amps. My FICM is doing the same thing and I'm just waiting till after the holidays to pull the trigger on a replacement.

 

[LFDPVinny]

I replaced mine with a Bullet Proof Diesel 58V 6 Phase a couple months ago. I couldn't be happier, I am patiently waiting for the FICM to go out on my wife's truck so I can order another one.

 

[Karls03]

Last time I commented on a FICM issue I had a airplane pilot that was waiting (I beleive) to take off from a airport in Hong Kong with a load if rubber dog chit and fake puke gave me crap for a week about when to change one out or not. So let me just say I dont wish to disturb the airline community in this time of heavy travel with any bad ficm advice!

Hey, I think I know that guy. LOL.

But seriously, the OEM FICM is POS. I cooked one till it quit and when the second started fluctuating voltage in straight and level flight, I canx'd it in favor of a 58V 6 Phase BPD FICM. It was well worth the money.

Karl and his 2003 Souper Doody

 

[robbyvanz]

You could get a Dorman Ficm power supply for $120 shipped from Amazon and just swap it out. This would save downtime and I have heard they are pretty good.

Just realized you have the 7 pin board. oops....

Here are instructions for soldering your FICM:

http://www.bscustoms.net/diesel/FICM.pdf

 

[ynpmoose]

Saw a 9-something volts flash on-screen while cranking this morning (forgot to turn on the block heater so ECT was about 34F). It then ran at 11.7v for a minute until the plugs shut off and then jumped up to 14+. They are 850CCA Motorcraft batteries and marked as installed August 2011. Not really thrilled about the battery brand, but the sticker says under 36 months is 100% free replacement, 36-100 months is pro-rated, so I might be able to catch a break. Unfortunately the local Ford dealer was getting a new floor installed in the service dept today, so I'll have to stop in next week.

 

[ynpmoose]

Well the batteries load tested fine. The dealer said they wouldn't have honored the Motorcraft battery warranty anyway since I didn't have a copy of the original invoice. The more I think about it, I'm leaning towards replacement instead of repair.

 

[robbyvanz]

You might have a starter going bad. Check out this video around the 17 min mark. They said if your battery voltage drops below 10.9V while cranking, it may be your starter.

TKU # 904 ? Misdiagnosis | TruckU

 

[nighthawk285]

You could get a Dorman Ficm power supply for $120 shipped from Amazon and just swap it out. This would save downtime and I have heard they are pretty good.

Dorman 904-229 Fuel Injection Control Module : Amazon.com : Automotive


Just realized you have the 7 pin board. oops....

Here are instructions for soldering your FICM:

http://www.bscustoms.net/diesel/FICM.pdf

Even still, I wouldn't put a Dorman product on something as important as a FICM. Hell, Ford got it wrong from the factory, I'm really not going to put any faith in a Chinese made imitator.

Well the batteries load tested fine. The dealer said they wouldn't have honored the Motorcraft battery warranty anyway since I didn't have a copy of the original invoice. The more I think about it, I'm leaning towards replacement instead of repair.

Try the guys at FICMrepair.com....they do excellent work for a good price. If you want to install it and forget about it ever being a problem again, get a BPD unit.

 

[ynpmoose]

You might have a starter going bad. Check out this video around the 17 min mark. They said if your battery voltage drops below 10.9V while cranking, it may be your starter.

TKU # 904 ? Misdiagnosis | TruckU

They did say there was corrosion on the starter terminals and they cleaned it up for free with the battery check. I'll have to keep an eye on this. Thanks for the info.