Probably better to go with factory FICM and just make sure all other electrical components are up to par. (wiring is good, alternator etc.)

I agree I wouldn't use aftermarket for the FICM unless I was provided a specific upgraded parts list. If it was a race truck and wasn't used for a daily driver then I'd maybe try it.

Better cold start solution would be synthetic oil, well maintained batteries and using a block heater when applicable. I used 8oz of
Revx and that made a difference for me also.

 

Yup.

In a not public discussion with someone knowledgeable about the FICM, one of the items that is suggested to be a major cause of FICM failure that I cannot mention is never replaced in any known FICM reman operation.

And it ain't the capacitors or an active part.

 

Yeahhhhhhh.........OEM is the answer! It never fails!

 

My OEM FICM is going on 9 years old and it's still firing away, but it's only a 48 volt model.

 

I wish mine would have made it to 9 years...

 

AFAIK, my FICM is ORIGINAL (need OASIS confirmation), and it is at 275,000 miles and voltages measured fine.

 

There are many of us 6.0 owners who have not been as fortunate to have their FICM last that long. It costs us a lot of money not to mention being a pain in the rear when they fail. I think the majority of people do maintain their trucks well as I do but the FICM is a problem or it wouldn't fail as frequently across the board.

 

It was a bone headed decision to mount the FICM on the engine.

Plus a few other issues, like not anticipating the impact of combinations of low supply voltage, high heat, and things like tunes and mods have on it.

On rarely modded E-Vans, the failure rate of the chassis mounted part is a fraction of the Fs.

What does that tell you? Nearly identical in every way.

 

There are MANY MANY MANY FICM's that have failed that are not a result of tunes and mods. There are also "new/reman" FICM's that are still failing because whoever the remanufacturer (or Ford) has failed to address the electronics that are failing as a result of "Factory Tuning". What you also fail to mention is that the F series and E series engines have different factory tuning from Ford. I know that you are not a proponent of Swamps "upgraded" FICM's because they refuse to publish to the world what it is they replace/upgrade to make the factory FICM's better. Why should they? It's "proprietary" information that they've invested time and money in so they can make a profit. They offer as good a warranty on their repair as Ford does for a competitive price. You (and others) complain about possible damage to other components caused by modified FICM's, but not even Ford would stand behind "consequential damage" caused in a similar way. If you choose to go to a 58V FICM then it's no different than plugging in a tuner or deleting an EGR. You have to be responsible in your decisions and willing to accept the consequences of your actions. Despite questions and claims about the higher voltage FICM's causing damage to injector coils there hasn't been anything to document that. The injector coils are being used as heaters which they weren't designed either. IMHO that causes a LOT more stress to the coils simply because of the extended time they are on than the micro pulses at 58V. There also has been no documentation that proves engine heat has caused FICM failures even though I agree that it's a real possibility. FICM's started massive failures AFTER Ford went to their aggressive inductive heat strategy in an effort to help cold start issues (which has been touted as "sheer genius"). Ford has since modified that strategy (VXCF9) to be less aggressive in an effort to stem the tide of FICM failures and (again) massive warranty claims. I, for one, would like to know where you obtained your information about "E" series FICM claims being a fraction of the "F" series as I don't know of anywhere that Ford publishes that information.

Disclaimer: I do not run nor have I run a Swamps FICM. I am not an employee of nor do I receive any compensation from them.

 

GL - in post #15 you ask about why all the secrecy! Then you put up this post (full of secrecy). Whats up with that? It adds to discussions no doubt (turmoil actually), but provides no help. I guess you are implying that Ford (who initiated the weak FICM issues - whether flash or component driven) is now the only source of a reliable FICM? If so, what lot number or production date should we look for?

The 58V mod has been out there for awhile, and there has been zero complaints about it (that I can find anyway). You say there have been mixed results, but I haven't seen them (and I watch at least 10 different 6.0L forums). can you elaborate on the "mixed results" comment?

I am not advocating it, but bottom line ...... it is as Tim said: With ANY mod, we all need to take responsibility that it could affect other components "down the road"!

 

Nice post--Somebody "REP" this man for me please."


GL--I agree about the secrecy thing. If you have information (not just hearsay) then post it. Don't hipocritically bash Swamps for doing the same thing. If they released the information about what they do then there would be a million Tom, Dick, and Harry's out there on Ebay doing the same thing and NO ONE would be able to get quality parts of ANY kind without having to weed through a million and one pieces of junk. You obviously have a lot of electronic knowledge that you could use to provide useful information on how to make something better rather than bashing someone who tries to help make something better. Ford will never improve this "product". It's a "dead horse" to them.

Real world testing comes in real world conditions by people willing to push the envelope that want to improve their stuff. Without people like that we'd still be using stone knives and tree branch clubs to eat.

 

I have run the 58v swamps ficm for 6 mo now in my early build 03 6.0 and think it works great . Much faster cold starts and better engine performance.

 

Ther is a Fraction of E-series vans compared to f series trucks with the 6.0. With the numbers, the problems become more apparent.



I musta rep'ed Bismic earlier, as it wont let me now!

 

Go through the FICM mod thread here, and the stories are decidedly mixed: from people finding no improvement, some finding codes, to others claiming it is sliced bread.

Swamps Diesel Hot FICM Tests - TheDieselGarage.com

What I did was to sort out the ones who got a FICM tune --- and muddied the waters.

On the factory FICM tune, and running stock, there is no evidence on that demonstrate a consistent, measurable, statistically significant improvement in items we are concerned with (cold starting, reduction of stiction, or, gasp, things like improved throttle response, power, etc.).

(BTW, I know there is room to improve the factory FICM tune --- and that is one thing I am sniffing at).

Insofar as downstream problems, I have seen no specific cause and effect mentioned --- but because it is not talked about on a thread, it does not mean it is not there.

Indeed, there is a good case to be made for non-response / report bias because people who did the 58v have a natural inclination to not let on that they blew up something of theirs downstream that made them look foolish in retrospect.

A 58v voltage mod is one of those things that chips away at the safety margins, and the actual failure can be quite some time down the road. That could be 1 day, 1 month, 1 year, or more... of the time when your engine compartment gets a sustained bath of salt from the liquid salt truck in front of you.

The point is, with injector replacement at a minimum of $2k... why risk it?

There are better cost / benefit mods to do to the 6.0 that are sure of getting results.



Onto the issue of FICM replacement:


Yes, given the number of "reman", "rebuilt" FICMs on the market that I sniffed at with substandard parts, my short answer is, Ford reman is the way to go.

Any recent reman will do --- as Ford did learn, and fix many of the issues in the remans.

I have yet to hear of systemic issues with Ford reman FICMs that are known to be properly recertified by Ford.

There are a huge number of remans (e.g. on ebay) that followed the pstrang directions, which used below factory spec parts that is likely to cause problems down the road.

Read the pstrang directions for yourself --- I almost fell over the chair laughing at how this joke was flogged on the 6.0 community without it being called. Substituting 105C parts for 125C parts is acceptable? What a sick joke.



Page 10 of this document below, that is widely distributed and used as a "bible" for FICM rebuilders, state unequivocally that using substandard parts is the way to go...

www.ford-trucks.com/ford-manuals/FICM.pdf


The pstrang manual was never revised or updated, and the document remains on FTE site.

With misinformation like that on forums.... do you honestly trust any FICM rebuilder beside Ford?


Mark:

How is this different from putting CD rated engine oil in your truck because "it is better" in some specs?

I would no more use major substandard capacitors in a heat critical part than to put substandard oil in my truck! But to put in substandard parts and to call it an "improvement" or "upgrade"?????

And not have someone flag it??????

Would you have flagged it if someone came on and said using car grade motor oil got them faster starts, better MPG, etc? (All of which might be true for using a car grade 5w-20 oil --- I am not advocating this!!!)


I for a fact know Ford certified remans did not let "remans" with substandard parts back out as a part they will sell!

I cannot say the same for any other FICM reman out there.

When the water is so muddied by the pstrang "bible", I am afraid all FICM reman shops are suspect --- unless they can document their goods or unless they are Ford.

Plus home reman shops that didn't do it quite right... and there is no way to tell without opening the case and seeing it for yourself.

So given the uncertainty out there, yes, why risk tweaking the volts for so little obvious gain?

-----------------------------------

Now, this is what I would do for my vehicle FICM.

If I had an engine mounted FICM, the mod that I would do would be to take the mount off the engine -- a known and virtually proven reliability mod that worked in tens of thousands of E vans.

If you do it right, an off engine FICM mounting that reduce vibration is a no brainer for improving reliability.

I would also introduce more cooling air and toss in a good heat shield facing the direction of the heat --- a relatively low risk mod.

It is a known fact that operated at room temperature (rather than engine under hood temp), all the electronic parts will perform better and last longer --- though there is some minor risk of overcooling and salt / water spray --- a known (and somewhat risky) strategy to get electronics do do more is to really chill it. (I am not recommending it).

The bang for the buck of these two mods vs. risk of nearly nil I would go for.


BTW, I did consider a separate power supply for the FICM with its own regulator, battery backup, etc....

Another relatively safe mod if proper spike / short protection were done with an industrial grade power supply.

The mods I do are relatively obvious, simple (like a coolant filter) and works.

A bird in hand... vs... a bird in the bush.

 

My view of your first comment above: then why recommend a part with unknowns when there is a Ford certified reman from partsguyed.com at a very good price?


I have several sources for the E vs. F failure rate, namely from the parts sales data at a few dealers I talk to.

No doubt that few E vans are tuned, modded, have lower underhood temps... is a factor.

But they (in many apps like ambulance) also idle a lot, and it seem to do them not much harm lately.

Failures of FICM in any 2008 or later model year E vans are very rare indeed.