I was having some issues with pinging at WOT so I added some Octane booster, 20 miles later I start to get a miss, 2 miles later when I get it home it is starting to miss pretty good. Pulled the plugs and they all look okay?? Truck only misses when it has a load, seems to run smooth at idle. Hooked up the Predator and all I see is a random misfire code. Truck is an 05 with 71000 miles and a Magnacharger.
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Well I added octane boost to my tank and now the truck bucks and not much power. Seems Roush supercharger and octane boost do not mix. Anyway whats the best way to just run through this fuel and fill up with 93 octane. Leaving the truck running overnight? lol
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Has any one had problems with octane boost possibly fouling plugs?? I have fouled out two sets now. The tuner has had the pickup for weeks now and can find nothing wrong. Two other shops have had a crack at it as well and can find nothing wrong?!? Everyone I talk to tells me it can't be the fuel, but this all started just after I poured in a bottle of octane boost. Anyone else heard of anything like this???
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DO NOT USE OCTANE BOOST I had the same situation and the octane boost made it much worse. have them either drain the tank or drive it out. My supercharger setup was installed at the dealer. I had to replace my plugs twice due to fouled plugs from the octane booster.

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Not an 04+

I don't have an intercooler on my Kennebell supercharger and have run 93 octane with 14 PSI boost on an 80 degree day with no detonation. DON'T use the octane boost products at the local stores!

 

Your point?

 

Dealer just called a few minutes ago. They replaced a burned plug and burned coil. The engine checked okay and is running fine on 91 octane.

I spoke to the manager who indicated it was their fault for not telling me and I am not being charged anything for the repair (which he said was done under warranty). He further stated he was sorry and said he personally should have told me about having to run 91 octane. He went on to say (voluntarily - I didn't ask) that even if there was a tag on the fuel filler cap it is still their responsibilty to ensure the customer knows about such things prior to leaving the lot.

I'll pick it up tonight.

On the plus side I've learned a lot about supercharges in a short amount of time. The truck doesn't have any extra gauges, so I'm going to put in a boost gauge as well as a transmission temp gauge. I don't think I need an APR gauge since the computer is programmed for the supercharger and I have no intentions of changing anything.

 

Sounds like your good to go, glad it worked out for you.

 

Well, I'm not good to go; unfortunately. Here's the service write up:

"Customer states the vehicle runs poorly and lacks power on normal acceleration. Check and advise.

Test drove vehicle to verify customer concern. Vehicle has misfire in the engine while acclerating. Hook up scan tool has code P0300 random misfire. Perform pin-point test w/ PID monitor. Perform power balance test found cylinders 1, 2 and 6 misfire under load. Performed ignition system test and found coil #2 shorted internal. Test spark plugs #1, #6 found they open under load. Replace coil #2 and 2 spark plugs #1 and #6. Retest all. System pass"

When I dropped the truck off it had just about 3/4 tank on the gauge. Upon pickup it read just over 1/2 tank. So I was curious if they actually drained it, but I gave them the benefit of the doubt. The gave me a fuel ticket for a full tank of 91 octane and sent me on my way.

I drove it about 500 yards and immediatly began to feel the hesitation again. I again gave it the benifit of the doubt thinking it just needed to be warmed up. I got gas, 91 octane this time, and headed for the freeway home (a long drive w/ traffic). As the truck warmed up, the problem got worse. I promptly returned to the dealer and questioned whether or not they had actually driven the truck, or if they just trusted the computer that it was "system pass" okay. Needless to say I was quite ticked off.

I am beyond frustrated. I now have a rental truck that is uselss because it has no tow package. My President's Day weekend camping trip is now in jeopoardy. At this point I wish I could just have my 93 F-150 that I traded in back.

 

Complain about the truck that there loaning you not having the tow package. there is no excuse, after all the hopes you have had to jump through. Plus from what it sounds like there trying to make it right and keep you happy tell them about your camping trip and see if they don't loan you a different truck.

 

Well, I just got a phone call from the sales manager that worked the deal for me. He's trying his hardest to find a solution. He's assured me that I will have my truck to camp with this weekend or he'll find me another option to tow my trailer. I have to give the guy credit. He's trying hard. The service guy spent his time trying to make me feel like I should have known that superchargers take 91 octane and that his tech surely drove the truck but just "not enough" and the extra 500 yards that I drove it was what it took to make the problem happen.

Anyway, I told the manager that I love the truck and that as I originally said when I bought the truck, "I love everything about it except the supercharger". I told him that I would be happy to just have the supercharger taken off and the stock equipment put back on. He's going to see what options we have and call me tomorrow.

I will keep posting as this story turns. I'm not going to start dealer bashing and naming names because I think they really do want to solve the problem. The problem was caused by an oversight, not a quality issue.

 

I came home tonight and had a message on my voice-mail from the manager. I don't know why he didn't call my cell phone, but anyway...

He now says that the "previous owner had the wrong plugs" in the truck. They have now replaced the plugs with the right ones and the truck runs great. I can come pick it up.

He then went on to try and allay (sp?) my fears about having to spend more money on premium when I would have walked away from the sale had I known; "you know, I'm quite the car guy and I've had cars with superchargers... what I used to do was run 91 for a tank and then switch off with 87 every other tank. I never had a prob" (machine cut him off)

So, my questions for them tomorrow are:
1. If there were two burnt plugs that had to be replaced on Tuesday, how come the tech didn't realize the plugs he removed were wrong and then replace the rest of the plugs?
2. How come the truck ran great for the fairly decent and thorough test drive that I did, as well as the initial drive home on these allegedly bad plugs?
3. If MagnaCharger is adamant that 91 octane be used, are you telling me that it's okay to run 87 every other tank, and if so, are you going to warrant the engine for any damaged caused by now blatantly ignoring the manufacturer's guideline?


Now, as for #3, I've got a friend who had a Magnacharger on his previous Chevy 1500 and he said that sometimes he'd be caught in some po-dunk town that didn't have 91 and he'd have to run lower octane. He said he never had any problems with the occasional tank.

I think the manager's suggestion of switching octanes is in there because he knows that at this point I just want the supercharger taken off, and they obviously aren't going to do it.

Any thoughts from those w/ more experience than me?

 

1. The original plugs were fouled by the octane boost
2. Because they were the correct plugs
3. Here in Ca. our 91 is closer to 90... 89 or 87 is not O.k

 

I agree. I'm curious as to how they are going to answer those questions when I pose them tomorrow.

On a separate note - I know that when the supercharger was installed, the computer was sent to Magnacharger to be programmed. If the dealer reset the computer, what's the best way to get it reprogrammed short of mailing it back in? Also, does a dead battery, or disconnecting the battery cause the computer to reset? (these may be stupid questions, but I'm not much of a car guy - motorcycles are my thing)

Also, is it even possible, or practicle to remove the supercharger and go back to stock?

 

1. How will you know what the truth is?

2) Powerworks did the PCM tuning for the Magnacharger F150

3) Your truck will not run right if at all if the dealer resets, changes or removes the Magnacharger tune in your PCM.

4) Reset on some features but it will not erase your PCM

5)

6) Yes it is possible and done most of the time by those turning in a lease.

7) Practical for them yes since they have the oem parts. For you, ???

 

I've accidentally put 87 octane in a my Kenne Belled GT once, I just took it easy until I burned through the tank. No boost, wh/ is hard for a positive displacement blower, but no harm was done.

The way it happened, I had just gotten back from a 1500 mile trip with the wife and we took her car, which ran 87. So we get back and I go take the car out to run some errands and I need gas, I stop, not even thinking, I fill'er up with 87. It was when I was paying I just realized what I did.

 

When they said that the wrong plugs were installed they were most likely referring to an incorrect heat range, when you add a supercharger they normally put in a heat range cooler. So when they were talking about burned up plugs most likely it was because they were to hot, not fouled from octane boost. This would make since because if they drained the gas and put 91 in it and it still misfired underload, plus if the octane boost was the problem then it would have been fixed the first time after they drained the gas and put 91 in. and i wouldn't ever run 87 in it, you start running in the boost and run into detonation, game over, and i don't think that's worth saving 5 or 6 bucks, if its that big of a deal just insist they take it off and see what they say.

 

I'm not so concerned about saving the 5 or 6 bucks. Although, over the course of ownership it does add up. When I add that 5 or 6 bucks to the fact that the truck is getting about 10 MPG w/ the supercharger it raises the costs significantly over the course of ownership.

 

Problem; accidentally put in 87 octane instead of 91
Solution ; Stay out of boost, take it easy as you burn through the tank
Result; No harm was done