Anything under 45 and it's time for a repair or replacement.

Well..I go outside and tear into it. Got it out no problem, and followed the repair directions perfectly. Put it all back together, and the truck started right up. Now, its idleing like it has a miss...and when you put it in gear, it has sort of a slight "surge". I now have a CEL on. After it was warmed up, I shut it off a few times, and it started right up. I'm gonna eat dinner, and go out and check the running voltage on the FICM again. GRRRRRRRR...knew I should have left it alone...lol.

Just checked the running voltage....got 48.3 volts. So I'm assuming I did the FICM repair correctly. I cant check the CEL until Monday. Any ideas ? Thanks guys. :(

Pull it and carefully check all the tiny little pins on the connectors. Easy to bend one when you installed it.

Okay, I just completed the FICM fix. Well, I didn't trust myself with the detailed soldering, so I took it out and took it to a TV Repair shop. The guy did the work and charged me $10. My truck now runs like a champ! Best ten bucks I ever spent, when Ford wanted over $800 to replace it!:-drink

Very good idea!!!:-X22

my bad...
 

Ok guys, the FICM repair was definitely what the problem was. Apparently I didn't solder one of the resistors on well enough (it popped right off when he took the amber glue off). Have to admit, I'll leave the soldering to someone more experienced. I now have a new Ford diesel tech too :) Tim Taylor, owner of Express Fleet in Bethlehem, GA (does fleet maint, but specializes in Ford diesels)

It did show 48v with a bad FICM unit, and dropped to 23v. I paid $100 to have him come to my house and re-solder at my kitchen table... not gonna complain for driveway service!

Can't thank everyone enough for all the help... You guys ROCK! :-jammin

Ok...(Happy Easter Everybody) I went out this morning to re-check my voltages after the repair yesterday. Key on...47.9....cranking...48...running...47.7v. Truck started right up. So, I'm assuming everything is ok with the FICM now. I still have the CEL that came on after I did the repair, and it still seems to have the slight "surge" or "miss" (most noticable when you put it in gear). I hope its something simple. :(

Hey Tinman, I had the same type of problem after my repair was done. Turns out the middle plug of my FICM was not seating all the way and so it kept coming loose. I took a real large, heavy duty hvac style tie wrap and ran it around the FICM and plug then really cinched it down. I finally heard that "click" I was unable to get before and it ran like a new truck! You may (I know it's a pain) want to double check your three plugs and make sure they are locked into place.

Good Luck.

Hey everyone, I am having problems with cold starts and after it warms up it will surge and kick out a cloud of black smoke or will choke out and die, but will start right back up. Can anyone email me the pdf files for the ficm fix. Thanks
zanemerrell7050@yahoo.com

Just look in the Tech Folder at the very top of the first page of the forum. The very first item there is everything you ever wanted to know about the FICM. I tested mine yesterday and got a reading of 19 so I sent it out right away. Hopefully it's salvageable.

Has anyone been able to remove the circuit board from the bottom of the case?
The part where the 3 plugs plug into it?
I am waiting for parts for my hg & egr job, so I figured I'd pull my FICM and check if the repair was needed. I have the 7 pin version, and one of the pins itself is loose on the bottom board, but it seems like it's not gong to be easy to get it apart.
Any suggestions?

Thanks, Ed

I would like to thank DrQuad and the others here for this awesome thread. I have been dealing with hard start when cold for over a year so I checked my voltage and only had 24volts running. I used the info here and re-soldered my resistors (two fell off as soon as I heated one side) and now I have 47.8 volts running. My truck starts better than it has in years even when in the 30s. Before this repair it would have ran the batteries dead trying to crank it in the 50s.

Thanks all, have a great weekend.

Thank you
 

Hi all, I joined this forum specifically to thank Dr.Quad and the other great contributors to this post. Earlier this week I found my ’04 F350 PSD in a no start condition after driving it several hundred miles the day before. With the help from this post (a few years old I know) and a couple informative youtube videos, I was able to successfully diagnose, remove, repair, and replace the FICM saving me an undoubtedly expensive experience with any reputable mechanic. I am now proud to report with only $35 in supplies (RadioShack: New Solder Gun, Silver Solder, and Flux), a few hours of time, and most importantly this post (thanks again!) my PSD is back running strong!!! :D:D:D

Do you mind sharing approximately how many solder joints you "touched up"? Did you just touch up everything you saw or did you see some suspicious or bad joints and just touch them up?

Congratulations of getting your PSD back up and running. I'll bet you got extreme satisfaction out of that not to mention the joy of saving close to a thousand (or more).