New PCM Recal. 11B23
 

Just happened to come across this information while I was at my dealer having my CAC changed out, it showed up on oasis. This applies to all super duties REGARDLESS of mileage. The new PCM flash is marked for addressing these concerns:

"In order to avoid potential time consuming and costly service repairs, Ford has developed calibration improvements to the Powertrain Control Module (PCM) for your vehicle with improved fault detection capabilities. This will allow the vehicle to quickly detect and react to issues before significant damage occurs. Some examples include water-in-fuel reduced power mode, engine coolant temperature monitoring, over-full engine oil level, and proper circulation withing the engine oil cooler. Your dealer will provide more detailed information after the service is complete."

I figured I would post this up in case anyone was interested in getting their truck flashed. Also, this customer satisfaction program is marked for letters to be mailed to owners to notify them of this update. But, if anyone would like a copy of the letter just message me and I can scan and email you a copy.

thanks for the letter!

No problem, I figured there'd be a few people out there who might want a copy. I wish I had more answers on the programming behind the PCM flash, specifically how the PCM is going to monitor oil-overfull conditions more closely. Either way the programming sounds positive and I will have my truck back in a couple hours from getting the flash and CAC changed out. I'll post if I notice any other differences with the flash.

This is so new it is not listed anywhere else. I did a seach on NTSHA

Yeah I called my dealer here in Canada. They have a letter as well but they dont have the update.

CSB 11B23 letter
 

Here is the letter:

Yeah, normally I try to keep up to date on this stuff but this one caught me off guard. And you can notice the letters are dated for March 2011, so at max maybe 7 days old Ford has issued this notice officially. I wouldn't have seen it if I didn't have them pull up my OASIS, but once inside OASIS my truck was immediately flagged for the bulletin.

Thanks for posting up the letter as a link senix.

Thanks for posting Scott and thanks for the heads up Eric.

Latest and Greatest?
 

I'll bet that's what they did to me Scott - you remember they told me it wasn't even released yet? They never did give me the data on it though.

Jim,

Makes sense. I guess time will tell.

UPS shows a package from Cerritos, CA arriving Wednesday by end of day - :-innocent

Jim, your gonna have to change your avatar so it's not as dark, maybe off white. :)

Very interesting. I wonder if anything else will change with the new programming. I recall some older flashes showed the "cleaning exhaust filter" message while others dont. It will be interesting to see the feedback from those getting this done early.

Oh, the "cleaning exhaust filter" was meant as an example of things that changed in the flash but werent highlighted, not meant to start a different conversation.

well I tried to copy and past the pdf for you guys it wont let me. bahh I suck at this computer thing

If the Camper's a Rockin' then don't come a Knockin'!
 

8D Yeah but if I make the smoke too light, everyone will think that Patti and I are making it ROCK instead of the 6.4!!! :-missingt

the only time I have ever seen a 6.4 run like that it burned up half the pistons :)

Question, shouldn't the PCM already be looking for a lot of these things ? Like water in fuel or if there's to much oil? Like what's the engine light for is it gonna be that much smarter? Really, its called a idiot light for a reason. The only time its come on for me is when something done broke with no warning... Like the EGR valve. Or the coked up intake. I wonder if ford just doesn't want to mainly get all the trucks with the old programing. With the cleaning exhaust filter. Like mine, there may be a lot of good in it. I haven't read the letter yet but made me wonder when I read the first post. Not tryin to be negative. Please don't take it like that. Just puttin a spin on it
Thanks
Jim

i have it up in # 6 of this thread.

Can you shed any light on this CSP?

as of right now I dont have any further then whats posted. however giving it a read it seems like you guy will get some good new stuff for this. this is simular to what the vxcf9 flash did for the 6.0.
I suspect they will be adding to the wrench light featurs as well as the check engine light.
I really want to know how they are going to figure out they have to much oil. hmmmm. maybe ill send a copy off to a friend at navastar.

as of right now the tech have of the thing reads about the same. no list of exactly whats being done. if I find out more before you guy Ill post it up.

Hey guys,

First of all, a big thanks to Eric for posting about and Senix for attaching this information! I'm adding this to the tech folder...

Secondly, in the future I HIGHLY recommend exchanging email addresses via PM instead of posting them in an open forum. Anyone in the world can see this forum, and there are webcrawlers that search forums for people's email addresses to SPAM.

I have removed all posts with people's email addresses. Please do not post your email address and ask for the file, as Senix has already attached it in post 6 of this thread.

Thanks! :-X03

Got my truck back earlier today, as expected no noticeable differences with the new flash but only drove about 5 miles. And as per Ford this flash "addresses" key issues that have been the big hitters for complete engine failures by simple things that could have been prevented. In regards to the post above that was intelligently questioning what this flash could really do based on a check engine light I think this programming has a greater focus on putting the vehicle into "reduced power mode" much earlier in the event the PCM detects tell-tale values across the board that indicate an issue. As we all know Ford has had numerous issues with water getting by the frame rail filter and the WIF light coming on after fuel had already entered the HPFS. Since the WIF sensor is mainly using a measure of resistance to tell when it is fuel vice water then it might be safe to say that Ford has simply set the mark more sensitive for the PCM monitoring the ohms.

The other truly big issue I saw was that they "say" they have addressed over-full oil condition detection. That honestly stumps me, but if I were to place bets, I'd say that a computer could calculate your level of oil by putting it through an algorithm given enough constants. Such as assuming you have 15W-40 and then the PCM measuring the time vs your oil temperature in relation to your coolant temp while taking into perspective the engine RPM's and ambient temperatures. Like said, it'd be a shot in the dark but I believe it "could" be possible for an engineer to create an formula for a computer to calculate a very rough quantity based on all the other information it is being fed. Frankly, I would very much relate it to the formulas that Ford has written for the 6.7's to calculate oil life.

All in all I'm hopeful Ford spent the time to create a quality flash that gets these trucks into limp mode sooner and alert the drivers of a potential problem before a major engine failure. And while I hope further technical data is released about this flash I hold doubts that solid answers will ever be available, in my time I've found it very dificult to get in touch with Ford software engineers who handle PCM software changes. I've had decent luck with the Ford and Internation techs, but usually they are only getting a trouble shooting data sheet from another group of people who wrote the software. Either way, I hope spreading the news about the update helps some people out. And, forgive any typos please, it's late.

My dealer called me today about getting truck in for this! They look out for me.

I am not in a hurry...wait and see how everyone else feels about It I think.

Im with you Senix. I hate to give up my "cleaning exhaust filter" message so I would need convinced this flash has something more to offer.

I had the unfortunate opportunity to get the free 11B23 upgrade when I took my truck in yesterday. The tech left his on my dash board. I haven't driven it much but i will drive it 400 miles this weekend.

I hate it that I didn't get a choice.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/G...ck%5C11B23.jpg

sadly if its under warranty and ford says it will save them money then opting not to do so can have a lighting effect of the wallet in days to come.
I havent seen it happen yet, yet

Look at it from the other perspective. Ford designed this software flash to prevent the occurrence of some catastrophic failures in an attempt to make the truck more reliable and cheaper to own.

Say you deny the flash and then blow up your engine in a circumstance this updated flash would have prevented. Why should Ford be on the hook for a new $15,000 engine job when their software should have prevented it?

If I were in charge at Ford, I would make this a requirement for further warranty work on the engine. They are making an effort to save your time and their money, as well as your money once the warranty period runs out. If you opt out the consequences shouldn't be on them.

Good point. But, my concern is: what if they dropped the 560 LBFT of torque, what my 08 was advertised to produce. Shouldn't I get a rebate because its not what I originally purchased.

No matter. Its done. The recal can't be taken out....

By the way, during a regen, I can't get full torque... The boost gauge doesn't go over 30 PIS when its in regen mode.

Again, it all academic. It is what it is.

Tom H
08 F350 KR
Love the truck/hate the mileage!

Tom I understand both sides and I feel for the end customer. If you had any idea of how well this engine has feed my family you would both run and cry.

First of all, not to be a wise guy, your truck makes 650 ft-lbs of torque!

Secondly, you would never see it happen. Just about any lawyer in the country could argue that each of us agreed to purchase a truck meeting certain specifications, and that the warranty requires that Ford stand behind these engines for a certain amount of time and miles to perform as designed. De-rating these engines after purchase would no longer deliver what was promised, and therefore could be considered a breach of contract. They have an obligation to meet, and they will do so.

No 6.4L flash, from the very first programming to the latest flash you just got produces peak HP and torque during a regen. This is the engine operating as designed, not a modification made by later tuning.

This flash won't affect the way the truck runs in any meaningful way, but it very well could save your engine. What's not to love?

and the other upside is it really cant make the fuel milage go down :(

Thanks Tom, I had forgotten 650... Big difference.

And you are very right. Good luck getting a settlement. Like I said, its all academic.

My truck never appeared reduced power during a regen when I first got it. I got min in May of 07. Thats when they would spit flames out the pipe. Way cool. Way dangerous.

It wasn't until after the second or third recal that it started. The boost gauge would go to ~34 even during a regen.

Now maybe your right, and it just miss indicated originally. Who knows.

Thanks!

Tom H
08 F350 KR

No complaints out of the new PCM flash so far, it's too early to say for sure whether I am seeing increased mileage...but so far "lie-o-meter" is showing improved. Also I have not had a regen cycle yet to comment on any changes in that regards. Hopefully some other people can comment on the flash as they get it.

glad some else posted this first....my lie-o-meter is definately showing about 0.8 to 1 MPG more for my drive to work. Now bear in mind that is only over 2 days and about 40 miles so it may not mean anything. Prior to the flash, my lie-o-meter was fairly accurate....not sur now...

interested in cheesit's thoughts on this.......the following is cut and pasted from a response on another forum....

"Anywho on to the reflash.... this is what it says it fixes...
"In some of the affected vehicles, customers could experience one or a combination of the following symptoms: illuminated Malfunction Indicator Light or Wrench Light, runs rough, reduced power, excessive smoke from the exhaust, fuel smell from crankcase, coolant loss, and/or unusual engine noise. These symptoms could be caused by concerns that may eventually result in significant engine damage and a lengthy, costly repair. Ford has developed calibration improvements to the PCM with improved fault detection capabilities that allows the vehicle to quickly detect and react to issues before damage occurs."

Also I noticed that the "Cleaning Exhaust Filter" message stays illuminated until it's completed like they used to.

I can't exactly remember what the Mechanic said but something that used to take its reading from the Exhaust Back pressure sensor is now getting its reading from 3 other sensors. "

Hi Guys has anyone with a programmer and a delete kit on their truck had the reflash I was wondering what they did since they have no filter and sensors. I have the mini maxx and 4" str pipe no cat or muffler and lovin it.

I think you would have to return to stock to get the flash on without throwing codes..

I am about to spartanize mine.. thinking of getting this flash done before hand.

Sam