have a 2002 f350 CC LB with the 7.3PSD, mods include a suncoast transmission with billet TQ, 5" lift, 4" turbo back exhaust. The motor itself is all stock with a cheap hypertech programmer.

Now for the problem, the truck dies intermittently and is always while the truck is at idle or just off idle ie: starting off from a red light. As I start to push the peddle the truck dies ONLY sometimes. We took it to the dealer and talked to people on forums etc and so far we have replaced the ICP and the CPS. Everyone seams to point towards the IPR as the culprit. However it gets a little weird, The truck seams to die only after I change the settings on the programmer. The truck would then start after it sits for about an hour but will or will not die after. We ran the truck for months without an issue on stage 2, I then put it on stage 3 and ran it but did not like the fuel consumption so I changed it back to stage 2. There were no issues while under stage 3 but after about a day of driving the symptoms occur. We brought it to a buddy at the dealer who hooked up their scan tool for FREE while the truck was on stage 2 and said the computer was messing up. I then brought the truck back to stock settings on the programmer then the dealer cleared the codes and everything was perfect, no issues at all. Now I have been driving the truck on stock setting and have no problems so far. I have however bought a new IPR just incase. What are your guys opinions on this? I am trying to figure if it is the truck or the programmer but since its running fine, should I program the truck again just to see if it dies? Then if it dies, I was going to put it back to stock and see if it fires. Any opinions are welcome, please help.

 

How did he determine the PCM was messing up? A programmer will throw a P0603 code by default, so if that is what he saw, you can ignore that.

However, a problem with a chip or programmer can easily cause the truck to act funny or die. If setting the truck back to stock and clearing the codes fixed your problem, then I think you have your answer. Sounds like you're in the market for a new chip based on all your descriptions. There are many better options than your Hypertech. For the 7.3, many use a chip that offers shift on the fly capability. Imagine being able to shift to a hot tune while on the freeway just to pass someone, then switch back to an economy setting once you've gotten around them without ever taking your foot off the pedal. The difference in power is amazing as well.

We have sponsors here that can hook you up with this for about what one of those off the shelf tuner boxes cost.

 

Well we know john woods personally so the DP Tuner is already in the works with live tuning but I just need to find out what is wrong with the truck first. I am just skeptical on adding the chip and having it die again where then I will be lost wether what is really wrong. What are you opinions on tuning the truck with the hypertech back to stage 2 and seeing how the truck runs. Then if it dies I know its either the programer OR maybe the IPR which stops working if more power is being made (just a thought, i was just thinking).