Batteries went bad the day before yesterday, slow start and showing 10.5v. Saw 41v for the FICM after the truck started and was warming up. A couple of minutes after starting, the voltage went right up to 48.5-49 and stayed there the whole way home from work. Before yesterday, I'd been noticing the voltage dropping a bit during warm up until the GP shut off, but not below 45v. Picked up new batteries yesterday, put them in last night after putting them on the charger. Started up this morning with much more authority, ran smoother on startup, ran smoother all the way to work actually. Think the lie-o-meter even went up a few ticks. But...I saw 39v during warm up this morning on the FICM and it took longer to get back up to 48-49v than it normally does, but once there it stayed there.

The factory FICM went bad the summer before last, couldn't even start the truck. I replaced it with an Alliant Power reman unit. I thought getting a reman unit would have fixed the typical bad solder issue common with these things. Would that be the issue I'm facing now or is there another issue with them that bad batteries can cause? I have Friday off, thinking about pulling it and doing the solder fix, but I don't want to waste the time if that won't fix a reman unit.

 

FICM repair, they do exchange, or you can send yours in. I recommend the FICM Atlas 40 tune as well. Get the longer warrenty, many on this site have proven they stand behind it. I would also Redmond improving your alternator, prior to plugging in the new FICM. At a minimum the upgrade 140 amp, or there are lots of alternatives from DC Power, via FICM repair, or Prestolite/Leece Necille which I have in signature, or other alternatives. This ensures charging batteries up full even on short trips or when towing and extra batteries are being charged. I also have tones of extra lighting.

 

The extended warranty is on parts and workmanship.... it won't cover a dead battery or failing alternator killing it again.

 

These things are too sensitive! I replaced the alternator with the 140amp Bosch in the spring, did the battery cable upgrade in that other post. The batteries were only 2 years old, but not holding a charge too well if I let it sit more than 3 or 4 days. When it would sit for a week or better I'd put a charger on them before starting it up. A couple of days ago the voltage dropped as low as 10.5v after startup for a second but stayed in the 11.1-11.6 for a minute or two otherwise, and then went up to normal 13.6-14v after the GP's quit. Replaced the batteries immediately, probably didn't need to. Not sure what else I can do to bottle feed the FICM other than an even bigger alternator.

Do you think the DIY solder thing would work in this case? I'm not very enthused with spending hundreds more on fixing it again. Also thinking about just buying the Dorman FICM power board on Amazon for $110, thoughts? I realize it's Dorman, but my thought is that it'll probably last at least as long as the $350 one that lasted 14 or 15 months.

 

First question,did you disconnect the batteries for awhile and check them with a volt meter.I mean like for 4 days,(just to see if they hold a charge disconnected) You may have a slow draw in the truck. Also check them with a Hydrometer, thats going to give you the real deal

 

Never occurred to me to check them disconnected for 4 days or so. At key on, they always showed 12.5ish and then slowly declining to around 11.5. The last two days before replacing the batteries, they started dropping to 11.1 and then the last and final time before pulling them, 10.5.

I did check for parasitic draw in the Spring, that's when I found the alternator acting up. Replaced that, didn't notice anything out of the ordinary for a parasitic draw though. Everything went back to normal after the alternator replacement.

 

I would also add that the scan gauge is off when it comes to reading battery voltages. A little slow and about .2- .5 off of actual. Concerned at 10.2 for just a second or two, less than that and there gone whether they warranty them or not.

 

Our warranty covers parts and workmanship, this is true. However, if someone has a charging system issue that they are Johnny-on-the-spot on, we'll still take care of you. What our warranty doesn't cover is the guy who has had his battery light flickering for six months and now has a dead module. Basically, do what's reasonable to take care of the truck and we'll do what's reasonable to take care of you.

We just treat our customers the way that we'd want to be treated.

 

The smallest alternator we carry puts out 100 amps at hot idle (the 185 amp OEM unit - 185 Amp Series Alternator). The minimum alternator we recommend for folks that live in northern climates does 120 amps at hot idle and 145 amps at cold idle (the 190 amp HD unit - 190 Amp HD Series Alternator).

While numerous FICM issues are only on the amplifier side (meaning that the Dorman board would take care of it for now), there are quite a few issues that are on the logic side. Of course, we work on both sides.

We've seen a ton of cases where someone picked up a replacement power side only to still have an issue. Of course I'm biased as I am vying for your business, but I'll also tell you that the circuitry used in the Dorman product is not at the same level as what International used. You are correct in that the re-solder repairs don't seem to last. Why anyone would want to do a better job of re-attaching likely heat damaged components is beyond me.

Feel free to give us a call at 515-897-4459 and we'll go over the pros and cons of the more common options to get you going again so that you can decide. Don't worry, we are far from high pressure. We'll just tell it to you straight and leave it to your better discretion.

Of course, if you send the FICM off to us, we could also apply a performance tune on the module. You'd LOVE your truck if you went that route. No more lusting after the 6.7's...

 

Thanks Ed for the info, but I can't justify purchasing a $300ish alternator when the one I have now is working properly and is higher output than factory. I realize the even higher output DC's are better, but I don't have money falling out of my pockets. I do plan on getting a bigger alternator when this one dies.

I decided to order the TechSmart replacement(TechSmart R76001) power board for $110 and have it over nighted($136 total). It's supposed to be a complete redesign of the OEM board fixing the typical issues. Should be here tomorrow. When it comes in, I'll pull the FICM and do the DIY resolder of the board, test it out and make sure the resolder fixes the low voltage. Take it back out, put the new one in to run with. If that fails, I'll have the resoldered unit to use as a backup. For $110, I can fix it 3 times for the price of the last time I replaced the FICM, and it has a 3 year warranty.

 

I almost bought the TechSmart power board. Bullet Proof Diesel sells them. $130 or $325? With the average price of parts being over $800 for this engine, I did not want to go the cheap route and pay more later.

I asked myself "Why is my FICM failing". The FICM main voltage was 30 vdc at startup. I realize the Gauge is slow and off. The main voltage stayed at 30 for nearly 30 seconds before creeping back to 48.5.

I went with the Premium Service at FICM repair because I want it done right and not have to worry about it. If the FICM goes, so could the injectors. Ed has a good reputation and if his company did not back up their products, his reputation would go south in a New York minute as the diesel community is tightly knit and people talk.

I did not install the new FICM until I located the cause of the failed unit.

I went right to the source and dropped the 2 frame rail batteries on my van. It was a pain until I learned the correct way to drop them. It took less than 15 minutes to drop the second battery as there are safety straps that protect the batteries from hitting the ground.

I discovered the second battery cable clamp was broke. No problem if you own a truck. Expensive if you own a van as the 2 batteries are connected with a long positive cable that looks like a spider.

I was running off 1 battery! Kudos to the Interstate Megatron battery as it always started my van fast.

I had the battery cable repaired for about $130 from a friend who owns a Dandos Auto performance shop and drives a 6.0.

He load tested the electrical/charging system and gave me a score of A. The batteries were 100% and 96% after sitting idle for 2 weeks. The alternator was putting out 13-13.7 volts.

If you own a van, beware that you will get hit with a heavy installation charge-$170 + to put the batteries back in the van. Was I mad? Not really as a new battery cable for the van is $650 wholesale and probably another $300 to install it.

If you live in the Bay Area, Dando's have mechanics that think like engineers. The owner Ken is tenacious at trouble shooting and does not believe in replacing a failed part until he fixes what caused the failure. He drives a 6.0. He is a family friend.

 

it hasn't been proven that low voltage kills injectors... low fuel pressure yes, water in fuel yes... low voltage, show me. I believe in learning something new everyday... there is lots of great knowledge out there.

 

You are correct that it has not been proven that low voltage kills injectors. However, I said it "could" rather than "will".

I did not want to chance a chain reaction failure. Low start up FICM main voltage told me I had a problem. I reluctantly dropped the batteries to load test them. I could have dropped in the repaired FICM and never known that I was running off one battery.

What problems could happened from a FICM that is not working correctly?

 

Not working correctly, left alone too long might leave you stranded somewhere. The argument of low voltage not killing injectors notwithstanding, it's still not good for injectors to run lower than what they need. It might not kill them right away but other things are going to suffer. If low voltage killed them right away then there would be many more of us posting about how we ended up replacing injectors the moment our FICM started going south. That does not mean if I notice something lower than it needs to be I won't address it straight away...that is where things like live data come in so handy.

 

Low voltage leads to bad performance. I watch the FICM voltages all the time and will repair the module when the time comes. Same for batteries and alternator, won't take a chance on being stranded with the family or even by myself.... leads to big $$$ and really not a smart approach I my opinion.