This is my first 6.0 and so im really trying to catch up to fully understand whats going...lotta post read has led me to the harsh reality that 99.99% my ficm is dead or dying. Cold it climbs to 48 after the glo plugs are done warming, fire it up truck starts "ok" and idles "ok" but ficm main power fluctuates quite a bit while the truck is warming eventually sort of stabilizing in the low 30s. If i try to start it cold after just waiting for the glo plug light to go off its idles like crap and damn near stalls out.

My questions: FICM main power fluctuations "normal" when the ficm dies or should i also be looking at something else? Shopping for new FICM's they range from less then 200 all the way up to 2k...what should i be buying here lol.

History on the truck,

I have had it for 2 years, never had any issues with it...only maintenance ive had to do so far is oil/filter changes. Truck has about 62k miles on it. When I bought it I had 2 new batteries installed that day, and pulled a clear Oasis report from the dealer. Only other issue i have noticed is that the front of my frame on both sides under the radiator is all of a sudden slightly damp...oil leak maybe? As far as use, as you can tell from the mileage its not much...pretty much a grocery getter at this point though i do make sure to run it a little more now after my mechanic told me i wasn't running it long enough to fully warm up. Had plans to have lots of toys for the truck to pull but divorce killed all that so it hasnt towed anything in the 2 years ive had it...no 5th wheel attachment, trailer reciver looks pretty clean

 

I would send the FICM in to FICMrepair.com.

 

Have seen the recommended before and was leaning that way also...still quite a few options there and im really not to sure what i need..back to oem? pay for the upgrades? they talk about programming changes too to boost economy and power..fixing the truck is a must but money is, of course, tight...want to make sure im making the right decisions as far as cost effectiveness v throwing money away

 

I don't see all that much benefit in the programming changes. The base repair is probably fine, but I would probably recommend going with the premium.

You do need to have the batteries load tested and also the alternator when you go w/ FICMrepair.com.

 

Ed is a good guy that started out here.