I have a 2003 6.0 powerstroke 4x4 and I took it to my buddys today that has a bullydog tuner and I was gonna get him to put a 40hp tune or whatever is the smallest tune on it right. Apparently the last truck he tuned was a 2005 so it didnt tune the truck because it couldnt communicate so he unplugged it and said he had a different tuner he would try tomorrow. I go to start my truck to go home and when I turn the key the glowplugs cycle but go to start it and absolutly nothing. Doesnt even crank over. Tried the wire that runs to the starter next to the battery and it turned the engine over but no start. We tried removing the tune but it said unknown vehicle part. Multiple times. We also disconnected the batteries and waited multiple times and still nothing. He finally pulled me to my house and left me with the tuner to try and update it and see if it would work then. I got it updated and still nothing. It says unknown vehicle part and it does not start or even turnover with the key. I am lost and don't know how to get my truck back going. I dont need a whole lecture about tuning my truck, I understand the risks and im just trying to fix it.

 

Most if not all tuners will only modify tunes with the original PCM it communicated with. They lock out other PCMs until those tunes are pulled back. It prevents the tunes from being written in multiple trucks. At this point, I’m guessing you need to find a ford dealership that can reflash your PCM with the original strategy. I think there may be a way to do that with FORScan, but I’m not 100% sure. Post your question in the 6.0 section of the forum for more help. You’re not the first to have this happen while trying to install a tune, though not very common.

 

@Toreador_Diesel @bismic

 

BaylinerChuck, thanks for tagging me

This sometimes happens with some of the older Bullydog devices.

I dealt with this back in 2021 when I sold a Bullydog Powerpup someone gave me. It was for a Cummins and I didn't need it so I sold it on Facebook Marketplace. When I went to deliver it for the user, we plugged it in, loaded a tune, went to start the truck, and nothing. Long and short of it, even though we updated the programmer, it stalled half way through the process and left the PCM blank. It was a 2003 trucks and most folks didn't have the tool to flash it so we had to send the PCM off to Bullydog for them to flash it. They did and the truck started again.

Basically, someone needs to reflash your PCM or you could ship it off to get bench flashed. If you're in Texas, I can reflash your PCM and FICM.