Okay ... I'll probably look like the village idiot here. Bought a 2001 F250 7.3L .. 73K miles .. I LOVE It ... now it is carfax cert so the truck is A-OK .. the dealer said it has a power chip in it ...

Now I forgot to ask where it is, and he didn't know where it was. Can you guys help me figure out where it is ? I'd like to locate it to know what I have, and if it's any good or what I should look at .. thanx in advance !

 

Look down by your parking brake.....the pcm is located below it by the firewall and is inside of a black plastic case. There is a slot on the pcm that the chip plugs into.



Hope this helps.

 

that does a lot .. thanx ! Once I see what it is I can find out what exactly it's rated to do, etc.. I've driven a lot of diesels at work (EMS Command vehicles) and mine seems to drive about the same .. those are stock .. so I'm wondering if I'm really getting anything out of it ...

 

I don't think you'd be able to tell what it's programmed for but you probably could tell what brand it is.

If it was a flip chip you'd have a toggle switch or a dial somewhere on the dash.

 

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Thanx JD !


Okay, found the box .. took the screws out ... now it starts to fold out, then feels like the whole black plastic frame and metal box are about to totally "unplug" .. is this where it's actually plugged in ? Or are there wires that connect ? I have not disconnected my + battery cables yet, so I'm not wanting to unplug anything..just to take a looks .. is it possible ???

 

Anybody ?... don't want to just pull the box off if it disconnects it .. will it ???

 

On some trucks you can access the chip without removeing the whole box. I think the newer ones are enclosed and must be removed to access the chip. Under the dash, behind the parking brake is where the computer is. If you are looking at the computer in that location then the chip would be inserted on the face of the computer closest to you (opposite of firewall) on the bottom half. If you are not able to see it, as in it is enclosed, then yes you will need to remove the computer or at least the holder it is in. The entire computer is held in place by the bolts you can see from inside, but also from a bolt under the hood. If looking from under the hood at the driver firewall you will see where a big ole mass of wires goes and plugs into it. It is here that there is a small single bolt in the middle. Once this bolt is removed, along with the bolts inside, the computer will be free and you can remove it at will. Be reminded the chip manufactureers suggest to disconnect the batteries prior to removing the computer to prevent any possible damage. Good luck with this, I hope I helped a little and didn't just confuse you more!

 

No that does make sense ... I located it.. there's a metal / tin type box that has a black plastic frame around it that's bolted in .. I'm wondering if the box can be pulled away and are cables that feed out of the box through the firewell, and I can see the computer circuitry, or if the box is "plugged" in at the firewall ??

 

The back of the computer has one part of the plug, female end i think, then on the other side of the firewall (under hood) there is a plug that plugs into the computer through the firewall.

 

thanx Superstroker..that's what I needed to know...

 

I had the same questions awhile back was able to find out the same info as stated here but there was also some pictures over on the 7.3 section of these forum. You might want to go check it out. I can't remember the auther but just do a search for chip and you should be able to find it.