The temperature outside was about 28 degrees F this morning and the engine heater was not plugged in. When I started the truck, it ran a little rough for about 20 seconds. When it evened out, I was getting the following readings on my Scan Gauge II: FICM 45, VLT 13.8-14.2 and FLP 13.5. After driving through town at 30 mph for about 2 miles, the FICM reading was 47.5-48.5 and then seemed to even out at 48. It read 48 for the rest of the day. The truck is running well. I put the charger on the batteries a couple of days ago and they are fully charged.

I plan to head down to the coast (about 600 miles) through the countryside and come back in early December. I would plan to send the FICM out for a diagnosis at that point. Any thoughts on whether this is foolish and I should delay the trip until I have the FICM diagnosed? As an aside, in 2013, I experienced a decrease in voltage to around 35 heading out of town and it never increased so I had the FICM fixed the next day. It has operated flawlessly until today. Mileage on the truck is about 105K. Your thoughts are appreciated. Thanks.

 

45 is the absolute bare minimum per Ford, so I suppose you could take it down there and send it in to get it repaired.
Most folks here will tell you if you start to see 46 be on the look out.
Sounds like the early stage of an ailing FICM, likely the cold weather is making things act up.
You do have warmer temps driving south on your side, but I would sure not push the envelope.

If time was not a factor as it appears to be in your case, I would send it in straight away to get things repaired.
If you do have a few extra days to delay the trip I would give Ed at ficmrepair.com a shout, they have an exchange program

 

Where did you have the FICM fixed at (in 2013)?

 

Mark, I took it to Shannon at ficmfixer.com in 2013. He is in the Colony, TX. His work has a lifetime warranty. If I stay at 45 volts at start and the voltage rises to 48 volts, what is your opinion on drving the 1200 miles and then sending it in? I would probably send it in to Ed or CircuitBoard Medics.Thanks.

 

It is sure hard to say. It might be OK, but when my original FICM failed (years ago), it was on a trip and did so suddenly. I guess you don't have time to send it back in to FICMFixer to take advantage of the warranty?

 

Mark, thanks for your thoughts. Actually, ficmfixer is only 17 miles away so I can run the FICM over to him tomorrow morning. I did have a similar occurrence one time a year ago in cold weather and he tested it while I was there. However, it was later in the day and the temperature was up and it tested at 48 volts. Until the other day, we have had no cold weather in Double Oak, Denton County, Texas and as I mentioned in the original post yesterday, the cold start was at 28 degrees F. That said, I notice that you said your FICM suddenly failed on a trip and since I will be travelling across Texas on county roads and mostly outside of any towns, I think I will invest in a replacement and send my FICM back by return mail. I would like to change my 7 pin model to a 4 pin complete FICM in case I have additional problems down the road. That way I can get a less expensive 4 pin board from Amazon sent in if I am in the boondocks and need a quick and dirty temporary fix to get me home. I have read that a 4 pin model will work in my truck but I am concerned that the flash on the board might not be compatible with my engine. Any thoughts or recommendations? Thanks.

 

The 4 pin model will work in your truck. No worries about the compatibility.

 

To play devil's advocate here, when my FICM failed I didn't even know it other than a little grumbling on cold starts. I think it was getting down to 39 volts when I was out in Cooke City, MT. Ford took care of it under warranty when I returned home. Sometimes you sure get burned playing with fire though! Seems like a no-brainer to me if there is a place 17 miles away that can fix it.

 

I called Shannon at FICMFIXER yesterday and he said to bring the FICM over this evening and he would test it. I am taking the FICM out this morning and it is 62 degrees F outside. In order to replicate a cold start around 28 Degrees F as it was the other morning, I am going to put the FICM in the freezer to chill it down for testing. I'll followup with the results.

 

It may not just be the FICM at a reduced temperature causing the strain, but with the injector coils cold as well, just an FYI. A FICM issue yes, but needing the cold coils too.

Hopefully, it justs tests failed as is.

 

The saga of the obstinate FICM continues. I removed the FICM from the freezer and it was ice cold. I put it in a plastic bag and put it in an ice chest. Drove over to Shannon"s place and he put it on a test vehicle he keeps on site. He hooked up a voltmeter and it went immediately up to 48.1 volts. He said that it seemed to be OK and he said occasionally he sees low voltage readings off of devices like my Scan Gauge II attached to the OBD port. He said that I could leave it with him and he would open it up and inspect it. In order to give me piece of mind, he said he would install another rebuilt power board. and check the flash and install a better Ford factory flash if it could use an upgrade. All this for $25.

Two days later, I picked up the FICM and returned home. I attempted to reinstall the FICM from the side of the truck. It had come out easily but I could not see the plugs or get them inserted properly. I removed the degas bottle for more space and room to work. I put two heavy rugs on top of the engine and crawled up on top of it.I could clearly see the plugs and the receptacles and I inserted the plugs into the receptacles. i did not hear a click but I yanked on the plugs and they were seated properly.

I started the truck and the Scan Gauge II went right up to 48 volts and as I pulled out of the driveway, it seemed to vacillate between 47.5 and 48.5 volts. At the end of the block, it was steady on at 48 volts. I drove about 5 miles and got it up to 60 mph, let it idle down and then floored it a few times. Performance was very smooth and peppy. I would recommend Shannon at FICMFIXER to anyone on this forum.

A few points that may be of assistance. This truck is an early 2003 and has a 7 pin FICM. Some things that may be different from later models are::

1. Rubber grommets are inserted in the 4 bolt holes on the FICM
2. The rear holes bolts require a 13 mm socket.
3. The front holes use a bolt with two heads. The bottom head is a 13 mm socket and requires a deep socket. The upper head is used to attach a bracket that attaches to the inflow for the turbo. The upper head uses a 10 mm socket.
4. The bracket attaches to the inflow for the turbo with two 5/16" head bolts. This is also the size for the degas bottle bolts.
5. I used Vaseline to lube the fitting for the bottom hose on the degas bottle. I compressed the spring clamp in a vise to reset it and it slipped on the degas bottom nipple easily.

Mileage on the truck is 106K. I hope this post is helpful.

 

That's damn good service for $25 on follow-up work.

Now you don't have to worry.

 

So you can replace the power board on a 7 pin model (or maybe it is just something he can/will do)?

 

 

Thanks Ed - I guess my question was more

"Where can you buy a seven pin power board - or do repair shops have access to buying the board even though we don't?"

Maybe the answer is just that you guys have a "scavanged parts" inventory!