I have been reading information about upgrading the ficm to a higher voltage or even one that has tuning done to it. Should I stay with an oem one(that are apparently fixed now) or get one that has more volts or even a tune on it as well? Also, would more volts have any long term effects on the motor?

 

None of the new one's are any better than the old ones. The new ones will still fail. They're still made in Mexico and they don't use squat on there for solder. Most of the one's I've fixed the components fly off the board the first time you touch them with the soldering iron, which means only one side of two is being held on even, and that one side is a very weak bond.

There's been a long debate about which helps more or what each does. You can go with a 58V unit, a tuned unit, or a tuned 58V unit. The 58V unit basically bumps up the voltage to "force" the injector spools to move out quicker, and basically over come stiction. They say it can also actually slightly increase timing due to how quick it moves the spool, and up to 40rwhp has been documented. Tuning is just a different aspect, you can upload a few different tunes. They say tuned units are good for stock injectored trucks only, larger injectors and a tuned FICM seem to bring on a lot more heat. I don't think you can really go wrong either way. I will be trying a 58V unit real soon, since I'm doing it myself and finally have a spare functioning FICM. I'm not positive but it seems the 58V mod can only be done to the 4 pins (I'm sure it can be done on 7's, but I'm not sure if anyone is doing it). While tuning can be done to either. Also they only sell 1/2 shells (parts) for the 4 pins.

For whatever it's worth, I pretty much always ride around with a 7 pin on my truck, I prefer the older programming. Must more responsive, gets rid of all my stiction in my injectors (that I normally DO have with my 4 pin). Starts easier and just drives nicer.

 

Oh ok. So that answers my question if I should get the oem or not. I am looking at the BPD 6 phase ficm. If I get this one, can it still install a tune at a later time on it? With the higher volts would I need to upgrade anything else on the motor so it can handle it? This is my everyday truck as well, so I tow anything from two-four quads to 4 ton of wood pellets. Would the 6 phase be worth it incase I would want to select the 53v or 58v at a later time or should I stick with the 4 phase? Also seems like the way you select the different volts on the 6 phase is by cutting a little wire on the board. Wonder if you can reverse it if you want a different voltage?

 

You should still be able to tune that without issue if you choose to at a later time. You don't need to upgrade anything else on the motor, all the ugprades are done inside the FICM itself. I can't see buying one just to stick with the 4 phase, to me the whole point of buying one is to get the selectable voltage, IMO. As for selecting different voltages... not sure. My guess is once you go up to the 58V you're probably not going to want to go back anyways.

The new FICM's they have look sweet in black. Man are they expensive!!!

Is there anything wrong with the FICM you have now?

 

Ok sounds good. Do you have any idea what tune would be okay to run in it since I use it for pretty much everything everyday? Cause I saw the 40, 80, and 100. I priced one at the dealer and a whole ficm there costs the same as the 6-phase half shell. You are getting more quality with the aftermarket one though so hopefully it's worth it.

Yes, it was soldered once before. Now some mornings have been a little colder again. When it turns over, it sounds like it's almost going to shut off again and then it works up to idle slowly. After a little bit of running the idle changes and it sounds like I have a serious cam in it and the truck really shakes. Takes forever to warm up, but once it is warm everything is fine.

 

Definitely sounds like a dying FICM. Where are your voltages at?

Yeah the cost of a new one is absurd. You can get just the 1/2 shell too though, which is all BPD is selling you (obviously not as good as the BPD unit), which is quite cheaper, I think in the $400 price range, and I've been told you can get crafty and order the 1/2 shell from International for almost 1/2 of that even...

As for which tune... tough call man. I pretty much decided a while ago I wouldn't be able to make up my mind so I planned on getting the gryphon with all of the tunes loaded up so I could change them as I pleased. I think that was around $375

 

Well it ends up being cylinder 8 injector.

That is def a good idea the International part though. I think I am still going to eventually order the BPD ficm though. As for now, I'm going to replace the 6 injectors I have not replaced yet.

Thanks again!!

 

Why? That's a waste of money IMO. If they're not broke, don't fix it.

 

Yea true. Just figured the older injectors would not perform as well as the new ones.

 

As long as they're working, they're working. If you have severe stiction issues... maybe. I'd save my money, add 2 bottles of rev-x and call it a day.