well here's what i got. where i work we got an 05 6.0 for the company truck. a few weeks ago the battery light started coming on intermitantly. now it's on all the time. i checked alternator wires and battery connections and those are good. so i put a snapon scanner on it and it said low injector voltage to all 8 cylinders. would this be the IDM going out? or....? honestly, i don't know all that much about the 6.0's other than basic maintenance. any help on this is appreciated.
Geoff

 

6.0 doesn't have an IDM, they use a FICM (fuel injection control module), basically the same thing though.

Here's a post from Swamps Diesel on PSN about testing these. It's a 5 min job with a buddy.

Although the FICM on the 6.0 is way more “intelligent” than the IDM on a 7.3, its basic job is to convert 12VDC to 48VDC and deliver this to the injectors at the proper time. Under normal operating conditions, the FICM typically draws 6-7 amps at 12V into the FICM power supply, which is well within its design limits. However, with the inductive heating active this current draw increases to 24-32 amps—it pegs the 30 amp meter on my test bench! Although the FICM power supply is capable of sustaining this load for short periods of time (1-2 minutes) it eventually gets very hot.

If this was all that happened, things wouldn’t be too bad, but there are several components on the printed circuit board that were not properly soldered during the manufacturing process, and as the PCB heats up and expands, the solder under these components cracks and they lose their electrical connection. The FICM’s 48 volt power supply is actually four separate or independent units; if one of the four goes down, the other three can supply enough current to run the truck, even with the inductive heating active. If two of the four go out, the truck will start and run normally as long as it is warm out, i.e. as long as the inductive heating does not turn on. If three of the four go out, the truck will probably not start or run unless it is at full operating temperature, and even then it may not start. If the injector voltage is over 35 volts, they run OK, although not as well as when it is 48 volts. If the voltage drops below around 24 volts, the injectors cannot fire. While most scan tools will display the FICM voltage, they do not always show the correct value. For instance, AutoEngenuity can only display voltages between 40 to 56 volts, so if the voltage is 35, it will display 40.

How to check your FICM for proper voltage output.
(Perform this check when the engine is completely cold.)


1. Remove the two bolts that hold the coolant reservoir to the cowl and push the reservoir out of the way forward and to your right. You do not need to disconnect any of the hoses.
2. On top of the FICM is a small cover held on by two #20 Torx screws; remove these two screws and pry the cover off.
3. On 2003 and early 2004 trucks, you will see 7 screw heads under the cover. On 2004 and later trucks you will see 4 screws.

4 screw FICM

4. Take a multi-meter set on DC volts and connect the ground lead to battery negative, and with the key ON measure the voltage at the screw on your right—closest to the driver’s side fender. Do not let the probe short against the case! The voltage should be right at 48 volts. Anything between 47 and 49 is good.
5. Have an assistant cycle the key and measure the voltage during the initial key-on buzz test. Voltage should not drop below 46 volts.
6. Next measure the voltage while cranking the engine. If voltage stays at or above 45-46 volts, the FICM is fine. Abnormally low battery voltage can give a false low FICM voltage reading, so make sure your batteries are good.


The procedure is the same for FICM’s with 7 screws, except that you will be checking voltage at a different screw, as shown in this picture.

7 screw FICM

If the voltage is above 46 volts in all the tests, your FICM is in excellent condition. If it is between 36 and 45 volts its OK, but not great. If it is between 25 and 35 volts, you have serious FICM problems.

We (Swamp’s) are able to repair most FICM’s with low voltage problems, but some units may be either fried beyond repair, or the time it would take to repair them would be more than a good used FICM costs. If you send your unit in to us for repair, the price is $350.00 if we can repair it. There is no charge if we can’t fix it. Return shipping via FedEx Ground is $15.00. We can also step the voltage up from 48 to 58 volts for an additional $50.00. All units have a 1-year warranty. Due to a lack of FICM cores, you will have to send your unit in for repair, and since I am the only person who fixes them, it will be about a week for me to turn it around. (I do almost my electronics work at home during the weekends) If you have an extra FICM or two, we’re interested in trading to build up our stock of cores.
We are only doing hardware-level modifications as opposed to software / code changes, so having your unit reflashed at a dealership will not cause any problems. Also, please note that we cannot reprogram FICM’s. For that, we recommend Power Hungry Performance or Innovative Diesel.

I've tested a bunch of these and fixed them myself as well. It is a pretty tedious solder job as the joints that need to be soldered are REALLY close together.

 

i will do that on sunday. thanks for that info. my buddy has a used FICM if needed. so what would a good price be for it? he said he'd be happy with $200- $250

 

$200 is a pretty good deal for a used working FICM. If the other one is dead, let me know I'll buy it off of you. A good used working one I've seen avg around 200-300 though. Shoot me a PM if you decide you want to sell that other one.

 

ok. i'll let you know. if it is bad, my boss would probably just throw it away. how much are you willing to pay for one?

 

Sent you a PM on it.