mine tested 48 volts on buzz test then as it was starting but dropped to 26 volts as soon as it started. I checked it more then once to be sure what would cause this. thanks

26 volts
 

I have been told that we need 48 volts at all times . I also have 26 volts after start up ,so I am getting a rebuilt ficm , So far I am lucky I have been able to start and keep my f350 running until I get it fixed .I am also a newbie and just learning my way around ,
try going into ford 2003-2007 and type in f350 in the search bar and you should catch all the threads on the ficm`s and testing with results . hope this helps.

Dying FICM.

Here is a link on how to repair it yourself..http://www.bscustoms.net/diesel/FICM.pdf

Thanks Mdub throwin this into my trucks service manuel!!!:tu:

You are looking for north of 45 volts at any time. The largest load on the FICM is placed on it when the engine is cold, like after sitting 12 hours or longer cold - so test it then, not when warm.

You are looking to test it key on engine off, during the buzz test, during cold engine running, and at 2,000 rpm when the engine remains cold. If EVER you see the voltage drop below 45, you have an issue.

The reason you need to test it cold is that there is a lower amperage draw through the unit when it is warm, thereby less of a load on the module. While FICM's can certainly fail in other ways, failing through inadequate supply side voltage is incredibly common and can result in hard cold starting, poor cold running, loss of power, and a significant reduction in fuel economy.

Ed
Ed@ficmrepair.com
http://www.ficmrepair.com

FICM Test Video
 

Hope it is okay to post this link - I am in no way associated with this company but I know when I first started looking at things under the hood I didn't have a clue.

Mdub if the link posting is a no no just go ahead and delete it - thanks

Technically, probalby not. I doubt the original link I posted is technically ok either.

Just keep in mind when it comes time for repairs, or buying parts, to keep the site sponsors in mind guys! :c:
We're lucky to have FICMrepair as a site sponsor, so be sure to show them your appreciation when the time comes.

I agree with that 100% - it is the sponsors that will keep this site going so we can all learn!:up:

do you have check engine lite on after engine comes to life,easy way to check glow plugs on each bank is to locate the glow plug harness on each side and disconnect ,then take a regular test lite and connect the aligator clip of test lite to the batrey positive post ,then touch ground take note how bright the lamp is,your glow plug harness has 4 pins going to glow plugs take your tip of your test lite and touch each pin at glow plug harness ,each one should lite your lamp bright,if you find one pin that does not lite then you have a open glow plug or a damaged low plug harness,if you replace glow plugs then replace the harness 99% of time you will damage the harness when you pull them off the glow plugs also keep in mind that when you unscrew the glow plug engine oil will leak into cylinder ,you will need to evacuate the oil or you can damage the new glow plug when it gets hot, the oil and the high compression will make the glow plug blister upon start up,,,,, now to test the controller really easy step,,,,,you need a helper to cycle the key on and off,,,,,use the same test lite but now put aligator clip onto the negative post,,the glow plug harness you just unplugged you now will test the other side of it this comes from the controller ,put the tip of your test lite on each pin one at a time while your helper cycles they key off and on at your command,each one should lite the test lite ,if you find one that does not lite then you have a bad controller,,,,,6.0l have a huge problem with glow plugs and controllers ,,,,99% of time it will turn on the check engine lite and store a code ,,,,,testing ficm requires a lab scope and testing ac voltage at each injector,,,,,ficm half shell replacement is, for only 48 volt dc low manpower pids,if ficm is replaced as a complete unit then it will require to be flashed burned by a ford vcm ,i love 6.0l and repair them at my diesel shop ,let me know if info leads you in the right direction

Why not just measure actual resistance at the glow plug to know if it's good or not, as opposed to just taking a guess at how bright the light is or isn't?

Check glow plug to ground and resistance should be .1 to 2 ohms. The harness to GPCM should be 0 to 1 ohms.

You're absolutely right about the glow plug harness, when you try removing it, typically they will break. The tool kind of stinks for it too. I usually just pull the rocker box and push the harness out from the back side with a socket to avoid damaging it, but this isn't always an option.

The only thing I don't really agree with is the 6.0 having a huge problem with glow plugs and controllers... 7.3's yeah, 6.0's not so much. At least not from what I've personally seen.

your right on about checking ohms at the glow plugs,i use the lite test as it is faster and you will see the difference in the lite brightness to a tee plus having to look at the meter and crawl around the engine bay can be slighly painfull at times . i work on these day in and day out and my body takes a toll sometimes,the tool for the harness is worthless and your knuckles get doomed. i replace harness every time its peace of mind when your done,,,,i live in california and we have to smog check the diesels now,glow plugs out here seem to be a big failure for some reason and allways turn on the check engine lite and thats a automatic failure in the smog check system , if 1 glow plug fails i replace them all at my shop it keeps everyone happy,,,the controller rarely fails on 6.0 ,,,,,the 7.3 controller is for california emissons and its the same part number as the 6.0 ,,,,, i love the 7.3 easy to work on ,love the problems that the valve cover gaskets and harness have , the duramax and cummins i love also ,,, i love the fact that they all need repairs at one time or another ,,,,it insures that i will allways have plenty of work on diesels and theres not many diesel shops around were i live .only the steeler ships to contend with,,,,,, love this site

Interesting enginearchitect.

My 06 has a code for a glow plug right now, no check engine light though... it's a single glow plug, #4. I'm not even sure the glow plug itself is bad, I've had wires chaffe in this area before from a "T" fitting in my coolant line, so I suspect that's the issue, haven't actually dove into it yet. I'm actually avoiding it until I take the heads off so I don't break the harness, they push out easy from the backside with the appropriate sized socket, so no worries there.

I wonder what actually causes the CEL to trip for a glow plug... hmmm.

the cel light comes on due to obd2 diagnotics it has rationalty and comprehensive monitoring,the pcm will look at the the glow plug monitor and measure amperage draw to each glow plug when the key is cycled then check its program for out of tolerance pids,when this happens and a failure is recorded it will take 2 trip drive cycle to determine if it will turn on the mil lite,,,,,,keep note when a glow plug code is recorded to a pending code the pcm will test the glow plug in two ways ,,, with the key cycled and while ur driving down the road at cruise speed ,it only checks for out of range amperage draw then it turns on the lite,same with a bad harness,,,,keep note harness is very cheap about $65,,,,,,,, why do you need to do head gaskets you have generation 2 heads all 2006 6.0l have them :c:

Because I have blown headgaskets... and no, I have the 18mm dowel heads on my truck, late 06 trucks got them. My build date is 11/05. Actually I probably have one 18mm head and one 20mm head, since one head was replaced under warranty the first time I blew the headgaskets.

I have a heavy right foot and some hot tunes... :rocking:

Oh and my glowplug light code has been on the truck this entire winter... still no CEL for it.

are u going to run a stud system from apr and those black onix head gaskets or maybe oring head gaskets ,are u going to do the work urself,you have to remove cab to do those repairs ,its a big job,,,,,do u have a scan tool for cel problem,,is your truck federal emissions or california emissions,,,do u have egr coolr or block off plate,is ur oil cooler oem,,,,

Yes, ARP studs, an OEM gaskets, the black onyx are garbage. (victor reinz are the same). Not o-ringing, haven't heard anything good about that working on a 6.0 as of yet. Flat heads, ARPs, and OEM gaskets seem to do the trick just fine. I will be doing the work myself, was planning on pulling the cab since my buddy has a lift in his garage. I know how big of a job it is, I've assisted on them a few times. I do have a scan tool, I have Palmer Performance Engineering software, and AutoEnginuity with enhanced Ford bundle. I have a full EGR delete in already, no cooler, no valve, and I've passed emissions for a few years in a row now in NY without issue... they don't even pull my truck in the shop. I pull up, the scan it, I hand the guy the $10 and he puts a new sticker on. I'm also on the OEM oil cooler, delta between oil and coolant usually doesn't go more than 7*. I've had the headgaskets done 2x now at Ford, they don't ever seem to do the job right, so I'm taking matters into my own hands! :rocking:

Everyone, are FICM interchangeable between the early ones with 7 screws and the ones with 4 screws? I looking at getting a spare and want to know before I get one with 7 screws. My 04 has the 4 screw FICM on it.:humm:

Yes Joe, they are interchangeable, hoping the one you have lasts a long time, it should, only reason I carry a spare is because I have been known to take a 1or2k mile trip on a weekend:s:

Bob, thanks for the reply. I have to take mine out again and recheck the soder joints. It started running rough Wednesday and I got all the codes back. :tu:

I am in need of help with a 2006 Ford F350 6.0 that won’t start. I know we have good fuel supply pressure and all the fuses check ok. I did try the ECM on another truck and it started fine so I know it’s not that. I would think after cranking on the engine for over 15-20 seconds I would get an active code for low oil pressure or IPR code but I have none. It was running fine no issues at all and just died going down the road and has not started since. I have no smoke out the exhaust and the FICM has 48V at all 3 test procedures. The batteries are new and it will fire on spray but will not run on its own. The RPMs read on the dash and I have no codes for the cam sensor. I am thinking the high pressure oil pump or IPR valve may be bad but I have no way of testing them. The Any help or suggestions:argh:

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Correction I do have smoke durring cranking and we have now changed the cam sensor with no luck. Any one offer any help??

Thanks for the test procedure it worked like a charm it was def bad had replaced at dealer runs great now thank you a lot

FICM
 

Thanks for keeping that posted.:yeah:

Don't know how I missed this inquiry, but alas, time is the issue for us all, heh?

The hardware portion of the modules is perfectly and completely compatible between the 7 pin and 4 pin versions, yes, though the 4 pin design is considered an upgrade.

There is a software difference that will oftentimes, but not all the time, throw a U0306 software incompatibility code. This code will not prevent the truck from running, though, and any functional spare module will certainly avoid the tow truck driver...:c:

Ed
Ed@ficmrepair.com

FICM PROBLEMS
 

I have resently changed my FICM on my 2004 6.0 powerstroke and now I'm having new problems. The FICM was a preprogrammed reman. The question I have is why is my turbo cycling off and on when it wants to, instantly after changing it is when it started. Sometimes it will over boost and sometimes no boost at all. I did notice the date on the unit said 2006, my truck is a 2004, is that going to matter sense it is a reman/preprogrammed unit? Does the FICM controls the turbo and if so what do I need to do to fix it?

if the fcim is bad what codes would it kick as well?

no DTC signal
 

I HAVE A 06 F250 WITH 6.0 AND WHEN I SUPPLY POWER TO #15 FUSE UNDER THE HOOD I GET 48 VOLTS AT MY FICM, BUT DON'T GET ANY dtc SIGNAL.AND TRUCK DON'T START.

There are many companies that say they repair ficm but not all of them will actually repair them???

My 06 f250 don't start i don't have 48 volts from my ficm unless you put power to the number 15 fuse and then it pop's the fuse

Many bad FICM's will not throw a code at all. When they do, the most common are the circuit low codes for either some or all of the individual injectors (P0261, P0264, P0267, P0270, P0273, P0276, P0279, and P0282), perhaps combined with contribution codes from the individual injectors (P0263, P0266, P0269, P0272, P0275, P0278, P0281, and P0284). Of course, if things get really bad, it could throw the only 'true' 'your FICM is shot' code, which is the P0611 code.

Less common very typically FICM-related codes are the circuit high codes of P0262, P0265, P0268, P0271, P0274, P0277, P0280, and P0283).

Hope this helps!


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This doesn't sound like an FICM issue, but rather an ECM-control issue. We've seen this one other time when a customer sent their FICM in to us and we verified for him that the FICM was not the culprit, but he never found out what the true issue was.

That said, if you wanted us to verify the health of your FICM, ship it on over using the intake form on ficmrepair.com. Regardless, PLEASE post back with what the problem ends up being so that all can benefit!

Have you looked at all the standard other things to make sure that they are a-okay? Things like IPR duty cycle and Injection Control Pressure readings? Have you tried unplugging the ICP sensor to see if that allows it to start?

awesome post!

Thanks very much, but we're not doing anything special over here - just taking care of folks the way that we would want to be taken care of. :c:

To the other poster's note that some do not actually fix these modules at all, it's amazing to me how many modules supposedly carrying a 'lifetime' warranty we see in from other shops. Not much to do about that, I suppose, but I welcome any ideas. I hate seeing people get left holding the bag.

Mdub707
 

Reading your posts and finding them helpful.
while testing the FICM I get 19v for a few seconds then goes to 48v
Is this a common reading/ cranking getting 48v
I can not start my 2003 6.0 L and get black smoke while cranking,
it tries to fire but just not cylinders firing to start

You shouldn't be getting 19V for a few seconds before it climbs to 48. That said, if it hold 48V during the actual cranking, then it is possible that you have something else going on as well.

Do you know what your ICP and IPR duty cycle numbers are during cranking?

Ed

FICM
 

Hey Ed thanks for the response..

I do not know how to check the ICP, IPR..:s:
can you direct me to somewhere to troubleshoot them ??
Oh.. I sent my FICM to Circuit board medics for diagnostics today..

ficm test and results
 

did the test and, key on engine off 47 to 48 volts. cycling 25 to 48 volts. engine turning over 35 to 48 volts. 06 turbo power stroke, 93,000 miles, high volume air intake and exhaust and bully dog. for a week or so had very rough starts and missed like crazy for 5 blocks, then it was warmed up and ran good. last day or two starts are so bad i'm waiting for it not to start, and missing so bad i have to let it warm up 3,4,5 minutes ant then it is warmed up and runs good. codes came up, fuel injector module performance, and fuel injector module test incomplete. the problem is after it warms up it runs good as far as i can tell. so far i have not heard if a ficm problem goes away after warm up or it does not go away after warm up and it costs a lot to buy a ficm (or rebuilt one) and not have the problem fixed. looking for help, thanks.

Your symptoms are stereotypical of a failed FICM. Your voltage readings are going to dip down further at colder temperatures (startup) as the amperage draw through the module is dramatically higher at that point than when the engine is warm. For now, the voltage climbs back up when the engine warms up since the amperage load drops. This will eventually not be the case and your module simply won't allow the truck to start.

Ship it on over to us at FICMrepair.com and we can hook you up! There's an intake form on the site under the 'Sending Your Unit in for Repair' tab with all of the options detailed. If down time is a challenge for you, we can also do a core exchange for you where we would in nearly all cases be able to ship a ready-to-go (plug and play) module out same day. In fact, you could elect to use this opportunity to get a tremendous update to the factory software on the module by electing one of the PHP tunes that we can apply in-shop! Just give us a call at 515-897-4459 if you want to set that up!

Sorry you are having trouble, but we'll get you going again! :c:

Ed

FICM repairs
 

FICM problems solved ..Thanks to Circut Board Medics Honest,friendly and fast service ..
19-48 volts cycling ,48v key on and cranking.
my truck started with the first crank ..
Guy's at Circut Board Medic "THANKS" :c:

PS. my hair is comming back rapidly..

Hello everyone, I am new to the site and i am haveing problems with my 2005 f450 was driving down the road and all of a sudden the truck just stopped running and now will just crank over but wont start... i have since had the ficm replaced and removed ipr valve cleaned it and replace screen and orings and still no resolve.. any ideas of what the problem could be?

This sounds a while lot like a snap to connect fitting on the high pressure oil pump. What's your injection control pressure during cranking? If not 500psi or more, you've found the issue.