WARNING Flashpaq Tuner May Cause Loss of Control

[Elmobile]

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I recently installed a superchips flashpaq tuner to increase fuel economy and correct my speedometer. The tuner was used on a 2008 Ford Ranger XLT 4x4 Supercab. I have the 4.0L V6 with automatic transmission.

The tuner tripped the anti theft system. The vehicle thought is was stolen and deactivated the starter. Somehow it caused a voltage increase to the fuel pump and managed to short it out. This in turn caused the engine to shut down completely and a complete loss of power steering occured while driving 65 mph on the highway while in the middle of going through a curve. Luckily it is was a desolate part of a rural highway so I managed to control the vehicle and roll to a somewhat save stop in the grass that seperates the two sides.

The ECM read back two DTCs once I was at the Ford Dealership. One code was P1260 (Theft Detected). The other code was P0232 (Fuel Pump Relay Force Fail Off). For some strange reason everytime I hit the brake pedal, the left turn signal came on. Another strange occurance was that even though my emergency lights were on as indicated on the dash, they were not actually flashing. Everything else still worked including the radio, ac, door locks, windows. Just wouldn't start and the dash kept flashing a lot of trouble lights.

Also once I uninstalled the tuner file and cleared all DTCs using the tuner, the vehicle returned back to normal and started back up. It has been running normally every since. The Ford Technicians could not find anything wrong with the vehicle. I had already uninstalled the tuner file and figured out the issue before the technicians had a chance to look at it. No parts have been replaced including a fuel pump or anykind of wiring. I suspect the sudden anti-theft trigger caused a voltage imbalance which probably triggered somekind of fuel pump safety switch.

So, this is a fair warning to those who use these tuners. There is a posibility that your vehicle can die on you at the most random times. I suspect this is probably a bigger problem for certain year models that have ECMs that can indicate theft detected. In all fairness to the situation, everytime the tuner was plugged in (only for using the performance monitoring log) it always triggered theft detected and all I had to do was clear the DTC and nothing bad happened.

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[6.2]

Right.....

 

[aspevacek]

I do not think it is even remotely possible for a programmer talking to the OBD / CAN Bus to raise the voltage to the fuel pump. The pumps do not seem to be a variable resistance type. The fuel pump should get its power from a switched and fused 12 volt source not the ECU. The ECU would infact be able to send an on / off command to a relay to switch the pump of fand on. But would never be used to directly power the pump iteslf. The load draw from that could become enough to fry the ECU which would cause Ford way to may issues with warranty repairs on costly components.

The turn signal flashing with the brake pedal being depressed sounds like a short some where in the system. Unless the cable for the programmer was damaged and had a short itself which would not be the programmers fault but a damaged item instead.

 

[Dirmaid]

My old superchips tuner never did anything like that

Only time the truck ever died on me while driving was when the battery cables backed out. It defintely couldnt have caused the brakes/turn signal since thats basically a stand alone system from the ecu (its just a switch, a relay, the bulb, then ground). You may have just had a gremlin rewire your truck temporarily. But more likely some wires got nicked and are shorting on something

 

[yyc_tbird_sc]

Oh my god! It's gotta be horrible to not have any power steering while doing 65mph! The world is coming to an end!!!

I'm sorry...but power steering is not needed at that speed unless you are a semi, bulldozer, tank, airplane, or other monsterously giant apparatus. Power steering is needed for slow speeds to overcome the resistance of the tires against the pavement/concrete while turning. At speed, it is not necessary....there were alot of manufacturers that used to have (and some that still do) variable power steering assist, as speeds go up, a valve closes and reduces the amount of assist that is generated. This is to avoid too much steering input from stupid drivers and to all a feel of the road.

As for your engine shutting down...yeah, that sucks. I've had an engine or few stop for various reasons over the years and all that happens is that I stick the vehicle in neutral and pull to the side of the road. No freaking out or needed drama about it. Even if you leave it in gear and do nothing....all that happens is you slow down and eventually stop.

Seeing posts like this further implants that people need to be trained in the proper handling of a vehicle, and need to be separated from all the junk info they've been fed for so many years. Drivers are getting too coddled by all the traction controls, park assists, back up camera, etc etc... If you can't handle a standard transmission, no power accessories, no power steering car/truck, then you shouldn't be allowed to drive until you can.

Call me an a$$ all you want...I'm not putting this out there to insult anyone, or to start a fight but rather to help point out a problem with a majority of drivers out there (old driver, new driver, it doesn't matter).

BTW...have you contacted SuperChips about this at all yet? Maybe this would be a better solution rather than going out and flogging a product/manufacturer right off the bat. If you have contacted them, what has their response been?