FiTech no longer runs - Need help!!!!
Hello all,
First I want to say thanks to everyone who has helped me in my journey with the FiTech unit. I really appreciate the help. However, I have now a non-running unit in my only means of transportation. I need help. Here's the scoop (exactly what I have sent to FiTech customer support):
-------I had the vehicle up and running for approximately 1 month, as it is now my primary vehicle. I got the vehicle through Phoenix emissions, which is no small feat, so I know it was running well. During my commute yesterday, I stopped to fill up with gas and the vehicle would not start again. I had to get a jump to get the vehicle started. It ran for another 12 miles and I parked at a relatives house for dinner. Upon trying to leave an hour later, the vehicle refused to start. We put a battery charger on and let it charge for an hour. Tried again, and no luck.
I towed the vehicle home and we started diagnosing the electrical system as the handheld was showing 6-7 Volts. We tested all the static and cranking voltages at each point in our wiring, including the incoming and outgoing points on each of the FiTech fuses (Yellow, Red, Orange), as well as the ignition-hot lead (white) at a point right before the entrance into the unit. What we read on both voltmeters we tested with showed consistent 11-12V at all points during cranking, while the handheld showed 6-7V. I cannot get the system to start or run, although it will sputter when I first prime the system. I have a video confirming the discrepancy taken with my phone.
All the wiring in the entire vehicle is brand new with a Painless Wiring harness, including the relay-controlled fuel pump system (Aeromotive 340lph in-tank pump). We checked all grounds thoroughly (4Ga from battery to block, 2 8Ga from Battery to frame, 2 10Ga from battery to body/radiator-mount) and found no issues. I thought I had a dying battery when I read the voltage so low on the handheld, so we purchased a brand new Interstate 1000 CCA battery and let it charge overnight. With a full charge today, the issue persists. I'm open to your help here as this is my only transportation and I cannot get to/from work at this time.
Thank you in advance,
Dave Miller
------Video found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rViW7TEcSnQ
Ok, just trying to cover everything here, so I didn't here you say you have a ground to the fitech body. I had to connect a wire to the fitech body and ground that.
Yes. 14ga connected from throttle body to the ground on the radiator core. (The radiator core ground runs directly to the battery). To make sure this was ground, we added another ground directly from the throttle body to the battery (8ga) during all tests with the new battery. That includes the video shown.
But yes, I had neglected to mention that in my initial post. My apologies!
Wow, if you have 12 volts at the white and red wire inputs with the key on, relative to the fitech throttle body case, and you are not reading that in the fitech handheld log file, then I'd ask fitech what the heck could be possibly going on with the unit, never heard of that. Maybe they didn't connect the ECU ground to the case correctly.
I have contacted FiTech support, and they have asked me on 3 occasions to update the handheld. They direct me to access this folder on the handheld:
"Find and open the KlineDriver_AAFF_FFAA folder..."
...here's the catch, I have no such folder on my handheld! I have the version with the 4 arrow buttons and the OK button in the middle. I have tried to explain to support that the folder does not exist on my handheld for me to execute the file, but they seem to not be understanding me and keep recommending I run that file. You know, the one I don't have! Ughh.
I also did a check to confirm I was getting the appropriate PSI from the fuel pump by putting my gauge back on for a test during prime and crank. Figured it couldn't hurt to do a simple check...just to be safe. Pump seems to be good, but it's like I'm getting NO fuel. If I pour a little gas into the throttle body, then try to start, it will sputter and quit. However, if I leave the system to prime itself, it just will not start. It's like there's no fuel (I confirmed spark with a timing light).
I will call support directly tomorrow as the email effort seems to not be working. We're just not communicating. I'll keep everyone posted!
Okay, spoke to Alex in support. We walked through steps to see if resetting the system to factory would help. It did not. We then tried to check and see if we were getting any fuel in the prime cycle in the throttle body. We weren't. We then checked the system to see if we were getting RPM, and the RPM was reading 59019. He said that was an interference code, but that it would not explain the lack of prime fuel...and thinks it's ECM inside the system.
They are prepping an RMA for the unit. Sucks as this is my only transportation and they're talking 2 to 2.5 weeks turn around, but at this point, I don't have other options. Gotta do what I can do...I guess.
Thanks for the support, Bdhulderman. We'll see where this goes.
ive had problems with mine from day 1,i also had send ecu and controller in and they sent another,but they sent the one with trans control now i keep getting vss codes,and im using a turbo 400,im bout ready to sell it for what i can and buy holley term x,oh and btw took almost 4 weeks to get new ecu
Update: I called the support line directly and spoke with a rep. I explained this was my primary transportation and that I really couldn't wait weeks. He agreed to get me a replacement ECU on 2-day shipping (easy to do from SoCal to AZ). The ECU arrived today. Here's my notes:
1- All the ground wires from the sealed ECU connect to a single electrical connection which is then mounted to the throttle body via a single small bolt. I see why grounding the throttle body mounting tab to a good ground is so important now. To be safe, I ran an extra ground wire from that ECU assembly to a good ground.
2- Replacing the ECU requires you to disassemble the fuel rails, as they did not provide a quick way to disconnect the electrical connectors from the injectors. Ughh...not what I had hoped. However, I succumbed to the realization that their poor engineering required the extra work, I was able to pull it all apart and do the needful. Reassembly wasn't that bad, as I just put all the wires where they were before in the old system. Took my time planning the wire routing to be as successful as I could make it.
3- The rep told me 3 times on the phone to NOT pinch the small vacuum seal that connects from the throttle body to the small vacuum port on the sealed ECU. After seeing the design, I can see how this could be easily pinched if you didn't take time to set it up correctly. When I pulled my unit apart...guess what I found? A pinched vacuum seal (see attached). Maybe THAT is why I struggled to get any type of consistency on my IACs from cold to warm? The new ECU came with a new seal...and I made DAMN sure to put that in correctly.
It's late...and I have early meetings tomorrow. However, the TB is back together and ready to install on the intake and hook wiring up. More to come tomorrow.
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Well, we gave the FiTech a valiant effort, that's for sure. I put the freshly rebuilt TB back on the manifold with the new ECU, wired it up...and the vehicle immediately will not idle below 2250 rpm and shows -18 inHg of vacuum. I confirmed that all my lines were hooked up and secured correctly. I confirmed that the throttle blade adjustment started at 1/2 a turn on the front and rear. The TB is sitting square and flat on the intake. All voltages check out and fuel pressure is solid. No other possible scenarios could be presenting a problem and I read no codes.
So, in my last ditch effort to salvage the FiTech, I pulled the front cover back off (while still installed in the vehicle as I promised myself that if I ever needed to pull the unit off the vehicle again, it was getting destroyed with a sledgehammer) and confirmed that the vacuum seal was indeed correctly installed. I carefully reassembled the unit, making sure to line up the vacuum tube in the ECU with the seal correctly. Tried again. Again the unit fails to idle below 2250 RPM and shows -18 inHg of vacuum.
While I desperately wanted to give a new player in the fuel/air space my money...I cannot justify spending more time fixing an EFI system than I did the carburetor that it replaced. Since FiTech will not fly a tech out to fix their faulty product, nor will they reimburse me for the lost wages or labor spent trying to fix THEIR FAULTY PRODUCT...I need to move on.
A big Thank You to all of those who helped me in my journey. I wish you all the best... and for those who didn't get a sorry excuse for an EFI system, I hope for your continued success.
Now, off to buy the Holley and warm up the sledgehammer...