Fitech = total disappointment
A little history....
I bought a Fitech 30003 system about 3.5 years ago. Got it installed and drove the vehicle for about 3 weeks almost daily getting the fine tuning set. It was working very well and I was happy with it. The bad weather kicked in early so I parked the vehicle for the winter. Due to other issues the vehicle was barely driven during the next summer, probably only 50kms. Had no issues with the system and all was well. So at this point it maybe has 300km on it
So late last summer I pulled the vehicle out of hibernation. It stated right up and ran well. I had driven it just a few days just getting the cold start fine tuned. On the last day it ran it was working great. I parked it in my driveway for the night. The next morning it would not start. It had fuel pressure but I could not hear the prime shot of fuel. I began all the checks for fuel and spark and it all checked out. I pulled the injectors and installed a Noid light. No injector pulse. Great.... Did some research and found others that had the same issue, the ECU injector driver had died. Not impressed when it only has 500km on it.
I contacted Fitech and was told I needed to send it in for them to check it. I also needed to send in the receipt which I could not find. It was out of warranty so I expected nothing from them and got nothing from them.
So I purchased a new ECU from Summit Racing. It arrived late January and I installed it. The new ECU needed an update of the Handheld programmer. I emailed Fitech Feb 13 and received a reply about determining what model my programmer was. I got that info and emailed to them on Feb 14. Then nothing..... absolutely no reply.
On Feb 21 I send another email. Nothing....
I finally get a reply with the update attached on Feb 28. Try as I might the update does nothing. I can load it into the Handheld programmer but it won't work. I tried several times. I reloaded the old program and it works. The program file I received must be flawed.
I send another email to Fitech on Mar 6 and eventually get a reply on Mar 10 with a "must be a bad file I will get another one sent to you"
Here it is Apr 16 and no reply, no update, nothing. I have tried calling a couple of times but ended up sitting on hold.
This company sucks, their tech sucks, their customer service sucks.
Ok, I am the creator and owner of this website. I started this site as a User like yourself. I now contract to Fitech as a Tech and Tuner. This give me great incite to your situation.
First, yes the units produced in the first few months of 2020 were supplied with a dirty chip that can cause injector driver failure. This the result of chip shortage during COVID. As soon as Fitech was aware, they stopped production. Fired the chip manufacturer and spent nearly 6 months redesigning the ECU. This caused a major backlog on sales and orders, but was 100% the right thing to do.
The issue you were likely experiencing, we call "no prime, no pulse". The reason that it is requested to send back, so that it can be properly tested and repaired. With that issue, likely for free. No matter the warranty. Fitech looks at that as a manufacturer defect and covers the cost.
Yes, a new ECU requires an updated handheld software. This software is specific to the handheld you have. There are 4 different generations of handheld at this time.
Something to note. If you have the new style handheld, you must delete and replace both folders. Not the individual files inside.
New handheld software has a folder that is labeled your model number and one that is labeled "share". Your handheld memory will be the same, but older version. Delete both folders and replace with the folders you received from Fitech. Then run handheld software reboot.
I hope this helps. I'm haven't been doing much tech calls or emails lately, due to being very busy with other businesses. I do know we had an email hack a couple months ago. Are IT department has had to do a major overhaul and employ new safety measures. This likely caused delays in responses. I know that all of us techs go through the emails available on a daily basis.
Thank you for the reply.
If the original Tech guy had responded this quick and had not led me to believe Fitech would not do anything without the original sales slip, I may not be this fed up with all this. If he would have given me a heads up about your email issues I could understand that. Waiting days or weeks for a reply doesn't make customers happy.
I have a gen 3 handheld, no dots. I did delete all programs in the handheld and then loaded the supplied files. It would lock up at the reboot step. When I reloaded the original files it would load perfectly. I tried the old handheld program on the vehicle to set the basics and got it started. Problem is, ECU will not remember the basic settings after shutting off the engine and all the basic info is lost.
Would it be possible for you to send me the files I need? Gen 3 no dots.
I do believe the files sent before are corrupt.
Thanks again. Gary
I can't answer too your interaction with the other techs. I do know in the 8 years I have been helping others, the tech lines are the most difficult to deal with. That avenue lends to some miscommunication between the User and the Tech.
It is very important that you get this right on your handheld generation. Wrong software will brick your handheld. The No Dot will have 5 large holes on the left side and nothing on the right side. Also need to know which model Fitech.
My system is a 30003, 4bbl, 400hp
My handheld is a gen 3, no dots, 5 holes on left end under the Fitech name.
Thanks Gary
Quote from Austin DeHaas on April 17, 2024, 10:00 amOk, I am the creator and owner of this website. I started this site as a User like yourself. I now contract to Fitech as a Tech and Tuner. This give me great incite to your situation.
First, yes the units produced in the first few months of 2020 were supplied with a dirty chip that can cause injector driver failure. This the result of chip shortage during COVID. As soon as Fitech was aware, they stopped production. Fired the chip manufacturer and spent nearly 6 months redesigning the ECU. This caused a major backlog on sales and orders, but was 100% the right thing to do.
The issue you were likely experiencing, we call "no prime, no pulse". The reason that it is requested to send back, so that it can be properly tested and repaired. With that issue, likely for free. No matter the warranty. Fitech looks at that as a manufacturer defect and covers the cost.
Yes, a new ECU requires an updated handheld software. This software is specific to the handheld you have. There are 4 different generations of handheld at this time.
Something to note. If you have the new style handheld, you must delete and replace both folders. Not the individual files inside.
New handheld software has a folder that is labeled your model number and one that is labeled "share". Your handheld memory will be the same, but older version. Delete both folders and replace with the folders you received from Fitech. Then run handheld software reboot.
I hope this helps. I'm haven't been doing much tech calls or emails lately, due to being very busy with other businesses. I do know we had an email hack a couple months ago. Are IT department has had to do a major overhaul and employ new safety measures. This likely caused delays in responses. I know that all of us techs go through the emails available on a daily basis.
Austin,
First, thanks for the heads up about the faulty injector driver chips in 2020! You need to relay to Fitech that there needs to be a overhaul of customer service at Fitech as I hear it first hand at cars shows I attend here in Ontario ,Canada. Alot of users have ether dumped their Fitech unit to ether a Holly brand EFI or Edelbrock system or gone back to a carb. In alot of cases it is mostly end users being frustrated by the poor Fitech customer service and not knowing how to resolve their issue. I do my best to help those who get frustrated and have helped alot of users get their units running great. But there is only so much one can do. But I do hear from people at the car shows about the great tech support at Holly with their EFI units and most are very happy with their Holly EFI unit. I have dealt with both Fitech and Holly tech support and can confirm it was a better experience with Holly Tech support. I have a Fitech early 30003 unit I bought in 2017 and have had no issues with it other than replacing the MAP seal.
Quote from tac71 on April 19, 2024, 9:51 amMy system is a 30003, 4bbl, 400hp
My handheld is a gen 3, no dots, 5 holes on left end under the Fitech name.
Thanks Gary
I just sent you a Dropbox link for the 30003 no dot software. I used the email you have listed for this website.
Thank you Austin. I will try to get loaded this week and try it out. I will post results here.
As to what Sodapop said in his post.....
I build custom cars for a living so I work with aftermarket parts every day. I have used many MSD and Holley systems. I also have used their Tech lines and they do work way better than Fitech Tech line does. This Fitech system is on my wives Bronco and I was quite happy with it until the issues came up.
Please send all opinions or experiences with Fitech tech support to Fitech directly. This site was not built to be a complaint board.
Quote from Austin DeHaas on April 22, 2024, 9:44 amPlease send all opinions or experiences with Fitech tech support to Fitech directly. This site was not built to be a complaint board.
Austin,
Were are not complaining. Just thought since you do tech and tuning for Fitech as stated in a previous post by you, you would have a better incite to relay end user concerns to Fitech as I find alot of companies dont listen to the end user ( at least that is the case in the computer IT world). I do my best to support and promote Fitech product. But as a example in the case of fault injector driver chip in early 2020, had you had not posted that, Fitech users would have never known about the issue and to look out for it. That is something Fitech should post as a notice on their website or tech video so end users know in case they run into the issue. I can only hope Fitech comes on this site to read posts.