Anyone having this FiTech Issue?

[bteutsch]

I let mine sit for over an hour while trying to re-start at different intervals then it got dark while I was still tinkering with it and I had to throw in the towel. I was getting fuel and the ecu was doing its initial "click" squirt of fuel so Im thinking its a tach coil wire signal issue. I will do some grounding and wire connection triple checking before I drive it again. Runs great otherwise.

Would it fire initially and then quit? Like run on the first squirt of gas for a second or two? I had a problem like that. It only did it when the engine was wet though. Ended up being the two wire harness that comes out of the back of the throttle body grounding when it got wet. Might not be your issue but when I found the plug sitting in a puddle on top of the intake. Took it out and fired right up. Tied it up out of the way since I'm not using it right now. I suppose it could be your coil or the tach signal. If it's the tach signal or no power to the coil you will also get a similar situation but it won't start at all, just turn over. You can tell if you aren't getting a tach signal using the hand held tablet. Go into dash board and turn the engine over. If it's getting a signal it will show up even while just Turing the motor over. I think it's the first category called RPM. If no RPM's register then that's a good place to start at the coil. What ignition are you running?

 

[drock]

Running a Duraspark. Handheld shows an erratic tach rpm so I will start there. Going to take a Bronco break this evening but I will look over everything this weekend and keep everyone posted. Usually it's the simple things that leave me scratching my head.

 

[charlesawhite]

So it died on me three times The other day and the data logger captured it. I called FITech and got Bryce who told me it sounds like fuel starvation and most likely caused by the sticking ball in my fuel command center vent. I did a tempt fix on it today and got a few good miles on it and so far so good. I got my unit direct from Fitech in early December and he said that was during the redesign period and I may have gotten an old design unit. Anyway I am going to try and drive it a lot tomorrow and see if the problem goes away. If it does I can only hope FITech takes care of me with a new unit ASAP.

 

[drock]

The Command Center vent issue was identified with their first batch of Command Centers. I contacted them before I bought mine and the "fix" that FiTech was doing was using a metal punch to make a relief in the vent hole (this would in theory allow the check ball not to completely block the hole). You can verify if your has had this done by removing the threaded vent tube and looking for a mark from the punch. Mine has it but I'm not so sure it's a true fix. I'm having fuel starvation issues after longer drives that involve back road bumpy driving.

 

[drock]

charlesawhite,
What solution did Bryce offer? What did he say they have done to the new Command Centers for a fix?

 

[mlogan24]

This sounds like the ECU cant handle the heat, isn't it mounted on the side of the T-body?

I think there may be something to this. The ECU is in the throttle body and electronics don't like heat. I think some of these issues may be just like the old EEC-IV TFI issues. I'd be curious to see what type of a heat sink they have on the ECU.

 

[surfer-b]

I think there may be something to this. The ECU is in the throttle body and electronics don't like heat. I think some of these issues may be just like the old EEC-IV TFI issues. I'd be curious to see what type of a heat sink they have on the ECU.

I keep thinking this may be the problem. I havn't looked at the FI tech T-body but if possible the ECU may need to be seperated and moved inside the cab, if the fuel issues don't fix it.

 

[charlesawhite]

Bryce told me to put about a 3 inch piece of 16 ga wire doubled over in the vent fitting. I wasnt to wild about that so I used some fine wire that would just block the ball from seating and was able to secure it at the base of the fitting and still get the vent hose over it without any gas leaking. I took it on some back road trails to shake it up at slow speeds and out on paved roads after that with no issues, so I am hoping my problem has been found. I'm going to call Fitech tomorrow and see if they will swap me for a new one. I'm not wild about cracking open a new expensive part and having to punch it myself.

 

[drock]

Let them know a few of us have had this vent issue. I'm not too sure that they would be willing to swap out all the old style Command Centers for the new ones. Keep us posted on any issues you run into. I had mine out yesterday for an hour or so drive without any problems and it ran very strong.

 

[bteutsch]

I had the vent issue at OCBR, at the time they had identified the problem and the new command centers had a design change to solve the issue. Also at the time I was the only customer to actually have a problem at that point. They found the problem while testing a road race car I was told by Ken. I returned my command center under warranty with free shipping both ways. No problems since. However I never had any issue running around town. I only had issues when I was shaking it up on the trails. Check ball was getting activated and was running me out of fuel. Could be your problem. I ended up burning up the pump in the command center. I was able to replace the pump with an off the shelf EFI pump however. While at OCBR I used a small piece of wire and it did solve my issue immediately. I wouldn't open the command center up unless you have a proper spanner wrench. On the trail they gave me a few suggestions, don't try with anything except a spanner, I messed the top of my command center up and never did get it off on the trail. Ended up at a car dealership that helped me by putting the lid in a large vice and spinning the large part of the body off. The small part of the body of the command center is also threaded so don't try and use that to hold the unit down, when I returned the command center for the repair FITECH fixed all my damage, it looks brand new!! They also warrantied the fuel pump No extra charge. The redesign loosened up the tolerances on the column that the check ball rides in.

 

[charlesawhite]

Got an RMA and shipping label from them today. Pulling it out tonight and sending it back for repair. Bryce said they are dropping the ball design and putting in some sort of brass restriction fitting.

 

[Epicracer]

i have my command center installed and just waiting on the efi unit. now i am starting to question if i should call them up to have my CC worked on before i go on a long haul.

 

[Tiko433]

At least it sounds like they are actively seeking a design that works. Seems like your having good customer service with them . I been following ....., is the common problem the fuel command unit ?

 

[charlesawhite]

If you look down the vent you will be able to see if you have the ball vent design or the new restrictor one. They have been modifying the ball vent ones in inventory but not sure you can see that from just looking down the vent.

 

[drock]

I sent an email to them to see if they would swap out the ball check valve in mine. I was left stranded last week due to a fuel starvation related issue. As previously mentioned, they are actively trying to fix issues as they come up and I have always had good customer service interactions with them.

 

[jmangi62]

Where are yall buying this kit from? I'm getting ready to buy this kit,my buddy (who works on computers for large companies) and is a automotive tech,and a electrical guru,thinks the problem may be from the engine heat,the control unit on the throttle body is a concern.I will wait to see what they do about these problems before I purchase.I also noticed WildHorses sells it and Jegs has it in many different forms,thanks guys.

 

[Knuck]

The ecu being on the throttle body doesn't bother me much. The stock computer has been in the engine compartment since they were built.

 

[mlogan24]

The ecu being on the throttle body doesn't bother me much. The stock computer has been in the engine compartment since they were built.

I don't know which "they" you're referring to, but there is a big difference between an OEM computer (developed with millions of dollars) mounted in an engine compartment and an aftermarket ECU being buried inside a giant heat sink (the throttle body) sitting right on top of the engine.

 

[Knuck]

They was referring to the stock ECU. Which was developed over 35 years ago. 35 years is forever in the electronics world.

 

[mlogan24]

They was referring to the stock ECU. Which was developed over 35 years ago. 35 years is forever in the electronics world.

Which/whose stock ECU? The Ford EEC-IV? I hate to break it to you, but it wasn't mounted in the engine compartment.