Problem with SCT X3 Tuner

[DEADEYE]

I've had the same shifting "confusion" and am taking it in this week for service. I also drive in T/H mode 100% of the time, and noticed the tranny is starting to drop into 6th a lot sooner than before, as if I didn't have the button pressed.

And I have no tune or CAI. I'll keep ya posted.

I look forward to hearing the outcome of this and the voltage level of the DC source to the programmer / computer sounds like it could be a realistic issue and it will be interesting to see if SCT confirms this , would also like to see them post a number of minimum acceptable voltage level .

On a separate note : JP7 why the T/H mode all the time ? DO you drive on allot of roads with elevation Changes ? T/H mode will impact MPG / KPG do to the engine braking . I have seen allot of comments on shifting and seems the 5.4 owners comment even more . I am lucky to this point I guess , 6.2 built March 2011 and I could not be happier with how it shifts. If I did ever become concerned the first thing I would do is disconnect the battery for 15 plus minutes and reset the system to see if the adaptive shifting is impacting it .
( not trying to hijack thread , I will go start one on this )

 

[Fred]

Got a little story to share with you guys:

Bought a X3 from 5star a few weeks back. Mike was great and got me the tuner quickly and provided the tunes I asked for (I ordered the 87perf and 91perf tunes). The tunes definitely changed the DBW throttle mapping which made the truck feel "jumpier" and firmed up the shifts.

Subsequently, I added a CAI, and asked Mike for revised tunes with stock shift patters as I didn't like how long the truck was holding gears. I drive on dirt roads a good bit between 40 and 50 MPH, and with the stock patterns, the truck would just hold 6th gear whereas with Mike's tunes it would hunt between 5th and 6th.

Anyways, Mike was again very prompt with getting the revised tunes to me. He also advised me that since I was running 93 octane gas, I should use the tuner to advance the timing a couple of degrees.

So this past weekend, I had a great opportunity to try out and evaluate the new tunes. My kid had a hockey tournament in Kalamazoo which is a little over 2 hours away of fairly flat freeway so I topped off with 93 and set out to see how the truck felt.

First I loaded the 91perf tune with +1 deg timing. After about an hour on the freeway, the truck seemed to be running strong. Throttle response was good, and I was happy with the stock shift patterns. MPGs were averaging about 14.2.

So I pulled over for the kids to get a ***** break, and loaded the 91perf tune with +2 deg timing. Immediately after getting back underway, I noticed a good bit of pinging as I tipped in to the throttle. NOT GOOD!

I pulled over again and changed over to the 87perf tune with +0 timing and stock shift patterns. Since it takes a while for the truck to adapt to the tune, I drove the rest of the way with that tune. Seemed to run fine without any pinging. However, the MPG average dropped down to about 13.

For our return trip, I wanted to go with the 91perf +0 timing to try to squeeze a few more miles out of the tank of gas. This is when things started going south!

I plugged in the tuner just like any other time, and it proceeded to load the tune. However, instead of the usual Download Completed message, it came back with some error saying Vehicle Mismatch - very strange I thought, but at least the truck ran.

We got home Sunday afternoon, and my wife took off with my daughter who had skating practice. I had an hour before my hockey game (play in an old man beer league), so I decided to flash my truck back to stock. Plugged in the tuner and selected the Return to Stock option. Followed the instructions, and watched the tune flash just like any other time. HOWEVER, when it finished this time, if came up with a Download Failed error, click Sel. I turn off the key, click Sel, and it shows Error 1016. So I'm thinking - this can't be good! Sure enough, my truck is completely dead and won't start

Disconnected the battery, waited, reconnected it. Tried returning to stock again - same thing. Downloads to 100% and then Download Failed message - truck won't start. Tried re-installing one of Mike tunes, no go there - tells me to return the truck to stock - haha, very funny

Contacted Mike, and while he responded quickly (for a Sunday evening), said that I have to get a hold of SCT after 9am Monday. How's that going to help me get to hockey Sunday night or work Monday morning!?

Anyways, needless to say, I'm not very happy with where I'm at right now, but am counting my lucky stars that the tuner didn't kill my truck en route to KZoo! I can just imaging the world of hurt I'd be in with my wife and kids in a dead truck an hour away from anywhere and a tourney to go to!!!

Moral of the story is DON'T try to update/flash your truck unless you can afford to be without it for a few days

I had an 02 Excursion with a Bully Dog Tuner. I was having some issues as well and tried to reflash it to stock. I got a error code on the Bully Dog Tuner saying unable to install. The truck was dead in the driveway.

I tried everything I could think of. Eventually, I called a roll back to take it to the local dealer. The could not get anywhere with the truck with their equipment and tools.

Bottom Line, I replaced the Computer. I went to Bully Dog downloaded updates and tried to install the tune on the new computer shocked! It worked from that point forward with no problems.

I did some research and the only answer I got was that a virus might have been installed on the truck from the Bully Dog. I performed all the updates from Bully Dog's website and reflashed the new computer. No problems.

Good Luck. If I can answer any direct questions feel free to PM me anytime.

 

[pirate air]

Sounds like SCT's awesome hardware strikes again. Sucks but not surprised.

 

[Fred]

I would call that operator error, not a failure in the 5star tune.

Changing your tune 3 or 4 times on a single trip is not a good idea.

Changing tunes 3 or 30 times should not make a difference. Granted the more you access with the SCT the greater the chances something could fail. As long as the install was not interrupted it sounds like a hardware problem.

 

[dew.man]

Mike @ 5 star = great. SCT = MAJOR FAIL.

Got an update:

Had a very important meeting with a new client this morning and needed the truck running before SCT could do anything about it. Luckily, I've got a buddy who's an engineer at Ford that was willing to come over and take a look at it. He said the X3 must've flaked out and corrupted the flash, and then he proceeded to flash the ECM back to stock right there in my driveway (talk about small favors) Luckily, my ECM was not fried, and the truck fired right up after that.

In the meantime, I also emailed SCT first thing in the morning and even tried calling them right at 9 when they opened. Well, the phone support is a joke - "dial 1 to hold for a technician" keeps repeating the same message every time you press 1 LOL.

Eventually I got an email back asking for the information from the Device Info screen on the X3. So I wearily plug it in to my (now running) truck, and hit the device info option. Comes up with mostly normal stuff, but the Strategy info is all garbled characters (verifying our earlier conclusion that the flash memory in the device is corrupt). I send them the info and also let them know that I got the truck running with help from Ford, and now just need the programmer fixed/unlocked so that I can use it again.

This is where it gets really f'ed up!!! SCT, who's programmer just left my 2011 truck completely inoperable, has the audacity to tell me that they'll ONLY CHARGE ME $75 to unlock the ************* X3 so that I can use it again! F'in ********!!!

Anyways, I spoke with Mike at 5 star, and he's a real stand-up guy. He was very apologetic and said he would either have them take care of the unlock, or cover the cost himself. Eventually, he did get SCT to pony up and agree to take care of the unlock at no cost, so kudos to Mike.

Lesson learned here is that if you're gonna put a tune on your truck, do it during business hours and don't be shocked if you end up with an expensive driveway ornament. Oh, and if you have a choice, don't buy SCT crap!

 

[Badrap]

Hmm. Scary stuff.

 

[K-9]

Glad it seems to have worked out in the end but what a PITA!.

I've been through a few tunes as I have heavily modded my GT500. I have about 900hp now and my tune is from Jon Lund at Lund Racing. He's and SCT guy too and really good to work with. I expect he has a Raptor tune by now but I have become more and more of a Ford Racing bigit and expect that I will stay pretty strict to Ford Racing on upgrades or perhaps places that are very tight with them....I like what I have heard about Tasca Ford (Tasca Mod Shop) and expect I will work with them when that time comes but since the Raptor will be my daily driver I am not planning to mod it near as heavily and will probably do more cosmetic things....Then again I said I wouldn't mod my GT500 too.

I have not looked yet being new still but a thread on where people get tunes and thoughts may be a good one.

 

[Bullishone]

Well, sounds like I won't be doing it. Good thread, thanks. I have a COBB AP in my GTR and it works flawlessly.

 

[pirate air]

Glad you got it worked out and the PCM was still savable. I see SCT's customer service hasn't changed since the last time I nuked a PCM using SCT's crap. That's about the same run around I got 6 years ago, **** SCT.

 

[Maxx2893]

Highlights:
Device ***** truck.
5 Star tries to help.
Buddy fixes truck.
SCT sucks to deal with.
5 Star helps out in the end.

Moral:
Buy tunes from 5 Star but put them on a device OTHER THAN SCT.