Performance chip and servicing...

[STANN]

I'm thinking about a chip as my next mod, and was wondering if you put in a new chip, will that affect a dealer's ability to service the car? not like regular tune-ups but, since my tranny had been dying lately, i've had a new one put in...would a chip affect a service like that? i know its been talked about before, but also, whats this apten (?) chip i've heard about? appears to give good results....

 

[tbomb]

im not exactly sure what you mean - if you can be more specific, please do.

i know when my truck is going in for work, i always take out my chip if its going to the dealership; if its going to my regular mechanic, i tell him about the chip and i ask him if i need to take it out or if its ok to leave in for the work he wants to do. the problem with leaving it at the dealership is that theyll try to blame whatever they can on the chip and theyll try to charge you for warranty work as well claiming that all kinda of other stuff is messed up because of the chip.

from what i understand, if they try to pull codes, itll get all screwy with the chip in there. itll either spit out bogus codes, or no codes at all - whatever, i just know that they wont get anything accurate like that.

once you get your chip, though, youll see how easy it is to take out and put back in. mine usually takes me about 5 minutes or so, with 3 different size sockets and a toggle extension, which you may or may not need (plus the half hour to reset the battery, but you can go watch tv or something while thats happening.) its really no big deal.

i dont know much about the apten deal, but theres a lot of info floating around about it.

 

[Alec]

You need to take the chip out for dealer work. They can detect it and will blame all your crap on it. It doesn't affect the retrieval of codes, but it can mess up any work that they try to do to the computer.

To other mechanics, just ask them if you need to take it out or not. BTW, it only takes me 4 minutes to remove or install my chip, so I wouldn't worry too much.

 

[blk mk8]

there is not much to say because these guys hit it on the head the first time but according to the the sema act or some thing like that the dealer is not alowed to void your warrenty on the engine or trans because of a chip. so if they give you crap about they checked your computer and it showed signes of chip usage and they are voiding your warrenty or refusing to fix it dont stand for it because they are not allowed to do that. the only thing they are allowed to do is void the computer warrenty.

 

[Kinnish]

heh...ALEC is alwayz a minute faster

 

[Magicfan25]

Chips are a touchy subject. Call local dealers and ask where they stand. Some dont care and others have a fit. If your dealer happens to care, remove the chip and unplug the battery before you take it in.

While under the Moss-Ferguson act to void a warranty they must be able to prove the chip caused the problem. If you lose the engine or tranny and they know about the chip you're likely to catch hell. I think something like that is near impossible to prove but you can bet most dealers will void the warranty. Many people have taken dealers to court over this stuff, usually cheaper just to pay for it yourself and have it done elsewhere.

 

[DocVijay]

I have a Superchip, and when my tranny went out, I took it to Ford as I had an extended warranty. I left the chip in, and they didn't say anything about it. They fixed it; no problem. What's the moral of this story. There isn't one, as there's mo guarantee that your Ford dealer won't say anything.

 

[Robert]

There is no guarantee how a dealer will react, so I always removed mine prior to taking it to the dealer. One problem with this though is depending on the service you need, you might have to drive it for several days to complete all of your OBD-II readiness checks if yours is a '96 or newer. I took my Explorer in for a high idle problem and when they tried to find out the source, they ran a computer check. Since I disconnected the battery the day before to remove my SuperChip, my readiness checks were not complete. They told me they couldn't find the problem for the high idle and to bring it back in a week once the readiness checks were completed. The next day my Explorer temperature gauge was pegged. I drove straight back to the dealer again. They tried telling me that I had to come back in a week once they were sure my readiness checks were complete. Unforutnately my dealer didn't have a clue where to start troubleshooting without having the computer finishing its checks. When they tried telling me to drive it for a week with an overheating engine, I convinced them to start using antiquated troubleshooting steps and pretend it didn't have a comptuer. They found that my thermostat was stuck closed. My Explorer increased the idle to compensate for the high temperature.

 

[STANN]

Sorry for the late post- haven't had much free time....
Thanks for the info, I guess it sounds pretty much just remove the chip and everything will be alright. Any info on the apten chip?

 

[DocVijay]

Do a search. Apparently some people have been having trouble with them.

 

[STANN]

hmmm....no good about problems with chip. Thanks.

 

[Apten]

you should take the chip out from the dealer. If they try to do a module reflash with a chip in the J3 service port, it will fail and they will think your EEC is bad. If the dealer isn't using an NGS or cardaq for specific computer diagnostics, they probably won't even know that you have a chip installed.

The problems with the Apten chip have been because some service ports are shut off from the factory. On those particular EEC's, a chip won't work until you soldier the jumpers on to re-enable it. I have been working with those individuals to help them get their ports enabled, so they can install chips.

You have a 96 Explorer, and so far I haven't run in to any 96 Explorers with a service port disabled, so you should be okay running a chip.

Brian Herron

 

[Robert]

So just in case no one picked up on what Brian was saying, regardless of whatever chip you might try, if your service port is disabled your new chip won't work. It's not a problem with the Apten Chip, it's a problem with Ford. My SuperChip came with a letter advising me that some vehicles will need a jumper wire soldered in to work.

 

[aldive]

Would someone please post a picture of this jumper wire?

Thanks.....

 

[aldive]

bump

 

[Robert]

Dead Link Removed