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No Start - Communication Issues

BoostKing

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Hey Everyone,

I have a 2018 Mustang that has been great until today. Recap. Two weeks ago, I installed my hellion twin turbo sleeper kit. Car is running great, but wastegate pressure was 9-10 psi and I wanted to put an EBC on the car so I could run like 5 psi for daily and just use the controller to turn it up when I wanted.

Three days ago I put the car on jack stands and got to work swapping out the wastegate springs and installing the GFB3 controller. I also installed an AEM X Series wideband but did not wire it up yet. I did plug the OBD2 connector in but that shouldnt do anything. I didnt give it power from any source yet.

For the GFB3, I used the passenger side foot well grommet that you access behind the fender liner. I pulled the wheel and liner out Carefully I cut the nipple on the existing firewall grommet and fed the boost reference line and harness through to the inside. From there, I ran the power to the kick panel fuse compartment with a Bussman add a fuse on 23. I put a 10 amp fuse on the extended circuit, grounded the nut to the chassis near the fuse panel with the existing mounting bracket just behind the corner sill plate. I plugged in the harness to the GFB3 and it powered on an off with the ignition as needed. I did not start the vehicle since it is in my garage and on jack stands.

For the wastegates, I dropped the downpipes and put the new springs in, then added my new wideband to the rear bung and routed the harness up to the engine bay and through the grommet for later.

I tidied up all my vacuum hoses and such and put the car back on the ground. Excited, I went to start the vehicle and it said steering system fault, see manual. No crank, no start, nothing. Thought that was odd, since I was on the passenger side the entire time and didn't mess with it.

I grabbed Forscan and ran a diagnostic on it. Many DTC's came up. Most are for lost communication to something or another. Tried clearing the codes which did not work.

I noticed during the initial scan from Forscan, it would say it could not communicate with the ICM module. Assuming this is the ignition control module, I am concerned but also unsure of how to proceed.

For info, I have physically checked every fuse by way of continuity, pulling every fuse and manually checking it on my volt meter. Every FUSE, twice.

I swapped around some relays in the engine compartment that seemed relative to modules but to no avail.

I have gone head to tow looking for a pinched wire or disconnected harness. I also have put a battery charger on since it did get a little low. I disconnected the battery for 30+ minutes to see if that would help. I did an individual reset on every module I could get to with Forscan as well.

I am lost, worried I have screwed something up and I have no clue what. This was such a simple install, and now I have no clue where to look. Please let me know if you need more information while I continue to look top to bottom for something unplugged, pinched, or cut. I have yet to find anything. Thanks everyone!

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BoostKing

BoostKing

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I'm hoping I may just have a bad battery. Despite having it on a charger and the charger saying full, after about 30 minutes sitting it drops into the lower 11's. This is with it unhooked completely (neg and pos) from the car. So no draw on it and it's dropping charge.

Been reading that bad cells in a battery can cause these weird issues so I'm gonna take it to get tested. I sure hope this is the problem because honestly I have gone over everything I've done to the car several times and nothing jumps out.

Please feel free to throw down any advice you have or tests that can help determine the issue. I'll have a new battery by this evening.
 

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I'm hoping I may just have a bad battery. Despite having it on a charger and the charger saying full, after about 30 minutes sitting it drops into the lower 11's. This is with it unhooked completely (neg and pos) from the car. So no draw on it and it's dropping charge.

Been reading that bad cells in a battery can cause these weird issues so I'm gonna take it to get tested. I sure hope this is the problem because honestly I have gone over everything I've done to the car several times and nothing jumps out.

Please feel free to throw down any advice you have or tests that can help determine the issue. I'll have a new battery by this evening.
Resting voltage should be 12.6 volts. Below 12.2 you're gonna have issues starting the car.
 
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Thanks. I took it to AutoZone and they "tested it". It was at 58% but the load test said no dead cells according to the employee.

I took it home and I set it back on my Noco charger. Its at 13.2 right now but not connected to the vehicle. I'm going to let it stay on the charger over night.

I may even pull my F150 battery to jump it over there and see if that helps.

Keep in mind, this is a completely NO CRANK, no start. Not even trying to start. Seems like nothing powers up, though I have been through every fuse I can find (engine bay and passenger kick panel).

I know it has to be something I am overlooking. No way a 12v >5amp EBC on an add a fuse (23) would kill a module, or am I wrong?
 

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If you're at 13.2 put it on and try it. Below 12.2 your not gonna get a crank. At 11v your not gonna get a thing to come on, your door won't even lock or unlock at that point.
 

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I tried it. Connected battery and it dropped to 12.6. Jumped in the car and tried to start it, while the NOCO was on it as well keeping the battery around 12.6.

Nothing. I mean the dash comes on, sync shows up, etc. Head lights are even strong, just nothing else happens at all.

I've done low power electronic installs a hundred times in my life. This was so straight forward and simple. Nothing I can see or think about that I did that would cause this to happen. Perhaps it's coincidence but man am I frustrated.

I pulled the grommet I used to pass the wires apart and looked inside. The factory harness is 100% intact and untouched. No nicks or cuts or any reason for this. Unless me fiddling with the harness caused an issue internally to that harness. This is the big fat one that comes through the passenger side foot well.

I really dont want to tow it to a dealership or shop to have repaired. I need to keep digging. Keep the suggestions coming, but I think the battery being "low" is ruled out for now.
 

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I'm not sure if any of the below links will help for your non-start issue - but hit them up.

This thread is where a GT350 owner had a no power non-start issue and could not get the car to start, it ended up being a 125A fuse:
https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/threads/car-is-dead-need-help.137125/


This M6G member had a non-start failure and after much diagnosis, it was found the cause was due to a wiring harness. The harness that was eventually found was under his S550 and it rubbed on the chassis enough that the wear chafed through the outer protective conduit and rubbed through the wire casings causing a short, which kept blowing a fuse. See post #34 of the below thread:
https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/th...-stalled-and-it-doesnt-start-or-crank.154984/
 

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I'm not sure if any of the below links will help for your non-start issue - but hit them up.

This thread is where a GT350 owner had a no power non-start issue and could not get the car to start, it ended up being a 125A fuse:
https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/threads/car-is-dead-need-help.137125/


This M6G member had a non-start failure and after much diagnosis, it was found the cause was due to a wiring harness. The harness that was eventually found was under his S550 and it rubbed on the chassis enough that the wear chafed through the outer protective conduit and rubbed through the wire casings causing a short, which kept blowing a fuse. See post #34 of the below thread:
https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/th...-stalled-and-it-doesnt-start-or-crank.154984/
@Cobra Jet has made great suggestions. My 2014 had a PCM failure where everything worked but the car would not start.
 
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@Cobra Jet has made great suggestions. My 2014 had a PCM failure where everything worked but the car would not start.
I'm going to look into everything @Cobra Jet said for sure. After working for SCT for 10 years and staying in the aftermarket with my own tuning companies, the number of PCM failures I've seen outside of writing is so small I cannot imagine it being a PCM. Did yours just randomly die or were you flashing it?

I think m PCM is ok because I can pull the as-built data using Forscan. I can talk to all modules except the ICM. The internet seems to think the ICM is the ignition control module, but other searches say its the information center module or something like that. ANyone know. Seems odd I cannot talk to it. For what it is worth, I am 100% sure I have communicated with it in the past since I do an As-Built individual backup with Forscan on every Ford I own. I have the file from when I bought the car in early 2021 so it was working then.
 
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Battery seems good, been holding a solid 13 volts after charging for a while. Leaving it on trickle over night but I dont think the battery is an issue. Everything seems to have good power, and stereo gets loud.

I checked the fuseable link. Popped it out and continuity tested it against all post and then checked it for power on the car. Everything looks good there.

I need to get under the car and look for chafed wires, but I'm having a hard time thinking that could be it since it has been on jack stands and ran when I pulled it in. Fuse 64 is good. Swapped it with another 5 amp just for the hell of it. No dice.

Pulled the center dash back out (switches, push to start and other things). Checked them again. Nothing.

When I push the ignition once to start it, no crank, but I hear a click from the passenger foot well area. If I wait, I will see low oil pressure warning as well as engie coolant over temp, but I think it's to be expected considering the "non communication" between modules at the moment.

Open to more ideas. Gonna start looking again tomorrow morning.
 

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I'm going to look into everything @Cobra Jet said for sure. After working for SCT for 10 years and staying in the aftermarket with my own tuning companies, the number of PCM failures I've seen outside of writing is so small I cannot imagine it being a PCM. Did yours just randomly die or were you flashing it?

I think m PCM is ok because I can pull the as-built data using Forscan. I can talk to all modules except the ICM. The internet seems to think the ICM is the ignition control module, but other searches say its the information center module or something like that. ANyone know. Seems odd I cannot talk to it. For what it is worth, I am 100% sure I have communicated with it in the past since I do an As-Built individual backup with Forscan on every Ford I own. I have the file from when I bought the car in early 2021 so it was working then.
My PCM failed on a hot day after I blew the fuel pump fuse. Upon restart I had the p0606. Then the car would not restart until I flashed everything back to stock then uploaded the whipple tune.
 
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I tried to read and write to it using VCM Editor (HP Tuners) and nothing. I can pull up the strategy which is in the PCM so it is still talking.

I swapped around a bunch of fuses and relays yesterday (matching amps or part numbers) to see if I could move a working non critical part to a critical part. Still nothing.

I have a feeling it has something to do with the kick panel fuse block. Can any one confirm when you key on, there is a click down there? Usually covered you probably wouldnt hear it. Sounds like a relay, but I do not see a relay.

Does the kick panel fuse block have a fuseable link as well? Could not see one but it's a tight spot and I'm a bigger guy.
 
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I found this cool video that shows where all the modules are.

Found out the ICM is the information center module, for the vac and oil pressure gauge. Makes sense that Forscan cannot talk to it because it's currently unplugged. So no worries there.

Went and unplugged and plugged back in each module I could reach, that would have been even remotely close to where I have been working.

I disconnected positive and negative battery and touched them together for about 30 seconds. Rumor has it that this causes a CAN bus reset.

Nothing still. Crickets. Only noise I hear when I push the key in is a click I can feel on the kick panel fuse area. I think it's just the energy hitting that fuse block to power on. I can't tell exactly what the click is, but its similar to a relay click. I can feel the fuse block "click" in a sense when this happens. Not sure.

I'm about to my end with diagnosing this without better tools than Forscan. I'm mechanically inclined. Did the OPG's and turbo install myself with a friend. Car made 715 on 9psi and was running great. Only wanted to drop the gate pressure and install boost controller/aftermarket wideband. Rear o2's are unplugged for now.

I'm lost. Help please.
 
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Tried Forscan again. Can only reset some modules. Tried to force it back to stock using my SCT X4 with a stock file. Will not unlock PCM. I think the PCM is screwy. I can read the strategy and vin from it but nothing beyond that.

Probably going to have it towed to Ford on Monday. Yay.
 

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Have you back tracked on your mods and ANYTHING you touched while doing those mods? Are you absolutely sure ALL grounds are good and secure?

Have you tried the “wiggle” test with all harness connectors to make sure nothing is loose?
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