I can't believe you would risk you new FEH engine and emission warranty by running anything above E10. Your name on the sig page makes it easy for Ford to put a note with your VIN number for future service and warranty issues. Ford employees have stated they monitor these boards.

John, E10 may be just fine in drier climates but we have a big problem with our climate and rain fall. The amount of moisture that builds up in the storage tanks and vehicle tanks are effected by E10. My new '09 FEH runs great because there as never been a chance to build up enough water in my tank to cause problems. All my other vehicles and boat have had time to get some water in the tanks and I continue to have idle problems and misfires in my '02 Explorer and boat.

GaryG

 

Do you understand that ethanol removes water from storage tanks?

I understand your climate can be challenging to keep water out.
Thus, you will be better off with E10 because while the % water will be the same, it will never, ever "pool up" in the bottom of tanks.

Ethanol binds with the water, and it goes out your exhaust one molecule at a time. Thus you can run your fuel tank empty, and never hit "water".
It does NOT and will NOT accumulate over weeks and months, like it would do with plain gas.

I also see that E10 from a MPG standpoint, is a big disadvantage.
No disagreement from me there.

 

That's my point, the amount of water in my '02 Explorer gas tank and '86 Boston Whaler 63 gallon tank over the years combined with the water in the underground tanks has caused much of the problems. Blending all that water with ethanol and running it through the vehicle's filters, evaporator systems, fuel injectors, combustion, 02 sensors and CAT converters can make a mess of things for a while. We know ethanol has lower energy than gas, but what about water and ethanol mixed? What about water, ethanol and gas mixed?

GaryG

 

Here is an update on my engine light problem:
The engine light came on again yesterday, with the same code from the SG II, P013A. Took it in to the dealer and they worked on it today. They did not replace the O2 sensor this time. Here's what they did (quote from my service sheet):That's right ... they are blaming the SG II for the problem. I told the service rep that I had used it for over 2 years in my 2007 FEH with no issues (which they serviced throughout that time with no complaint). One of them told me he would never use anything like that on a Hybrid car.

Has anyone heard of actual problems caused by having a SG II plugged in?

Anyway, I am going to try very hard to leave it unplugged for a little while and see if the engine light problem comes back. It's not easy though!

 

Ford is required by law to provide the OBD II connection for emissions readers like the SGII. This all sounds like BS from the dealer and you may want to let the folks at Scangauge know of Fords suggestion. You've got to remember the dealerships want to tell you what's wrong and charge you accordingly for the repairs they blew. Reflashing the PCM may solve the problem, but your SGII is not causing the code to set. The dealership may have replaced the wrong 02 sensor or there may be a leak they can't detect.

The Hotline had the tech check out my SGII when I had problems with the relays on my '05 FEH. The SGII was cleared by my tech and the Hotline as causing any problems. I now have two SGII XGauges plugged-in in my '09 FEH and have never had any codes in 7,800 miles.

GaryG

 

My SG was blamed for my air bag light. I left it unplugged for most of December and still had a daily air bag light. Finally, after replacing a lot of parts (seat belt retractor, air bag restraint system, fuel pump (in the tank!), fuel pump controller, they finally fixed it by replacing the wiring harness. When I picked up the vehicle (after 10 days), I got a lecture about speed chips and reflashing. They had found my Dash Daq cable (which also plugs into the obd port) and assumed it plugged into a laptop for reprogramming.

 

I had one of the service reps ask me if the SG allowed me to alter the power I get get out of the car! I told them, no, it's just a code reader.

Is there any way they can tell if I had it plugged in if/when the problem occurs?

I have been using the SG recently to tell when I have fuel cut descending hills. I can coast sometimes for extended periods in N. This let's me get more speed on the downhills, or extends a glide. Sometimes however, fuel cut is canceled if I leave it in N. I have noticed a slight bump up on the RPM when this happens, so I can probably tell without the SG.

-- Rick

 

The '09 FEH has a new PCM and Ford claims they can access information similar to a black box on an aircraft. There is nothing wrong with having the SGII monitor gauges, but Ford can allow the tech to read certain information with their approval. The SGII may have the ability to disable or enable certain function of the PCM and that may be what Ford is concerned about. I personally would leave the SGII unplugged for awhile to satisfy Ford's concern with the SGII capabilities. Ford had the tech ask me the same questions regarding my '05 FEH and I told them no also. I spoke to Ron Delong (SGII Inventor) at '07 Hybridfest and he said they have not decided on a SGIII yet, but if they did it would be designed to read the black box information. You can see how the SGII brings concerns to the Automakers.

Fuel-cut should cancel in "N" and for this reason I only use neutral coasting in EV. The bump in the idle in "N" is because the small generator is no longer controlling engine idle. This is called a secondary idle in the workshop manuals.

GaryG

 

Gary,

I probably will leave it unplugged for a while and see what happens (though it feels like flying in the clouds with no instruments). If it comes back after I plug it back in, my plan is to unplug the SG II and see if the code comes back.

On the fuel-cut in N, here is what I was seeing with the SGII: I would start down a hill in D, let off the accelerator and then see instant MPG go to 9999 and Open Loop. When I shift to N, many times it would stay at 99999 and Open Loop for an extended period, but not always. Shifting back to D would bring it back to 9999/Open Loop. So, I was assuming I was getting fuel-cut even in N. By the way, this is for coasting above 40mpg, so I'm not in EV.

Thanks,

Rick

 

It's 1984 all over again. Isn't that comforting?