ForScan Tweaks - 2015+

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LokiWolf

LokiWolf

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Got this off of DanMC85's Forscan Fusion spreadsheet.

I'm on the road for work at the moment but I'll give it a try the first chance i get.

Most likely I tried it. Fusion and Edge use the same programming. My other vehicle is a 2016 Edge. Only vehicle I have spent more time inside the modules than the Expy...

The pictures at the beginning of the thread were taken of my Edge. At the time I assumed I could do all the same things to the Expy. I was so wrong.

I hope it works! Maybe you stumble across the right combo. I and 2 others(that I know of) tried many combos trying to get Tire Pressure, Boost, and Climate to show up on the MFD’s like is possible on other Fords of similar generation.

I really do hope it works....yell back.


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star-art

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I'd like to dig into some factory service info for F150. But, thanks to TXFRDOwner, I was able to study the Fusion a bit. The DDM and PDM do nothing but control power windows and mirrors. Not clear at this point if they communicate anything to the IPC. These modules were added as a money-saving way of reducing the amount of wiring needed for a car. Rather than run wires from a memory module across to the passenger door, the modules just talk to each other and control those items locally. The module also allows for features like remotely controlling the windows.

The Fusion DDM has no programmable parameters, but Programmable Module Installation is "available." Don't know if it's required or not. It might be possible to get it running in another vehicle if only as a way to add the "auto power fold" feature for the mirrors. You could connect it to the power-fold motors on each mirror and the CAN bus and just use it for that.

While I don't claim to be an expert by any means, I can see that the BCM and IPC don't communicate directly with each other (on the Fusion). All messages are translated through a Gateway Module. At this point, I strongly suspect the newer vehicles with features we are missing (auto power-fold, tire pressure display, active parking lines, etc.) have updated and/or more advanced BCMs. I don't know if these are physically different, but their programming certainly is. They have totally different firmware that includes expanded parameters -- both for setting options and for communicating on the network.
 
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LokiWolf

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I'd like to dig into some factory service info for F150. But, thanks to TXFRDOwner, I was able to study the Fusion a bit. The DDM and PDM do nothing but control power windows and mirrors. Not clear at this point if they communicate anything to the IPC. These modules were added as a money-saving way of reducing the amount of wiring needed for a car. Rather than run wires from a memory module across to the passenger door, the modules just talk to each other and control those items locally. The module also allows for features like remotely controlling the windows.

The Fusion DDM has no programmable parameters, but Programmable Module Installation is "available." Don't know if it's required or not. It might be possible to get it running in another vehicle if only as a way to add the "auto power fold" feature for the mirrors. You could connect it to the power-fold motors on each mirror and the CAN bus and just use it for that.

While I don't claim to be an expert by any means, I can see that the BCM and IPC don't communicate directly with each other (on the Fusion). All messages are translated through a Gateway Module. At this point, I strongly suspect the newer vehicles with features we are missing (auto power-fold, tire pressure display, active parking lines, etc.) have updated and/or more advanced BCMs. I don't know if these are physically different, but their programming certainly is. They have totally different firmware that includes expanded parameters -- both for setting options and for communicating on the network.

And where are you getting this info, from actually making changes in the module or theory?


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star-art

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Just from reading the factory service manual and studying the vehicle network topology, along with some of the module programmable parameters in the F150 spreadsheet. The Fusion service manual describes exactly what the DDM and PDM modules do. My older 2009 Expy manual lists a rather complete Module Communication Chart that lists the different messages the modules send to each other and on what bus. If we can get that for Fusion and F150, it might make it easier to see what sorts of data the modules are sending to each other and, therefore, what parameters they may require in order to work.

I spent many months studying all this for my older Expedition in hopes of getting heated/cooled/memory seats to work in a truck that didn't have them. I'm not sure anyone ever did that as a successful swap and I can certainly understand why. While I was able to figure out what data the DSM and DCSM modules needed in order to operate the seats, safely getting them that info without risking "injecting" unwanted traffic on the bus would have required extracting specific messages from the MS-CAN bus and passing those through a custom built gateway interface. That was (and still is) beyond my capability.

BTW, on Fusion, the TPMS system also requires communicating with the APIM for both tire pressure status and tire pressure warning. Has anyone explored those settings?
 
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LokiWolf

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So it appears I misspoke earlier.

I got on my laptop I use for tuning and programming and looked at my notes. Sorry, it has been a awhile since I have made tweaks other than APIM related.

The theory is that the lack of a DDM and PDM means that the BCM/IPC has to do more heavy lifting. So the “space” in the BCM is different than all other BCM in similar other Ford vehicles of the same generation. So it isn’t that the DDM controls the MFD’s but that the code is different between vehicles with and without.

I stand by the statement I said earlier. Find a Ford vehicle with the dual MFD setup that does not have DDM or PDM and has TPMS displayed. Then we will have a code reference to compare.

The APIM is involved in TPMS because that is how it does the Audio notifications.


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LokiWolf

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Got this off of DanMC85's Forscan Fusion spreadsheet.

I'm on the road for work at the moment but I'll give it a try the first chance i get.

I did try it. The problem is the code isn’t the same that is supposed to be there. That was my note.

Specifically - “Hex not as expected”. That is what I typed.


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star-art

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The theory is that the lack of a DDM and PDM means that the BCM/IPC has to do more heavy lifting. So the “space” in the BCM is different than all other BCM in similar other Ford vehicles of the same generation ... Find a Ford vehicle with the dual MFD setup that does not have DDM or PDM and has TPMS displayed. Then we will have a code reference to compare.

The APIM is involved in TPMS because that is how it does the Audio notifications.

Makes sense! Our BCM likely has totally different firmware so certain functionality simply isn't there. I'd bet it's a "holdover" from 2014 with modifications only in code, making it a bit of an "odd duck." The reason "why" is likely just trying to save money.

All this will start to come into sharper focus if we can get more info on the CAN messages being shared between the various modules...
 
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LokiWolf

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Makes sense! Our BCM likely has totally different firmware so certain functionality simply isn't there. I'd bet it's a "holdover" from 2014 with modifications only in code, making it a bit of an "odd duck." The reason "why" is likely just trying to save money.

All this will start to come into sharper focus if we can get more info on the CAN messages being shared between the various modules...

You are welcome to try to figure that out, but it won’t bring us any closer to getting it to display. Have to have a reference code. Something to compare. We don’t have that, so done. The CAN messages won’t get us the code.

Again, Dead horse.

Sorry, been working on this so long, I have just moved on. Found a solution(BT ODBII adapter and my Phone), which is mounted in my ProClip Mount to the right of my Sync Display. I see everything I need to, plus more!


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Lou Hamilton

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In order to make changes, do you need the full Windows version or can I make the changes using the iOS app on my iPad?

I plan on buying the ODBLink MX+ adapter.

Thanks!
 
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