ECU module programming guide using FDRS

[JEB]

As long as you are "online" and connected to Ford servers, the tool will download the freshest version of your vehicle data. The progress bar duration should not deceive you

In fact, you don’t need to be connected to the vehicle at all to do this. You can log into FDRS from the comfort of your home, input your VIN manually, and FDRS will look for software updates based on the cloud data alone. Then you can look at the software update tab and see if there is anything worth applying. If there is, you can take the laptop out to the truck, connect the programmer to the truck and to the laptop, download the updater tools and then apply the updates. I found this method not only convenient, it completely avoids the risk of network scanning with the Nano because you’re never physically connected to the truck when you check for new software.

This method works if you can maintain a network connection between the place you look for software and the place where you ultimately install it—your truck. This means that both the truck and the place you look for software will need to be in range of your router. Sometimes, that will limit you to being in your truck or very near it. Just make sure the programmer isn’t connected when you look for new software.

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[Snakebitten]

^^^^ Exactly how I did everything yesterday. I live in an RV (can you say Powerboost heaven?) and I simply fetch the truck out of the barn and park it near the igloo.

I sit at the tiny office and use FDRS without a truck or the Nano

By the way, note that my IPC update did NOT show under the "SW updates" tab. Rather it was under the "All" tab when selecting the IPC module on the left side of the FDRS screen. I ran the update no differently than I would have had it been available under the expected tab.

After that update, FDRS suddenly populated the SW Updates tab with a fresh GWM & APIM available update.

Was the mothership waiting for me to apply the IPC update before offering the latest GWM and APIM updates? I can't prove that, but it certainly felt that way.

 

[imnuts]

If I send someone my VIN, would you be willing to lookup what updates are available for me ATM? I am impatiently waiting for BlueCruise to be final, but want to see if maybe I should update now and then again later when everything is available.

 

[Snakebitten]

If you PM me your VIN I will be happy to.
But you should know that often when you install the updates listed as available, you then get additional updates available.

Regardless, I can see what's there now.

 

[imnuts]

If you PM me your VIN I will be happy to.
But you should know that often when you install the updates listed as available, you then get additional updates available.

Regardless, I can see what's there now.

Thanks for the list. I may just bite the bullet and get a 2 day pass this weekend to start on the updates, then get another pass later when BlueCruise comes out. Not sure I'd be able to get through everything in ~2 days otherwise.

 

[Snakebitten]

Thanks for the list. I may just bite the bullet and get a 2 day pass this weekend to start on the updates, then get another pass later when BlueCruise comes out. Not sure I'd be able to get through everything in ~2 days otherwise.

I haven't stayed very focused on the Job1 Blue cruise deployment, but I am aware of the very recent Ford direct communications with specific Job1 customers that indeed implies that Ford DOES have the ability to enable Blue cruise with Job1 hardware. If that's true, I'm hoping that the current OTA updates available are the ones that prepare the truck for BC. And perhaps the last step is just configuring the modules appropriately?

Or put another way, Job1 trucks with certain updates have already had potential functionality added onboard for features that were not yet enabled. Example: Cameras at speed. Step one was OTA to add potential to existing modules. Step 2 would then be to enable the potential. Guys have used Forscan to enable cameras at speed after receiving the necessary updates that prepped the functionality but didn't do step 2 yet.

I'm probably way off base, of course, but I'm hoping that the people that are very close to getting the necessary updates for BC are just getting the updates that you can get with FDRS. It'll be interesting. Especially if the updates that are already queueing up in FDRS are the same ones Ford is using with the select group of customers recently.

 

[F150 John]

What about using a VCM2? Would that still be able to to the flash and see the appropriate modules or not. They are not nearly as expensive as a Vcm3 and I could do a network scan without issue then correct.

 

[abd79]

What about using a VCM2? Would that still be able to to the flash and see the appropriate modules or not. They are not nearly as expensive as a Vcm3 and I could do a network scan without issue then correct.

VCM2 will work just fine, is supported by FDRS and shouldn’t have any corruption. VCM3 is newer than the VCM2 and is said to be able to flash modules over CAN faster than the VCM2.

 

[F150 John]

I just want to make sure before I spend money or talk with my friend who has a repair shop and get one on loan, those I am not sure how new his is.

I have a November build 2 truck so no idea even what I need for updates time will tell. Thanks for the help.

 

[Ajzride]

There is a big price difference between a VCM2 and the mongoose, what is the advantage of the mongoose? Google spit out a bunch of 5 year old Land Rover threads when I asked it.

 

[JEB]

What about using a VCM2? Would that still be able to to the flash and see the appropriate modules or not. They are not nearly as expensive as a Vcm3 and I could do a network scan without issue then correct.

It would probably be a good idea to do some research into the VCM II before buying it. I didn’t mention it because I thought Bosch wasn’t making them anymore and a lot of them out there being sold as “new” were clones. However, the VCM II does show up in the FDRS configurator when you start up the program, so it is supported.

 

[JEB]

There is a big price difference between a VCM2 and the mongoose, what is the advantage of the mongoose? Google spit out a bunch of 5 year old Land Rover threads when I asked it.

That isn’t a question we can really answer right now. Only two of us so far have used the Mongoose and we’re more like beta testers. When the corruption issue came up, @Bob_Mac and I decided to give the Mongoose a try because (1) you could get it quickly on Amazon; and (2) it was the least expensive J2534 device that was certified by Ford. The Mongoose is quick and stable and doesn’t exhibit corruption issues. We don’t know whether other, cheaper alternatives will exhibit the same properties.

In addition, Opus, the manufacturer of the Mongoose, is an established company based in Ann Arbor with a large customer service department. It bought Drew Tech and markets a range of programmers to other branded dealers, including Toyota.

 

[Ajzride]

Forgive me if this has been asked before, but the thread is now over 1000 post long, so I might have missed it. Is there a way to check if we have corruptions on the server after our license has expired? Is that possible digging into the data with the widget?

 

[JEB]

Forgive me if this has been asked before, but the thread is now over 1000 post long, so I might have missed it. Is there a way to check if we have corruptions on the server after our license has expired? Is that possible digging into the data with the widget?

Yep. There are a few ways. But the widget is how I do it. A big telltale is spaces in the software version or VIN that shouldn’t be there when you look at the module data. There should be no spaces between characters in any of the fields.

An example of a corruption is attached. Note the spaces in node F188.

 

[BHunted1]

How about when it shows modules as 'unknown'?

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