Vehicle won't turn on, forscan won't connect, cannot fix, looking for advice

[antho]

When you connect and select an existing profile, does the BCM show up? I understand it hangs at the PDM but are you able to select the BCM or GWM while it’s still loading the modules? Also, does the interlock work? If so, have you tried using it to see if that’s what’s preventing the ignition from coming on? Seems like that could be the reason. If the ignition won’t turn on it won’t be able to communicate with the modules. @Ben21

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[Ben21]

When you connect and select an existing profile, does the BCM show up? I understand it hangs at the PDM but are you able to select the BCM or GWM while it’s still loading the modules? @Ben21

That's a good point... Yes, I do select the existing profile and that seems to at least let it connect. Bt like you said, it hangs at PDM. If what you mean by selecting the BCM is seeing it in the config and programming area, then no. Like, when I click on the Config and Programming module button on the lefthand bar, nothing appears. Attached are the images of what modules are recognized and what errors they show as it got stuck there. This was taken around 1.5 hours after it first began on the PDM. That's the first image. The second image is about the error when don't select an existing profile.

 

[antho]

@Ben21 Does your breathalyzer work? If so, have you used it to see if it enables the ignition button to be pressed and turned on? Truck isn’t going to read the modules without being keyed on.

I don’t know anything about the interlock but a google search shows that they can and will lockout if they lose power. Sounds like that may be the issue from pulling the battery?

 

[Ben21]

@Ben21 Does your breathalyzer work? If so, have you used it to see if it enables the ignition button to be pressed and turned on? Truck isn’t going to read the modules without being keyed on.

Yes, it still works. I was told it could lock up on battery death but surprisingly it hasn't had any issues yet. I haven't tried that enough.

I will go now and try plugging in the battery, and immediately activating the breathalyzer, and then during the two minute countdown see if it leads to anything new as far as connecting and then let you know.

I had been continuously activating the breathalyzer during the firmware update process to try to keep the circuit open on the off chance that it matters and their phone support said that was fine.

I was able to find pics from when the error initially happened. First pic here is the failure that happened after I tried restoring to factory BCM firmware through forscan after the initial failure. It would fail at the same spot as it did when I tried updating to new firmware.

Second pic is of the last time I saw the BCM recognized. There's a DTC in the log here.



You'll also notice battery voltage is low here (according to forscan at least) and why I decided to unplug the battery. The Lightning should never have a circumstance when the 12v battery dies. When the 12v ignition is on, the DC-DC converter maintains the 12v battery. I've never charged my 12v battery for reprogramming any modules and neither have others. Unless it seems in this case, when the computer forgets to charge it, resulting in the the battery draining. Just a guess, but it seems like all the modules are on high alert and on and consuming more power than usual, since the battery is dying relatively quickly even though nothing is really on.

 

[B177y]

The Lightning should never have a circumstance when the 12v battery dies. When the 12v ignition is on, the DC-DC converter maintains the 12v battery.

This is likely what caused your 12v battery to die. The DC-DC converter is only active when you are in the "run" position aka "key on, engine on", or for the Lightning, pushing the start button with your foot on the brake pedal or "ready" condition.

If you are in position I, aka "key on, engine off", or pushing start button without the brake pedal, there is no 12v charging happening.

During FDRS updates or long ForScan sessions where your in the position I for all of the programming, you need to be hooked up to a 12v power supply. For FDRS updates, a 75-amp 12 volt power supply is needed.

Sounds like you were doing some long and power hungry programming to sensitive modules and probably ran your 12v down to nothing. It may be toast. Try a new 12v or jump another 12v to your posts under the left side frunk cover and see if you can get the truck to life.

 

[tls]

You'll also notice battery voltage is low here (according to forscan at least) and why I decided to unplug the battery. The Lightning should never have a circumstance when the 12v battery dies. When the 12v ignition is on, the DC-DC converter maintains the 12v battery. I've never charged my 12v battery for reprogramming any modules and neither have others.

The above is incorrect and is a recipe for bricking your vehicle. The truck runs all the coolant pumps, many fans, and a shocking amount of other stuff during module updates and *does not* support the 12V battery from the HV pack via the onboard DC-DC converter. I appreciate that it obviously should, but it does not. Long updates like IPMA and possibly BCM can require a power supply that can deliver 40-60A continuously and which must be connected for the entire duration of the update process. You will see multiple reports here of trucks being bricked or nearly so (mine was one of the "nearly"s) when this is not done.

There are several options for appropriate power supplies - don't use a cheap bench supply from Amazon like I tried to, those will blow up if you try to pull 40A for more than a few tens of minutes, and some updates can take hours - the PowerMax RV converters are the cheapest reputable ones, their 75A model will work fine. There is a version of it available with cables, on the base model you have to supply your own.

 

[rugedraw]

Yes, it still works. I was told it could lock up on battery death but surprisingly it hasn't had any issues yet. I haven't tried that enough.

I will go now and try plugging in the battery, and immediately activating the breathalyzer, and then during the two minute countdown see if it leads to anything new as far as connecting and then let you know.

I had been continuously activating the breathalyzer during the firmware update process to try to keep the circuit open on the off chance that it matters and their phone support said that was fine.

I was able to find pics from when the error initially happened. First pic here is the failure that happened after I tried restoring to factory BCM firmware through forscan after the initial failure. It would fail at the same spot as it did when I tried updating to new firmware.

Second pic is of the last time I saw the BCM recognized. There's a DTC in the log here.



You'll also notice battery voltage is low here (according to forscan at least) and why I decided to unplug the battery. The Lightning should never have a circumstance when the 12v battery dies. When the 12v ignition is on, the DC-DC converter maintains the 12v battery. I've never charged my 12v battery for reprogramming any modules and neither have others. Unless it seems in this case, when the computer forgets to charge it, resulting in the the battery draining. Just a guess, but it seems like all the modules are on high alert and on and consuming more power than usual, since the battery is dying relatively quickly even though nothing is really on.

I do not consider myself an expert at all with module programming of any kind. When people like Antho step in to lend a helping hand, I stay in my lane and let the gurus do what they do. Based on the limited knowledge I have of these things, this does not look to me like it failed due to the voltage dropping. I just updated a BCM for an F150 in my driveway last night and it took minutes. I never connected my power supply to his truck because I have updated enough BCM's to know if the voltage is reading over 12v when I connect FDRS to it, that is more than enough. I understand the EV's have a 12v with half the capacity of an ICE truck, but again: The BCM takes minutes to program.

IMO, this here shows where the programming went wrong. This is not a voltage issue. This looks like a "don't update your modules with FORScan" issue. If I am wrong, I would not be upset at all if Antho or anyone who knows better corrects me.

 

[tls]

Might also be a "restrictions on updating BCM aren't entirely implemented in FDRS" issue. Given the BCM update restrictions are basically there to prevent durable theft of the car by popping a single window (by abusing FDRS to register new keys etc.) if I were doing security architecture for this system I would insist on that...if possible.

 

[Jesse-Infotainment]

If you need help still let me know. Ill remote in and fix it

 

[rugedraw]

@Ben21 I know you're relatively new here and do not know who is who, so some friendly advice from a perfect stranger on the internet: Take Jesse up on his offer.

 

[Mike G]

I have to say, I'm not really surprised that a BCM update that's been 'embargoed' by Ford to be done only by those with the correct permissions (authorized dealer techs with PATS permissions, or NASTF locksmith techs) doesn't work when FORSCAN is used to try and update it.

 

[NCevGuyF150]

F150 Lightning, 2023. Anyone know how to connect forscan when the vehicle won't turn on by clicking the ignition start button? I'm looking to fix a corrupt firmware upgrade. The firmware update of the BdyCM as built module was interrupted mid process due to what I believe was a bad obd adapter, though I'm still trying to find the reason.Yikes. Going to explain the current problem and looking for any advice.

Updates. 1/6/25: At the moment, I'm still trying to test out different options to see if I can fix it, but I may need to get help from someone with more specialized tool. I messed up the "brain" of the system, and it's difficult (but obviously not impossible, as we see) to brick it. Without the ability to turn on the vehicle, I'm stuck. This isn't something that others thought was possible due to the safety measures, but seems to happen on rare occasions. I'll continue trying and worst case, expect to buy a new BCM module to get it started. I'll continue to update with the status! If I fail, I think this may be the first device I've ever bricked, though I don't remember. I've done some flashing software of things in the past and might have taken one too many shortcuts this time. For starters, one lesson for me is ensuring you stick to a good forscan adapter before making changes. I was wondering why mine was slow but it makes sense now. And to forscan software credit, they warned about the possibility of failure from using an older obd adapter during the process, but I overrode their recommendation. ​

After the firmware update process was interrupted, I was able to connect with forscan afterwards fine. Later on you'll understand what I mean by "fine". Due to being worried about the battery voltage, I unplugged the 12v battery to manually charge it and try again later (otherwise, it will die). But now, after unplugging and replugging in the battery, and trying to connect again, I'm unable to connect to the vehicle with Forscan.

I unplugged the 12v battery to charge it up to full with a manual battery charger.

To fix this, I need to update the firmware for that corrupted BdyCM Module. But I cannot update the firmware if I cannot see a list of modules because forscan can't connect to the vehicle successfully.

That's where I'm at: I can't connect to the BdyCM Module because that initial forscan connection that is made is failing, so I never see the list of modules. When connecting to forscan to the vehicle, you get a pop up saying to please turn on the car. But I can't turn the vehicle on as clicking the turn on button does nothing. The only thing on in the cabin is the screen (and it hardly works [connects to carplay but will mostly just go black but on). So, as I said, there's the forscan pop up saying to turn on the car. I just proceed past that, and then forscan then asks if you'd like to load your existing configuration. If I say no, forscan immediately says in a pop-up "Error. Unable to connect to vehicle. Please make sure the ignition key is ON and try again". If I instead had said yes (to the pop up about loading old config), it will scan the modules 10 minutes, arrive at module called "PDM - Passengers Door Control Unit" and stay loading that for 2 hours. I do see dtc errors. During those initial 10 minutes scanning modules, there are "Unable to read DTC" errors every other line. I'm not sure if it will ever get past the PDM module after those two hours. I haven't waited past those two hours because it always gets stuck here. I haven't been able to see if it eventually continues finding other modules after those 2 hours because I assume something is wrong.

I need some help from others who may know how (or, if) I can even get forscan eventually connected, so that I can then try updating the software in the module. As I mentioned, I can't get that "fine" connection to forscan that I last had before disconnecting the vehicle's 12v battery.

Any help is appreciated either here or in messages on things to try. Am I out of luck? The vehicle is effectively a paperweight at the moment. The main battery is at 80% charge so that's good. If you have any questions I can answer to help us arrive at a fix, happy to answer with info or screenshots.

Some more info:
- I cannot unlock, lock, or do anything with the fob. I am manually opening the car with the physical key and with the emergency frunk hatch I cannot use the app either. The ford app will say the car is "on" but none of the unlock, lock, or climate buttons work.
- I have no idea if forscan can rescue me here, because it doesn't seem to be able to connect in the first place. I've thought about reaching to forscan support next if I'm unable to get it to work. I was wondering if the fdrs software used by mechanics may be able to do this in a way that forscan is incapable of doing it (maybe it would work even without ignition or accessory mode on with the vehicle.
- I was also thinking of a few other ideas:
--- restarting my computer to see if that's an issue (haven't tried that yet). I'm going to be even more embarrassed if this is what it is.
--- Or, try using a different version of forscan, maybe a different beta or non-beta.
- If I've truly bricked it, I may be looking at getting a hardware replacement of the module.

Could it be possible you have a bad start button?

 

[watts/up]

Probably a long shot but, if normal communication with the fob isn't possible perhaps the truck is not able to start because of that? Maybe try to start the truck with the fob in the slot beneath the cup holder?

 

[Adventureboy]

The DC-DC converter is only active when you are in the "run" position aka "key on, engine on", or for the Lightning, pushing the start button with your foot on the brake pedal or "ready" condition.

This is not exactly true anymore. Prior to the updates in late 2023, your statement was true. Ford has made updates to ease the stress on the 12v battery. On my 2023, when you open the door, the DC-DC converter starts in some conditions even before you press any buttons. If you press the Start button without the brake (accessories mode), the DC-DC goes consistently into maintenance mode and the voltage jumps to over 13 volts to supply equipment without draining the 12v battery. Pressing full ON goes into battery charge mode over 14 volts.

Here is an example taken just this morning with an independent battery condition monitor. It is interesting that by opening the door, the DC-DC went to full charge mode. Pressing Accessory, dropped it to maintenance voltage. The initial full charge mode could be for various reasons - fairly cold this morning, 12v was lower in SOC, etc.

While the Ford has made good progress here, all bets are off during updates. During updates, the truck doesn't follow normal processes. This is why you need a 12v power supply while doing larger updates.

 

[MaintGrl]

This is why I'm so'ooo apprehensive of attempting anything ForScan.

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