ECU module programming guide using FDRS

[Snakebitten]

Ford's FDRS logs reveal that "Joe Driveway" has a better understanding and success rate than the dealership.

It's a remarkable fact, if you ponder it for a moment.

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[Barney]

What galls me the most is that two dealerships I have worked with had my vehicle for nearly 30 days, and both of them, rather than saying they have no clue what they are doing. Given the best-case scenario, they are inept and totally unaware of the features of the high-dollar product they sell or, in the worst, are outright liars to the consumer. If I thought a manufacturer or dealership network was any better than Ford, I would take my business elsewhere. Sadly, it is the state across all the consumer choices. Before I get thread-shit, I acknowledge there are exceptions to this rule, and I wish I knew of them in my local area. I am thankful for our group of modern-day digital shade tree mechanics being so open with their time and knowledge to help our merry band of misfits gain access to the technology that was promised to us, and we paid for. - Hats off to you, gentlemen!

 

[Jesse-Infotainment]

After seeing some of the logs from Ford dealership techs, I'm more confident doing my own modules in the driveway. We have known that it logs the user and that the history shows all of the work done in the vehicle history in FDRS.

Again took the words out of my mouth.


The tone I get from him is that of someone acting as if the "Guy in his driveway" isnt capable of doing what has been proven many times over at this point they can.

I cant count the amount of logs Ive seen from trucks at dealers that look like they were selecting things just to select them.

 

[ChiefD]

Well I finally have BC. I had been waiting for the USB to kick off ( thanks @Jesse-Infotainment for the files) when the dealer called and told me my APIM that was ordered 2 months ago arrived. Dropped it off at 7:30 and by 3PM dealer called and told me BC was working after replacing the APIM and the battery. They kept it for another day while they replaced the bed liner coating on the tailgate that was lifting off. Picked it up yesterday and enjoyed a nice hands free drive down the highway. Thanks to all on this forum for the great informative posts.

 

[GDN]

These last few comments are why we must continue to fight for good "Right to Repair" laws. There are companies that want to lock you out and say you can't do certain things to items you own. They are buying our politicians. This is getting off topic I know, but push for those "Right to Repair" laws they are on our side.

 

[wayfarer556]

Those of us who've been in IT their entire careers are not surprised by either the incompetence of dealership techs to do this kind of work, or by the general perception that only said techs can do the work correctly (when they certainly do not).

The fact of the matter is that this is more IT work than it is mechanical work.

I also have a lot of IT friends who are also wrench heads in their own spare time. Go figure.

Honestly reading this thread, I feel like there's a business opportunity here for a shop that specializes in these kinds of updates. How much money have we all spent for the right tools just to do something that should have been done for free? How much of that money would we have spent on a service that would do it for you with a promise it's done right, and email you all the logs at the end of the job for you to keep to verify?

 

[BHunted1]

Those of us who've been in IT their entire careers are not surprised by either the incompetence of dealership techs to do this kind of work, or by the general perception that only said techs can do the work correctly (when they certainly do not).

The fact of the matter is that this is more IT work than it is mechanical work.

I also have a lot of IT friends who are also wrench heads in their own spare time. Go figure.

Honestly reading this thread, I feel like there's a business opportunity here for a shop that specializes in these kinds of updates. How much money have we all spent for the right tools just to do something that should have been done for free? How much of that money would we have spent on a service that would do it for you with a promise it's done right, and email you all the logs at the end of the job for you to keep to verify?

Not as much the tools, but the subscriptions. The cost of starting a biz, insurance, brick and mortar, etc. would kill ya.

 

[wayfarer556]

Not as much the tools, but the subscriptions. The cost of starting a biz, insurance, brick and mortar, etc. would kill ya.

There are ways to make it work, I'm confident in that. This kind of work isn't going away, in fact it's only going to grow as Ford sells more and more vehicles that rely on these kinds of updates. And I don't see them doing it well anytime soon...

 

[Snakebitten]

The windshield replacement industry used to be primarily a brick&mortar business. And there still are places that you bring your vehicle to for the procedure. But these days there are many mobile solutions for windshield replacement.

We might not even think about it, but not long ago that wouldn't have been even imagined. I've got "a guy" that I use and he just comes to my barn and does the job. Very professional and stands behind his work.

I don't pretend to be a prophet, but it's not hard to imagine an mobile on-site FDRS service existing.

 

[Airborne_Ape]

Curious but could someone with PTS check and see if they are getting the same results. When I log in and input my VIN I get this big blue box that says "VIN not authorized to send vehicle status, VHA and DTC data." Also I cannot see any of the diagnostic information sent not can I see any of the OTA info. Just wondering if this is a problem with my VIN or my PTS account.

I can see it fine on my end, but there's an error for data payload not received. Is it possible your truck is connect to a home wifi connection and your ISP has your WAN offline for some reason?

Try resetting your home router and check that it has internet access.

If yes, you might want to try a master reset in Sync 4 then double check your connectivity permissions in the connected vehicle menu afterwards.

After you master reset Sync 4 and jump through the hoops of getting it back online in Ford Pass, hold seek forward on the dash and centre bezel for 10 seconds (while the radio is playing), that will get you into test mode. In the top level test menu page, scroll down to Connected Vehicle. You should be able to verify that your Vehicle TCU and WiFi are operating correctly from there and get an idea of where to look next.

 

[abd79]

I can see it fine on my end, but there's an error for data payload not received. Is it possible your truck is connect to a home wifi connection and your ISP has your WAN offline for some reason?

Try resetting your home router and check that it has internet access.

If yes, you might want to try a master reset in Sync 4 then double check your connectivity permissions in the connected vehicle menu afterwards.

After you master reset Sync 4 and jump through the hoops of getting it back online in Ford Pass, hold seek forward on the dash and centre bezel for 10 seconds (while the radio is playing), that will get you into test mode. In the top level test menu page, scroll down to Connected Vehicle. You should be able to verify that your Vehicle TCU and WiFi are operating correctly from there and get an idea of where to look next.

So I went as far as registering another account and paying for another 3 day license but still don’t get to see the connected vehicle data like you show. Out of curiosity under your Motorcraft account and in your profile what do you have set for your user type?

 

[BHunted1]

The windshield replacement industry used to be primarily a brick&mortar business. And there still are places that you bring your vehicle to for the procedure. But these days there are many mobile solutions for windshield replacement.

We might not even think about it, but not long ago that wouldn't have been even imagined. I've got "a guy" that I use and he just comes to my barn and does the job. Very professional and stands behind his work.

I don't pretend to be a prophet, but it's not hard to imagine an mobile on-site FDRS service existing.

Still going to cost ya to run a legit biz. I wouldn't want to do it without covering my arse. Ya brick someones vehicle, you're screwed. But even the windshield guy has overhead of some kind.
But hey, give it a shot.
Without training, you're still just a guy in the driveway no matter how much you know.

 

["Steve"]

Welcome Steve to our great state. Where did you move? Half my neighborhood is from California so you certainly will not be alone wherever you moved.
Most of you Cali transplants are good people, but I do have my sign saying "Don't California my Texas" for the handful that get out of hand from time to time

nice, thats not too far away. im over in fate/rockwall area. yeah, everyone has been really nice. my 2 neighbors on either side are great people and dont mind when i tell them where i came from. i'm always quick to say, "yes, i'm one of those, i'm sorry", but they've all been really nice. and no worries, while i am born and raised socal, i do not bleed blue.

 

[ColoradoHunter]

With all the horror stories about dealer fix failures, I figured to share a success story. After 2 trips and 12 days at dealer #1(closest to my home) they had no progress at fixing the dreaded 1.7.1 grayed out button issue. I dropped it off Monday for the repair to be done Tuesday at Castle Rock Ford. That is the dealer I purchased from but is 40+ miles away. Bit inconvenient but a dealer I have trust in. A little after noon yesterday they messaged me to come pick-up the truck with the repair complete. I picked it up this morning. Within 1.5 hours of getting home it already got an update to 2.1.0. Thank you Kara and Castle Rock Ford.

 

[Airborne_Ape]

The tone I get from him is that of someone acting as if the "Guy in his driveway" isnt capable of doing what has been proven many times over at this point they can.

I'm sorry you guys got the wrong impression.

I respect that frequent users here know that FRDS logs technical work done. I was surprised to see the extended level of detail that Ford tracks in the backend though, so I figured I'd make note of it.

I've been programming vehicles from parking lots for the last several years and don't worry about this sort of thing, but lots of owners ask me all the time what can Ford see and what might affect their warranty. For those people who are nervous about this sort of stuff, I figured it was worth mentioning the level of detail that can be accessed.

I don't believe FRDS will show when an owner selected yes or no for an on screen Sync 4 warning pop up notification as it relates to updates and thought some people might be interested to learn that type of info is recorded as diagnostic use.

Lots of people visit this thread without a site account to read through it and learn about these things. If I post remarks which may seem blindingly obvious or offensive to some of you it's because I'm reminded of, and sharing it for, our broader audience such as the 8-year-old-me who's about to attempt a first ever ECU update for his old mans brand new Ford.

Generally, if anyone is nervous using IDS, FRDS, UCDSYS, ForScan ect... I tell them not to. There are lots of people lingering around these threads all the time who never engage in the conversations and I believe they'd like to learn these things.

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