How To: Focus MK3 pre-facelift SYNC 1 to SYNC 3 upgrade for late 2012, 2013 and 2014 models

[chris powell 63]

15 hours ago, DG1966 said:

Same here, looking for info on sync1 to sync2 harness and apim pins difference.

i went to ROMAN112 on here mate.  super helpful guy and he makes the whole loom so it is plug and play. there is a thread on here that explains everything you need to do but by the time you buy all the connectors and cables etc the looms he makes are fantastic value. 

[DG1966]

10 hours ago, chris powell 63 said:

i went to ROMAN112 on here mate.  super helpful guy and he makes the whole loom so it is plug and play. there is a thread on here that explains everything you need to do but by the time you buy all the connectors and cables etc the looms he makes are fantastic value. 

Ok thank you for the info.

Is plug different on sync1 and sync2?

I know sync3 is different but wondering about sync2

thank you!

[chris powell 63]

14 hours ago, DG1966 said:

Ok thank you for the info.

Is plug different on sync1 and sync2?

I know sync3 is different but wondering about sync2

thank you!

I've not got a clue mate to be honest that's why i went straight to rowan !   i am nowhere near as tech savvy as a lot of the guys on here so to try and do it myself would of ultimately ended in tears. I'm quite sure that someone will be along in a minute to help you out as there are some great people on here with a real wealth of knowledge 

[Rowan112]

23 hours ago, DG1966 said:

Ok thank you for the info.

Is plug different on sync1 and sync2?

I know sync3 is different but wondering about sync2

thank you!

yes sync2 is different from sync1

[Foxxyblieu9]

On 3/15/2023 at 4:33 PM, DG1966 said:

Same here, looking for info on sync1 to sync2 harness and apim pins difference.

Sync 1 to sync 2 is a bit different and so I’m led to believe has different wiring. There is a thread for sync 2 though 

Edit: I was a page behind and didn’t check for newer replies 😂

Edited March 17 by Foxxyblieu9
Newer replies

[jimbob11]

Hi does sync 3 work with reverse sensors that were already installed?

[Rowan112]

On 3/21/2023 at 3:48 PM, jimbob11 said:

Hi does sync 3 work with reverse sensors that were already installed?

yes

[Pcpro845]

I have a 2012 Focus SEL North America, Automatic Climate Control, Originally Sync 1, Ambient Lighting.

The APIM is a Non Nav APIM 8GB
The ACM is a HD with Sirius

Swapped the Sync 1 over to Sync 3 with the wiring diagrams online. Everything works except the volume is stuck at a set level and none of the volume controls work. When you try the volume controls on the steering wheel the Vol + does nothing but the Vol - says Volume Minimum and does nothing. The Volume is around 10 so its decently loud. I have two APIMS one on Sync 3.0 and one on Sync 3.0 with 3.4 update. neither work with the volume controls. The current one that is in there is Sync 3.0 with 3.4 Update

[Pcpro845]

Update: I literally have no idea how it started working but when i played music through my bluetooth the audio controls started working. So weird.

[dontpannic]

Hi all

Just bought a screen/apim/acm/usb “kit”. 
 

Has anyone heard from @Rowan112 recently, or know if he’s still doing plug and play harnesses? I have PM’ed him but no response since end of April - hope he’s ok!!

Cheers,

Nick

[unofix]

20 minutes ago, dontpannic said:

Has anyone heard from @Rowan112 recently, or know if he’s still doing plug and play harnesses? I have PM’ed him but no response since end of April - hope he’s ok!!

Cheers,

He last visited this forum 2 hours ago, so it would seem he is alive and well. 👍

[dontpannic]

Thanks! With more and more reading I’m becoming more happy with the wiring required but if I can get a plug and play harness from Rowan it would make life SO much easier especially if I needed / wanted to reverse back to Sync 1 in the future 🙂

[dontpannic]

With massive thanks to everyone who has contributed in this thread, @JPW for the original post and @Rowan112for his harness and help, I now have functioning Sync 3 and CarPlay in my 2012 Titanium X. 

I’ve wired up the blank as a central locking button and fundamentally the system works great. 
 

I have two queries that others may have come across and may have ideas / solutions. 
 

1. Auto Parking not working - I get “cancelled by driver” when pushing the button. I have read about APIM/PAM asbuilt changes and upgrading the PAM firmware but haven’t been able to get this going so far - is there an asbuilt block I’ve missed or is it a case of getting another PAM from a later car? ForScan doesn’t allow me to access or update the asbuilt on my PAM and the firmware looks like it’s up to date according to ForScan 3.4x…

 

2. IPC screen colour scheme. 
I was expecting this to go black, which it has done, but when I unlock the door and open the car, the top half of the screen is white with a blue bar at the bottom. I don’t remember it doing that after I had changed some asbuilt blocks but I can’t remember what I changed (amateur mistake). Has anyone come across this before and know what I should be looking at?

 

Thanks all!!

 

 Nick

[Rowan112]

29 minutes ago, dontpannic said:

With massive thanks to everyone who has contributed in this thread, @JPW for the original post and @Rowan112for his harness and help, I now have functioning Sync 3 and CarPlay in my 2012 Titanium X. 

I’ve wired up the blank as a central locking button and fundamentally the system works great. 
 

I have two queries that others may have come across and may have ideas / solutions. 
 

1. Auto Parking not working - I get “cancelled by driver” when pushing the button. I have read about APIM/PAM asbuilt changes and upgrading the PAM firmware but haven’t been able to get this going so far - is there an asbuilt block I’ve missed or is it a case of getting another PAM from a later car? ForScan doesn’t allow me to access or update the asbuilt on my PAM and the firmware looks like it’s up to date according to ForScan 3.4x…

 

2. IPC screen colour scheme. 
I was expecting this to go black, which it has done, but when I unlock the door and open the car, the top half of the screen is white with a blue bar at the bottom. I don’t remember it doing that after I had changed some asbuilt blocks but I can’t remember what I changed (amateur mistake). Has anyone come across this before and know what I should be looking at?

 

Thanks all!!

 

 Nick

apim asbuilt

7D0-04-02: xx**-xx

set ** to 05

[dontpannic]

21 hours ago, Rowan112 said:

apim asbuilt

7D0-04-02: xx**-xx

set ** to 05

Your knowledge is insane - that worked a charm!

Now I've just got the instrument cluster screen to work out - is the white normal after a Sync 3 upgrade? 

[Rowan112]

18 minutes ago, dontpannic said:

Your knowledge is insane - that worked a charm!

Now I've just got the instrument cluster screen to work out - is the white normal after a Sync 3 upgrade? 

yes it is

[JackoJacko]

This thread has honestly been so helpful. Finishing off the final bits this weekend and hopefully have Sync 3 in a 2013 ST 🤞🏼 One quick question, and shoot me down if it's stupid, is it possible to buy a door card from a newer Focus that has the lock on the driver's side door, and hook the lock cabling up to that?

[dontpannic]

13 hours ago, JackoJacko said:

This thread has honestly been so helpful. Finishing off the final bits this weekend and hopefully have Sync 3 in a 2013 ST 🤞🏼 One quick question, and shoot me down if it's stupid, is it possible to buy a door card from a newer Focus that has the lock on the driver's side door, and hook the lock cabling up to that?

I have read various threads about this but I think the gist is that the MK3.5 door modules are not compatible with the MK3 BCM so the lock/unlock signal doesn't work.

I ended up converting the blank button underneath the heater controls into a usable button (three little plastic stoppers filed away with a dremel), soldered a wire into the pin socket on the PCB and hooking that wire up to the lock/unlock pin on the front controls connector. The only thing it doesn't have is an indicator LED so the BCM generates error codes in ForScan for the lock indicator LED, but a small price to pay.

[dontpannic]

Here’s a little photo dump of my 2012 Tit X Sync 3 retrofit (last two photos were the finishing touches, the USB mounting plate and the trim panel along the bottom of the fasica):

The shiny bit at the bottom of the screen on the fascia is not standard - my fascia came with a splash type peel of the coating, I decided to strip off the coating on that section completely then polish it up to make it look a bit better. I may put a better condition fascia on at some stage, but I'm perfectly happy with the results.

 

[Mattinho18]

Great thread but how can I get a donor VIN number now the etis website is no longer live?

[Mattinho18]

Also, my nav doesn't seem to be working. The GPS is plugged in but it has a random location and doesn't move at all. Any ideas?

[unofix]

15 hours ago, Mattinho18 said:

how can I get a donor VIN number

Do you have the registration number of the donor vehicle ?

[Mattinho18]

2 hours ago, unofix said:

Do you have the registration number of the donor vehicle ?

Yeah I have one. Are you able to find the vin?

[JackoJacko]

8 hours ago, unofix said:

Do you have the registration number of the donor vehicle ?

If you're able to get hold of them, could you get the VIN for FA18 ESO if possible please?

[unofix]

Still working on trying to find a solution to the VIN.

If its possible (UK gov. doing everything to make it impossible) I will know in a couple of days.