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

[dontpannic]

On 9/15/2023 at 4:49 AM, GeoffP said:

Hi @dontpannic that sounds the same as mine, although I don't have the icon of the car in the top right. I have a '+' in the top left, but it doesn't seem to do anything.

Strangely, the green/amber/red lines do very briefly show up on mine sometimes, but only for a second or two. That leads me to believe there's a setting somewhere that could keep them on. 

Yep - exactly the same as mine. I see the lines the first time I turn on the car and select reverse quickly - I think maybe before the APIM has fully booted.

For the icon in the top right, Rowan sent me the following:

for parking sensors go to apim asbuilt

7D0-02-02 xxxx-*xxx-xxxx

change * to 2

But the dynamic lines are a total unknown sadly!

[smr]

This guide is obviously fantastic and has been really helpful for me even though I have bought a loom. 

However, and I cannot believe this hasn't been changed in the OP or even mentioned in this thread, if you have Android Auto you don't need to buy a new USB Hub. 

I have spent a lot of time looking for the correct parts and ordered a new USB hub from Ford which I now realise I don't even need and it's non returnable. 

So if possible can the OP be amended as it'll save a lot of frustration for anyone else planning on doing this with Android Phones. 

[dontpannic]

Personally I would do the USB hub swap regardless. Because the new one has an additional power harness, it charges devices quicker than the original USB, and also removes the Aux socket which no longer works with Sync 3.

Plus the time you decide not to do it will be the time that you want to plug an iPhone in.

But you are of course correct, if you're just using Android Auto you don't need to replace the USB socket.

[smr]

Sync 3 installed

Harness Cable £40.84

Sync 3 Unit £275

Trim Piece £13.62

Fakra GPS Cable £7.99

Mini USB Extension (from Sync 1 cable to Sync 3 APIM) £5.95

Didn't need Forscan, everything worked straight away.

Total £343.40

 

 

[Rowan112]

16 minutes ago, smr said:

Sync 3 installed

Harness Cable £40.84

Sync 3 Unit £275

Trim Piece £13.62

Fakra GPS Cable £7.99

Mini USB Extension (from Sync 1 cable to Sync 3 APIM) £5.95

Didn't need Forscan, everything worked straight away.

Total £343.40

 

 

you do need forscan, have you tried having a phone call?

you won't be able to hear them without programming correctly.

also forscan is needed as each car has their own features. what if they have autoparking, reverse cam, just reverse parking sensors etc.

[JanisZiemelis]

Hi All,

First of all, thank you to @JPW for this comprehensive guide, it's been really helpful!

However, knowing my luck 🙂, I have run into a bit of an issue - more specifically when it comes to the re-programming part.

Just to begin with, my car is a Ford Focus TDCi Titanium Nav X, 14 plate, diesel.

At this point, I've completed the physical install and have confirmed the unit works. Though, as expected, some components do not (i.e., parking sensors, the mini-screen is still blue, the top speaker on the dash doesn't seem to be kicking etc) - so the next steps (of having to reprogram the APIM) are clear.

At this stage, using the trusty Autotrader, I have looked through and found some equivalent cars to my spec - albeit newer (2017, 2018). Using Chipex (excellent tip from @dontpannic, given Etis is no more!) I acquired the VIN, which I then used to download the AsBuilt files from motorcraftservices.com. 

With the files in hand, rather excitedly(!), I went ahead and loaded the .ab file in ForScan... only to be met with the following message!:

Well... surely that was a fluke (I thought!) so decided to try a different Focus... only to get the same message! And before anyone asks, I did try clicking "Yes" and writing to APIM, but unfortunately (as expected) it made no difference.

Have I missed a step somewhere? 

One important note, however. I purchased the entire kit (Sync 3 unit, wiring harness etc), on eBay from someone who had already done this upgrade, so perhaps some values might already be present? (given that the steering wheel volume controls are working.) Though that seems unlikely.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! 🙂

[dontpannic]

It could well be that the base programming has already been done if the unit came from a car which had already been retrofitted.

The centre speaker is a potential issue. There are various different ACM's and I'm assuming you replaced the ACM with the one from the kit? If so, most of the ACM's that came with Sync 3 were 6-speaker models and these cannot be reprogrammed. To get the proper 9 speaker setup working I had to invest in a Sync 3 10 speaker ACM (with subwoofer output). It was a F1BT-18C815-ZAH (the last letters determine the spec of the ACM). That said, you will always have an ACM error code to say the programming doesn't match.

 

When you say the mini-screen is blue, do you mean the screen in the cluster? If so, after the retrofit mine is bright white/blue when unlocking the car and getting in, then when the car is running the background is black with a blue fade in the middle. I'm led to believe that this is normal. If it isn't, then I'd like to grab a copy of your asbuilt data for the bodycm and acim so I can compare mine and work out what I changed haha.

Parking sensors was an interesting one to resolve. What do you currently have working, and does your car have front and rear sensors / park assist?

[JanisZiemelis]

Thanks for getting back to me @dontpannic!

The model that I got was/is JM5T-14G370-HNC. It has no subwoofer output/input, however nor did my old sync 1 unit. Though, in fairness, this is a minor complaint in the grand scheme of things. 

In terms of the mini-screen being blue (i.e., its behaviour didn't change with the new unit, or when trying to re-program it. It's not a complaint by any means, just an observation) - see below:

As far as the APIM.ACM and BCM file is concerned, I've attached it to this post 🙂 (Let me know if you need any other as-built files).

Now, when it comes to the things that currently do not work, they are:

• Voice controls do not work (the audio part, not the activation part), nor do voice calls (i.e., I cannot hear anyone, including when using Apple Car Play).
• Rear parking sensor visualization (I have rear parking sensors only, 4 modules. No magical auto-parking assist either.) but can hear the usual sound feedback. Additionally, the screen doesn't change at all when the car is put into reverse (i.e., it just remains on whatever screen it is at the time). 
• Top Sony speaker (as far as I am aware) - which has been discussed already.

And.. that's about it. Or at least, that's all I have observed for now. I have heard others mention that they can see/adjust the climate controls from the Sync 3 unit but I don't have that functionality (nor do I need it, as I already have the display below it) - so it's just another observation.

Oh, and the auto-locking would be a nice feature for me to look into, however I'm yet to decide how I'll be tackling the lock-button - if at all.

APIM_20231109_175806.txt ACM_20231109_180048.txt BCMii_20231109_180002.txt

[JanisZiemelis]

Sorry, just realised I sent the model number of the APIM instead of ACM.

The model number of the ACM is F1BT-18C815-LP. Though, the point around the extra connections remain as my Sync 1 unit too just had 2 connections.

[paul.pet]

Hi all.
New here, from Romania.
So, i have a Focus MK3 2012.
I had Sync 1, and retrofit to Sync 3 using the info from this thread.
After rewiring, and rewiring again ( i forgot to to move SWC +/- pins from old Sync ) and a lot of testing with Forscan, i managed to make it 98% word fine.
My only big problem now is that the parking sensors ( 10 ( 6 front - 4 rear ) with parallel parking ) are not displayed on my Sync 3 screen. 
Activated rear camera ( not have yet ) screen is blue/black but no sensors displayed.
Put every mode of Parking Assistance in Apim but still nothing.
The sound of my parking sensors are there, the care make parallel parking, but that's all. No visuals.
My PAM is no editable ASBulid.

Can someone help me? I think i don't need to start a new thread for this..

[dontpannic]

On 11/12/2023 at 12:55 PM, JanisZiemelis said:

Sorry, just realised I sent the model number of the APIM instead of ACM.

The model number of the ACM is F1BT-18C815-LP. Though, the point around the extra connections remain as my Sync 1 unit too just had 2 connections.

Yep - LP is a 6 speaker output ACM so the centre speaker won't function with that ACM. You need one ending in YXX or ZXX (9 speaker, 10 speaker) to fully utilise your Sony Speakers. The reason I went with a ZAH is that it was the only one I could find. It seems that the YXX units are rare as rocking horse poo.

Unfortunately I can't see the photo you attached to the post to see what your mini screen is doing.

In Forscan, it might be worth using the 'easy mode' with drop-down menus to configure your APIM. I'm going to plug my car back in tomorrow for another reason so I will pull the options that I know about and may help out with your remaining issues.

bluetooth call audio will be the voice control/bluetooth option in the BCMii programming I believe, you counterintuitively have to set this to 'none'.

Parking sensor visualisation will be the number of sensors or type of PAM module selected in the APIM. I can't remember off the top of my head what the options are but I will have a look tomorrow for you and confirm.

Climate controls sometimes come across but as yours has already had some programming applied I suspect this was already disabled. In UK cars its pretty useless as the driver and passenger temperatures are reversed and cannot be swapped over.

I have auto locking enabled through the BCM, and I modified the existing blank button (I have four, one blank) - all I had to do was file off a plastic stopper which physically stopped the button moving, then solder a wire to the board and hook it up to the FCDIM connector pin for the lock button. There's no LED indicator on the blank button so I get a locking LED circuit open error in Forscan, but the blank button works perfectly as a lock button.

[dontpannic]

On 11/13/2023 at 6:01 AM, paul.pet said:

Hi all.
New here, from Romania.
So, i have a Focus MK3 2012.
I had Sync 1, and retrofit to Sync 3 using the info from this thread.
After rewiring, and rewiring again ( i forgot to to move SWC +/- pins from old Sync ) and a lot of testing with Forscan, i managed to make it 98% word fine.
My only big problem now is that the parking sensors ( 10 ( 6 front - 4 rear ) with parallel parking ) are not displayed on my Sync 3 screen. 
Activated rear camera ( not have yet ) screen is blue/black but no sensors displayed.
Put every mode of Parking Assistance in Apim but still nothing.
The sound of my parking sensors are there, the care make parallel parking, but that's all. No visuals.
My PAM is no editable ASBulid.

Can someone help me? I think i don't need to start a new thread for this..

Rowan sent me the following to get my park assistance and graphics working:

 

for parking sensors go to apim asbuilt

7D0-02-02 xxxx-*xxx-xxxx

change * to 2

 

Maybe give that a go - make sure to note down what the value was before changing it.

[JanisZiemelis]

18 hours ago, dontpannic said:

Yep - LP is a 6 speaker output ACM so the centre speaker won't function with that ACM. You need one ending in YXX or ZXX (9 speaker, 10 speaker) to fully utilise your Sony speakers. The reason I went with a ZAH is that it was the only one I could find. It seems that the YXX units are rare as rocking horse poo.

Unfortunately I can't see the photo you attached to the post to see what your mini screen is doing.

In Forscan, it might be worth using the 'easy mode' with drop-down menus to configure your APIM. I'm going to plug my car back in tomorrow for another reason so I will pull the options that I know about and may help out with your remaining issues.

Bluetooth call audio will be the voice control/bluetooth option in the BCMii programming I believe, you counterintuitively have to set this to 'none'.

Parking sensor visualisation will be the number of sensors or type of PAM module selected in the APIM. I can't remember off the top of my head what the options are but I will have a look tomorrow for you and confirm.

Climate controls sometimes come across but as yours has already had some programming applied I suspect this was already disabled. In UK cars its pretty useless as the driver and passenger temperatures are reversed and cannot be swapped over.

I have auto locking enabled through the BCM, and I modified the existing blank button (I have four, one blank) - all I had to do was file off a plastic stopper which physically stopped the button moving, then solder a wire to the board and hook it up to the FCDIM connector pin for the lock button. There's no LED indicator on the blank button so I get a locking LED circuit open error in Forscan, but the blank button works perfectly as a lock button.

Thanks for getting back to me again! 

Whilst it would be nice for me to get all the Speakers working, I don't think it'll be worth the hassle so might just leave it as is. Thanks for the tip in respect of the names that they end with, if I get too bored at some point - I might just do some searching for one of those.

I've been spending some time in my car today (after reading your post) and I have managed to "crack" why the bluetooth audio microphone wasn't working (and by that extension, Siri). This also updated the mini display next to the speedo from blue to black - which I was previously expecting.

I had previously updated the values outlined in the install guide (within FoCCCus) but this didn't make any difference (i.e., Siri still wasn't working, nor were calls etc). But, decided to go through all the settings again and noticed that the #214 setting had changed back to its previous value (06). 

Changed this to 09, tried to write to BCM again and it failed (and reverted back to 06). 

Tried this another couple of times and voila' - it for some reason decided to stick and the mini-display immediately changed to black. I'm not entirely sure why this was, but all the settings seem to be correct now and Siri/bluetooth calls work. (So at this point, I'm counting my blessings).

Realistically the parking lines are the only thing that's left for me to work out how to fix. Tried flipping through different values but no dice. Need to spend some more time looking into it but if you got any hints, that'd be great! 

By the way, you've given me an idea for the lock button (as I too, have a single blank switch). Do you, off the top of your head, remember if it was pin 2 or pin 6 of the FCDIM connector that you had to tap into? (No worries at all if not, I'll just have to try both).

Thanks again!

[dontpannic]

Nice work - interesting that it’s the ICP value which changes the instrument cluster display - I might have to fiddle with that to see if I can get rid of the white screen lol. 
 

It’s pin 6 IIRC. I dismantled the blank button and traced the button on the PCB back to a solder point and chucked a cable in, directly to pin 6 in the FCDIM plug and it worked immediately. I think pin 2 might be for the LED. 
 

Parking lines seems to be a bit of a black art with so many variations of the system available. Although I have the flank detection and SAPP available, on Sync 1 I used to have dynamic lines which moved with the steering which I’ve been unable to get back with Sync 3. 

[Miguel green]

Hi can Rowan please text me your contact details I’m wanting to upgrade to sync 3 I’ve been told your the man to talk to my mobile 

07599544093. I would appreciate your help

[D1cky]

Thanks for a Great how to JPW, completed this just before Christmas and loving the new stereo. 

I'm having an issue where the cruise control buttons stop working intermittently, sometimes on the same drive. Wondering if I've set something wrong or if anyone else has had this come up? 

[Gregfocus]

How... nice thread! As I'm looking to make the upgrade, I'll follow.

First, searching the parts, buying them when I'll find them.

And then... upgrading! Nice to see I can use the focus face lift fascia (better looking than the US one), and for the lock dooor swith, I'll use the "empty button" on my A/C panel (right next to the parking sensor button).

 

But, few questions first.

1. Not sure about the ref of my ACM (Sync 1), but i have 2 Fakra connectors on it. Can I keep it? or must I buy a Sync2/sync 3 ACM?
2. Might be difficult to find a donor car with the same options as my car (front/rear park sensors, parallel auto park, etc)... what are the important options? If I don't find , can the programming be done without the as-built?
3. Can I keep my GPS antenna? or must I buy a new one?

You'll see me here in few weeks/months, sure I'll have more questions when doing the upgrade once I'll have all the parts.

[dontpannic]

18 hours ago, Gregfocus said:

How... nice thread! As I'm looking to make the upgrade, I'll follow.

First, searching the parts, buying them when I'll find them.

And then... upgrading! Nice to see I can use the focus face lift fascia (better looking than the US one), and for the lock dooor swith, I'll use the "empty button" on my A/C panel (right next to the parking sensor button).

 

But, few questions first.

1. Not sure about the ref of my ACM (Sync 1), but i have 2 Fakra connectors on it. Can I keep it? or must I buy a Sync2/sync 3 ACM?
2. Might be difficult to find a donor car with the same options as my car (front/rear park sensors, parallel auto park, etc)... what are the important options? If I don't find , can the programming be done without the as-built?
3. Can I keep my GPS antenna? or must I buy a new one?

You'll see me here in few weeks/months, sure I'll have more questions when doing the upgrade once I'll have all the parts.

1. If you keep your Sync 1 ACM then everything will work, but you won't get TMC traffic data in Navigation - if you don't have this in your country or are not intending to use the Sync navigation then nothing to worry about and you can keep your original.

2. That's fine - the majority of the programming can be done with Forscan and using the drop downs rather than doing everything with the asbuilt data, with minor tweaks to the asbuilt to get certain things working (SAPP is one of them). My asbuilt may help you as that sounds very similar to my spec. (Titanium X)

3. If you're coming from Sync 1 with Emergency Assist you can use the GPSM antenna that is already in the car (blue fakra connector plugged in to your Sync 1 navigation screen). If your car is Sync 2 then you'll need to add an antenna.

[Gregfocus]

2 hours ago, dontpannic said:

1. If you keep your Sync 1 ACM then everything will work, but you won't get TMC traffic data in Navigation - if you don't have this in your country or are not intending to use the Sync navigation then nothing to worry about and you can keep your original.

2. That's fine - the majority of the programming can be done with Forscan and using the drop downs rather than doing everything with the asbuilt data, with minor tweaks to the asbuilt to get certain things working (SAPP is one of them). My asbuilt may help you as that sounds very similar to my spec. (Titanium X)

3. If you're coming from Sync 1 with Emergency Assist you can use the GPSM antenna that is already in the car (blue fakra connector plugged in to your Sync 1 navigation screen). If your car is Sync 2 then you'll need to add an antenna.

Ohh thank you @dontpannic! your nickname fits perfect !

So don't have to bother with asbuilt files and other things ?

Good !

Thanks for all your informations😉

[dontpannic]

22 hours ago, Gregfocus said:

Ohh thank you @dontpannic! your nickname fits perfect !

So don't have to bother with asbuilt files and other things ?

Good !

Thanks for all your informations😉

Not really - there are some features that need to be tweaked by asbuilt but the vast majority you can just use ForScan and the drop down module configurations to match your car and that will do most of it.

[Gregfocus]

On 1/24/2024 at 12:43 PM, dontpannic said:

Not really - there are some features that need to be tweaked by asbuilt but the vast majority you can just use ForScan and the drop down module configurations to match your car and that will do most of it.

Thanks @dontpannic, I'll sure ask you some help when all the parts of the puzzle will be home and installed in the car.

Today, I've juste received my sync3 screen and APIM, JM5T-14G370-HNC, ordered on eBay on Monday to a french junkyard.

I'm waiting for the big plastic braket (ordered to a UK dealer on ebay), and waiting for an answer of "harness-man" 😁.

My for dealer can't find the USB hub and bezel with the finis codes... are there other part numbers, to help him find? Or a eBay seller ? (found some but too expensive for my taste... or too far away (china, US...). I'll see for the m5x12 screws (I'll be missing some, for sure)

And after that, I'll have to find a front fascia in good condition, and it will be OK.

 

My Focus will be happy for his birthday present a little early😂

[Gregfocus]

Little update here, after the Sync3 screen with APIM, I've now received the plastic bracket ...

Will have to buy the Fascia (find one in good condition), some missing screws, and the "magic" harness from @Rowan112

 

After that, I'll be able to make this great conversion. Sure have questions when the moment will come (cause I'll sure have some programming issues)

[smr]

 

Couldn't find anything to say I'm not allowed to post this so if it's not ok a mod can delete but you may know I was looking at buying a Sync 3 upgrade and did so, fitted successfully and really enjoyed it until my car was written off a couple of weeks ago so I'm selling the complete Sync 3 kit - this includes everything except the USB Hub but as I'm an Android user I didn't need that, and I also didn't buy a radio as you can use your existing one.

So this includes everything as an Android user you'd need - fascia, Sync 3 screen and APIM, Trim, Wiring Loom, GPS and bracket. 

PM me if you're interested in buying.

[dontpannic]

On 2/13/2024 at 12:13 PM, smr said:

 

Couldn't find anything to say I'm not allowed to post this so if it's not ok a mod can delete but you may know I was looking at buying a Sync 3 upgrade and did so, fitted successfully and really enjoyed it until my car was written off a couple of weeks ago so I'm selling the complete Sync 3 kit - this includes everything except the USB Hub but as I'm an Android user I didn't need that, and I also didn't buy a radio as you can use your existing one.

So this includes everything as an Android user you'd need - fascia, Sync 3 screen and APIM, Trim, Wiring Loom, GPS and bracket. 

PM me if you're interested in buying.

Did you upgrade your APIM to Sync 3.4 or is it still factory Sync 3.0? Did you have any flickering display issues?

[smr]

1 hour ago, dontpannic said:

Did you upgrade your APIM to Sync 3.4 or is it still factory Sync 3.0? Did you have any flickering display issues?

Updated to the latest version 3.4 soon as I installed it. Didn't see any flickering.