Update: I took the car to a Ford dealer this week and they diagnosed the fault as an issue with the body control unit and said it would need replacing. They quoted £1066.31 for the work. I booked it in for them to do the work next week, but today they called to say that the part (part number 1681103) is no longer available from Ford and basically that's the end of it. They said if I could find one they'd do the work, but that the part must never have been programmed to another car (which rules our reclamation).

Am I looking at getting a new car? Give me some hope, please. Other than this issue the car looks and runs great!

1 minute ago, christopherX said:

...They said if I could find one they'd do the work, but that the part must never have been programmed to another car (which rules our reclamation).

 

I have never heard that instruction before! I'm sure @unofix will be along shortly, if he can't give you hope, no on can!

I take much of what ford say with a bucket of salt, there will be a way of wiping it, or recoding a scrapper. Back up your existing module or find the asbuilt data.

 

Hello @christopherX I have re-read this thread from the very start.

Firstly, I still doubt that the fault is the actual Body Control Module (BCM). It could be, but lets put that aside for just now.

Your battery keeps going flat very quickly, so clearly there has to be a drain on it. The most likely situation is than one of the many modules on the Canbus is not shutting down and going to sleep once the car is switched off. With just one module remaining active it will cause a chain reaction on the canbus which will result in nearly all modules remaining active to some degree or other.

It is possible the module that is remaining active is the instrument cluster, which on your car also contains the PATS system (immobiliser). Sadly the instrument cluster is not an easy swap because of the security immobiliser and so a repair is normally an easier option.

Now back to the BCM, and that it can't be reprogrammed !! Well if that was really true why are there so many second hand units for sale? are people just buying them to use as paperweights ? For example your part number 1681103 is available now on eBay.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/283446946000

It is a pity you are so far away from me, as I like a good challenge. So your options are:

(1) Remove the instrument cluster and send it to a professional repair company for refurbishment. The cost is £90 upwards but don't pay more than £150. Ask if they are able to test it, some can partly test them.

(2) Buy used BCM from eBay or similar for £124.99 and then use FORScan to reprogramme it with your 'As Built' files. I realise that the reprogramming using FORScan maybe something that you don't feel able to do, but I'm sure that a local Auto Electronics Technician should be able to do.

(3) Scrap car !!

contact the guy that replaced mine, well supplied a replacement. Reach out to him {Richard} at customod. He has the patience of a saint

Thanks @unofix that's really helpful. Will start with the instrument cluster as you suggest and take it from there. I do have a technical background, so FORScan might be something I can tackle.

I don't know if I mentioned this before, but for completeness, the boot catch releases whilst driving too - which could be a sign of a problem with the BCM?

8 minutes ago, christopherX said:

I don't know if I mentioned this before, but for completeness, the boot catch releases whilst driving too - which could be a sign of a problem with the BCM?

TBH, that's likely to be a standalone fault. You can buy replacement handles on Ebay for less than a tenner...

17 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

TBH, that's likely to be a standalone fault. You can buy replacement handles on Ebay for less than a tenner...

Agreed, i did mine as the boot light wasnt coming on so changed it and upgraded the boot lights to 2 x 24 LED panels, was an easy job.

Hi @christopherX, as both Stephen and James have said, the boot latch problem is most probably an unrelated issue. It is quite a well known 'quirk' of a faulty tailgate switch/handle. For the moment I'd just forget about it until the bigger problem is sorted.

The saga continues...

I sent off the cluster for repair, but the guys who looked at it said that the software on the unit is corrupt. They can't fix it and advised to be skeptical of anyone who says they can.

They suggested finding a 2nd hand one as they're not coded in my model, I'll just need to transfer the mileage across.

6 minutes ago, christopherX said:

... but the guys who looked at it said that the software on the unit is corrupt. ...

Sorry to hijack, but I've often wondered... how does a perfectly working cluster suddenly become 'corrupt'?

10 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

Sorry to hijack, but I've often wondered... how does a perfectly working cluster suddenly become 'corrupt'?

It's a fair question.

27 minutes ago, christopherX said:

They suggested finding a 2nd hand one as they're not coded in my model, I'll just need to transfer the mileage across.

Yes you can replace the instrument cluster with a second hand unit, just make sure that the mileage on the replacement is less than yours because you will only be able to adjust the mileage upwards.

As far as I know the PATS security is part of the IC on your model and if so it will need to be reprogrammed using the licensed version of FORScan (£12.32 for 1 year). Maybe @iantt or Wilco will be able to confirm if this is true ?

20 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

Sorry to hijack, but I've often wondered... how does a perfectly working cluster suddenly become 'corrupt'?

The hamster falls off his wheel 🤣

The real answer is not as good. The data (programme) of what does what, and how, is held in various integrated circuits in the instrument cluster. Some of these chips are what is known as EEPROM's which to give them there full name is "electrically erasable programmable read-only memory". They are programmed in 'Hexadecimal'. All it takes is a random voltage spike or simply old age and the EEPROM can be come corrupt. One tiny change in the code will render the whole programme useless.

2 minutes ago, unofix said:

All it takes is a random voltage spike or simply old age and the EEPROM can be come corrupt. One tiny change in the code will render the whole programme useless.

I can relate to that with my Mrs - one tiny spike, an ensuing argument, and the whole day is ruined 🤣

contact Richard at Customod and get a 2.5 cluster from him he will send it zero'd so no need to search for a lower mileage model than yours. Enter the mileage and code the keys job done.

Or if you have forscan or ELMconfig wipe it and reinstall asbuilt data.

Is it worth reconnecting the battery with the instrument cluster out, to see whether there is still a parasitic drain?

the drain could have blown the cluster, so putting a new or repaired in would serve little purpose

 

3 hours ago, christopherX said:

Is it worth reconnecting the battery with the instrument cluster out, to see whether there is still a parasitic drain?

I don't expect it will prove anything as many of the modules will remain active trying to communicate with the 'missing' instrument cluster, but if you want to give it a try it will do no harm. You will need to wait at least 20 minutes to give everything time to power down and enter sleep mode, that is if they will 'go to sleep'

 

The 2nd hand cluster arrived today. I plugged it in, reconnected the battery and et voila, everything appears to be working again. The car starts, the key still works (for ignition and central locking). I'm not counting my chickens just yet, but the early signs are promising. I'll post here again in a couple of days with an update.

Excellent news Christopher 👍

So I guess by the fact your car starts the security must be held in the BCM on your model.

Well fingers crossed that's the big problem solved now 😀

All seems to be working okay now. The issue with the radio turning off and on has also gone away. New switch for the tailgate has solved that problem as well.

Thanks everyone for their help and advice.

Good result Christopher 👍