1 hour ago, ComfySofa said:

My apologies...clicked on the link....sorted. Edit: Just looking at your link/ebay page its says the mk4 is not affected...is my smax a mk4 or 3? or, even if mine is a mk4 it can still suffer from this?

Yours is a Mk1 S-Max (2006-2014/2015). The mark number is a per-model thing. The Mk4 I referred to is the Mk4 Focus.

1 hour ago, rd457 said:

Yours is a Mk1 S-Max (2006-2014/2015). The mark number is a per-model thing. The Mk4 I referred to is the Mk4 Focus.

Right so mine is one of the problem ones? 

3 minutes ago, ComfySofa said:

Right so mine is one of the problem ones? 

Yes I'd say so. The symptoms are a strong match, and from what we know a Mk1 S-Max has the potential for having an instrument cluster that was manufactured with the problematic solder.

On 4/6/2023 at 1:54 PM, rd457 said:

It's easy:

1. Unlock the lock that holds the steering wheel in position so that you can pull it towards you for maximum room to work. (You should find it on the bottom side of the steering wheel column).
2. There should be a piece of plastic at the base of the instrument cluster, attached to a flexible bit of rubber on top of the steering wheel, which should just lift out of the way.
3. Two screws should now be exposed at the bottom of the instrument cluster that secure it in place, you'll just need a torx screwdriver to undo them. I believe they require a T27 or similar size.
4. The top has a simple clip helping hold it in place. As I recall you can get it loose by carefully slipping something like a credit card or screwdriver in the slight gap at the top and gently prising.
5. With it loose the last thing then to do is detatch the wiring connector. There's a locking mechanism securing it in place. You'll find a lever on the connector which you have to move 90 degrees to unlock it, then you can pull the connector off.

Yeah I guess if you want to drive up here and drop it off in person that's okay.

Hi there. Planning on attempting this tomorrow (monday) - just to double check this is my dash...the whole top across the whole car looks to be one piece....so your above instructions are the ones? (just want to check before i get stuck in...) my simple head tells me everything has to come out to get to the clocks...??

 

S'ok....found a you tube video....seems pretty straightforward....lll get them out tomorrow and stick them in the post on tuesday....many thanks.

10 hours ago, ComfySofa said:

Hi there. Planning on attempting this tomorrow (monday) - just to double check this is my dash...the whole top across the whole car looks to be one piece....so your above instructions are the ones? (just want to check before i get stuck in...) my simple head tells me everything has to come out to get to the clocks...??

 

Hi again. Yes the whole top may be one piece but there's no need to touch it, the instrument cluster unit can be just taken out of it. However, I am just presuming that the process is the same as with my Focus, I haven't found a definitive anwser.

The following video shows the process I described, which is demonstrated on a Focus but is claimed to also apply to the S-Max, though it fails to say which specific Mks.

You can see how easy that is.

However, I also dug up the following video for an S-Max (a left hand drive model it seems), again no details saying whether this is a Mk1 S-Max like yours or a newer Mk2 S-Max, but it shows that Ford made it a whole lot more difficult in whatever version of the S-Max this is depicting:

 

heh - yeah - thats the one i just found...! thanks again!

Btw, in the interest of things going as smoothly and quickly as possible, it might be best if you purchased the service tonight rather than waiting until you've removed it tomorrow. I have a policy of only giving out the address after purchase and I'm just worrying, giving that you said it's a daily driver and need it done as quick as possible, that if you wait until the morning you might end up waiting anxiously for hours waiting for me to be able to reply with the address. Whereas if you purchase tonight before I end up going to bed, I can hand over the address now. If something goes wrong and you have to cancel I can always refund you.

Yep - no prob....just got them out - ill do it now. Cheers.

Ive cleared the errors i think and just read the errors again....got a new one from what i remember but i am grabbing the below pic taking these with the clocks hanging out so not sure if ive dislodged anything...theyre on my phone so ill upload now...

Here you go...so...what's the prognosis!?...not really sure what I'm looking at....

Just going back through the thread...is the BCM on the back of the clocks??

The BCM is usually part of the Fusebox.

you have a lot of can bus connection errors there. Have you tried wiggling the plug on the back of the cluster?

Not tried that yet....literally unplugged it...might give it a go with a bit of WD40 though....it sounds like the clock resoldering work would be a preventative maintenance option....might have a quick go and see wha the laptop gets after that....

back to the BCM...going to go looking now...but are there a couple of fuse boxes?

Hi, just saw the purchase and sent you the address to send it to on ebay. 👍

The fusebox also housing the GEM/BCM is typically located in the passenger footwell area.

Every module is connected to a shared network bus via a couple of connector pins. Your instrument cluster (IPC) is showing a whole bunch of DTCs relating to network communication failures, which to my mind strongly suggests that it is actively suffering from cracked solder joints and the repair should fix many if not all of the DTCs and network communication failures you're seeing in ForScan.

However there could well be a secondary issue at play like the mentioned possibility of corrosion on the BCM connector pins, which is another very common issue that comes up on a regular basis here on the forum. I agree that this would be worth checking for whilst you wait for me to repair the IC/IPC.

Ok...plugged the clocks back in...bit of wd40 on the connector ..here's what I got...think the rear sensor has gone ..

11 minutes ago, rd457 said:

Hi, just saw the purchase and sent you the address to send it to on ebay. 👍

The fusebox also housing the GEM/BCM is typically located in the passenger footwell area.

Every module is connected to a shared network bus via a couple of connector pins. Your instrument cluster (IPC) is showing a whole bunch of DTCs relating to network communication failures, which to my mind strongly suggests that it is actively suffering from cracked solder joints and the repair should fix many if not all of the DTCs and network communication failures you're seeing in ForScan.

However there could well be a secondary issue at play like the mentioned possibility of corrosion on the BCM connector pins, which is another very common issue that comes up on a regular basis here on the forum. I agree that this would be worth checking for whilst you wait for me to repair the IC/IPC.

Cool...see if i can find it now...bit of wd40 and a replug of all of the connectors?

11 minutes ago, ComfySofa said:

Cool...see if i can find it now...bit of wd40 and a replug of all of the connectors?

If they're corroded it'll probably be very obvious like the picture below and you'll have to clean it off, perhaps with some oil/wd40 and a bit of sandpaper I'd suggest. If there is substantial corrosion from water intrusion then you may want to open the case and check the BCM circuit board for more damage.

Ok - Found the BCM...unplugged all the connectors...(all looked pretty clean) sprayed a tiny bit of WD40 across all the connectors and re=plugged....reconnected the clocks and started the car....i did a "BCM clear" i think thats what it was and i got...(if im right in thinking this) a clean bill of health?? pics in a sec..!

Here you go...

 

Could that mean that the headlight levelling was an error because they needed re-seating (the BCM connectors)?

Not all DTC will just pop back immediately after clearing, so I wouldn't get your hopes up yet. Some will only show back up after the right conditions have been met.

Right - ok - i was getting a low battery error as well so thats out now on the tender for a few days so we'll see what happens when its all back together....thanks again for all the help...! Invaluable place for ford based knowledge...cheers.

 

Andy

To update everyone following the thread, I received Andy's IC today, took it apart and surprisingly found no signs of cracks on the connector solder joints at all, everything looked perfect, so it seems that we were wrong about the cracked solder joint diagnosis. I've re-soldered it anyway as requested privately. It's back together now and packaged back up ready to go back in the post to him tomorrow.

As a side note, the circuit board was very aesthetically pleasing, complete with a bunch of torx screws securing it in place which I hadn't encountered before. Note the nice way they spread light around for one part in the last picture.

A few pics attached, the sixth shows the connector pins before I touched them.

Edited April 12, 20233 yr by rd457
Expanded picture set

Nice set of pics....thanks very much....as i said - i thought even though you were prepared to send it back as it....at least its now done (im on the side of preventative maintenance!) - look forward to getting it back and then going through those codes!

Thanks again

 

Andy

Refitting the clocks today...no problem with that. But assuming i do have to change that rear wheel ride height sensor....has anyone or, does anyone know whats involved with getting to it...wheel off obviously but what after that....has the wheel arch liner got to come out or is it easy to see or have i got to go in from underneath?