JW1982 Posted December 19, 2015 Author Share Posted December 19, 2015 I did not try to install IDS V98 yet because of the increased protection. Version V96 and onwards do have a new sort of protection to block VCM 2 clones. If the program detects a known clone it will be blocked and the module programming functions stop working. After being blocked downgrading to a previous IDS version does not solve this anymore. Currently there are no reports of people using V98 with a clone so I am a bit careful at the moment. The IDS engineering mode can be activated by performing the following procedure: Start the IDS program. Go to the System Utilities page and select "Update/Special Functions". Next you have to enter a password. This password is 60274. Next the vehicle selection page will be opened. Select the correct vehicle (for the Focus MK3 you have to select C346 for example).After clicking on OK the vehicle configuration menu will open. From within this menu you can select every configuration parameter while the standard IDS version only shows a limited number of configuration parameters. I found this online some time ago. People used this on some very old IDS versions and to my surprise the password turned out to be still the same on the current IDS versions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JW1982 Posted December 19, 2015 Author Share Posted December 19, 2015 Last week I also activated the MyKey function on my car. During some research about this system I found some pictures of a Transit Connect with MyKey. This Transit did have a normal keyswitch and the instrument cluster with the small monochrome display. Because the Transit Connect is technically partly related to the Focus MK3 I assumed this could probably also be possible on a focus MK3 with a normal keyswitch and the instrument cluster with the small monochrome display like I have. After some more research I found out that the MyKey function can be activated by changing configuration parameter #239 MyKey 01 Unknown to #239 MyKey 02 Unknown. After I changed this parameter in the central car Configuration the MyKey function appeared in the instrument cluster menu. After selecting this functions some restrictions can be set for the currently used key. This setting will not affect the other key(s). These restrictions can only be undone by resetting the restrictions with another (unrestricted) key. The MyKey function can be activated on every Focus MK3. The type of instrument cluster or keyswitch/KeyFree does not affect the MyKey functionality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iantt Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 That all very interesting, so foccuus software not needed anymore, I will try the code 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iantt Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 Have you managed to find a way to do updates to sync module? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JW1982 Posted December 21, 2015 Author Share Posted December 21, 2015 i am afraid there is no free solution for this. As far as I know the APIM (SYNC) module can only be updated using ETIS online. IDS does not have this function. I am a registered user of Ford ETIS online (free registration as private user/independent garage). If I connect to the car using my VCM 2 interface and go to the Ford ETIS website I can perform all service functions from there. However after being logged in as a private user/independent garage you have to pay seperately for every update. Another great function of ETIS online is the possibility to synchronise the software versions displayed by Ford ETIS with the actual firmware versions of the car. After being logged in to the Ford ETIS website and connected to the car a window/program opens and reads the actual software versions of all modules of the car. Afterwards these software versions and the date of the synchronisation are shown on the Ford ETIS website. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iantt Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 I wondered what the difference was between dealer and independent/private, I updated my sync on saturday to latest level, bit of a nightmare get to update even with dealer set up, 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JW1982 Posted December 22, 2015 Author Share Posted December 22, 2015 Every service function (software update, module configuration, etc.) costs between €15,- and €25,- on the Ford ETIS website. Currently I do not feel the need to update the SYNC module. When I bought the car in Octobre 2014 The Ford dealer installed a brand new SYNC 1.5 module because they were not able to change the language to Dutch on the original SYNC module. I rarely use the SYNC functionality and until now I did not discover any problems. In the future I am planning to install a MK3.5 SYNC 2.0 audio system. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazzman600 Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 JW. You plan to install a Mk3.5 sync audio system to your Mk3? Well if you do do it then please do tell how it was done. I'd like to know because I've been told by numerous ford dealers it can't be done because of module changes (what ever that is). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JW1982 Posted December 22, 2015 Author Share Posted December 22, 2015 The European MK3.5 SYNC 2.0 eudio system is basically just a modified/further developed version of the American My Ford Touch system. The My Ford Touch system was available in the USA Focus MK3 from its introduction in 2012. Back in the days Ford announced the My Ford Touch system to be available in Europe also but because of a lot of (software) problems of this system they never released it. Some people did retrofit the American My Ford Touch system in a European Focus MK3 without any problems. The SYNC 2.0 audio system basically consists of the following parts: * Display/Touch screen. * Audio unit. * Dashboard wiring loom. * APIM (SYNC) module. * Control panel for the SYNC 2.0 system. * Dashboard panel for the SYNC 2.0 system. The MY Ford Touch/SYNC 2.0 display is bigger than the original Focus MK3 displays. To make it fit it is necessary to modify the dashboard by removing some plastic material. Next to installing all parts the system needs to be configured properly. Every Ford dealer should be able to do this but my experience is that most Ford dealers do not have a clue where to start. This is why I decided to buy the Ford IDS system myself. Ford already released the SYNC 3.0 system in the USA. The only differences between the My Ford Touch/ SYNC 2.0 system and the SYNC 3.0 system are the APIM module and the display/touch screen. Some companies already offer an upgrade to the SYNC 3.0 system for 1000 Dollars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theredfox Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 whoa lot of money for module upgrade 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JW1982 Posted December 22, 2015 Author Share Posted December 22, 2015 That is one of the main reasons I bought myself the Ford IDS system. I do not want to be dependant on any Ford dealer to perform software updates. My experience is that most Ford dealers charge rediculous money for diagnostics/software updates and do often not have enough knowledge. There are only a few Ford technicians who really know their stuff. Apart from the SYNC (APIM) module I can update every module inside my car myself now. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazzman600 Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 Wow JW. Thanks for the info. Too much for me to bother with (age related lol). Think I'll wait till a better aftermarket touchscreen unit becomes available (better than what's available now I mean). Best wishes for your install of the my ford unit. Very suprised tho its bigger than unit fitted to a Mk3. So much for the focus being a universal one model fits all countries car. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iantt Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Last week I also activated the MyKey function on my car. During some research about this system I found some pictures of a Transit Connect with MyKey. This Transit did have a normal keyswitch and the instrument cluster with the small monochrome display. Because the Transit Connect is technically partly related to the Focus MK3 I assumed this could probably also be possible on a focus MK3 with a normal keyswitch and the instrument cluster with the small monochrome display like I have. After some more research I found out that the MyKey function can be activated by changing configuration parameter #239 MyKey 01 Unknown to #239 MyKey 02 Unknown. After I changed this parameter in the central car Configuration the MyKey function appeared in the instrument cluster menu. After selecting this functions some restrictions can be set for the currently used key. This setting will not affect the other key(s). These restrictions can only be undone by resetting the restrictions with another (unrestricted) key. The MyKey function can be activated on every Focus MK3. The type of instrument cluster or keyswitch/KeyFree does not affect the MyKey functionality. Tried the 239, but no other option to change from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JW1982 Posted December 24, 2015 Author Share Posted December 24, 2015 If the setting you want to change is not shown in Engineering mode you have to insert the correct parameter vaue manually. In Engineering Mode this can be done by going to the second tab. Standard view on the 1st (default) tab. On this page you have to select the option you want to change. Also note the Byte number at the bottom of the screen. This number corresponds with the option numbers shown in the FoCCCus program. Parameter view on the 2nd tab. The option selected on the 1st tab is marked red. The parameter value can be selected manually. In this example I used the headlight setting but basically every option can be configured this way. The parameter value to acivate MyKey is 2. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemandark Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 JW1982 Could you please share the link for Aliexpress seller and product that you bought? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JW1982 Posted December 31, 2015 Author Share Posted December 31, 2015 Unfortunately the seller I bought the VCM 2 from does no longer supply this exact same product. My experience is that most (Chinese/Taiwanese) AliExpress sellers buy large batches from a manufacturer and when they are sold out they buy a new batch from possibly a different manufacturer. They also change the AliExpress advertisement so next week they may sell a different type of VCM 2 than this week. I found out that the reviews remain the same after they change the advertisement to a different product. This makes it very difficult to find a reliable seller that supplies good quality VCM 2 interfaces. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JW1982 Posted February 9, 2016 Author Share Posted February 9, 2016 Last Year I started the search for a suitable instrument cluster with the large full color display but because of the low mileage of my car I could not find a suitable one for a fair price. Because I live in the Netherlands I initially searched for a European (KM/H) instrument cluster. A few months ago I decided to also search for a UK or USA (MPH) instrument cluster I already owned a (cosmetically) damaged Instrument cluster which I got from a local scrap yard for free for testing purposes. The dial plates of this instrument cluster are perfectly suitable to convert a UK or USA instrument cluster to a European instrument cluster. Last Month I finally found a suitable instrument cluster on eBay. The instrument cluster came from a low mileage 2014 USA focus MK3. Generally USA instrument clusters are much cheaper than European or UK instrument clusters. Including postage and import costs the instrument cluster costed me less than €100,-. Despite the different Hardware number and different software the USA instrument clusters are electronically almost identical to European and UK instrument clusters. Next to the different dial plates the USA instrument clusters have a "BRAKE" warning light instead of the European symbol warning light. After I received the instrument cluster it turned out to be in nice, mint condition. Initially I configured the instrument cluster with the correct configuration settings for my car. Next I tested the instrument cluster in my car. The instrument cluster was fully functional (it even supported Dutch language) but because it had the USA software some functions were different and/or missing compared to the European software. Next I decided to install the European software. Because of the different hardware number a USA instrument cluster is not recognised by the Ford IDS diagnostic system as a suitable part for a European Focus MK3. However this can easily be solved by loading the correct software files manually into the instrument cluster. This can easily be done using a (reliable) modified ELM327 interface and the free FoCCCus software. At a Baudrate of 500.000 Kbps the update proces takes about 7 hours to complete so I made myself an adapter cable to be able to update the software inside the house on the dinner table. The adapter cable is connected to the ELM327 interface, A suitable 12 Volt DC power source and the instrument cluster. After many hours the update proces finished without any problems. The USA instrument cluster is now electronically fully converted to European / UK specifications. Finally I tested the instrument cluster again and it turned out to be fully functional. Unfortuntaly I have to wait a few months because the new instrument cluster has a slightly higher mileage as my car. Because I can only adjust the mileage upwards myself I have to wait a few months until my car reaches the mileage of the new instrument cluster. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScorpionSX Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 That looks very nice and the prize is awesome! Too bad the US market didn't have the same Mk2s as here in EU...I'd love to switch to the big display instrument cluster, but they all go for at least €200 on eBay... Technical question though, wouldn't it be possible to just switch the internals of the clusters and basically just plug in the bigger display into your cluster and put the bigger display plastics around it and keep your EU dials? Or is the software loaded in the display unit itself? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JW1982 Posted February 11, 2016 Author Share Posted February 11, 2016 The circuit board of the MK2 (and also the MK2.5) instrument cluster with small/large display is different. It is not possible to install a large display on a circuit board of a small display instrument cluster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JW1982 Posted February 11, 2016 Author Share Posted February 11, 2016 Today I changed the dial plates of the USA instrument cluster. After I disassembled the instrument cluster I discovered My European dial plates were a bit different from the USA dial plates. Initially I planned to only change the speedometer dial plate. However because of the minor differences I changed the tachometer dial plate as well. Yesterday I found a way to correct the mileage of the instrument cluster to a lower value by modifying existing software. I corrected the original mileage of 24759 KM to only 100 KM. Next I assembled the instrument cluster, adjusted the needles and installed the instrumetn cluster into my car. After a short test drive the speedometer turned out to be a little bit out of sync. After a small correction it was perfect. At this moment the "BRAKE" warning light and the different Symbols of the fuel gauge and temperature gauge are the only visual differences between an original European instrument cluster and a USA instrument cluster. Because I activated the ST menu of the instrument cluster it shows the ST logo instead of the regular Ford logo. After a longer test drive all functions turned out to work fine. After this I only had to perform diagnostics using the Ford IDS system (to remove DTC codes which were generated during the process) and write the correct mileage to the instrument cluster. I also found a way to reprogram the USA "BRAKE" symbol into the European symbol. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScorpionSX Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 13 hours ago, JW1982 said: The circuit board of the MK2 (and also the MK2.5) instrument cluster with small/large display is different. It is not possible to install a large display on a circuit board of a small display instrument cluster. Didn't you mean Mk3 and Mk3.5? :) ... because I think that this may be possible on Mk2...(or maybe I'm mistakenly thinking about something else)...in any case, I was thinking about Mk3 - wouldn't it be easier just to swap some of the internals to create the best IC? :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JW1982 Posted February 12, 2016 Author Share Posted February 12, 2016 The internals of the MK3/MK3.5 instrument clusters with small/large display are also different. The circuit board of an instrument cluster with a small display is completely different from the circuit board of a large display circuit board. Even the dial plates are different. The allignment slots of the dial plates are on a different location. This can easily be solved by cutting the needed allignment slots at the correct location. MK3 and MK3.5 instrument clusters (with the same size display) are technically fully compatible. The only difference between them is the hardware part number and the software. Same as the USA instrument clusters a MK3.5 instrument cluster will not be recognised as a suitable part for a Focus MK3 by the Ford IDS system. This can only be solved by updating the software manually using a suitable diagnostic system. It is even possible to load the MK3.5 software into a MK3 instrument cluster. However this will result in a few known issues like loosing the sound of the PDC system and the active park assist system (if equipped). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JW1982 Posted March 31, 2016 Author Share Posted March 31, 2016 A few weeks ago I discovered some microcracks inside the plastic material of the coolant reservoir. Unfortunately this is a known problem of the ECOboost engines. The slightly higher coolant temperature of the direct injected ECOboost engines cause the plastic material of the coolant reservoir to age prematurely. Even low mileage cars like mine can have this problem. I decided to take preventive measures and replace both the coolant reservoir and the coolant reservoir pressure cap as a precaution. Next to this I also decided to install the additional electric coolant pump. On vehicles that are built before 05-05-2014 the additional electric coolant pump is only installed if the car has a dactory fitted towing hook. Vehicles that are produced after 05-05-2014 do have the additional electric coolant pump as standard. Today I received the following parts: Coolant reservoir. Coolant reservoir pressure cap. Electric coolant pump. Coolant hose. Coolant hose. Wiring harness to connect the electric coolant pump. Mounting bolt for the electric coolant pump. After fitting all parts and vacuum filling/bleeding the coolant system the PCM needs to be updated using the Ford IDS diagnostic system to be able to control the electric coolant pump. I also ordered a pair of original rear door tweeters: Now I only need some time to install all parts. Unfortunately I am extremely busy at the moment so I am afraid these parts have to wait a little longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iantt Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 reservoir not just ecoboost, normal fiesta and focus seem prone to it also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazzman600 Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 Then Ford need to replace these parts FOC if it's a common fault. How much did that lot set you back JW? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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