I thought that you had to have the jig to install some custom mod app before you could do the update? maybe im wrong, its been awhile since i read that thread on that forum. seems like they said you could recover a bricked ipc using said jig also.

 

@Melchior recently went through this, maybe he can be of help? Here's his thread on it, i recommend giving it a read in the meantime...

Soft-Bricked my IPC

Well crap. I finally think I figured out the proper firmware/EEPROM/Pictures file combination to add the quad screen on the early 2013 models. I fired up FoCCCuS and uploaded my first .vbf file. At 99%, it failed, and now the IPC and SYNC touchscreen have gone dark. I get errors when reading...

www.focusst.org

 

Yep - sure wish I had done my research and found his posts before rushing into that little disaster - it seems like the same issue basically, except that I don't have the time or patience to try all the interface and settings combinations to hit on one that might work. I'll pick up another pre-facelift IPC on EBay - even the Focus ST ones are $150 or less.

 

Ahhh another one falls into the pit of despair. Welcome to the brotherhood my friend.

If you did pick up a new IPC, you still have to be careful about making sure you get one with lower mileage than your own car. To correct the odometer, you can only go up and not down.

I highly recommend just skipping to the punchline of my thread - I really think the ELS27 clone is cheap enough to take a shot. Heck, a genuine ELS27 cable is still cheaper than a new IPC, and I don’t imagine any write failures occurring with FoCCCus using the real cable it was designed for.

 

@StanE : you said you used an ELM27 cable. Do you mean the omnipresent ELM327 cables, or an ELS27? The difference here is quite important when it comes to FoCCCus

 

Actually I am using an OBDLinkEX, which I guess is well recommended for Forscan (has Auto HS/MS Canbus). Maybe not so much for FoCCCus?
I did put a bid on a replacement IPC this evening- and Actually the mileage thing doesn’t really bother me too much - I’m in this car for the long term anyway- currently has 116,000 or so.

 

Messing with the IPC files was the reason I didn't touch any of those cool mods,

 

@Melchior - also curious- if a customer (not me!) were to take their car to Ford to have these IPC files flashed, would it take the same length of time as it does for us (assuming no comms errors with the official Ford IDS)?

 

Update - 2014 second hand IPC purchased! But I will continue to try and flash my own (on the bench like @Melchior did) and see if I can’t get the files for the facelift IPC to load.
It doesn’t help that the IPC is also a Canbus gateway, so bricking it also takes down a lot of other stuff (like SYNC and the radio) 😮

 

To your question about Ford: their hardware should be able to flash this software in 10-20 minutes.

I’m glad you’re trying the Sojoy ELS27 cable. Try to use the same settings I did as I described in my success post in my thread. Even if it doesn’t work, this ELS27 clone has been far more reliable with FoCCCus than any ELM327 cable I used. It also is very fast with Forscan. Worth holding on to.

As for your question about the mileage - I can’t say for sure because I haven’t done it, but I seem to remember being nervous about it because I had one shot to get it right or something. I don’t remember if it was Forscan or FoCCCus that can do this mod. Mercifully, I never had to go down this road. Keep in mind that you may face a little trouble if you keep the lower odometer reading in the new cluster and you go to get your car inspected; the BCM should reveal the true mileage and if it mismatches the IPC readout...

 

Luckily no inspections here in Florida! In any event, I have recent receipts that show current mileage or close to it, so I will see what the new IPC shows and keep a record of the delta either way (assuming I can’t easily fix it programing-wise)

......it’s so wierd driving the car with a completely black and unresponsive dash panel! 😂😂

 

Sounds like you had the same hard fail I did.

I ended up buying a facelifted IPC, way easier. Only need to flash the calibration file and we're done hahah

 

For reference, I completely forgot that I made a "summary" post that details the magical combination that finally worked for me. This might be a better reference than sifting through my other thread that @TurboGT referenced:

Summary Info on the Instrument Panel Cluster...

As many of you may have noticed from my recent thread about bricking my IPC (Instrument Panel Cluster), I took it upon myself to attempt the DIY update to this module to allow my 2013's cluster screen to feature the newer "quad screen" information display, in addition to the sweet 'ST' splash...

www.focusst.org

 

Yes, I found it - many thanks!
Still waiting for my 2014 cluster to arrive. Can I expect that it will work out of the box, since it is also from a pre-facelift car?

 

I wish I knew you were looking for a cluster cuz I have one haha


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I wish I knew you were looking for a cluster cuz I have one haha


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Well sxit!

 

Just to update on this: The replacement cluster arrived today. Install obviously was simple and we are up and running again, except for the incorrect odometer reading, as mentioned by others earlier. This replacement cluster is reading about 20,000 miles LESS that is actually on my car, so I assume that is better than the other way round......
Does anyone know how to adjust the IPC recorded mileage to reflect somewhere closer to my car's true reading ? I did take a poke around with Forscan and nothing popped out at me - I do see that odometer readings appear to be stored natively in Km rather than miles. I do have an extended license for Forscan, if that is a factor.....?
I also noticed that this IPC does not have the date and time reading showing - I assume that is an easy Forscan configuration task (not a huge deal, as I have a clock on the SYNC3 display as well).

 

Just to update on this: The replacement cluster arrived today. Install obviously was simple and we are up and running again, except for the incorrect odometer reading, as mentioned by others earlier. This replacement cluster is reading about 20,000 miles LESS that is actually on my car, so I assume that is better than the other way round......
Does anyone know how to adjust the IPC recorded mileage to reflect somewhere closer to my car's true reading ? I did take a poke around with Forscan and nothing popped out at me - I do see that odometer readings appear to be stored natively in Km rather than miles. I do have an extended license for Forscan, if that is a factor.....?
I also noticed that this IPC does not have the date and time reading showing - I assume that is an easy Forscan configuration task (not a huge deal, as I have a clock on the SYNC3 display as well).

Sounds like it was plug and play as predicted. Sweet.

Regarding the odometer, my understanding is that FoCCCus can, but I never came to a definitive answer about Forscan.

Did you drive at all with the new cluster installed? If so, then I suppose you now have two clusters with incorrect odometer readings.


EDIT: Looks like recent versions of Forscan can increase odometer readings in certain models. Here's a video of it being done with an Ecosport:

 

Final update on this - many many thanks to @Nealgobert for letting me in on the secret of how to write an odometer correction via FoCCCus - Correct vehicle mileage is now programmed into the replacement cluster!

 

Fabulous!

Would you mind sharing that information in this thread for future reference?

 

Congrats! 🙂

 

Just a quick update on this - I tried updating the files on my original IPC with a newly purchased ELS27 interface module, but it failed at the exact same point in the process (erasing the flash memory before installing the second of 5 update files).

 

Interesting. Did you calibrate the cable itself using ELMConfig before using it? I forget the exact settings, but I reported them in my thread.

The only other notable difference with my successful write is that mine was done on the bench.

 

Another follow up on this - I purchased and installed a used IPC from a facelift ST this evening, so now I have the digital speed and instant mpg screens etc without the hassle of loading software!

 

Fabulous! Thanks for confirming that not only is this a direct swap, but the facelift cluster features work as well. So I'm guessing the only programming you had to do was to update the mileage?

Is the spedometer accurate? The prefacelift had a 0-160 range. I imagine the calibration file and the cluster all live in the same sandbox, but I'm still curious.

Did you also change the center gauge pod to the facelift version?

 

Fabulous! Thanks for confirming that not only is this a direct swap, but the facelift cluster features work as well. So I'm guessing the only programming you had to do was to update the mileage?

Is the spedometer accurate? The prefacelift had a 0-160 range. I imagine the calibration file and the cluster all live in the same sandbox, but I'm still curious.

Did you also change the center gauge pod to the facelift version?

Yes, updated mileage using the Focccus program (can only write upwards of course, but that worked for me). The speed seems to be accurate and all features work as expected. I did also buy and install a matching facelift gage pod, which is plug and play of course.

 

I even sold my old cluster (the one I bought to replace my bricked one) and gage pod on EBay and recovered more than half the cost of the facelift stuff!

 

Would anyone be able to send me screen caps of their IPC as-built and the drop down menu one( idk what is called)?


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Would anyone be able to send me screen caps of their IPC as-built and the drop down menu one( idk what is called)?


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Not quite sure what you are asking for - as-built screen shot out of Forscan maybe?
For IPC and what else ?
Also what year of car?

 

I still can't get nav in dash. There's a few quirks that I can't think of that I only notice when I look for them. But mainly it's to make sure I have everything the way it should be. I know in order for me to get the compass in the dash I changed a few values and I don't remember what they were.


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I still can't get nav in dash. There's a few quirks that I can't think of that I only notice when I look for them. But mainly it's to make sure I have everything the way it should be. I know in order for me to get the compass in the dash I changed a few values and I don't remember what they were.


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I assume your SYNC3 system actually has built-in nav ? Also, when using the phone as the nav source, you can get the nav repeater on the IPC as well, but ONLY with Android Auto (not with Apple CarPlay).

 

So this is a long shot that anyone will even see this given this thread was almost 5 years ago lol. I have a ford fusion (ik not the same but dang ppl in the fusion community like to gate keep lol) I'm trying to do the digital cluster swap with the mkz i have everything and I'm using the obdlink ex which is recommended by forscan , however when i go to program the cluster it gives me a warning saying to stop that 50% can damage the module. is anyone in this thread sure if they mean the ipc? if so and it does would I be able to just put my original cluster back in the car and it would work? if anyone can help Tia!