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Showing content with the highest reputation on 01/22/2023 in all areas
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Thought this may be a good thing to reference here for the users on this forum. Within the past few months I upgraded my 2013 Energi from Sync 2/MyFord Touch to Sync 3 and have bumped it up to the latest 3.4 version thanks to the work of the dudes over at CyanLabs and their Syn3updater tool. One thing to note in this process for our older vehicles is the climate controls displayed in Sync that we were used to in MFT and were also available in Sync 3.0-3.3.x are gone in the later 3.4 versions since they are technically no longer 'compatible' due to the underlying communication architecture in our 2013's (and likely 2014 and 2015 models as well) is different than what is used in newer vehicles. That all said, this can be re-enabled and with first hand experience in my own vehicle, it works 100% with the added bonus of having the 'climate repeater' feature also work (this feature, whenever you adjust the climate control through physical controls, shows the temp/fan/etc changes on the touch screen similar to if you adjust the volume). This has all been documented well on a thread over on the CyanLabs site and the necessary AsBuilt tweaks via ForScan: Re-enabling climate domain/repeater options after 3.4 update + parking sensor display - Ford / Configuration (AsBuilt) - CyanLabs Official Community (The additional topic in that thread concerning the parking sensor display has not been tackled yet, still need to get the OBDLink adapter necessary for the PAM firmware updates. I've also briefly brought up elsewhere on the forum about trying to see if the ambient lighting can be enabled and controlled via Sync as AsBuilt parameters exist to enable this. Not getting my hopes up on that one given the architecture of how the ambient lighting module is wired in our vehicles, but will still give it a shot and post here if anything promising comes about) ------ Semi off topic and probably long enough for its own topic now: After about 2 1/2 months of having Sync 3 in my 2013 I will say that I do highly recommend this upgrade if you have the funds to do it. Just about 99% of the functionality works flawlessly and the addition of CarPlay/Android Auto has been a godsend. I use AA myself basically every trip. I bought an all inclusive kit for mine which was pre-programmed for my C-Max so it was literally plug and play. Total install time not counting gathering tools together (really the only major thing needed is the appropriate sized socket for the bolts holding the center vents and the APIM in. Everything else basically snaps in) was probably 15-20 minutes tops including replacing the USB hub (this is required if you use CarPlay, still recommended otherwise. The stock hub with the SD slot and composite video connections 'works' but it throws an error on screen at every vehicle start and the composite video/aux connections no longer work with Sync 3). Here's some of the functions I was originally worried about losing and my notes on them as well as some general observations I've found: The only 'major' bug I have right now is the auto screen brightness when it dims the lights (say going under a bridge or something) the APIM display flickers on this one but from what I have gathered it is due to an older APIM/screen module as mine is an early 2016 module. Newer ones with newer firmware seem to behave in this respect. It also appears it may be specific to Focus/Escape/Kuga/C-Max models and related to the different 'global lighting' communication protocol used and incompatibilities therein. That said, I have not found it to be terribly distracting myself. It doesn't seem like it flickers between full brightness or full dim and the 'steps' it flickers between seem to be a relatively small brightness difference. And it only occurs during the transition between brightness levels when the ambient light suddenly changes. When it settles in one spot it is fine. I will have to make a note to get my good camera that I can lock the exposure on and capture this while someone else is driving. A 'workaround' for this issue other than getting a newer APIM module and screen is there is a version of Sync 3 where an 'auto brightness' toggle still existed. This is version 3.4.19101. This version and prior still had the auto brightness toggle. Later versions removed it. The basic parking sensor/beep functions work perfectly. This doesn't seem to rely on the APIM at all. The PAM communicates directly to the ACM to produce the beeps through the speakers and that is not changed in any way during this upgrade. The auto parking assist function does not work properly for these early model vehicles and this upgrade. The on screen graphics are not displayed correctly with some text/icons off screen. The actual functionality also may or may not work. It seems to be hit or miss for some. Those it has worked for it seems like you have to know beforehand what the various tones it produces tell you to do and rely on them as the displays on screen don't function properly out of the box. I haven't had the opportunity or location to give this a solid go on mine to confirm if my 2013 still 'works' without the display. It does seem that if you can update the PAM firmware via ForScan and do some additional AsBuilt modifications it can be made to work 100% however. UPDATED 2/13/2024: The auto park assist works fine, but the on screen displays may not be accurate. If you've used it before and know the steps and the beeps, you can follow that and it SHOULD function normally on 'feel' alone. Unfortunately this is not something that can be fixed without potentially a LOT of reverse engineering work. MyFord Mobile and the integrated TCU/Modem still works fine. No loss of functionality here and the on screen Value Charge adjustments work fine. The functionality where a Master Reset in Sync decouples the vehicle from the linked MFM account also still works. UPDATED 2/13/2024: As we all know, MyFord Mobile is gone. The newer 4G TCU's and FordPass work fine with this upgrade even on these older model vehicles. On some Ford vehicles it is reported the integrated GPSM (GPS module for stuff like the dash compass, 911 assist, EV+ mode, and the now defunct Sync Service/turn by turn directions for those without factory nav. This module is buried underneath the dash behind the IPC on our vehicles) clashes with the new GPS module in the Sync 3 platform (Sync 3 now uses a separate 'dumb' GPS antenna directly attached to the APIM. The old GPSM sat on the CAN network and communicated to modules such as the IPC, BCM, and APIM that way) meaning you'd see stuff like the compass display spinning or the factory nav wouldn't be accurate or would bug out. This often means the GPSM would need to be disconnected altogether. Anecdotally with my 2013 this is not necessary and the two GPS sources co-exist fine. The compass, EV+ mode, and the GPS info provided to MyFord Mobile (which I am 99% positive is still using the factory GPSM and not the new GPS source from Sync 3) all functions accordingly. Navigation and audio displays on the IPC (gauge cluster, right side display where you have Navigation/Phone/Audio/Efficiency screens) continue to work 100% with the built in media and nav functions. Android Auto will also work with this to some degree (on Sync 3.4 only. 3.0-3.3 do not relay this data over. This only applies to AA/CarPlay. Base Sync 3 nav/audio functions still send this data over for all Sync 3 versions) Navigation via Google Maps or Waze will display turn by turn directions on the IPC, however some data is missing. Namely the overall trip ETA at the top. Both the distance and time here just show 0's. This does appear to be an issue with Ford's programming not relaying this info over to the IPC. Per Android developer info, all of this nav info (namely the missing overall trip ETA data) and more is sent to the headunit while using AA and is available on other vehicles. Everything else including the current street name, next street, and distance to next turn will display fine. Speed limits also display on mine however I believe this may be reliant on the factory nav data. I'm not sure if this displays for those w/o factory nav. EDIT: Added an example photo of this functionality. Link UPDATED 2/13/2024: This only applies to Android Auto. CarPlay even with the latest Sync versions will not show turn by turn data on the IPC with Sync 3. At least for Google Maps on Android Auto, you can use the 'up/down' arrow buttons on the steering wheel to go to the nav menu on the IPC and during an active route you have a Cancel Route option here that does work and cancels the route in Google Maps. This is the only command I have seen available while using AA and that it works. (This is potentially Android Auto specific) Audio info displays fine. Similar to the nav data, artist and track name display, progress bar is accurate, and elapsed time display is there. The track count however always shows 0/0 for me at least when using Youtube Music and Poweramp. Have not tested any other music apps EDIT: Tested multiple audio apps including Plexamp which display track counts via Bluetooth. All show 0/0 via Android Auto. Link) Bluetooth Audio now displays actual data! With MyFord Touch the IPC would just show 'Bluetooth Audio Stream detected'. Now it displays the same data as if playing from a USB flash drive including artist/title name, progress, etc.. I am not sure off hand if the track count displays properly or is 0/0 like my experience with Android Auto. I will test this later this afternoon and edit my post accordingly. EDIT: Full info is displayed including track counts for select apps. In my case, Youtube Music shows 0/0 regardless of playlist or music selection. Other apps like Poweramp and Plexamp display the proper song count. Link If anyone has any questions at all regarding the Sync 3 upgrade on these older vehicles, I'd be happy to answer any of them.1 point
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Turn the controls down to zero. (Picture shows 5 - full on)1 point