Upgrading IPC/cluster to 17/18 model on 13 C-Max

[cr08]

TL;DR version: Recently got lucky and found a cheap IPC/cluster module from a 17/18 C-Max with actual noted mileage below the 90k I have now. This is important because through most tools including Forscan, you can only increase odometer mileage, not decrease. Due to a number of reasons noted below, will be attempting to upgrade this and see how compatible it is, especially with some of the newer trip summary and EV bits.

 

This kinda rolls back to the whole 4G TCU upgrade mess and having DIY'd this on my '13 which isn't officially on Ford's upgrade program. Most of the functions work beautifully, but some key features are missing such as EV Trip Data in FordPass. Having reviewed the workshop manuals numerous times over the years, I do know there's two 'gateway' modules in the C-Max: The IPC/cluster and the actual GWM/Gateway module (the OBD connector below the dash trim, not the one behind the panel next to the drivers door). Both are responsible in varying degrees to bridge messages between CAN networks. Part of this includes data from the powertrain related modules on the HS-CAN and HEV-CAN networks ultimately over to I-CAN where the TCU/modem lies. First try will be the IPC if only because there are other secondary reasons I want to try it. Then I'll move to the GWM which should be a much simpler and cheaper process.

 

This led me to the wild and educated guess that there could be out of date modules, being a 2013, that could be interfering. And I decided to just try it for the hell of it and see what goes. Minimum I should be able to resell modules at a small loss which doesn't bother me much at the prices I'm looking at.

 

Secondary reason is just to see if any of the newer IPC functions on the later model years are backwards compatible. I know some toggles that some people reference such as being able to turn DRLs on/off or disable parking sensors from the IPC menu will not be there. That's down to the BCM which has not and likely will not be updated anytime soon since it is a mission critical module and I'm not willing to brick my daily driver. But more importantly the info like the EV usage breakdown of propulsion vs ambient temp vs climate use is something I'm curious about.

 

Got the IPC in today much earlier than expected. Likely won't be able to do anything with it until the weekend as a family member has my car while theirs is in the shop. But I'll report back when I have any new info to report.

Edited March 30, 2023 by cr08

[cr08]

Did a brief install test in the garage this evening. Good news is that as best I can tell, everything works. All the new displays function fine. I have not been able to go for a test drive yet because Forscan apparently doesn't have the option to update the odometer on these vehicles. I will be reaching out to the devs over there to see what can be done. If I get lucky on that front and I can update the odometer, I'll reinstall the new IPC and do a proper test drive.

 

For those that have newer model years with these features, I'm assuming the efficiency breakdown display is one that shows on the right side screen at key-off? I still have the next charge selection screen enabled which may be overwriting this so I'll need to disable that temporarily next go to see if that works. That's the only thing I didn't see.

 

Also no new data from FordPass even moving an inch in the garage but that likely wasn't enough to trigger a full trip so that check will also come next time around if I can get the odometer updated.

[cr08]

Good news, everyone!

 

So I have been working with the Forscan devs on the. up to now, missing Odometer Write function on the C-Max IPCs. Went through a few test builds and looks like we got it working.

 

Current status of things: New '17 IPC installed into my '13. Odometer has been successfully updated. All the functions seem to work fine. The only thing so far not working which was a big question mark going into this is the 'Next Full Charge' screen that breaks down energy use between ambient, HVAC use, and propulsion. At the end of my test drive and shutting down the car it just came up blank. However I had no plug-in charge from this drive so not sure if that would still display? I'll have to report back if this changes. Worst case if it remains inop, I just keep my Value Charge/Charge Now toggle screen enabled. ?

 

I did notice one of my previously enabled toggles, the Auto Engine Off function, now shows where it did not before. I haven't had a chance to test it. When I swapped, I basically brought over my entire AsBuilt from the old unit. Per CyanLabs' DB, all model years fall under the same AsBuilt data. Newer ones just have more bits to use for extra features.

 

While messing with the AB stuff, I did notice one new bit that is in here is the 'Approach Detection Control Function' which after reviewing some of Ford's marketing materials surfaces an interesting feature: This is what some other makes/models have where with a keyless vehicle you can approach the vehicle and within 8-10 feet or so, the vehicle wakes up, lights go on, etc.. Which is weird seeing in the AsBuilt for this IPC since it is North American C-Max Hybrid/Energi exclusive as far as I know. Sadly when trying to enable it, Forscan says it is an invalid config so likely a loss. But if anyone else wants to take a whack at it, be my guest!

[cr08]

Took another test drive today. Full charge and drove 100% EV. The Next Full Charge display was still inoperative as is the Full Charge display on the left screen. Likely another module in the vehicle somewhere needs updated or swapped outright (if that's even possible). Also the original intent with TCU/FordPass data: Still no change here. No EV Trip data still on my '13. So the next step there is the GWM which will be a process since newer part #'s are hard to come by.

 

That said, everything else is fully functional. No DTCs or complaints from anything else in the vehicle. A couple of differences I have seen to the old IPC which I think is good to list here for documentation purposes:

 

• No more fuel + electric or 'MPGe' economy display. This exists under the Settings > Units menu on older units. No longer there on this one full EV driving maxes out at 999mpg.
• 'Ready to Drive' popup displays the charge percentage on the newer units. Old ones do not.
• Turn signal sound is SLIGHTLY different
• Some text such as the odometer and some menu entries are a slightly larger and more legible font to my eyes on the new unit.
• Probably a more obvious and well known one: The Gas+Elec range display on the bottom of the right side display on the new units. Doesn't exist on the old ones. There's a dedicated range screen on the left side on those.
  • Because of the above change, the clock is no longer displayed here. This is fine since the APIM displays this anyways.
• Under the navigation panel, the compass image has changed. Hard to explain the differences but nothing major. Just a slightly different looking compass image.
  • For nav equipped vehicles, the speed limit image has changed slightly. The actual speed number in the image is slightly bigger on the newer units and to my eyes a bit easier to read at a glance compared to the older units.
• Surprisingly, compared to my original assumptions, all the menus and displays on the right side screen are the same as on the older units while driving. The biggest difference here would be the Next Full Charge display that shows at key-off. I have previously enabled a 'Next Charge' display that replaces this and will have a Value Charge/Charge Now toggle as well as estimating when the charge will start and how long it will take. This behaves the same on both units.

 

Will be keeping this installed in the meantime. I'm also going to start looking for a 17/18 workshop manual to review as they cover CAN communication details including the source and destination of various pieces of data which will be helpful.

 

For now, this thread will probably go back idle unless something else comes up. But I'm always open for questions.

[kyledamron1]

To your first point, yes that was changed. Why... I'm not sure. I wish it did, would give me a more realistic number as to what my actual economy is instead of just guessing. I like all of the other changes (coming from a '13 hybrid to a '17 Energi back in 2019) I recently updated my Sync3 to Sync 3.4 , highly recommend if you have changed your other parts over to Sync3!

[cr08]

On 4/5/2023 at 10:52 AM, kyledamron1 said:

I recently updated my Sync3 to Sync 3.4 , highly recommend if you have changed your other parts over to Sync3!

Yep! Upgraded about 2 years ago now. My unit came with 3.4 and I've been diligently been keeping it up to date with Syn3Updater. IMHO Sync 3 is probably one of the best and easiest upgrades to do on these vehicles barring you have the 8" touch Sync 2/MyFord Touch system.

[cr08]

Another difference I noticed out driving this evening. Not huge, just a small thing:

 

When stopped on an incline where the Hill Start Assist would be active, it actively pops up a message indicating this. The old IPC did not. I think I did enable HSA in the AsBuilt. I think at most on the old IPC it just had a small icon in the bottom row of the left screen for this. A full screen message shows instead on the new ones.

 

If no one reports seeing this on their stock 17/18 models, it is probably due to the HSA config being enabled in my specific case.

Edited May 14, 2023 by cr08

[Cellivar]

A 2017 HM5T-10849-AC is sitting downstairs in a box for me, this weekend I'll be messing around with it. One of the things I want to try is updating the module firmware (on a bench, not in the car, of course) just to see what's what.

 

@cr08 do you know if the mileage reprogramming has released for forscan yet? If you just have a beta build or something I'd appreciate it if you could send it my way.

[cr08]

On 6/2/2023 at 10:47 PM, Cellivar said:

A 2017 HM5T-10849-AC is sitting downstairs in a box for me, this weekend I'll be messing around with it. One of the things I want to try is updating the module firmware (on a bench, not in the car, of course) just to see what's what.

 

@cr08 do you know if the mileage reprogramming has released for forscan yet? If you just have a beta build or something I'd appreciate it if you could send it my way.

Yep. Looks like it got added to the most recent public release. end of April.

 

Quote

2.3.53 release, 2023-04-27 (download)

+ Vehicle database update
+ New configuration parameters for different modules and models
+ Configuration and Programming function IPC "Odometer write" (can only increase mileage!) for:

 

• C-Max HEV 2012-2019 model years

 

[Cellivar]

Okay well I installed it, got its mileage corrected, saw how it worked for two days of driving into work... and I'm strongly considering swapping back to the old one.

 

The missing software information and changes to the animations and information display are leaving me with less indication of what my vehicle is actually doing. I'm going to document some more of the differences and then probably switch back this weekend.

 

I got my money's worth out of the new IPC because I needed to swap the lens anyway. Very disappointed that it wasn't as plug-and-play as I had hoped. I wrote up a bunch of notes (and will be adding more images) about the differences in software here: https://github.com/Cellivar/ford-c-max/blob/main/systems/modules/IPC.md

[cr08]

Yeah. After running it for a while now, I think I'm in the same mindset as you and will probably switch back. The tiny amount of improvements don't really make it worth it for the lost features. The original intent was mostly to rule it out as an issue with the TCU upgrade but that hasn't gotten any better or worse. I also noticed that it looks like the previous owner of this particular IPC already had it updated a good deal. The calibration level was dated sometime in 2022.

 

One other little quirk I found is that the MyView screen now if you want to change it, you have to change both displays. The old IPC you could go in and change just one at a time. Another minor gripe I have with the new one.

[cr08]

Just put my '13 IPC back in earlier this evening with no fuss and was able to confirm the odometer write function in Forscan covered that part # just the same. If the 'Next Full Charge' energy usage breakdown and EV range estimate worked, I would have probably stuck with the '17 unit. But missing that (and not knowing what other modules are responsible and not being adventurous enough to try a calibration update on a crucial module) that combined with the loss of some other data points ultimately wasn't worth it. I even noticed it's missing the gallons of fuel used on the trip summary too. That one baffles me most of all.

Edited June 14, 2023 by cr08