Experimenting with adding adaptive cruise

[cr08]

For now this is just going to be an explanation and going over my thought processes and research thus far. I don't have the disposable funds at the moment to get the necessary modules especially with no guarantee of this actually working so it may be a while before I can take the next step. Also I'll likely want to get a UCDS adapter and with the Russia issues recently, getting a hold of one here in the US is nearly impossible now.

 

For the longest time I have been itching to have adaptive cruise. Having driven my cousin's late model Subaru Crosstrek last year on a road trip, the ACC absolutely spoiled me. I started digging into the OpenPilot/Comma AI options to see what was possible there. Went down a rabbit hole and found there are plenty of unofficial forks with some people retrofitting off-brand parts that solely interface with the OP/Comma systems. For example one current fork I'm looking at uses a Toyota radar module and a 'Comma Pedal' which basically middle-mans the throttle pedal. This may still be something I'll look at later.

 

During that process and looking further, I was made aware that the C-Max in the EU/UK, as well as other vehicles on the C1MCA platform like the Focus, had adaptive cruise, lane keeping, and other driver assistance technologies in the same generation. Reviewing the workshop manual and wiring diagrams for the EU/UK version as well as some other resources online, there are a lot of similarities more than just sharing the same body style even down to sharing the same ABS module as one immediate example. Electrically things should be compatible, just the software side is the big question mark. Also perusing the Focus Fanatics forum, which is largely NA focused, a number of users have apparently been successful doing the same thing there which leads extra credence to this project.

 

After doing that digging, I decided to take a look at Forscan to see what options were already available. What we know currently as far as the software modifications needed on those overseas models and will likely carry over here if things are successful:

 

• ABS AsBuilt modified to indicate ACC is available
• BCM/Central Config has a Cruise control option w/ various additional options such as ACC, ACC with Stop & Go, etc that would need changed
• With lane keeping also being a potential option, the PSCM/Power Steering has an AsBuilt config to indicate lane keeping is available. This one I'll discuss later.

 

Unfortunately the current ABS and PSCM AsBuilt's do not match any of the databases Cyanlabs has so I'll likely need to do more digging and maybe bug one of the members over there to see if they have AB info for our specific modules. But I did look into the BCM/Central Config and confirmed having the other cruise control options. For the heck of it, I decided to enable CC w/ Adaptive Cruise to at least see what it would do, if any errors appeared, etc.. What happened next was interesting and leads some hope to this being possible:

 

After turning on Adaptive Cruise in the Central Config, the immediate notice was the normal cruise option was completely inoperable. Steering wheel controls did nothing, no displays on the cluster. There were also some new DTCs stored. Namely one complaining about lack of communication with the Cruise Control module. Why this last one is interesting is in my research leading up to this point, those Ford vehicles equipped with ACC will have a separate 'Cruise Control Module' that will communicate with the rest of the vehicle. So this seems to indicate it at least has some level of this functionality already programmed in as it is cognizant of a CCM that it cannot communicate with currently.

 

For early C1 (C-Max or Focus) model years it seems this is a separate module inside the cabin and then the radar module behind the bumper has a private feed to the CCM. Later model years integrated it all into the radar module itself. Seems the BCM in those determines what version is compatible. For my 2013 and knowing already how dated the BCM is with some features, I'm leaning towards trying with the separate CCM/Radar module setup.

 

In addition to these modules, a new CC button pack on the steering wheel is needed. They have one identical to ours but the cancel/resume paddle is now split and has the cancel/resume button as well as the distance increase/decrease buttons (attached a photo below). In theory this should just be a plug and play replacement. It's all down to resistances for each button going back to the BCM and the extra buttons are just added resistance values, the rest of the buttons remain the same.

 

The other big question mark is the IPC/Gauge cluster. With the C-Max, there are no options to enable any ACC related display options because this cluster is unique to the NA Hybrid/Energi models and those never had the feature as an option. There is a 'Cruise Control Menu' option that enabling with a stock C-Max doesn't seem to do anything and a few owners including myself have confirmed this. Maybe something will show with ACC properly installed and enabled? Not sure. But in a worst case scenario, hoping the IPC will not interfere. If things all work well, I want to consider looking into an Arduino or other microcontroller with CAN capabilities and a screen and have it act as visual feedback instead.

 

So far probably the biggest useful resource I have found is this long thread over on the FFClub russian forums detailing retrofitting ACC in the Mk3 Ford Focus. The processes should be very similar if not identical in places to the C-Max given the shared architecture. It's a bit rough being all russian with machine translation, but it's serviceable and a good read.

 

https://ffclub.ru/topic/313391/

 

Forscan will also be a small headache, hence me wanting to look at getting a UCDS adapter and software. Forscan by default only shows modules that either were available factory or as an option for your model and year or if someone did some toying like this with 'off-brand/model' uses, they can work with the Forscan devs to add basically a 'whitelist' for your model for them to show. UCDS from what I have gathered is more flexible and even has some additional configuration and service options that Forscan may not have and which may be useful for this.

 

I'll definitely keep you all posted as I make any progress. As noted initially, it may take some time for me to take the next steps here due to not having the disposable funds at the moment. But if anyone is keen in trying this themselves, be my guest. I can provide any additional information or research I've come across.

 

Final note: Lane Keeping/Lane Centering is also a potential option. However the camera module that sits behind the rear view mirror will be a huge headache to install properly. Mainly because, once again not having this as an option here in North America, the windshield we have doesn't have the necessary 'openings' up top for the cameras. Other than trying to import one, maybe getting an aftermarket windshield without the 'blackout' area and effectively painting on your own will work? Also figuring out mounting with the existing mirror and rain sensor might be a chore. I'm not too terribly worried about LKA myself and will be purely focusing on ACC for the time being.

 

 

 

Edited April 16, 2023 by cr08

[cr08]

Adding some extra info. Had a brief private discussion with a user on the Forscan forums. I'm just gonna copy/paste the discussion rather than try to paraphrase:

 

 

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Hello,as i know US C-Max version has different IPC,unlike the European 2011-2015 version witch shares the same parts as the Focus mk3,whether the IPC with the small screen (RP32) or the one with the bigger screen (RP7) the US C-Max has different IPC,in fact this retrofit depends on the IPC,ABS and the BCM you have in your car,originally it uses looking radar module behind the bumper and an additional module behind the glovebox however 2013-2015 models have different BCM version(DV6T in stead of BV6N) in this case Kuga/Escape mk2 or Focus mk3.5 radars can be installed without the additional module and the Volvo or Mondeo/Fusion mk4.5 radars can be flashed to mk3.5 or Kuga mk2 softwares,unlike the Focus mk4 the mk3 and mk3.5 ACC work independently from IPMA
FF3 radar part number BV6T-9G853-BA/BF…
FF3 ACC module part number BV6T-B588-AB/BF…
FF3.5 radar part number F1FT-9G768-AD/BB
Kuga mk2 radar part number CV6T-9G768-AD
Volvo radar part number AG9N-9G767-BB/BF
You can read more here(use Google translater)
https://ffclub.ru/topic/313391/

 

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All most everything is doable,it all depends on the skills and budget,i forgot to mentioned that ACC was not installed originally in the 2011-2015 C-Max model but since it has the same hardware as the FF3 except for the bumper it is not so difficult to install it,in the first generation(with the additional module) it’s not possible to switch between normal and adaptive cruise control in the IPC menu,you need a specific left steering wheel buttons for ACC since the normal ones are not compatible with,if you have already the ACC in BCM central configuration it is normal the cruise control dose not work,in addition to the BCM you should have DTC in ABS PCM and IPC related to ACC modules not communicating with,you can search on EBay with the parts numbers i provided.

 

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Thank you so much for all of this info. This is VERY helpful!

My BCM is actually BV6N on this so I'm guessing I am stuck with the Mk3 option/separate CCM and radar modules.

Best I can tell the BCM and ABS have the necessary bits. The IPC is up in the air. They do seem to be unique specifically to the North American models which are Hybrid/plug-in specific. However the one resource available for AsBuilt info over at CyanLabs has some potential leads. No specific ACC option documented, but there is a 'Cruise Control Menu' option which best I can tell from other vehicles is specifically for ACC equipped vehicles to switch between normal and ACC modes. This combined with some other 'overseas' only options being left over such as adaptive headlamps and adjustable headlamps, I'm cautiously optimistic so I'm willing to continue with this and see what goes. I do have both my original 2013 IPC and a 2017 (successfully swapped in) that I can compare as well to see if one plays nice vs the other.

One thing I don't think I mentioned in the ACC thread was that I did try enabling Adaptive Cruise in the Central Config and it did take. Without the actual CCM installed, the stock cruise option went completely inoperative and it threw a DTC in the BCM specifically stating no communication with the CCM. That was basically the first step that I took that led me down this path in hopes of it being doable.

 

 

 

A few takeaways I'm seeing from this: The BCM is likely going to be the biggest factor in which 'version' of this system will be used. As noted, mine is BV6N which should follow the old Focus Mk3 setup with the separate CCM module and radar. Not sure where the DV6T models come in. I'm gonna take a wild guess those may have came in the 2017 model years with the other major changes and updates at the time. But if you have that model BCM, in theory you can follow the Focus Mk3.5 setup with the radar module being the CCM with no separate modules needed.

 

The IPC still remains the biggest question mark here. Sadly I haven't had much luck surfacing info on AsBuilt data for the PSCM and ABS. ABS will be necessary to modify for ACC at least. I'll probably have better luck with that once I can get into UCDS.

[Cellivar]

The ACC module part number doesn't seem to be correct, maybe it's supposed to be BV6T-14B588-BF ?

[cr08]

You may be right. That was the only part # I saw coming up searching eBay and other sites. I'm mildly questioning some of the info, but it is a lot more than I was able to find previously on my own. Just need to dive in some more.

 

I've reached out on the Comma.AI/Openpilot Discord's to see if maybe I can get some CAN data from similar vehicles to replay to try and trick the vehicle into thinking a CCM is installed to test before I go through with actually purchasing the parts. But so far haven't had anyone get back to me on that.

[Boselka]

This is a great thread thank you for all of the information. I have been thinking about the Comma AI units and/or a project like this in my 2016 Energi

[Ranging4275]

Thanks for posting this, a great start for some of the stuff I'd like to do. Had a 2015 Hybrid for the last year and am upgrading to a 2017 Energi. Adaptive Cruise is the only thing I wish it had.