The Complete DIY Guide to Updating Your Mach-E with FDRS

[Fixbear]

Any thoughts on whether something like this would do the trick of keeping the 12V battery topped off?

https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-GENIUS1...eywords=battery+charger&qid=1634156884&sr=8-4

This is made for updates. Amazon.com: Clore Automotive PL2320 20-Amp Fully-Automatic Smart Charger, 6V and 12V Battery Charger, Battery Maintainer, and Stable Power Supply with Temperature Compensation : Automotive As a power supply plus the bonus of working with a totally dead battery and as a maintainer.

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[Mike G]

This is made for updates. Amazon.com: Clore Automotive PL2320 20-Amp Fully-Automatic Smart Charger, 6V and 12V Battery Charger, Battery Maintainer, and Stable Power Supply with Temperature Compensation : Automotive As a power supply plus the bonus of working with a totally dead battery and as a maintainer.

Yes. It is. And I tried that one. And my voltage dropped down to bout 10.5 volts during an IPC update while doing BlueCruise on my Mach-E cause 20 amps isn't enough during a 4 hour programming event on CAN bus. I had to pull my '21 Powerboost alongside and hook up jumper cables to keep from failing the programming during that event. You can pull up to around 39 amps doing some of these updates over CAN bus that take like 3-4 hours.

Now I have a Solar PL6100 that's capable of 60 amps and I don't worry about that anymore.

On the other hand the PL2320 did work fine on the Powerboost programming to BlueCruise cause it's got a huge 12V battery, unlike the dinky one in the Mach-E (and now the same one in the Lightning).

Mike

 

[Neil4Real]

Yes. It is. And I tried that one. And my voltage dropped down to bout 10.5 volts during an IPC update while doing BlueCruise on my Mach-E cause 20 amps isn't enough during a 4 hour programming event on CAN bus. I had to pull my '21 Powerboost alongside and hook up jumper cables to keep from failing the programming during that event. You can pull up to around 39 amps doing some of these updates over CAN bus that take like 3-4 hours.

Now I have a Solar PL6100 that's capable of 60 amps and I don't worry about that anymore.

On the other hand the PL2320 did work fine on the Powerboost programming to BlueCruise cause it's got a huge 12V battery, unlike the dinky one in the Mach-E (and now the same one in the Lightning).

Mike

I’ve only used the Clore and have had the voltage dip to around 10, but never had any issues with it failing or anything.

 

[HuntingPudel]

Apologies if this is answered somewhere upthread —my searching skills are limited on my phone— but where are people finding cables to run from their 30A power supply to their LVB terminals? I think I need 10 gauge awg if I’m pulling 30A at 12V, but everything I find online is 12 gauge, and more serious jumper cables from hardware or automotive stores have clamps at both ends.

Just a note on the LVB terminals: You need to not connect directly to them use the jump points that Ford gave you. The ground cable has a sensor in it that reports back to the car telling it how current is flowing to or from the battery. Connecting directly to the 12V battery circumvents this communication and can lead to unwanted behavior. ??

 

[Fixbear]

Yes. It is. And I tried that one. And my voltage dropped down to bout 10.5 volts during an IPC update while doing BlueCruise on my Mach-E cause 20 amps isn't enough during a 4 hour programming event on CAN bus. I had to pull my '21 Powerboost alongside and hook up jumper cables to keep from failing the programming during that event. You can pull up to around 39 amps doing some of these updates over CAN bus that take like 3-4 hours.

Now I have a Solar PL6100 that's capable of 60 amps and I don't worry about that anymore.

On the other hand the PL2320 did work fine on the Powerboost programming to BlueCruise cause it's got a huge 12V battery, unlike the dinky one in the Mach-E (and now the same one in the Lightning).

Mike

I know that Ford wants the battery voltage to not drop below 13 volts during the programming, but for it to pull 39 amps is a lot. Where pray tell is it being used? I can see cooling pumps and fans. And the need to cycle everything for test feedback. But that should be short. Unless the HV battery is above 90F or below 40F. A battery acts as a dampener as well as storage device.
BTW, The Clore Solar PL6100 IS a great supply, but quite highly priced. Wondering if I could use my old 2, 10, 20, 60 and 500 amp boost floor charger Built before protection systems and just a mechanical timer and switch for transformer taps.

 

[bshaw]

I know that Ford wants the battery voltage to not drop below 13 volts during the programming, but for it to pull 39 amps is a lot. Where pray tell is it being used? I can see cooling pumps and fans. And the need to cycle everything for test feedback. But that should be short. Unless the HV battery is above 90F or below 40F. A battery acts as a dampener as well as storage device.
BTW, The Clore Solar PL6100 IS a great supply, but quite highly priced. Wondering if I could use my old 2, 10, 20, 60 and 500 amp boost floor charger Built before protection systems and just a mechanical timer and switch for transformer taps.

I only use FDRS once every couple months, but below are my observations. Maybe someone else with significant FDRS experience can confirm/correct.

FDRS updates seem to have gotten "better" in 2022 by using the USB drive for things over a certain size that would take hours on the CAN bus to transfer. My first FDRS run in 2021 didn't request a USB at all.

Even for recent CAN bus transfers, the pumps didn't seem to kick on for *every* single update. Running the pumps fulltime seemed to be a defensive measure since monitoring would be offline during module updates, they figured better to run the pumps and not need them vs. risk potential damage. Seems like a better solution would be to prevent any update from starting until the HVB was in a safe temp range.

Having said that, there was still times the pumps will draw > 30A from my supply during an update. Since there isn't a good way to know how long an update will take, you don't want to be stuck underpowered for anything longer than a short spike in current.

 

[Fixbear]

I only use FDRS once every couple months, but below are my observations. Maybe someone else with significant FDRS experience can confirm/correct.

FDRS updates seem to have gotten "better" in 2022 by using the USB drive for things over a certain size that would take hours on the CAN bus to transfer. My first FDRS run in 2021 didn't request a USB at all.

Even for recent CAN bus transfers, the pumps didn't seem to kick on for *every* single update. Running the pumps fulltime seemed to be a defensive measure since monitoring would be offline during module updates, they figured better to run the pumps and not need them vs. risk potential damage. Seems like a better solution would be to prevent any update from starting until the HVB was in a safe temp range.

Having said that, there was still times the pumps will draw > 30A from my supply during an update. Since there isn't a good way to know how long an update will take, you don't want to be stuck underpowered for anything longer than a short spike in current.

Thats why I thought a 20-amp supply with the battery reserve would be adequate. I can plan for the battery to be at a stable temp easy enough. But if they are adding heat or cooling to vary cell test values for accuracy and repeatability, that's a different story. It also is the one recommended by one of Fords tool suppliers. But, and I say But because I don't think they are fully up on FDRS for EV's. There is always a time lag and learning curve with support tooling.

 

[CommittotheIndian]

I only use FDRS once every couple months, but below are my observations. Maybe someone else with significant FDRS experience can confirm/correct.

FDRS updates seem to have gotten "better" in 2022 by using the USB drive for things over a certain size that would take hours on the CAN bus to transfer. My first FDRS run in 2021 didn't request a USB at all.

Even for recent CAN bus transfers, the pumps didn't seem to kick on for *every* single update. Running the pumps fulltime seemed to be a defensive measure since monitoring would be offline during module updates, they figured better to run the pumps and not need them vs. risk potential damage. Seems like a better solution would be to prevent any update from starting until the HVB was in a safe temp range.

Having said that, there was still times the pumps will draw > 30A from my supply during an update. Since there isn't a good way to know how long an update will take, you don't want to be stuck underpowered for anything longer than a short spike in current.

I have read through all 54 pages of this thread (over multiple days) and one thing I've noticed since post #1 (October 2021) was more talk about updating via USB recently.

Does anyone know which modules can routinely be updated via USB? Is the need for the Mongoose OBD II connection not as important now because more modules can be updated via USB?

For that matter, if updating via USB, is the continuous power supply still required?

I haven't checked in a few weeks but I currently have updates for:

 

[Mike G]

I have read through all 54 pages of this thread (over multiple days) and one thing I've noticed since post #1 (October 2021) was more talk about updating via USB recently.

Does anyone know which modules can routinely be updated via USB? Is the need for the Mongoose OBD II connection not as important now because more modules can be updated via USB?

For that matter, if updating via USB, is the continuous power supply still required?

I haven't checked in a few weeks but I currently have updates for:

That's a misconception.

You still need the Mongoose cable (or something like it) to connect to the car's OBDII port or you're not going to get any downloads to put on a USB drive.

FDRS has to connect to the car somehow. You just can't download files with FDRS based on a VIN you looked up.

Mike

 

[737flyer]

Tried a new laptop with everything fresh installed and now it works fine.

This dashboard is really nice ! (in the webbrowser accessible without FDRS installed)

What’s the link for this info

 

[737flyer]

I have read through all 54 pages of this thread (over multiple days) and one thing I've noticed since post #1 (October 2021) was more talk about updating via USB recently.

Does anyone know which modules can routinely be updated via USB? Is the need for the Mongoose OBD II connection not as important now because more modules can be updated via USB?

For that matter, if updating via USB, is the continuous power supply still required?

I haven't checked in a few weeks but I currently have updates for:

I just updated mine. The only file that took the usb was GWM. I couldn’t get it to work.

 

[Mike G]

I just updated mine. The only file that took the usb was GWM. I couldn’t get it to work.

I would re-format that USB drive and try it again. Make the name of the drive something really short or no name at all. Have you got a USB hub you can use?

Mike

 

[737flyer]

I would re-format that USB drive and try it again. Make the name of the drive something really short or no name at all. Have you got a USB hub you can use?

Mike

I just logged back into FDRS and the GMW file is gone. Not available for update. Interesting!

 

[Cjpayne]

Thanks for the tutorial! I struggled with it for a while last week but eventually got there. Here are a few things I learned that might help another…

• While FDRS works on a MacBook running Windows on Bootcamp, it does NOT work on a virtual machine. The issue has to do with activating the license - either intentionally or unintentionally the license fails to activate (with a mysterious error none of the techs could identify). You need to be running Windows on bare metal.
• The Mongoose Ford Plus2 works well. I did not have good luck with a SnapOn Pass Thru Pro 3 (rebranded CarDaq2) - trouble updating its drivers, couldn’t be identified correctly by either ForScan or FDRS.
• Yes you can connect the aux power source to the jump points under the hood, not the battery directly. In my case I connected my 10A charger about 30 minutes early and let it bring the battery voltage up quite a bit before starting the updates. I’ve heard some updates cause the pumps to run, but in my case, none of the updates made the pumps run so there was very little voltage drop during updates.
• If you don’t have a good laptop, a $20 50ft USB 2.0 extension with a repeater built-in does indeed work. You have to walk back and forth quite a bit to turn the car on and off, but for me it was convenient.

Happy hacking!

I also wanted to add that you can not activate Mongoose Plus when running Windows 11 on Parallel (virtual machine) on a new MacBook Air. Opus has a workaround for Windows 10 on their site, but I could not get it to work. The software will install, but the activation fails. Purchased a refurbished Windows 10 laptop for $50 and I will dedicate it as my garage laptop.

UPDATE: I learned today that Bootcamp is not available on any Mac running an ARM M1 chip instead of Intel. Windows does not support ARM from what I have read thus no Bootcamp.

I spoke with with Opus technical support today and he cautioned me to download both the FJDS and FRDS drivers when using Windows 10. He said to download the FJDS first.

 

[generaltso]

A new BCM updated popped for my Job 1 in FDRS this morning. Could this be @Jimrpa 's frunk button?

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