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

[Kamuelaflyer]

Congrats - having a Mongoose and an (occasional?) FDRS account is a very good way to learn and understand this really complex, wonderful car.

Many smart people have suggested the following update start order:
1. GWM (Gateway Module)
2. APIM
3. Telematics Control Module (TCU).
...then all other modules.

Be aware - you might find "many many" modules to update. Do these listed three 1st, in the order I listed. Often, doing one will immediately pull in other modules to automatically do - that is canned "module dependency" and you should just follow the prompts as these mods appear one after the other. Also, in a car which has not had recent OTA updates, doing any / all three listed modules i.e. GWM, APIM and TCU will often cause more recent versions of any of these three to appear the next morning... this is a good thing. If a new one appears, start again with the new GWM / APIM / TCU / all others update order.

Speed of downloads for updating modules: it is highly worth it to connect your home router with a hard ethernet wire to your laptop with FDRS if your home layout allows it. Especially if you have FIOS or similar optical Internet connections at home.

Most updates will download and then execute thru the Mongoose. But some lengthy (!!) updates will ask for a 32 MB USB. FIND AND USE THE NEWEST FORMAT, FASTEST USB, currently I think USB 3.2. This will save you lots of time. ...or...

Even faster: get any decent matchbox-size Solid State Drive (SSD) with a USB connection port. The laptop will think the SSD is a USB and this will greatly increase your download and car-loading speed over any USB. Very, very worth it as likely you will use this SSD over and over while you have this car.

Especially for updates which use the USB / SSD: carefully follow the laptop FDRS and Synch screen prompts to make sure this USB update method completes accurately. Sometimes there will be a few minutes of just sitting, or alternately instructions to shut off and leave the car but leave the driver door open and the USB / SSD inserted. This seems silly but is a necessary step.

Good Luck and enjoy!

Really good post. Thanks.

Sponsored

 

[21st Century Pony]

So based on feedback from two people about pending FDRS updates for my Mach E, I just bought the 2-day license and updated the APIM, BCM, HVAC and RFA modules.

The APIM update needed a USB and using my SSD as the USB, took 20 minutes once the SSD was connected. Plus the pre-and post-USB time... altogether almost 40 minutes. Now the car is on Synch 1122 with the new top buttons on the screen, and also a whole bunch of other stuff, judging by the number of multiple APIM actions during this update.

The HVAC, usually a very short update, also took a good 20+ minutes. So did the BCM of course, and to my surprise even the RFA update took a good 25 minutes. Altogether a nice long session of nearly 2 hours.

Many thanks to rugedraw and one other person in the other FDRS thread!

Let's see what pops for more updates over the next two mornings

...and now, 2 days after installing this set of updates I find that my Synch reverts back to the ENGAGE drive mode on every new start of the car and then again within every 15 minutes or sooner after every driver reset of the drive mode to either WHISPER or UNBRIDLED. IMHO the culprit is likely the newest APIM (Synch 1122) update. Sigh...

 

[Mike G]

...and now, 2 days after installing this set of updates I find that my Synch reverts back to the ENGAGE drive mode on every new start of the car and then again within every 15 minutes or sooner after every driver reset of the drive mode to either WHISPER or UNBRIDLED. IMHO the culprit is likely the newest APIM (Synch 1122) update. Sigh...

Is this the 6.14 you're referring to?

 

[rfk1969]

The mach e was having the junction box replaced. I asked the dealer to update the cars system since the last ota was nov 23. Home screen still shows last update nov 23. Would someone with fdrs please check my

VIN: 3FMTK4SX1NMA13624 thanks ray

 

[rugedraw]

The mach e was having the junction box replaced. I asked the dealer to update the cars system since the last ota was nov 23. Home screen still shows last update nov 23. Would someone with fdrs please check my

VIN: 3FMTK4SX1NMA13624 thanks ray

These are the updates the dealer did:

 

[Mike G]

The mach e was having the junction box replaced. I asked the dealer to update the cars system since the last ota was nov 23. Home screen still shows last update nov 23. Would someone with fdrs please check my

VIN: 3FMTK4SX1NMA13624 thanks ray

And here's the list of what they didn't do:

 

[21st Century Pony]

Is this the 6.14 you're referring to?

Since I installed it myself I am not sure of the OTA sequence #.

It's there one that moves the Synch to version #1122.

 

[azerik]

I’ve really got to get a hobby. I’ve almost convinced myself this is a good idea for me lol

 

[rugedraw]

I’ve really got to get a hobby. I’ve almost convinced myself this is a good idea for me lol

 

[LeanneL]

I’ve really got to get a hobby. I’ve almost convinced myself this is a good idea for me lol

Do it! I just bought all the stuff yesterday! Currently stalking my Amazon delivery and patiently waiting so that I can get started!

Cheaper hobby than most lol

 

[Mike G]

Since I installed it myself I am not sure of the OTA sequence #.

It's there one that moves the Synch to version #1122.

Ah right...FDRS vs OTA...got it. I thought you'd gotten it via OTA, sorry.

 

[Jeff-NoVA]

The mach e was having the junction box replaced. I asked the dealer to update the cars system since the last ota was nov 23. Home screen still shows last update nov 23. Would someone with fdrs please check my

VIN: 3FMTK4SX1NMA13624 thanks ray

Most dealers won't bother with this. They have one EV tech who's slammed and doesn't want to or simply cannot spend hours updating your car. Plus, without an actual problem they can't bill Ford for the time. After my dealer did zero extra updates on my car when they had it in for the HVBJB recall despite my complaining about not receiving an update since August, I said eff it and got myself setup on FDRS. After a big batch of updates on FDRS, my car is again receiving OTAs. It took me several hours and of course cost some dough but was well worth it. Once BC 1.4 is confirmed to be available I will happily pay the $50 again.

 

[spicy_taco]

Guys, do I have to be sitting in the car the whole time while the update process is onging? So far I've only done updates that take <20 minutes and I just hung out in the car staring at my laptop, and praying that it doesn't crash in the middle of the update. But at some point I might be brave to attempt the 2+ hour long IPMA update and was wondering if I need to take a nap in my car during that.

Do the windows/doors have to be closed during the whole time?

 

[21st Century Pony]

Guys, do I have to be sitting in the car the whole time while the update process is onging? So far I've only done updates that take <20 minutes and I just hung out in the car staring at my laptop, and praying that it doesn't crash in the middle of the update. But at some point I might be brave to attempt the 2+ hour long IPMA update and was wondering if I need to take a nap in my car during that.

Do the windows/doors have to be closed during the whole time?

When it's warm I keep windows open while doing updates to the car.

 

[Old_Norm]

Do it! I just bought all the stuff yesterday! Currently stalking my Amazon delivery and patiently waiting so that I can get started!

Cheaper hobby than most lol

After 3,974 posts I've decide to join the MME FDRS fraternity. I'm starting to wonder about Forsan and the Russian connection. And they don't have reliable profiles for the Maverick. Would you mind telling me what adapter you bought? Is there an alternative to the Mongoose reader that works well and is less expensive? Thanks.

Sponsored