Is As Built data "As Built" or "As Currently Should Be"?

[DaddyDeuce]

I just noticed that there are multiple differences in the As Built data I downloaded directly from Ford for my car 3 months ago versus today.

This doesn't make sense to me if the data is supposed to represent how it left the factory, but does make sense if it is supposed to represent how the car should be configured with all latest updates.

Can anyone explain why the As Built would change?

One example among many:

706-04-01 = 0A03, 0800, 00 "As Built" on Jun-01-2024
706-04-01 = 0A03, 081E, 05 "As Built" on Sep-11-2024

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[kdonnel]

I too thought as built meant as it came from the factory or at least as it came from Ford.

But then I made some changes to turn on BC 1.3 early, a few I got correct, a few I did not, and then after BC 1.3 officially got applied I was using FDRS to apply some other updates and I noticed I had DTC in the IPMA module that kept occuring.

Some messages back and forth with folks on this board it I learned that changes made with Forscan can be and usually are written back to Fords servers changing the as built data.

I had kept good records of what I had changed so I was able to reconcile my changes together with the now released official needed changes to ensure that BC 1.3 was enabled correctly and my DTC in the IPMA went away.

And I had learned a lesson.

My assumption had been that if I ever wanted to undo my changes I could use FDRS to apply the official Ford config for my car, overwriting the changes I had made with Forscan. I had no idea that the Forscan changes I made did not remain local to my car but instead were integrated into the official Ford stored as built data.

My understanding now is that the as built data changes as Ford turns features on/off and tweaks the config of our cars through OTA.

 

[voxel]

Yeah they shouldn't change.

I haven't tried connect FORSCAN to my Mach-E (just my Bronco - and yes As-Built is your factory settings) and wonder what your current values for " 706-04-01" are.

 

[DaddyDeuce]

I had kept good records of what I had changed so I was able to reconcile my changes together with the now released official needed changes to ensure that BC 1.3 was enabled correctly and my DTC in the IPMA went away.

I had assumed the same, and that the Ford asbuilt data would be an always available backup of the values if I wanted to restore to default.

Looking now at the asbuilt diff, I see that changes I have made are reflected in the new asbuilt data.

This means there really is no definitive backup possible of what your values should be. If you download and save an asbuilt before changing anything, it will no longer reflect changes Ford wants you to have. But if you download a fresh asbuilt it will contain your personal changes that Ford doesn't want you to have.

The only way therefore is record-keeping of which bits you have flipped.

 

[DaddyDeuce]

I haven't tried connect FORSCAN to my Mach-E (just my Bronco - and yes As-Built is your factory settings) and wonder what your current values for " 706-04-01" are.

I'm not going to connect FORSCAN right now, but I can see that the fresh asbuilt I just downloaded from Ford includes changes I have manually made. Meaning that a fresh asbuiilt download is not a way to revert customizations.

 

[blueovaltech]

Correct. As-Built is no longer a "revert to factory" type deal unfortunately. Any changes made to the vehicle will eventually be altered on Ford's server automatically, so you'll lose the factory As-Built settings unless you had backed them up before you made changes.

This is done primarily for one reason, OTA updates.

The idea being, that after an over the air update is downloaded and the vehicle applies it, any changes (say on a pickup that has a bale bed and has had side obstacle detection removed) will stick after the update applies. On some incomplete vehicles that are finished out by the body builder, these changes would be wiped and result in errors or the like from the OTA update wiping everything back to factory settings.

I think the OEM is working on a 'factory reset' type program integration into the FDRS, but so far it's only on certain modules, as at the dealer level we need to revert to factory sometimes as well.

 

[DaddyDeuce]

any changes (say on a pickup that has a bale bed and has had side obstacle detection removed) will stick after the update applies.

I think the OEM is working on a 'factory reset' type program integration into the FDRS, but so far it's only on certain modules, as at the dealer level we need to revert to factory sometimes as well.

Both of those are valid needs. Wonder how they will solve it. But it broke what I, and perhaps others, assumed about backups. Oh well, at least I understand what is happening.

 

[Snakebitten]

It wouldn't be as disturbing to get your head around if the terminology wasn't "Asbuilt" ??

It's the brave new world now in the automotive industry. No longer do you drive off the dealership lot with a vehicle Asbuilt, and trade it in 4 years later Asbuilt.

My special order 2022 F150 Powerboost was still on the railcar the first time I looked up its VIN in FDRS. Ford had already released a software update for a vehicle that was on the assembly line a few days earlier.

Yeah, if you are going to mess with Forscan, the ability to revert back to previous Asbuilt values is going to require some organized backups with supporting notes?

 

[Mach-Lee]

Can anyone explain why the As Built would change?

One example among many:

706-04-01 = 0A03, 0800, 00 "As Built" on Jun-01-2024
706-04-01 = 0A03, 081E, 05 "As Built" on Sep-11-2024

Because Ford changes stuff. That's an IPMA config related to the camera defrost heater thresholds. In earlier versions of the IPMA software (BC 1.0), there was a lot of unused as-built parameters for future use. After the BC 1.3+ updates, they are using a lot more configured parameters so the As-built changed. After getting the BC OTA, the IPMA as-built in the sever database gets updated.

As-built also gets updated in the server after making changes yourself with FORScan, so always save a backup of the original config before you change stuff.

Knowing the database can change, I downloaded the as-built right when my vehicle was made so I have a "factory" reference. But there have been a lot of as-built fields added in the 2+ years since the vehicle was made, so you'd have to be careful applying the old as-built because you could break stuff. The situation is fluid, as-built is no longer static as of like 2018.

 

[DaddyDeuce]

Hey @Mach-Lee , thanks for looking up 706-04-01 . It was just one of many that changed.

Since I am second owner of my car I don't have a "as delivered" as-built, but I have one from right after I bought it.

Really useful conversation overall. Corrected my understanding of as-built and whether it was a useful backup for later restoration.

 

[RickMachE]

As-built also gets updated in the server after making changes yourself with FORScan, so always save a backup of the original config before you change stuff.

This ^^^. FORScan is actually setup to make the backups.

Before using FORScan, I go in and download my Ford AsBuilt data. Then, I make a backup with FORScan of each module.

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