I'm having trouble finding the exact information I need, finding some things close to it though. I want to buy a used APIM with navigation off eBay and add it to my truck (a 2016 xlt with sync 3).

I am wanting to figure out if I am able to program by myself with Forscan my trucks Vin into the new apim? And am I just copying my current non-nav APIM as built into the new nav one? How does the whole process work DIY? Thanks all!

 

The short answer is YES, you can do this with FORScan. you didn't state whether you had the 8" infotainment screen or not, but I'm assuming you do (which probably means you have the 302A package). If not, my information may not be correct.
1. look at the information in the 1st post in this thread. Check the links and learn how to use FORScan (fantastic tutorial in the links). Be sure to back up all your modules before you make any changes, and keep them in a safe place.
2. download the spreadsheet from Livnitup in the links. This will have all the possible values in your modules, including the APIM. You can refer to the APIM section to see what is possible and what each value means. It has been quite a while since I upgraded mine, but I think really one change is needed in 7D0-01-02 x*xx xxxx xxxx where the asterisk is probably a zero (0), change it to a 2. You can find this information in the APIM spreadsheet from Livnitup.

So, the simple answer is you should copy your current APIM values, remove it from the truck, install the new APIM (I recommend you save a copy of the new APIM values just in case you run into problems and then you can compare the to APIM values), load your current APIM values to the new APIM, and change 7D0-01-02 as stated above.

I'm not sure what release of SYNC you intend to use, but you might want to check out the SYNC 3.4 migration thread (I've also done this) as you can have updated maps and SYNC versions. Upgrade Sync 3 V3.0 to V3.4 instructions - Ford F150 Forum - Community of Ford Truck Fans Again, look at the 1st post as it is a long thread. If you want the very latest releases, scan the last 100 or so posts...

Should you have the desire to keep adding mods, if you get the Nav upgrade installed and working, you can have the turn by turn directions displayed in the Instrument Cluster if you upgrade your Instrument Cluster. The 2016 XLT had the 4" instrument cluster which cannot display the turn by turn information, but an upgrade to the 8" instrument cluster makes that possible. Check out Clusters by Livnitup if you want to upgrade your instrument cluster. Just be sure to tell him you've added NAV to your truck (he will need a copy of your current IPC as built values). This was another upgrade I've done and I really like the bigger instrument cluster. Anyway, just some food for thought...

If you are one who prefers to use the Ford Pass process to maintain your SYNC versions, try to get the donor vehicle VIN for your APIM You can add it to Ford Pass and check for SYNC updates via that process if you have the donor vehicle VIN (as Ford Pass will not know you updated your APIM).

Good luck and have fun!

 

This may or may not be the problem..... Hopefully someone will respond that has more information than I do....
As i recall, they changed the numbering so that more than 100 lines could exist in an As Built file.... I looked at one of my original files (for the APIM) from 2018 and a recent copy of my APIM as built file. The block numbering format has changed (and as you can see, some of my values have changed due to various changes over time and adding NAV and HD Radio but ignore the value changes in the xxxx xxxx xxxx portion of the line).
The old format was:
7D0-01-01 xxxx xxxx xxxx
7D0-01-02 xxxx xxxx xxxx
7D0-02-01 xxxx xxxx xxxx
the new format is:
7D0-G1-G1 xxxx xxxx xxxx
7D0-G1-G2 xxxx xxxx xxxx
7D0-G2-G1 xxxx xxxx xxxx
So, if it were me, I'd make a copy of my original as built file, then change the values for the line numbering to the new format. If needed, do a save of a current as built so you have the correct numbering scheme. (for example if you are trying to re-apply your APIM as Built, save a current copy of your APIM file and look at the line numbering.... It may take a little typing (or cut/paste) but is quite doable. Might be worth a try or try it on one of the smaller abt files. Maybe others have a better method.
Copy of my APIM files from 2018 and a current copy
Original Format:
;Block 1
7D001012A2A0406033A
7D0010200A90604820F
;Block 2
7D0020155530103C44A
7D0020202428000009F
7D002030000DC
;Block 3
7D003010000010300DF

New Format:
;Block 1
7D0G1G12A2A0407073F
7D0G1G202A906048211
;Block 2
7D0G2G155530103C44A
7D0G2G202428000009F
7D0G2G30000DC
;Block 3
7D0G3G10000010300DF

Here is a copy of the explanation from the FORScan developers I recorded when they made the change.... What concerns me is that their (FORScan develpers) state in this information that FORScan is backwards compatible. But that was some time ago with FORScan v2.3.23. Anyway, here was their explanation of this change:
*.ABT is a simple plain text format that was designed by us specially to store As Built Data (ABD). The plain text format was chosen specially to provide easy way to read and modify ABD offline as it can be opened in any text editor.
Prior to FORScan v2.3.23 the format was very transparent. Let's look at this IPC block:
720-01-01 4301 0000 6D
and this is how it is written to the *.ABT file.
;Block 1
7200101430100006D
where:
720 - module ID, hexadecimal
01 - block number, decimal
01 - line number, decimal
The problem of the format is that (as it often happens) didn't foresee some real life cases. It dedicated 2 digits for block and line numbers. So you cannot have blocks greater than 99 and number of lines in every block greater than 99 (so maximum number of block cannot be greater than 5 * 99 = 495 bytes). In real world the ABT format is used not only for loading Ford ABD but also for any module configuration. For example, some IPMB blocks of 2018MY have size of 512 bytes. Next, on new PCMs Ford started to use ABD blocks with number greater than 99. For example, 7E0-162-01 ....
In FORScan v2.3.23 we have updated this functionality to fix the problems mentioned above. In order to provide backward compatibility we had to adjust ABT format as the following:
;Block 1
720G1G1430100006D
As you may see, the only difference is in block and line number, they look strange now. This is because they are encoded. The encoding is:
BlockNumber = HEX(block number, decimal) + G0
LineNumber = HEX(line number, decimal) + G0
where G0 is some number in "alphabet" notation. So block #01 is encoded as G0 + 0x01 = G1. Block with decimal number 10 (hex 0x0A) is encoded as G0+0x0A = GA. If block number or line number is greater than 15 (hex 0x0F), lower half of byte is added as usually and higher half of byte is added to G (G+1 - H, G+2=I and so on). So block #20 decimal is encoded as G0+14 = H4
Few more examples:
ABD: 720-28-01 FF3F 1900 A7
Old *.ABT record: 7202801FF3F1900A7
New *.ABT record: 720HCG1FF3F1900A7
ABD: 720-36-01 0000 0000 5E
Old *.ABT record: 7203601000000005E
New *.ABT record: 720I4G1000000005E
It may look confusing and complicated for people who work with ABT, but it was the only way to safe compatibility and avoid full redesign of the function. Also, block and line numbers are not modified by hands, so, in our understanding, it should not be a big problem. Good news is that these formats are backward compatible, so FORScan v2.3.23 is able to read old *ABT files properly. Versions prior to v2.3.23 will not be able to read new *.ABT files.

 

I am a long time but INFREQUENT user of this thread so if my post has already been addressed I apologize......

I wanted to simply disable stop/start on my 2020 via FORScan vs. wiring etc.... I went into PSCM and did the disable there..... worked fine..... for a while... then the change disappeared and the stop/start returned..... I have NEVER had a FORScan change revert before!!??

I do not know WHAT caused it to revert but I again updated PSCM 730-01-02 xxxx xxxx x*xx Start/Stop: 0=disabled, 1=enabled again....

Does anyone know WHY it reverted..... I do NOT wish to disable the Battery Management, install hw/wiring nor trick into trailer towing mode to eliminate Auto Stop Start.... smile....

P.S..... After repeating the PSCM edit, Stp/Start is disabled..... will have to see if it reverts to enabled again... go figure!!??.......AZPLAT

 

If you had your truck in for service and they had to replace a module, it could have been reloaded from their servers (where the change was not recorded). Just a thought....

 

Thanks for for all of your hard work!

 

Anyone local in NJ can help me out? I installed the kicker VSS SUB and need forscan to enable it. I have the coding needed to be changed. LMK!

EDIT: Thanks for anyone who reached out. Ran over to my local dealer and they were able to knock it out quickly for $40.

 

Did you have it in at a dealer for any reason and/or do you have automatic updates enabled?
Every so often, the as built calibration (address framework) will update to include more lines of code. When those types of updates occur the target module gets re-flashed with all of its factory as built data courtesy of the mothership.

 

This is not a ForScan problem; they did not change anything. The problem is your target module received a calibration update at some point since your last backup. It will only be an issue for maybe a few modules at most, not all of your backups.

If ForScan will allow you to write your backup to the target module with mismatch warnings present, you could, I've done it for other reasons, but in your case I strongly recommend not doing that because you don't seem to know what has changed. You could inadvertently overwrite a new vehicle function.

I would take a combined approach: load in the old backup to ForScan, then manually compile in the new data before writing it to the module.

You can expedite the task by reading only the checksums to identify where conflicts exist.

• Download your current as built profile from Motocraft.
• Download the as built compare utility Livnitup posted on page 1
• Compare the current Motocraft as built data against your original as built backup of whichever module has the problem.
• Look at the last two HEX values in each line between the two files for whichever module your working on.
• Whatever does not match change it in ForScan.
• Save a new backup of it when done.

Sounds like a lot but should only take a few minutes. Instead of looking at thousands of bits of code to identify where conflicts are, really you only need to look at 50 or so letters of HEX in a few isolated places.

 

Thanks! I’ll give this a try.