Found some interesting coding while playing around at work today

[Ciulster]

So today we got a demo unit of the LaunchTech X-431 series scan tool which is supposedly the latest and greatest and will play with everything late model that even the Snap-On tools can't touch. Plugged it into my car to get a feel for it and lo and behold while trying to find more info on the remote start systems in the BCM I found factory data streams put there by Ford indicating failed remote start reasoning via Manual Transmission not in neutral and Manual Transmission Park Brake Not Engaged.

Seems the car is fully capable and ready code wise to be able to have remote start with functioning safety lockouts in a manual transmission car such as mine, just for whatever reason Ford has decided not to implement it. I think I am going to attempt to reach out to Ford Engineering to get an explanation on this. Because I would really really REALLY like to have remote start on my car without having to get an aftermarket solution that hacks apart the factory harness for those 40 below days coming up this winter.

Anyone else ever see anything along these lines poking around Forscan? I still haven't gotten mine set up yet.

Sponsored

 

[MAT1955]

......you driving that poor Mustang in a Canadian winter?

 

[Ciulster]

......you driving that poor Mustang in a Canadian winter?

Yes I love the way the snow brush feels against the bare paint.

 

[FrostyOne]

Yes I love the way the snow brush feels against the bare paint.

My Dark Horse will be parked and covered once the snow begins to fly.

 

[rugedraw]

You can try chaning this parameter in the BCM from manual to auto:

Disclaimer: There is a reason Ford has it coded this way. It is very possible for anyone (regardless of how conscious of this you may be), to leave the car in gear and forget. If this works and someone remote starts their vehicle while it is in gear and it ends up in your living room, don't blame me.

 

[Ciulster]

You can try chaning this parameter in the BCM from manual to auto:

Disclaimer: There is a reason Ford has it coded this way. It is very possible for anyone (regardless of how conscious of this you may be), to leave the car in gear and forget. If this works and someone remote starts their vehicle while it is in gear and it ends up in your living room, don't blame me.

Cool! I wonder if that will affect anything else such as auto rev matching and etc. I've heard that sometimes tricking the BCM into thinking it's an auto partially can sometimes trip up other manual transmission functions.

If I do manage to get remote start working I plan on using it almost exclusively through Fordpass, maybe have a dedicated fob that stays in the drawer at home. Though I almost always leave the car in neutral and rely on the park brake as it's pretty flat around where I usually park I've had enough instances where I've hit the panic button on my fob in my pocket by leaning over at the wrong angle wouldn't be pretty if all other safety lockouts failed the one time I do decide to leave it in gear.

 

[Neggytive]

My car stereo/remote start guy back in the day was the only guy who had a remote start kit that worked with sticks

You had to put the car in N with the brake set with the car running before shutting the car off, then there was an additional step of some sort, but then you could use the remote to start the car.

The wiring involved the clutch interlock switch so it would crank

On ragtops he installed a motion detector so nobody could reach in the car and put it in gear preventing the car from becoming a driver-less vehicle

 

[Whytknuckles]

So today we got a demo unit of the LaunchTech X-431 series scan tool which is supposedly the latest and greatest and will play with everything late model that even the Snap-On tools can't touch. Plugged it into my car to get a feel for it and lo and behold while trying to find more info on the remote start systems in the BCM I found factory data streams put there by Ford indicating failed remote start reasoning via Manual Transmission not in neutral and Manual Transmission Park Brake Not Engaged.

Seems the car is fully capable and ready code wise to be able to have remote start with functioning safety lockouts in a manual transmission car such as mine, just for whatever reason Ford has decided not to implement it. I think I am going to attempt to reach out to Ford Engineering to get an explanation on this. Because I would really really REALLY like to have remote start on my car without having to get an aftermarket solution that hacks apart the factory harness for those 40 below days coming up this winter.

Anyone else ever see anything along these lines poking around Forscan? I still haven't gotten mine set up yet.

Clean up the code suggested in this thread and try to start your car. Make sure it’s in neutral and emergency brake is ON. The emergency brake being on might be the trick to getting it to work. I’ve seen auto start on manuals before but car had to be in neutral and emergency brake had to be applied or it would not work as a fail safe.

 

[ChillinDylan]

Did anybody try messing with this code or the mentioned line in Forscan?

 

[NVERL8]

Man that would be nice. no longer would we sacrifice comfort for awesomeness..... Wonder if it would then show up on ford pass if that was enabled? Cant believe they have all the safety's in there but the feature is inactive.

 

[Cz_Ziemniak]

I'm pretty sure the only, or main, reason remote start is disabled on manual cars is because the car will lurch forward and possibly drive away if its in gear.

Thats the only real reason I could think.

......you driving that poor Mustang in a Canadian winter?

Its a car

 

[MAT1955]

@Cz_Ziemniak ..... it's a WHAT? After that your pony will probably lock you out!

 

[Cz_Ziemniak]

@Cz_Ziemniak ..... it's a WHAT? After that your pony will probably lock you out!

Its a car

 

[Zig]

Park is the proper shutdown selection for an automatic, neutral is a manual selection which may or may not be appropriate.

Sponsored