From Transport Evolved.

Like many modern EVs, the Ford F-150 Lightning benefits from over-the-air software upgrades — adding new features or tweaking existing ones for free, without ever visiting a dealership.

But over the four-and-a-bit years of its production, the Lightning has also gained new features at the factory that haven’t always been made available as OTA updates. One of those is upgraded software for the truck’s Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC). While the hardware hasn’t changed much, more recent model year trucks gained on-screen charging information — handy for fast charging — as well as improved indications for BlueCruise.

Thanks to the techs and enthusiasts at the F150 Lightning Forum, it’s now possible to add these same features to older Lightnings — improving quality of life without waiting for Ford to do it for you.

The catch? Doing this requires FORScan software, an OBD-II to USB dongle, 5+ hours of work, an external 12-volt power supply, and high-quality, healthy jumper cables.

We’ve just completed the upgrade on Nikki’s F-150 Lightning. But not giving enough attention to the importance of good cables nearly turned the project into a disaster.

In this video, we show exactly how the upgrade is done, what you need to know, and why relying on anything less than solid jumper cables for high-current loads is a very bad idea.

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*⏱️ Episode Timeline*

00:00 – Introduction (What We’re About to Break… Hopefully Not)
04:34 – Quick Notes Before You Dive In
05:08 – Things to Know Before Upgrading
06:02 – Jumper Cable Warning: Don’t Skimp
08:28 – Computer Setup: Where the Magic (and Panic) Happens
10:31 – Why That External 12V Supply Matters
13:19 – Plugging Everything In Without Shocking Yourself
16:42 – Save Your “As-Built” File First — Seriously
20:31 – Programming the IPC with the Downloaded Files
24:03 – The Angry Bees Moment… (You’ll See)
24:56 – After the Flash: Restoring the 2024 As-Built File
27:43 – Powering Down and Unplugging Everything Safely
32:33 – Thanks and Goodbye

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*🔗 Links:*

• F150 Lightning Owners Forum Post about upgrade: https://www.f150lightningforum.com/forum/threads/enabling-charge-speed-on-dash.31565/
• 12V Server Power Supply (used to power the truck’s 12V systems during the upgrade) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DCBVRNS8?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1
• ForSCAN – you will need the windows version: https://forscan.org
• ForSCAN compatible OBDLink EX – https://www.amazon.com/OBDLink-EX-FORScan-OBD-Adapter/dp/B081VQVD3F?ref_=ast_sto_dp

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*👥 Today’s Sponsors*
🌱 Electric Vehicle Association – https://www.myeva.org
⚡ EnergySage – https://www.kqzyfj.com/click-101290941-16952262

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*🎙️ Credits:*

Host: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield
Camera, Edit, Color: Vi Horton
Art & Animation: Erin Carlie
Producer: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield
Music: via Artlist.io
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