HELP! EBM Procal tune installation

[Rick B]

Went to the dealer to get my tuned installed. The tech came back and said he couldn't install the tune without the Procal tuner. I gave him the tune on a flash drive as well as my laptop to do install, still said he couldn't do it.

So, I need some instruction on how to install the tune with my Laptop. The service manager said he'll work something out with me as far as warranty. I already have the tune on my Laptop...

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[jbailer]

I'm just guessing but the dealers are used to having the ProCal handheld tuner, not the program and tune on a laptop. The guy I talked to was confused too, he said he'd have to see it.

Again just a guess but when you download the software from the voucher, it looks like you just have the ProCal software and no tune file. When you click the "Open File" button, it is looking for a "ProCal3 (*.pc3)" file and there isn't one on my laptop. My guess is once you connect to the car, the VIN, Module Part Number and Software Part Number will be filled in on the "Download" tab. Then you fill in the email, password and Voucher Number and you will be able to download the tune file by clicking the download button.

Then back on the "Main" tab, click "Open File" and point to that file you just downloaded. Then there should be something that allows you to start the programming of the car. It would be nice if someone has seen or done the process to elaborate. I will try to get mine installed within the next couple days and will watch every step and share what I learned, maybe even grab some screen shots if I remember.

 

[Rick B]

Thanks. Much appreciated.

 

[jtmat]

Went to the dealer to get my tuned installed. The tech came back and said he couldn't install the tune without the Procal tuner. I gave him the tune on a flash drive as well as my laptop to do install, still said he couldn't do it.

So, I need some instruction on how to install the tune with my Laptop. The service manager said he'll work something out with me as far as warranty. I already have the tune on my Laptop...

You don't have the procal tuner?

I would call Ford Performance and see if they will "reset" your download... then take everything to the dealer for them to install.

I was told at my dealer they took them a couple of hours on the phone to get it straight when someone downloaded their tune file to a personal laptop.

That is why I recommended creating the online password and user ID only and not downloading to a laptop like some others suggested.

Even if on your computer it would *seem* that they should be able to install using the procal tuner supplied with your purchase.

 

[Rick B]

Yea, I gave them my User name and PW. They didn't get it. There is no Procal tuner for the ecoboost. Just a USB to OBD port. The program comes from Laptop or whatever system Ford uses.

 

[jtmat]

Yea, I gave them my User name and PW. They didn't get it. There is no Procal tuner for the ecoboost. Just a USB to OBD port. The program comes from Laptop or whatever system Ford uses.

By tuner I meant the item below. They wanted something else? If so, you might want to find another dealer, if you can.

 

[speedfrk]

So, are the tunes married to the car forever by VIN, etc or can they be uninstalled when you sell the car and resold? I've seen lots of guys sell their Cobb AP when they sell the car and at least the OTS tunes are available for the new owner.

 

[Rick B]

I was wondering about that my self. Is there a way that I can down load the original tune onto my lap top? Now that I have the interface and tune program I'm wondering how much I can look around.

 

[jtmat]

I was wondering about that my self. Is there a way that I can down load the original tune onto my lap top? Now that I have the interface and tune program I'm wondering how much I can look around.

Reading the instructions from the procal paperwork, I might have made a mistake... the instructions clearly state:

CAUTION! If a dealer or installation facility has installed and programmed your vehicle, be sure to obtain the Procal unit, USB cable and PC3 file from the installation facility. It is be required to restore the previous calibration or make modifications to the vehicle configuration after the vehicle has been programmed.

I never received the PC3 file from the dealer... unless it is on the procal unit (SCT keeps the files on the unit themselves... not sure if procal does the same thing).

I'm going to hook up my laptop tomorrow just to look around.... and see if my stock tune is on the procal unit. I'm not going to flash or make changes, but I am interested to see what comes up.

You can download the software from your https://performanceparts.ford.com/ login page (top right-hand corner).

edit: guess I should have read further.... it states:

This ProCal tool has been designed to deliver a performance calibration to your vehicle and will preserve a copy of your vehicle’s stock calibration, should you decide to remove the performance calibration for any reason. The tool and performance calibration are locked to your vehicle and therefore cannot be used on a different vehicle.

So the PC3 file is the FP tune... and if you contact FP you can download it again. I'd be interested to see if they come up with updates, etc for it... and how that would be handled.

 

[jbailer]

By tuner I meant the item below. They wanted something else? If so, you might want to find another dealer, if you can.

Yeah, that's what I was trying to explain. With most platforms, Ford dealers that are experienced with loading tunes will be looking for the ProCal hand-held tuner, looks like the pic below. In this case, the PC is the intelligent device, the tune is a file that we download. So as mentioned, you want to be sure you have the dealer give you the file and you have the software after it's installed by the dealer. I'm sure you can work it out with Ford Performance if you missed that part.

 

[jtmat]

Yeah, that's what I was trying to explain. With most platforms, Ford dealers that are experienced with loading tunes will be looking for the ProCal hand-held tuner, looks like the pic below. In this case, the PC is the intelligent device, the tune is a file that we download. So as mentioned, you want to be sure you have the dealer give you the file and you have the software after it's installed by the dealer. I'm sure you can work it out with Ford Performance if you missed that part.

I downloaded the software and installed to my laptop... plugged it into the car and nothing. Wanted an internet connection to login.

Unfortunately, not enough will power to go through all of that for testing purposes. About to head out and ride around DC... :cheers:

 

[jbailer]

I just noticed if you open the Pro Cal 3 program, right under the battery gauge to the left is a question mark. Clicking on that opens the manual and it's all explained in there pretty thoroughly.

 

[jbailer]

So, are the tunes married to the car forever by VIN, etc or can they be uninstalled when you sell the car and resold? I've seen lots of guys sell their Cobb AP when they sell the car and at least the OTS tunes are available for the new owner.

It seems they are married to the car. I took this from the manual for the Pro Cal 3 PC software.

The downloader tab is used to obtain the correct calibration for the vehicle from Ford Performance. When downloading the PC3 file will be personalized to your vehicle using the VIN and Procal Unit serial number. When downloading a PC3 file, it will be stored in the “Documents/ProCal3/calibrations” folder on a Windows computer or “home/ProCal3/calibrations” on Mac OSX based computers. The file will be named based on the calibration, VIN and Procal unit serial number, eg. <calibration>_<VIN>_<SN>.pc3. This makes it easy to identify which file belongs to a specific vehicle.​

 

[jbailer]

A very important point worth repeating is to

Make sure you get the PC3 file from the installer.

Your stock tune is written into the PC3 (tune) file that you download. So if you want to return it to stock, that file is needed. This taken from the manual:

ProCal may upload the stock calibration first prior to programming in order to save the calibration that is currently in your vehicle. This saved file will be contained within the same PC3 file that is being used to program your vehicle.

CAUTION! If a dealer or installation facility has installed and programmed your vehicle, be sure to obtain the Procal unit, USB cable and PC3 file from the installation facility. It is be required to restore the previous calibration or make modifications to the vehicle configuration after the vehicle has been programmed.​

I'm not sure if you can just get the PC3 file from Ford Performance if you didn't get it from the installer and even if FP was willing to replace the PC3 file it would be missing your original tune. This also from the manual.

***TAKE EXTREME CARE THAT YOUR PROCAL VEHICLE INTERFACE UNIT AND THE STOCK CALIBRATION FILE DOWNLOADED FROM YOUR VEHICLE IN THE FOLLOWING STEPS IS NOT LOST OR DAMAGED; REPLACEMENTS WILL NOT BE GIVEN***

 

[jtmat]

I just noticed if you open the Pro Cal 3 program, right under the battery gauge to the left is a question mark. Clicking on that opens the manual and it's all explained in there pretty thoroughly.

I downloaded that last night... that is what I was quoting from.

I used my ipad as a hot spot and tried again... entered the info but it presented a "bin" error.

I did not see a way to flash back to stock... the only way to get to that screen, I believe, is to have the download file.

Once you have the download file (PC3 file), you are presented with more screens (at least that is what the instructions show).

All that typing to say: you need the PC3 file...

You can get the pc3 file from Ford Performance... the "stock tune" for your car is on the usb device you have in your possession.

Can't say I care enough at this point to worry about this "issue".

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