Ampire WFS300-BT CAN bus immobiliser fitted (Auto Watch Ghost)

[drewzh]

So many of you have probably heard about the CAN bus immobiliser you can have installed in the UK - the Auto Watch Ghost. This is a pro-install only product that costs £400 to have installed.

However, what most of you probably don't know is that this product is actually a re-branded product sold overseas under a few different brand names, one of which being the Ampire WFS300-BT. This is the exact same product, minus the pro install - even the Android and iOS app is the same but with a different logo and colour scheme.

The Ampire WFS300-BT can be purchased online for as little as £179 and installed with some reasonable electrical skills and a few hours to kill.

I personally like to do everything on my car myself (minus a few things like tyres and alignment etc), so paying someone else to splice into 4 wires just seemed a little steep.

The recommended approach for installing these is to wire them directly to the OBD port wiring (and I imagine this is how the 'pro' installers are doing it)... Considering the wiring is so easily accessed - All that's required to disarm the immobiliser would be cut any of the 4 wires, so having it in such a vulnerable spot seems a bit insecure - even with the possibility of anyone knowing you have an immobiliser installed being quite slim, I didn't like the idea of this at all so I decided to install mine in a hard to reach spot...

I wanted to install it somewhere fairly deep into the dashboard so that even if the thief knew I had an immobiliser installed and even knew *where* it was installed, it wouldn't be feasible to try and removed the module as it would be too time-consuming/risky.

After doing some research, I found that the HS1-CAN wiring can be spliced into from behind the sync 3 module on the APIM connector. This is quite a difficult part to reach so it's extremely unlikely that anyone would go to the trouble of trying to remove it, even if they knew where to look.

So I removed the various dash pieces, removed the 4 bolts holding the fascia in place, removed and unplugged the various cables from the facia, removed the 4 bolts from the touchscreen, then removed the touchscreen/sync module and installed the Ampire into the APIM connector that goes into the back of the sync module.

I used self-soldering, self-sealing heat-shrink tubes - I'd never used them before and I'd say they do a reasonable job. I then wrapped everything back up with Tesa tape (much like the OEM fabric tape Ford use) to make everything is stealth as possible. My only worry at this point is that if I die, nobody will ever know the immobiliser is installed and the car will have to be scrapped

Pins used on the APIM cable are:
Pin 1 = 12v
Pin 37 = Ground
Pin 53 = HS1-CAN High+
Pin 54 = HS1-CAN Low-

Anyway, I hope this helps someone. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Test install of the Ampire WFS300-BT - PIN now setup and working as expected:

Ampire WFS300-BT Wired up:

Self soldering, self sealing, heat-shrink tubing:

First length of Tesa tape wrapped:

Final wrap of Tesa tape added:

At this point it's quite impossible to tell the immobiliser is installed:

Touchscreen bolted back into place:

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[Manders Mustang]

Yeha that's gonna be a pain in the arse to remove...Nice findguide by the way

 

[kapiteinlangzaam]

Nice little guide.

The only thing I would caution is that the APIMs and SYNC units have a habit of going tit up on these cars. If in warranty, the moment Ford see youve been messing with the connections and soldering external systems in, they will wash their hands of it. Even though we all know this wouldnt be the root cause.

If thats not a problem for you, or if outside warranty, then crack on

 

[drewzh]

Nice little guide.

The only thing I would caution is that the APIMs and SYNC units have a habit of going tit up on these cars. If in warranty, the moment Ford see youve been messing with the connections and soldering external systems in, they will wash their hands of it. Even though we all know this wouldnt be the root cause.

If thats not a problem for you, or if outside warranty, then crack on

Maybe to expand on that a little... Adding ANY third party device to your cars electronics, including hard wiring a dashcam, *can* invalidate your electronics warranty.

 

[kapiteinlangzaam]

Correct, but it also comes down to 'reasonableness' and ease of removal.

Ford are gonna run a mile of they see solders in the back of the APIM harness.

I had my APIM replaced under warranty with a hardwired dashcam and a Ngauge on the OBD. No issues. But a modified loom would have gotten me a big fat no, I'm sure.

 

[drewzh]

Correct, but it also comes down to 'reasonableness' and ease of removal.

Ford are gonna run a mile of they see solders in the back of the APIM harness.

I had my APIM replaced under warranty with a hardwired dashcam and a Ngauge on the OBD. No issues. But a modified loom would have gotten me a big fat no, I'm sure.

I'm not sure how common this APIM replacement is, I've certainly not heard about it being a common item to replace. One thing I will say is, the wiring harness is completely bound together with Tesa tape and there's nothing to give it away. Wouldn't any sane tech simply unplug the harness and replace the APIM? On another note, as there's no other way to install these things without splicing into a CAN circuit, anyone who's had an immobiliser fitted or is thinking of getting one installed, do take this into consideration ;) I personally would take the small risk and have my car protected from thieves. T minus 2 years until the warranty is out anyway... I'll roll the dice.

 

[drewzh]

Correct, but it also comes down to 'reasonableness' and ease of removal.

Ford are gonna run a mile of they see solders in the back of the APIM harness.

I had my APIM replaced under warranty with a hardwired dashcam and a Ngauge on the OBD. No issues. But a modified loom would have gotten me a big fat no, I'm sure.

Just to note that I did not solder into the connector... the wires are spliced in further up the harness and wrapped tightly with OEM tesa tape. I just realised this might not have been clear as I posted a picture of the immobiliser wires inserted into the connector. This was for testing purposes only.

 

[EssexBoyRacer]

Hey drewzh.

Signed up after finding this post on a google search.

I did heaps of research on the autowatch ghost and even applied to be an approved installer just so that I could do my own install but they weren’t having any of it.

In the end I stumbled upon the wfs300-BT (along with the Russian original version) and managed to find a supplier in Greece willing to supply me a unit.

I installed on my Mercedes c63s for a few months now and like you am happy to have done my own installation.

My question however, are you having any issues with the iPhone app? I find mine will allow the car the to start so long as the app is running regardless of the setting of the big power button on the main screen. Only way I can prevent it from authorisation is to kill the app in background.

I’ve tested with autowatch ghost app, ampire app and even the Russian app (which is free in the App Store btw and updated more frequently) but they all present the same behaviour.

Developers said it’s an iOS 12 issue but I’m beginning to think my firmware on my unit needs updating too (luckily I also have the usb dongle) just no access to firmware updates!

 

[Tim_]

My question however, are you having any issues with the iPhone app? I find mine will allow the car the to start so long as the app is running regardless of the setting of the big power button on the main screen. Only way I can prevent it from authorisation is to kill the app in background.

I’ve tested with autowatch ghost app, ampire app and even the Russian app (which is free in the App Store btw and updated more frequently) but they all present the same behaviour.

Developers said it’s an iOS 12 issue but I’m beginning to think my firmware on my unit needs updating too (luckily I also have the usb dongle) just no access to firmware updates!

This was an issue in the UK a while back, where people had the app running int he background and their cars were still being stolen off their driveways. I believe there was a firmware update to correct this.

One way around it is to not allow your phone to connect via BT (and that's what a lot of users still do to this day)

 

[drewzh]

Hey drewzh.

Signed up after finding this post on a google search.

I did heaps of research on the autowatch ghost and even applied to be an approved installer just so that I could do my own install but they weren’t having any of it.

In the end I stumbled upon the wfs300-BT (along with the Russian original version) and managed to find a supplier in Greece willing to supply me a unit.

I installed on my Mercedes c63s for a few months now and like you am happy to have done my own installation.

My question however, are you having any issues with the iPhone app? I find mine will allow the car the to start so long as the app is running regardless of the setting of the big power button on the main screen. Only way I can prevent it from authorisation is to kill the app in background.

I’ve tested with autowatch ghost app, ampire app and even the Russian app (which is free in the App Store btw and updated more frequently) but they all present the same behaviour.

Developers said it’s an iOS 12 issue but I’m beginning to think my firmware on my unit needs updating too (luckily I also have the usb dongle) just no access to firmware updates!

So I actually haven't used the BT side of things and likely won't in future either, so I can't really be of help here, unfortunately. Both due to security concerns and also that I don't mind the manual pin instead - I actually prefer it that way. If I could somehow disable the Bluetooth side of things I would.

 

[Myweepony]

Nice install drewzh. You've prompted me to have a look at these.

A couple of questions though, to yourself or anyone who has one.

There's a few more wires to connect than your install shows, presumably there are instructions as to where to attach them?

Reviews I've read mention LED flashes etc to help when programming the pin or changing the pin. The sales blurb then tells you there're no flashing lights etc to give away it's location when fitted. What's this all about?

Does the valet/service mode restrict the speed at which the car can be driven? How does that work?

The blurb says it can be installed without breaking wires. I haven't seen these all singing dancing shrink fits before, but surely you must have had to cut wires to fit those? Only other way I can see is to use scotchlocks but would rather use your method.

TIA for any help.

 

[EssexBoyRacer]

Extra wires aren’t for all installations. Some require an additional circuit (via relay) cut if it’s not possible inhibit the car using can bus.

Led flashes are using an existing symbols on the dash. Eg main beam or indicators no additional led is installed as part of the kit.

Valet mode allows the car to be used without entering code so long as the car stays under 30mph for a set amount of time. Once you break that condition the immobiliser resorts back to normal mode on the next use. You can also fully disable the immobiliser entirely using a longer disarm process.

You need to tap into minimum of 3 wires plus earth. But don’t have to cut anything unless you need the extra immobiliser circuit (don’t think this applies to mustangs). If you are creative enough you might be able to do it completely without cutting or tapping anything if you can find a way to join the cars can bus network via hub/junction box and make use of available fuse box slots.

HTH!

 

[Myweepony]

Thanks Steve.

I think I read somewhere that it will also allow enabling of anti hijacking features, like locking doors above a certain speed.

The Mustang doesn't have this feature, at least my MY17 doesn't have it, but I believe it can be enabled by using Forscan. Is using the WFS 300 BT a simpler way to enable this?

I see there is a German seller on Ebay, are there any others that you know of?

Cheers
Phil

 

[drewzh]

Extra wires aren’t for all installations. Some require an additional circuit (via relay) cut if it’s not possible inhibit the car using can bus.

Led flashes are using an existing symbols on the dash. Eg main beam or indicators no additional led is installed as part of the kit.

Valet mode allows the car to be used without entering code so long as the car stays under 30mph for a set amount of time. Once you break that condition the immobiliser resorts back to normal mode on the next use. You can also fully disable the immobiliser entirely using a longer disarm process.

You need to tap into minimum of 3 wires plus earth. But don’t have to cut anything unless you need the extra immobiliser circuit (don’t think this applies to mustangs). If you are creative enough you might be able to do it completely without cutting or tapping anything if you can find a way to join the cars can bus network via hub/junction box and make use of available fuse box slots.

HTH!

Great response, thanks. I actually wasn't aware you could temp-disable the module fully. The service mode is handy for quick handovers like valet etc, but it gets a bit awkward when you take it in for a service etc. Do you happen to have the sequence to hand as I didn't come across that in the instructions I have?

 

[drewzh]

Thanks Steve.

I think I read somewhere that it will also allow enabling of anti hijacking features, like locking doors above a certain speed.

The Mustang doesn't have this feature, at least my MY17 doesn't have it, but I believe it can be enabled by using Forscan. Is using the WFS 300 BT a simpler way to enable this?

I see there is a German seller on Ebay, are there any others that you know of?

Cheers
Phil

In regards to tapping into the CAN bus network. On the 18 GT at least, the pins that connect to the CAN high/low are run in series, so there are 2 wires for each pin, which makes adding a 3rd wire very difficult as the pins can only handle so many wires going into them. If you manage to do that (you'll need pins and a crimper) then, please let me know if you had success. I didn't want to go down this route and instead decided to splice into one of the 2 wires to run the module in parallel to the existing circuit. I did initially try to pull back insulation to splice in without cutting the wires, but unfortunately, the wire broke as the wire is quite thin, so I had no choice but to solder them in instead. Whilst the splice is very clean and I'm confident in my solution, I am quite annoyed that I couldn't do a less invasive splice, such as connecting to the connector itself or using some kind of harness. I actually think you can get a harness extension, which you could use to splice into rather than cutting the original one.

There's a number of features that the mustang doesn't support with the firmware loaded (I believe BMW_F) (or at least, I haven't attempted to get them working). Things like folding mirrors, auto door locking etc I don't think are supported. It actually uses a firmware designed for a BMW, so there's a possibility that a Mustang-specific firmware that supports more features may be released in future.

I actually purchased the programming solution for the device, so I can upgrade the firmware via bluetooth in future.

I've attached the feature support sheet for the Mustang.

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