Ford Mustang Mach-e GT backlit emblem how to install on European version

Ford Mustang Mach-e GT sold in Europe differs from the version sold in the USA, among other things, by that Europe version does not have an illuminated Mustang emblem on the front. This is due to the difference in legal regulations between the US and Europe. It is strange because illuminated logos and grilles on cars have been allowed in Europe for some time now. And most importantly, the emblem lights up only when you open the car with the key and goes out while driving.

Emblem in the European Mustang Mach E GT is attached to the front of grille, while American version is an LED light attached from the inside of the front bumper. The emblem in the European version has a wider chrome frame

I installed an illuminated emblem from the American version in my Ford Mustang Mach-e GT. To do this, it is necessary to have:

1) An backlit Mustang emblem from the American Mach e GT version

2) A cable with a plug for the emblem. Interestingly, the plugs from the front parking sensors also fit into the emblem. In the European version, there is no dedicated wiring for the emblem, both in the parking sensor harness, which it is part of in the US version, and in the next harness with which it is between it and the BCM in the cabin. I bought a damaged front harness from the US version of the Mach e GT.

3) American grill with a hole for the emblem. You can’t put an illuminated emblem in a European grille because there is no hole in it.

4) Access to the Forscan program and knowledge of which settings in the BCM (body control module) should be changed to activate the emblem illumination.

From the used Mach e USA 15K867 front harness I separated the plug with the cable for the emblem.

The emblem should be connected with two cables t to the BCM. Pin 1 of the emblem plug is connected to pin 40 of the black C2280E plug in the BCM. Pin 2 of the emblem is connected to pin 16 of the black C2280E plug in the BCM.

While 3rd pin of the emblem plug should go to the ground point. It should be the ground at point G105, but the grounds are connected to each other, so it was more convenient for me to connect to point G204 in the cabin right next to the BCM.

The body control module (BCM ) in the Mustang Mach e is located under the dashboard on the passenger side. It contains fuses and plugs.I disassembled the C2280E plug and found cables with pins of identical sizes in the used harness and then plugged them into the plug. I connected the ground (3rd Pin of the emblem plug) to the grounding point next to the BCM.For the tests, I connected the emblem in the cabin. I bought the vLinker FD+ diagnostic interference and installed the Forscan program. The Forscan program is used to diagnose and configure Ford group cars.  Although it is not official dealers software (FDRS is) it is sufficient for this purpose . The program is practically free and can be downloaded from the Forscan website together with a two-month renewable license. Then I activated the emblem with the Forscan program. You need to change two values ​​in the BCM module. These are not obvious settings and I received instructions on which exact values ​​in the codes should be changed confidentially and I cannot provide details about this point. The test was successful, so I disassembled the plastic under the hood in the car to change the grille and run the harness. On the left side under the windshield next to the harness there is a rubber nipple. This is a spare channel prepared for running additional cables through the partition between the engine compartment and the cabin. The channel in the cabin comes out very close to the BCM module. You need to cut off the end of the nipple to open it and run the harness through it. In the cabin, I made an additional plug between the Mustang emblem harness and the BCM so that it is convenient and quick to disconnect the emblem completely if necessary. The US grille version that I bought is a Chinese made substitute to the original. It is of decent quality and has a perfectly reproduced shape. One difference I noticed is a different paint – on the original grille, the paint grains are larger and have more shiny particles, which makes it shimmer more. For me, the original Mach E GT grille looks a little better in real life than the replacement. And that’s it. The emblem works just like in the factory installation – it turns on after opening the car and shines until the lights go out or driving gear is selected. It happened to me occasionally that the emblem did not go out immediately after selecting a gear, but only after increasing the speed. I don’t know what it depends on.  

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