Where is the Power Running Boards module?

[superfordman]

Is it possible to operate Ford OEM PRBs by using an AMP Research wiring harness and not use the OBDII port?

I can pick up a set of 2023 Ford OEM Power Running Boards right now for $500. I'm not opposed to installing a mechanical door switch. (i actually did this on my 1959 F100)

Where are they?! Please tell me?! Send me the link and I'll let you know if they work or not...

Buy them, buy them right now, that is pennies on the dollar for these running boards. All you need is the DSM, maybe a seat harness, some wiring, and boom thats its. No wire taps, switches, OBD stuff, etc.

 

[Legedouj]

Plan to pick them up today! My experience is that I've installed 3 sets of Amp steps. I have never worked with Forescan.

So I believe my options are as follows. with the AMP option being familiar to me and cheaper.

Option A
Ford "Factory" Controlled (I cant find any one that did this to 2022 F150 XLT)
DSM $200-$300
Wiring Harness, less than $100?
Forescan tool $50

Option B
Amp Research Controlled (hardwired not OBDII)
Complete Harness with control module $200

Where are they?! Please tell me?! Send me the link and I'll let you know if they work or not...

Buy them, buy them right now, that is pennies on the dollar for these running boards. All you need is the DSM, maybe a seat harness, some wiring, and boom thats its. No wire taps, switches, OBD stuff, etc.

 

[superfordman]

Nice!
What AMP harness are you talking about exactly? 95% sure that won't work with the OEM boards unless the feedback encoder is exactly the same. Would have to know more about it to know if it might even be feasible or not.

 

[petemill]

I don't think the amp controller will work with 14th gen running boards. The previous gen had the same controller style as AMP and we're interchangeable. But I heard that 14th gen are made by Magma and use a different sensor type. I feel like I remember someone in another forum saying the PRBs would deploy and retract on a single deploy command because the gearing is different.
Edit: Actually, rereading @Jesse-Infotainment 's contribution above, I don't know that this previous paragraph is true.

As for wiring for the XLT, I believe this will be very similar to my Lightning in that the wires won't be on your existing harness. So I'm afraid if you want to do it right there's a lot of wiring and yes, some splicing. You'll have to wire the sensor and power cables from each side to locations on 2 of the connectors under the driver's seat. Then on the male end of those connectors, make the new connections to various pins on the 4 or 5 DSM connectors. They are a bit random. Alternatively you could go direct from the PRBs to the DSM connectors, but if the seat ever needs to be removed then it'll be a pain and the service people might be confused and/or break something. I ended up removing my whole console to get the wires from the passenger PRB to the drivers seat connector. There's probably easier but less direct routes, like through the engine bay! You'll also splice the green wires from each PRB in to the existing green wire in the drivers seat connector as that's the shared network communication wire. You'll want to subscribe to the official Ford wiring website for a few days I'm sure.

The DSM variant itself is hit or miss perhaps. My AJ variant had the chips. I'm sure there are other variants with it too. I bought one on eBay and one on parts.ford.com and both had the chips.

The AMP install will be very simple and a couple hours. The take offs install will be many days unless you happen to have all the wiring (which I strongly doubt anyone does). The only reason I'd do take offs over AMP is if I really prefer the extra length and the manual button they have, or it made financial sense.

 

[superfordman]

@petemill I guess I should have asked you earlier as I'm about 90% way through trying to add mine currently and have been chiming in on another thread mainly.
https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/threads/ford-oem-power-running-boards-install-a-plug-n-play.13168/
I would second that if the 13 and 14 gens are the same, which the motors look identical in form and function, then that AMP controller "should" work then.

I was trying to make mine this evening and didn't have much luck. Got everything wired up, swapped in the correct higher level PRB DSM, enabled everything I could find and no go so far. Did you have to do anything else besides adding the wiring and some forscan work? Luckily in my case my seat harness was already pre-wired for the PRB's so I just needed to add the wiring on the cab side on the two main seat connectors. I'll open up my factory DSM as I'm curious if it had the chips for it or not, by the part number it shouldn't but just wonder now. IMO if you had to do it, the best option would be to swap the seat harness with the correct one then add the pins to two main connectors, that way you don't have a one off seat and removing it is no different than it would be normally.

 

[superfordman]

Option A
Ford "Factory" Controlled (I cant find any one that did this to 2022 F150 XLT)
DSM $200-$300
Wiring Harness, less than $100?
Forescan tool $50

I just looked last night and Ford all a sudden halved the price of the PRB DSM, so it's only $150 straight from them now. I'm almost tempted now to return the one I got then but it again for half price

 

[petemill]

@petemill I guess I should have asked you earlier as I'm about 90% way through trying to add mine currently and have been chiming in on another thread mainly.
https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/threads/ford-oem-power-running-boards-install-a-plug-n-play.13168/
I would second that if the 13 and 14 gens are the same, which the motors look identical in form and function, then that AMP controller "should" work then.

I was trying to make mine this evening and didn't have much luck. Got everything wired up, swapped in the correct higher level PRB DSM, enabled everything I could find and no go so far. Did you have to do anything else besides adding the wiring and some forscan work? Luckily in my case my seat harness was already pre-wired for the PRB's so I just needed to add the wiring on the cab side on the two main seat connectors. I'll open up my factory DSM as I'm curious if it had the chips for it or not, by the part number it shouldn't but just wonder now. IMO if you had to do it, the best option would be to swap the seat harness with the correct one then add the pins to two main connectors, that way you don't have a one off seat and removing it is no different than it would be normally.

yep, I did exactly that - swapped the seat harness from the f150 (Lightning) without PRB to the F150 with PRB

 

[Airborne_Ape]

Sounds like you might have read something I posted a while ago here:
13 Gen PRB Retrofit

I'm pretty certain the mapping of pins 1 and 3 are reversed between 13 and 14 gen but now I'm second guessing myself or maybe it doesn't matter.

The difference between gearing was based from connecting an OEM 13 Gen and 14 Gen power running board on either side of a vehicle to the same controller. The 14 Gen deployed much slower and louder in direct comparison to a 13 Gen motor getting the exact same signal and power. I think the gearing was enhanced to improve torque on the 14 Gens (probably to improve lifespan in the rust belt). It would explain the differences, but that's just my speculation based on observation and sound. I haven't torn apart the motors on either generation.

My problem might have been unique whereas the person I was trying the setup for didn't want to replace both driver and passenger running boards at the same time. They wanted to keep the older style attached to the passenger side because we're in a corrosive environment where the lifespan is generally much shorter.

For this owner, it was preferred to try to maintain a mismatched set until the other side died, because preserving functionality for as long as possible was more important than cosmetics.

I think I made a mistake and missed the calibration Jesse mentioned though, so I might end up retrying it. I successfully retrofit 13 Gen OEM PRB's on a 2017 XLT without any issues before, so this process isn't a completely new experience, but I may have overlooked something with these newer ones.

 

[superfordman]

Sounds like you might have read something I posted a while ago here:
13 Gen PRB Retrofit

I'm pretty certain the mapping of pins 1 and 3 are reversed between 13 and 14 gen but now I'm second guessing myself or maybe it doesn't matter.

I was wondering the same as I just put 13gen boards on my 14gen. Right at the end I also noticed the 1 and 3 swapped between the two, but the wire color matched the description in both, so it might just be swapped in the PRB connector, but still goes to the same side of the motor in either case. Anyways, wired mine up as a 14gen and everything worked like it should out of the gate. Make sure you do the DSM/PRB self check as that will calibrate and check them.

 

[Airborne_Ape]

I didn't see that on the 13 Gen F150 I was working on at the time, but I was using ForScan instead of FRDS that day. I wasn't looking for the option so maybe it's in ForScan and I overlooked it. In that particular situation, I had attempted something most people will never have the need to try and decided to share what I had noticed along the way.

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