Need Help - Carobotor Cluster Causing High Coolant Temperature?

[zezosam]

Hi everyone,


I wanted to share my experience and see if anyone has had the same issue.


Vehicle:

• 2022 Ford Bronco Wildtrak
• 2.7L EcoBoost
• Plug-and-play Carobotor digital cluster

For the past few months I have been chasing what looked like an engine overheating problem.


I replaced or checked:

• Radiator
• Thermostat
• Coolant
• Head gaskets
• ARP studs
• Cooling system
• Various sensors

Nothing completely solved the issue.


Yesterday I reinstalled the original OEM Ford cluster and immediately noticed a huge difference.


Results with the OEM cluster:

• Coolant temperature stays around 82-89°C
• No engine safe mode
• Cooling fans behave normally
• Vehicle drives normally

When the Carobotor cluster is installed:

• Coolant temperature rises much faster.
• Cooling fans become much louder.
• The vehicle previously entered engine protection/safe mode.

The Carobotor cluster is fully plug-and-play with no wiring modifications.


Has anyone experienced:

• Incorrect coolant temperature readings?
• CAN Bus communication issues?
• High fan speed after installing the Carobotor cluster?
• Any firmware update that solved the issue?

I’d really appreciate any feedback before reinstalling it again.


Thank you.

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[maliu]

I’m a nurse. When there is a problem we look at the last thing we did/gave. You changed the cluster, had a problem, threw a bunch of parts at it then discovered the problem was the after market part you put in and you want to try it again?

 

[Brian_B]

Interesting that the instrument cluster can send the engine into limp mode... I would have said the cluster is just reading from the incorrect PID for coolant temp, but not if that's actually occuring (not something you can fix on your end)

 

[zezosam]

That’s exactly why I’m investigating it. I also assumed the cluster was read-only. But the limp mode and overheating behavior only occurred with the Carobotor installed, and disappeared after removing it. I’m hoping to understand whether it’s a firmware or CAN bus communication issue.

 

[zezosam]

I’m a nurse. When there is a problem we look at the last thing we did/gave. You changed the cluster, had a problem, threw a bunch of parts at it then discovered the problem was the after market part you put in and you want to try it again?

Lesson learned: sometimes the last thing you install really is the first thing you should remove.

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