Comma AI self driver assistant

[B177y]

Are the USB connectors on both sides female like a normal coupling?

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[Ajzride]

Are the USB connectors on both sides female like a normal coupling?

yes.

 

[WaterWiz]

2023 F-150 Lightning XLT Non-BlueCruise - OpenPilot Success Report

Vehicle Details

• Model: 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning
• Trim: XLT (without BlueCruise package)
• Factory Equipment: Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with Stop & Go, Lane Centering Assist

Hardware Setup

• Device: Comma 3X
• Harness: Ford Q4 harness (latest revision with molded connector and USB-C)
• Notes: No USB-C cable issues encountered with the current hardware revision.

OpenPilot Integration Status

• Recognition: Vehicle properly identified as FORD_F_150_LIGHTNING_MK1
• Functionality:
  • Adaptive cruise, lane centering, and speed control fully operational
  • Highway driving: Excellent performance
  • Residential & tight curve handling: Typical OpenPilot behavior

Technical Notes

• Lightning support exists in the OpenPilot codebase but is currently disabled due to issue #30302.
• Platform architecture is shared with the Ford Mach-E and F-150 ICE variants (Ford Q4 architecture).
• Integration required adding specific ECU firmware versions to the fingerprint database.
• No major code changes needed—just configuration updates.

Performance Results

• Steering Control: Smooth and stable on highways
• Speed Control: Adaptive cruise performs responsively with correct following distances
• Emergency Disengagement: All safety disengage protocols functioning as expected
• Lane Changes: Manual override system works reliably

For Fellow Lightning Owners
If you have the XLT trim with factory ACC and Lane Centering Assist, your vehicle is compatible.

• What you need: Hardware is compatible; the key requirement is the correct ECU firmware versions.
• What to do: Add those versions to the existing fingerprinting configuration in OpenPilot.

Need help? PM me directly for technical steps. I’m happy to assist with:

• Specific firmware requirements
• Implementation guidance
• Sharing my configuration process privately

Bottom Line
OpenPilot can work on the Lightning XLT with the right configuration.
The foundation is solid. Don’t abandon it due to the temporary issue #30302—many setups (like mine) work fine.

 

[UncleTony]

2023 F-150 Lightning XLT Non-BlueCruise - OpenPilot Success Report

Vehicle Details

• Model: 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning
• Trim: XLT (without BlueCruise package)
• Factory Equipment: Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with Stop & Go, Lane Centering Assist

Hardware Setup

• Device: Comma 3X
• Harness: Ford Q4 harness (latest revision with molded connector and USB-C)
• Notes: No USB-C cable issues encountered with the current hardware revision.

OpenPilot Integration Status

• Recognition: Vehicle properly identified as FORD_F_150_LIGHTNING_MK1
• Functionality:
  • Adaptive cruise, lane centering, and speed control fully operational
  • Highway driving: Excellent performance
  • Residential & tight curve handling: Typical OpenPilot behavior

Technical Notes

• Lightning support exists in the OpenPilot codebase but is currently disabled due to issue #30302.
• Platform architecture is shared with the Ford Mach-E and F-150 ICE variants (Ford Q4 architecture).
• Integration required adding specific ECU firmware versions to the fingerprint database.
• No major code changes needed—just configuration updates.

Performance Results

• Steering Control: Smooth and stable on highways
• Speed Control: Adaptive cruise performs responsively with correct following distances
• Emergency Disengagement: All safety disengage protocols functioning as expected
• Lane Changes: Manual override system works reliably

For Fellow Lightning Owners
If you have the XLT trim with factory ACC and Lane Centering Assist, your vehicle is compatible.

• What you need: Hardware is compatible; the key requirement is the correct ECU firmware versions.
• What to do: Add those versions to the existing fingerprinting configuration in OpenPilot.

Need help? PM me directly for technical steps. I’m happy to assist with:

• Specific firmware requirements
• Implementation guidance
• Sharing my configuration process privately

Bottom Line
OpenPilot can work on the Lightning XLT with the right configuration.
The foundation is solid. Don’t abandon it due to the temporary issue #30302—many setups (like mine) work fine.

Sounds like you have it figured out.

Everyone reach out to Water Wiz if you experience Can bus errors. Sounds like we don't need need to finish our solution after all.

 

[WaterWiz]

Sounds like you have it figured out.

Everyone reach out to Water Wiz if you experience Can bus errors. Sounds like we don't need need to finish our solution after all.

Tony - I have an XLT, you have a Lariat. Not sure if trim makes a difference?

Looking at the posts, most of the #30302 issues are from 2024 posts. It's 2025 now and I just got the latest Q4 adapters from Comma (they were on backorder) - assuming this new batch might have a new cable style that fixes the issue.

Didn't mean to hijack your post at all! As a new user, I had no idea this would even work. This thread is labeled "comma ai self driver assistant" with no #30302 diagnostics mentioned, so I wasn't sure where else to post.

Tony, where should I post this kind of success report? I'm just trying to help other Lightning owners who have no idea this is even possible.

Your hardware solution is still absolutely needed for people with older batches - I might just be lucky with the timing of getting newer hardware!

 

[Ajzride]

Didn't mean to hijack your post at all! As a new user, I had no idea this would even work. This thread is labeled "comma ai self driver assistant" with no #30302 diagnostics mentioned, so I wasn't sure where else to post.

Discussion on the issues starts on post #27 of this thread and continues through page 10.

https://www.f150lightningforum.com/...elf-driver-assistant.18266/page-2#post-377121

 

[UncleTony]

Tony - I have an XLT, you have a Lariat. Not sure if trim makes a difference?

Looking at the posts, most of the #30302 issues are from 2024 posts. It's 2025 now and I just got the latest Q4 adapters from Comma (they were on backorder) - assuming this new batch might have a new cable style that fixes the issue.

Didn't mean to hijack your post at all! As a new user, I had no idea this would even work. This thread is labeled "comma ai self driver assistant" with no #30302 diagnostics mentioned, so I wasn't sure where else to post.

Tony, where should I post this kind of success report? I'm just trying to help other Lightning owners who have no idea this is even possible.

Your hardware solution is still absolutely needed for people with older batches - I might just be lucky with the timing of getting newer hardware!

The issue has also been reported on all variants of the lightning. It's only been voiced twice that I know of where people have claimed to not have startup errors. Its not ideal to tell people it will work on a lot of lightings when there is no evidence of a resolution by comma. There will likely not be a software solution as the issue seems to stem from the use of the long USBC cable which causes canbus reflections. Comma would have added the lightning to the list of compatible vehicles and closed the bounty if they had solved it themselves.

 

[WaterWiz]

The issue has also been reported on all variants of the lightning. It's only been voiced twice that I know of where people have claimed to not have startup errors. Its not ideal to tell people it will work on a lot of lightings when there is no evidence of a resolution by comma. There will likely not be a software solution as the issue seems to stem from the use of the long USBC cable which causes canbus reflections. Comma would have added the lightning to the list of compatible vehicles and closed the bounty if they had solved it themselves.

Tony - you're absolutely right, and I apologize for potentially giving false hope. I was excited it worked and posted without fully understanding the scope of the problem.

Digging deeper into this, I can see it's a real pain for most people. Looking at my specific setup, I think I might have gotten lucky with several factors:

• XLT with minimal electrical complexity (basic interior, regular screen)
• No extension cable (Comma sends one, but I saw no need and didn't use it)
• 2025 hardware timing (just got latest Q4 adapters that were on backorder)

But here's the thing - I think I did this all backwards. My specific ECU firmware versions weren't even in OpenPilot's databases:

• Camera: PJ6T-14H102-ABJ
• EPS: NL38-14D003-AC
• ABS: PL38-2D053-AA
• Radar: ML3T-14D049-AL

So there's no way the standard process would have picked up my combo anyway. I had to do a full OpenPilot code download, read CAN data directly, modify the fingerprint database to add these specific versions, then reinstall.

Most people probably try the standard approach first, hit the hardware issues, then give up. I went straight to custom firmware fingerprinting and CAN analysis because nothing worked initially - spent days in dashcam mode before figuring this out.

Your hardware solution is definitely still needed - I'm probably one of the rare edge cases where everything aligned electrically, plus I bypassed the normal process entirely with custom code modifications.

Should I add a big disclaimer to my success post warning people that this worked for my specific configuration but they should expect potential issues? Don't want people wasting time on software fixes when they need your hardware solution.

Thanks for keeping expectations realistic - the last thing I want is frustrated Lightning owners thinking I oversold this.

 

[Ajzride]

Most people probably try the standard approach first, hit the hardware issues, then give up. I went straight to custom firmware fingerprinting and CAN analysis because nothing worked initially - spent days in dashcam mode before figuring this out.

You're obviously very sharp if you fingerprinted without any help, but you seem to be lacking in your research. Most of us gave up fingerprinting Fords because the ECU numbers change with every OTA, and you must keep updating the code. We just run a popular fork that lets you force your fingerprint from the menu and don't worry about the constantly changing ECU numbers.

 

[WaterWiz]

You're obviously very sharp if you fingerprinted without any help, but you seem to be lacking in your research. Most of us gave up fingerprinting Fords because the ECU numbers change with every OTA, and you must keep updating the code. We just run a popular fork that lets you force your fingerprint from the menu and don't worry about the constantly changing ECU numbers.

Your right, I had zero knowledge going into this and rebuilt everything from scratch. If I had read these posts first, I probably would have never attempted what I did - you're absolutely right, I didn't research, I just jumped in.

But now I'm wondering: Is there any correlation between fingerprint issues and the "hardware problems"?

Key Questions:

1. Has anyone with confirmed startup errors/CAN faults actually tried adding their specific ECU firmware to the fingerprint database FIRST?
2. Why does Mach-E work fine with the same (or longer) USB-C cables on the same Q4 platform? If it's really cable reflections, shouldn't Mach-E have identical issues?
3. Are we potentially conflating two separate problems:
   • Vehicle recognition failures (fingerprint database)
   • Actual electrical interference (if it exists)

What I'm Getting At: Maybe some people are hitting electrical issues, but others are just hitting outdated fingerprints and assuming it's hardware. Without testing fingerprint fixes first, how do we know which problem we're actually solving?

Has anyone systematically tested: Vehicle with confirmed "hardware issues" → Add proper ECU fingerprints → See if errors disappear?

Or did everyone jump straight to hardware solutions without isolating whether it's recognition vs electrical?

I'm genuinely curious if my approach would resolve issues for others, or if there really are electrical problems that fingerprinting can't fix.

 

[Ajzride]

Key Questions:

1. Has anyone with confirmed startup errors/CAN faults actually tried adding their specific ECU firmware to the fingerprint database FIRST?
2. Why does Mach-E work fine with the same (or longer) USB-C cables on the same Q4 platform? If it's really cable reflections, shouldn't Mach-E have identical issues?
3. Are we potentially conflating two separate problems:
   
   • Vehicle recognition failures (fingerprint database)
   • Actual electrical interference (if it exists)

I am 138% positive this is a hardware issue and not related to the fingerprint. For people who are experiencing issues they will get errors even with the comma unplugged and only the harness installed. We have added fingerprints and forced fingerprints and it makes no difference, which makes sense because even having the device unplugged still generates errors.

Why the MachE doesn't have issues is a bit of a mystery. The leading theory is that because the lightning offers reverse power to the house, some of the ECU modules never fully go to sleep, and therefore they are awak to see issues that only happen during the boot process while the relay inside the comma harness box is doing it's switching. MachE and ICE F150 Modules are not in a constant awake state preparing to provide reverse power to a house.

What I'm Getting At: Maybe some people are hitting electrical issues, but others are just hitting outdated fingerprints and assuming it's hardware. Without testing fingerprint fixes first, how do we know which problem we're actually solving?

Once you finish your research you'll see that this has nothing to do with fingerprints.

Has anyone systematically tested: Vehicle with confirmed "hardware issues" → Add proper ECU fingerprints → See if errors disappear?

Or did everyone jump straight to hardware solutions without isolating whether it's recognition vs electrical?

I'm genuinely curious if my approach would resolve issues for others, or if there really are electrical problems that fingerprinting can't fix.

You are only the second Lightning owner to ever to report not getting the errors. I appreciate your enthusiasm, but multiple electronics and electrical engineers have been working on this for over a year and are confident it's a hardware issue.

 

[UncleTony]

Tony - you're absolutely right, and I apologize for potentially giving false hope. I was excited it worked and posted without fully understanding the scope of the problem.

Digging deeper into this, I can see it's a real pain for most people. Looking at my specific setup, I think I might have gotten lucky with several factors:

• XLT with minimal electrical complexity (basic interior, regular screen)
• No extension cable (Comma sends one, but I saw no need and didn't use it)
• 2025 hardware timing (just got latest Q4 adapters that were on backorder)

But here's the thing - I think I did this all backwards. My specific ECU firmware versions weren't even in OpenPilot's databases:

• Camera: PJ6T-14H102-ABJ
• EPS: NL38-14D003-AC
• ABS: PL38-2D053-AA
• Radar: ML3T-14D049-AL

So there's no way the standard process would have picked up my combo anyway. I had to do a full OpenPilot code download, read CAN data directly, modify the fingerprint database to add these specific versions, then reinstall.

Most people probably try the standard approach first, hit the hardware issues, then give up. I went straight to custom firmware fingerprinting and CAN analysis because nothing worked initially - spent days in dashcam mode before figuring this out.

Your hardware solution is definitely still needed - I'm probably one of the rare edge cases where everything aligned electrically, plus I bypassed the normal process entirely with custom code modifications.

Should I add a big disclaimer to my success post warning people that this worked for my specific configuration but they should expect potential issues? Don't want people wasting time on software fixes when they need your hardware solution.

Thanks for keeping expectations realistic - the last thing I want is frustrated Lightning owners thinking I oversold this.

When you say you "didn't use the extension cable" are you talking about the long USB C cable? If so, how did you get the comma unit connected to the comma harness?

 

[WaterWiz]

When you say you "didn't use the extension cable" are you talking about the long USB C cable? If so, how did you get the comma unit connected to the comma harness?

Tony, my harness included a long USB-C male-to-male cable (which I used), a USB-C coupler (which I didn’t use), and a short 12" USB-C pigtail (also not used). Based on what I’ve seen from other users and comments, my setup seems a bit different. On mine, the USB-C and the OBD2 power plug are located right next to each other, which may not be the case on earlier versions—so I’m not sure if this is a new layout or just a variation.

 

[UncleTony]

Tony, my harness included a long USB-C male-to-male cable (which I used), a USB-C coupler (which I didn’t use), and a short 12" USB-C pigtail (also not used). Based on what I’ve seen from other users and comments, my setup seems a bit different. On mine, the USB-C and the OBD2 power plug are located right next to each other, which may not be the case on earlier versions—so I’m not sure if this is a new layout or just a variation.

Thats just the normal Q4 harness. The smaller cable is ideal to reduce stress on the comma units USB port against the windshield. But it will work the same with your setup.

If you unplug the cable from your comma unit and start the truck, does it not throw errors?

 

[EVO]

Encrypted canbus.

Has this problem been solved? I have a 2024 lightning flash. I keep finding conflicting information.

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