Clio problem.

[Pete]

Asking on behalf of a friend.

My mate has a Clio mk3 1.2 16v 2003.
Basically his his imobiliser wont turn off, so he can't start his car etc.
He's using the key he normally uses, tried delaying before turning the engine to see if it came off. Lots of basic bits and bobs.

Anyone know how to get rid?
(bar buy a new car, as I know you all love clio's)

[vauxluva]

Fiver juice box of matches ,job done!!

[mowgli]

call an auto electrician.

[vauxluva]

Make that a tenner just so you get more than a cap full

[Stuart]

Does it crank but not start?

does it always do it or is it after a run (ie hot start)...... if so then its the crank sensor. £20 from euro car parts and about 10 mins to fit.

[vauxluva]

Modern cars are pretty complicated,As mogli said.Good luck

[Pete]

Lmao, no torching it lol

And Mike, if nothing else works than thats what he'll do, but we don't get paid till Thursday (work at same place) so he can't really get to work as he does 6 starts and no public transport at that time.

[mowgli]

bike?

[vauxluva]

Is it standard or aftermarket?

[Pete]

No it won't crank, literally nothing, and it happened this morning.
Used last night, started this morning.


Standard vauxluva

[vauxluva]

Give him a lift?

[vauxluva]

My mate went to buy one the battery was dead,with a new battery the imob would not disarm.

[Southie]

Some info on here that may help.

http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?547723-clio-immobiliser-problems-!!!

Also this off that thread:
http://www.bba-reman.com/content.aspx?content=Test_for_Renault_Key_Immobili ser_failures_emergency_recode

[Stuart]

Can he get a volt meter on the battery and check the voltage when he goes to crank it... I had the Astra do a dead cell on me a while back, drove to town etc fine then came home turned off the engine popped indoors to get the VX keys to move that and then jumped into the astra.... dead :( dash lit etc 12V on the battery but simply refused to crank, new battery fixed that.

I say all that because every car/van I've played in since 2000 (bar aston martins) that have an immobiliser WILL crank even if there is no chip in the key/blank chip etc. This is to get you a fast start and perceived 'quality', it then cuts out when it decides to immobilise the car lol

[Ben]

renaults are prone for dropping there code, very easy to re enter if you can find a friendly renault tech to get the code from the database, they only need the reg.

I used to buy as many as i could with the same symptoms, used to ask for the reg over the phone, get the code go round by the car as a non runner, enter the code and drive it off, often to a very peed off owners displeasure!

[Curtoise]

hi mate,
pretty confident i know what this is, as i had the exact same problem on my mums clio.
The key is a transponder that sends a signal to the ring around the ignition barrel, the keys on the clios are VERY crappy and always fail so the car does not receive tho code to turn the immobiliser light off.

on the dash there should be a red led that flashes, when it is flashing the immob is active, and only when the led stays illuminated can the engine start.

now you have 2 options to fix this, and neither are cheap im affraid,

the first is to get a replacement key (must be brand new) you can get these off ebay for around £50 or the safe route a renault garage for around £80,
however there is a coding charge and they need the car at the garage to put the immob into learn mode to save the new code given out by the new key. this costs more money and getting the car to the garage is a pain if it wont start.

the second option and what i did, was take the ECU to a auto electrician (easy to remove as next to batt) who send off the ECU to get it decoded, this removes your immobiliser so you will never have the problem again. and they are a very common problem. this cost us £150 which is slightly more than a new key but gives you the piece of mind that it wont happen again.

once you get the ecu decoded the LED on the dash will constantly flash but it will start and run fine.

hope this helps
cheers
curt

[Curtoise]

i researched this for ages when my mums broke and it turns out the key cannot be re-programmed.
for example, off the production line the keys are given a specific number to send out like (0000001) and the next key will be (0000002) and so on, is the ECU that learns these codes and stores them as safe to start engine.
thats why the garage have to have the car when re programming it to accept a key

EDIT : forgot to say if your mate NEEDS to use it, what i did was drill the case where the transponder is (gold bit) or take the plastic case off the key to dissarm the immob if that makes sense

[Jeff16v]

.Run live to starter with key in to see if it turns and fires!

[Phil_d]

If its not cranking at all, before throwing loads of money at it, look at the exciter wire on the starter motor(the female spade connector) replace it, we have loads come in at work for the same problem, took us ages to find the problem the first time but now thats the first thing we check, works 99% of the time.

[Curtoise]

If that flashing red light doesn't stay illumintated when the ignition the immob isn't disarming