Is there any way to override the programmed antitheft keys on a Windstar
2000 LX? Right now I'm going to have to have it towed to a Ford dealership because I disconnected the battery to clean the contacts, and now it won't recognize my keys. Any help would be appreciated. Mark.
Who says he's stealing a car? I'm not going to say it doesn't happen. In any case, every major vehicle maker *warns* you to record the security keys for the radio should something like this happen.
To the original poster--take your van to the dealership and see what they say. You may need proof of ownership and they may charge. Depending upon what it will cost to have the radio unlocked, you may wish to consider installation of an aftermarket set.
One thing I'm not sure about--I think you're actually talking about the keys that let you start and drive the vehicle...and not the radio. Sorry for any confusion on that front.
Most of those keys (that I know of) have a resistor of some value in there that is checked by the vehicle. If the resistor doesn't match the value it should, then the vehicle won't "accept" the key.
I'd guess that the dealership will have to straighten this out, but you might check to see if the toothed part of the key is in any way dirty or misshapen.
"William R. Walsh" wrote in message news:XXVtf.671706$_o.429692@attbi_s71...
Some of them use RFID style transponders built into the keys. When the OP disconnected the battery it's possible the car's anti theft circuit 'forgot' its code. It could require the dealer to put it right, or at least some kind of procedure for the car's computer to re-learn the key code.
There is a procedure and it requires you to have at least two keys with the RFID chip. Otherwise the dealer charges ~ $75 plus towing to reprogram them.
I have seen the procedure posted on line somewhere.
That sure sounds like a big rip off.... Cars should not need to be reprogrammed if the battery goes flat. I know some did store some information and would run rough for a while but it would reprogram its self after driving for a while. At least you would not be stranded where someone could not jump your car off. Kind of like a guy at work wanted another remote entry key for a used car he bought. Forgot what the dealer wanted for the key, but they wanted $ 50 to program it. He bought the key off e-bay for about $ 15 and got instructions on how to do it. Charging $ 50 to program one which takes about 5 minuits and only requires opening and closing the door and turning the switch in a sequence seems way too high.
They do. It is the first thing to be corrupted when the power fails. I know a P38 RangeRover has a complex proceedure involving a sequence of key rotations (unigue to each ecu) to remove the immobiliser. I have experience of a Mercedes having to go to the dealers for a reset following a flat battery, I assume the NVR memories that tell it nothing is faulty got corrupted.
I am a bit of a luddite with cars. My current car has 3 computers, that "talk" on the CAN bus, and all have to agree to let the engine start. The instruments are ecu controlled, so I had to drive with no speedo or rev counter once, luckily a power off/on "fixed" it. The throttle is electric, so there is a noticable delay between stomping on the pedal and anything happening. This also means no blipping the throttle to get low gears in the cold and makes the engine race on upchanges.
You need to have TWO working PATS keys in order to program another key.
Without that it has to go to the dealer with the programming tool or locksmith that has the programming tool.
Whenever removing the battery on vehicles with this feature, there is a specific place that 12V has to be jumpered into the vehicle to hold the memory to prevent this problem. I would suggest that you never let the battery run completely dead and replace it before it fails.
Wonderful feature isn't it. Say you leave your headlights on and the battery is a few years old and drops below memory holding voltage. Then you cannot simply jump start the car but have to either pay a locksmith to come out or pay for the tow to the dealer, just for a dead battery that in years past could have been jump started. In most modern vehicles if the battery is really completely dead it is recommended that you not jump start it as the alternator and charging circuit has little extra capacity to supply the large current demands of a completely dead battery.
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