Topic

Today I got a call from a friend who is getting on a bit and asked for my help with his TF . The car is an 03 plate with the lucas type key fob (5 AS) immobiliser . The battery is fully charged and the key fobs have good batteries . When you press to unlock / cancel the immobiliser nothing happens and the doors remain locked with the alarm on the dash still flashing . Put the key in the ignition and you get the familiar , be bop be bop sound from the dash telling you that the immobiliser isn't seeing / recognising the fob Fortunately the hood is down but as I was having a bit of a think about what to do next , the owner reached into the car and before I could stop him and pulled the door sill button up and back down again in quick succession several times with the result that the doors are both now dead locked ! ! I did take my Pscan and laptop with me. I have managed to drop the window to gain access to the diagnostic port under the dash and plug it in with the idea of getting the Pscan to re educate the fobs to the car. I went through the process but it hasn't improved the situation . I don't know if this problem is likely to be of interest to Phillip aka Pscan , if not as always any thoughts or ideas will be gratefully received . I haven't checked for blown fuses yet as I ran out of time and I didn't fancy abseiling myself upside down into the drivers seat to look !

John

I can't really help, but I am surprised an 03 Tf is still using the older system.
I know it sounds silly but is he sure that these are the right fobs.

Hi David . If only it was the wrong fobs ! Its a bit of a sad tale behind this TF . The previous owner was like myself , a member of the Leeds MG and CCC . I first met Sean about three years ago at a show that the club sponsors for a local hospice . Sean and his Dad enjoyed the club meetings and we all got along very well. Sean , I found out only lived about half a mile from me and we used to chat and meet up regularly . Sadly and not related to C19 , Sean passed away at the start of lockdown which at the age of 55 was quite a shock . As he wasn't married it left his Dad , who is in his late 70's, to sort out a funeral , house sale and all the rest of his personal effects at a very difficult time . No Father should have to bury his son . He took ownership of Sean's TF which like most of our cars this year has done very little mileage . I just have to hope that I can scratch my head enough ( without getting splinters ) to be able to sort it out as he is a nice guy and I want to help him . He certainly didn't help matters by diddling the sill button up and down causing the alarm to freak out . Pscan hasn't helped me diagnose the problem so I need to delve a bit deeper and see if there are any relays or fuses at fault .

John