What does locking and unlocking 3 times do?

Resets the remote locking system and clears any stored battery warning.

Often has to be done after a battery change in the keyfob, especially if the low battery warning keeps coming back.

9 minutes ago, Grampabill said:

What does locking and unlocking 3 times do?

In addition, you really need to dip the fob into some eye of newt & some pulverised bat wings, whilst chanting, "please work... please work..." 

1 hour ago, StephenFord said:

some eye of newt

You can 'hold the newt' if not available 🤣

 

1 hour ago, StephenFord said:

In addition, you really need to dip the fob into some eye of newt & some pulverised bat wings, whilst chanting, "please work... please work..." 

Strangely enough that was the first thing I tried !!!!

On 4/17/2023 at 7:20 PM, unofix said:

It's the car that gets programmed to the key, not the other way round.

Yes you can programme a replacement in to the car provided you have two keys that work in the ignition and start the engine.

it's rare for keyfobs to just die. Firstly check is the battery in the correct way up ?  Did you clean the replacement battery with something like IPA or acetone (nail polish remover) ?

Have you used the working remote and stood outside the vehicle and used the buttons to lock and unlock the doors 3 times in quick succession ?

 

Can I assume you mean the keys within the fobs? As far as I know the internal keys should both work as they are for my car.

I have changed the batteries in both fobs at least 3 times since I acquired the car so I do know which way up the battery goes. I have, since your post, taken it out and cleaned both sides with acetone but still no luck. Also I have tried your suggestion of locking and unlocking 3 times with the remote that works but knowing that the non working one is not putting out any signals still nothing.

Could you please give me a step by step of what to do to program another Ford Focus fob which I have in my posession if it is possible to do it. (yes I do realise it's the car being programmed but you know what I mean !!!)

Hi Bill,

just to clear up a couple of points of miscommunication 👍

Yes the metal key blade inside of the keyfob will of course still physically work, so no issues with that.

The Keyfob has two separate programmed parts to it. (a) The remote lock/unlock function (b) The security immobiliser transponder chip (PATS).

Each part has to be programmed to get a fully working keyfob that both locks/unlocks the doors and also starts the car. The programming of the remote operation is quite straight forward and doesn't require you to have two working keyfobs. The programming of the PATS transponder in to the car does require two working keyfobs, but so long as the none working keyfob that you have will still start the engine then that will be fine.

Full instructions of how to programme both parts of the keyfob can be found in the owners handbook. See Page 36 onwards for details.

https://www.fordservicecontent.com/Ford_Content/catalog/owner_guides/ENUSA_CG3568_FOC_og_201009.pdf

As far as I can tell those instructions apply to the Focus with an ignition key which is inserted and turned to start the engine. The fact that my Focus has a push button start and no obvious ignition key is not mentioned anywhere. Also there is no obvious finger sensor on the drivers door.

11 hours ago, Grampabill said:

As far as I can tell those instructions apply to the Focus with an ignition key which is inserted and turned to start the engine. The fact that my Focus has a push button start and no obvious ignition key is not mentioned anywhere. Also there is no obvious finger sensor on the drivers door.

The Mk3 Titanium only came with push-button start as standard. 

Keyless entry was additional optional extra, which explains why you don't have the sensor on the door handle.

2 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

The Mk3 Titanium only came with push-button start as standard. 

Keyless entry was additional optional extra, which explains why you don't have the sensor on the door handle.

So, is there anything I can do to program my car fobs and, if so, a detailed list would be most welcome.

2 minutes ago, Grampabill said:

So, is there anything I can do to program my car fobs and, if so, a detailed list would be most welcome.

This works when a keyless fob has lost sync but I don't know if it will allow you to programme new fobs to the car.

1. Sit in the car, do not press any pedals. 

2. Press the start button on & off 4 times quickly (just long enough to hear the beep each time) and at the end of those 4 times you should hear a long bleep. 

3. At that point, press any button on your fob. 

4. Switch off the ignition.  Test the fob locks/unlocks.

45 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

This works when a keyless fob has lost sync but I don't know if it will allow you to programme new fobs to the car.

1. Sit in the car, do not press any pedals. 

2. Press the start button on & off 4 times quickly (just long enough to hear the beep each time) and at the end of those 4 times you should hear a long bleep. 

3. At that point, press any button on your fob. 

4. Switch off the ignition.  Test the fob locks/unlocks.

I'm a little confused as I have never heard a beep when the start button is pressed but I'll give it a try and see what happens. Thank you for your efforts.

6 minutes ago, Grampabill said:

I'm a little confused as I have never heard a beep when the start button is pressed but I'll give it a try and see what happens. Thank you for your efforts.

It's more of a 'dodaloo' than a beep I guess...   This video may help.

 

 

4 hours ago, Grampabill said:

I'm a little confused as I have never heard a beep when the start button is pressed but I'll give it a try and see what happens. Thank you for your efforts.

OK then I've tried it with every combination of keys and fobs. It signals that it is receptive to signals but nothing happens when key fob buttons are pressed and the car remains unresponsive to key fob operation inside or outside. Thankfully my one working fob still works so I'm about to give up on the whole thing.

6 minutes ago, Grampabill said:

...Thankfully my one working fob still works so I'm about to give up on the whole thing.

I must admit I'm at a loss. If you have one 'working' fob, that demonstrates that all is well with the car, the reception of a remote signal, and it operating locks as designed. So when in 'program' mode, it should really program a secondary 'remote' just by pressing any button on it - yep, a real mystery...

2 hours ago, StephenFord said:

I must admit I'm at a loss. If you have one 'working' fob, that demonstrates that all is well with the car, the reception of a remote signal, and it operating locks as designed. So when in 'program' mode, it should really program a secondary 'remote' just by pressing any button on it - yep, a real mystery...

Do you happen to know if there are any Ford auto electricians on the forum who could perhaps let us into the secret?

1 minute ago, Grampabill said:

Do you happen to know if there are any Ford auto electricians on the forum who could perhaps let us into the secret?

To be fair, you've already had some very experienced fault analysers contributing on this thread ( I do NOT include myself on that LOL). You can either just wait to see if anyone else pops along, or take it to a local spark to see what they make of the fault...

On 4/20/2023 at 9:39 PM, StephenFord said:

To be fair, you've already had some very experienced fault analysers contributing on this thread ( I do NOT include myself on that LOL). You can either just wait to see if anyone else pops along, or take it to a local spark to see what they make of the fault...

And I'm very grateful to all who took the trouble to answer my plea but are there no professional Ford auto electrics specialists who know exactly how it's done as most, if not all, online methods are not for my particular type and year of car. I sometimes wonder if Ford has them sign NDA's

Is the keyfob that you are trying to programme the correct version for your car ?

There are two different transponder versions for the 2011 model. Also there are different frequencies for the remote lock/unlock buttons (433MHz being common). Its not usually easy to find the frequency because when you buy a brand new keyfob from Ford they just know them by the FINIS code. The transponder type is on most (but not all) normally easy to read the number on the chip.

Which part of the programming is it that you can't get to work, the PATS security transponder that allows the engine to start or the remote lock/unlock ?

12 hours ago, unofix said:

Is the keyfob that you are trying to programme the correct version for your car ?

There are two different transponder versions for the 2011 model. Also there are different frequencies for the remote lock/unlock buttons (433MHz being common). Its not usually easy to find the frequency because when you buy a brand new keyfob from Ford they just know them by the FINIS code. The transponder type is on most (but not all) normally easy to read the number on the chip.

Which part of the programming is it that you can't get to work, the PATS security transponder that allows the engine to start or the remote lock/unlock ?

Yes of course it is. We got 2 fobs with the car and they have both worked well 'til I changed the battery in the wifes fob which seems to have died for some reason. I took it to our local branch of Timpsons and the nice man there said that he did not have the gear to help but did have a frequency/fob checker and, on testing the fob, discovered that it was not putting out any kind of signal while my working fob did quite normally.

I do have the AA's key insurance and have tried them for help but made the mistake of telling them the truth !! Had I lost the fob or it had been stolen then they would have replaced it but they do not cover broken or faulty fobs. They did quote me £155 for a new one which is way better that any other quote so far.

On 4/17/2023 at 6:50 PM, Grampabill said:

Is it possible to have a similar fob from a similarly aged and make/type of car cleared of original settings and reprogrammed to suit my 2011 Focus Titanium?

5 hours ago, Grampabill said:

Yes of course it is.

It seems that you do not welcome the help that those of us here have tried to offer. It was my understating that you were trying to re-use a keyfob from another vehicle and programme your car to it. As you have already established the original keyfob is no longer transmitting any RF and so no amount of hocus pocus is going to get that to work as it is not a programming fault.

17 minutes ago, unofix said:

It seems that you do not welcome the help that those of here have tried to offer. It was my understating that you were trying to re-use a keyfob from another vehicle and programme your car to it. As you have already established the original keyfob is no longer transmitting any RF and so no amount of hocus pocus is going to get that to work as it is not a programming fault.

Please don't misunderstand me I am extremely grateful for all and any suggestions of help The fob which failed is one of the original fobs which came with the car and the reason I asked about possibly programming the fob from another similar type and age of car was purely for my information as I do not have any other fobs only the original 2. I'm sorry if what I said sounded wrong but that was not my intention, i'm very thankfull that forums such as this exist and are prepared to help.

5 hours ago, Grampabill said:

I changed the battery in the wifes fob which seems to have died for some reason.

I think this is the salient point. From what you've said about getting it tested at Timpsons I presume it didn't produce a signal when any of the buttons were pressed which suggests to me a total loss of power to the circuit board. The fact this happened after changing the battery implies the action of changing it may have caused a break somewhere (e.g. the board flexing slightly or a battery contact getting deformed). I think it would be worth letting someone experienced in electronics have a look at it, by which I mean a careful visual inspection.

58 minutes ago, mjt said:

I think this is the salient point. From what you've said about getting it tested at Timpsons I presume it didn't produce a signal when any of the buttons were pressed which suggests to me a total loss of power to the circuit board. The fact this happened after changing the battery implies the action of changing it may have caused a break somewhere (e.g. the board flexing slightly or a battery contact getting deformed). I think it would be worth letting someone experienced in electronics have a look at it, by which I mean a careful visual inspection.

Thats a very good idea but unfortunately I don't know anyone who does this sort of thing. I was always very careful when changeing batteries and, as I remember when the fob came apart the half that holds the battery was face upwards on my desk and the circuit board was in the other half which I laid gently on its back circuit board upwards and never touched it except by the edges when reclosing it. Puzzling.

On 5/15/2020 at 11:49 AM, Shoxt3r said:

Hi there,

I've got a Ford Focus Mk2.5 (2013) which had the key battery replacement message pop up on the dash a few weeks ago.
I replaced both key fob batteries to be on the safe side, locked and unlocked the car with both keys but the message is still appearing?

Any thoughts on why this is happening? What's an easy fix please?
They weren't exactly the most expensive CR2032 batteries (good ol' Morrisons) but would have thought they'd last longer than a couple of locks/unlocks!

Thanks in advance.

 

On 5/15/2020 at 1:36 PM, Stoney871 said:

As an aside, would a 2013 Focus not be a Mk3?

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk
 

 

On 5/22/2020 at 2:16 PM, Shoxt3r said:

Bit late to reply! So I've been running with the new batteries for about a week now and it seems the message has gone away by itself - presumably it took a few trips for the car to realise a new battery had been installed?

Also, in reply to you Stoney I always thought my Focus was seen as Mk2.5 as it pre-dates the facelift but correct me if I'm wrong in that... 🙂

 

On 5/22/2020 at 2:36 PM, Frembrit said:

Does your focus look like this? HERE that's a MK3.

As far as I know the MK3 came out in 2011, so if you have a MK2.5 then it must have been registered really late. MK2.5 HERE

Just thought I would tag these posts!

An image of ALL Focus models.

so question is @Shoxt3r what Focus do you have?