2012 Focus TDCi Titanium X Remotes not recognised after new engine battery fitted

[JJG]

Hi again guys,

Sold my Focus last month as I had enough of the nonsense (when not used for a week and the battery levels dropped, the engine limiter activated and couldn't get past 2nd gear or over 2k revs) and was offered £8k which was way over the book price for it (2011). As I expected the new car to be ready to collect on the 1st, the price and timing were too good to refuse.

Anyhow, for my question. My nephew has a 2012 focus tdci titanium x (but for some reason does not have the ability to lock/unlock by holding the handle as mine did) with keyless entry (only via remote) and button start/stop. He tried to start the car last week and nothing; no lights, no ignition. Had it checked and told he needed a new battery. He collected the car and neither remote worked and he had to remove the ignition cover to slot the whole remote in before he could start the car (no ford key detected message). You have to lock/unlock the door with the key from inside the remote and insert the remote into the ignition every time you use the car. The central locking works when locking with the little key, the mirrors go into their sleep position and the alarm is active. Start/stop comes on at lights etc (though he disabled it for now in case it was draining the battery) and the radio/CD did not need a code entered and the bluetooth and voice control worked immediately.

I have seen a number of tips to reprogram his two remotes (both batteries checked and were fine), ignition on/off 8 times in 10 seconds (the youtube page said the doors would lock/unlock but they did nothing only a beep noise) and then press the remote buttons like crazy.

The garage has said it's not their problem as they only changed the main battery even though both remotes worked before the battery was flat and needed changing. They advised he go to Ford's. Speaking to Ford they want the car in for the day to run a bunch of checks, order two new remotes (£200+ exc VAT), then reprogram the whole car for the new remotes. They estimate 6 hours labour plus £440ish for the remotes then vat. Probably coming to £920 before VAT.

Can anyone direct me down a cheaper route as he is waiting to sell this after he acquired his late fathers Citroen? I checked the contacts inside the remote but am now stumped. Fortunately, I have it with me since I am car-less (Peugeot messed the order up and sent the wrong spec car and so have to wait all over again for it to be made at the plant). Hopefully, we can get the remotes working as it is a real pain to open the remote, remove the key, open the car and get the remote in the ignition and press the start/stop button within a few seconds or the alarm goes crazy. 

Thanks again,
James

[unofix]

Hi James, just to clear up one point. Not all cars that have 'keyless' ignition, also have 'keyless' entry. So that may not be a fault with nephew's car (unless of course it did used to have working keyless entry).

It is not so unusual for car's to forget the remote keyfob's after the battery is changed. Normally it is a simple matter to reprogramme them back in to the car. The trouble is that different models of different years have different procedures just to confuse the situation.

The easiest way to programme them back in is to use the software FORScan (it's free).

Download: https://forscan.org/download.html

vLinker FS cable: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003116796694.html

[DaveT70]

I don't think Forscan supports PATS on MK3.

Put better batteries in remotes first and make sure that changing the battery has not blown any fuses

[unofix]

13 minutes ago, DaveT70 said:

Forscan supports PATS on MK3

it's not the PATS chip that he needs to programme, the ignition still recognises the key. It's just the remote keyfob buttons that need to be reprogrammed in and that function should still exist in FORScan

[DaveT70]

Ah. I stand corrected, said the man in the orthopaedic shoes

[JJG]

Even though the batteries show a full charge, I replaced them with panasonic ones. Regarding the keyless entry, I just commented there as I found it odd he had exactly the same spec and model (according to Ford's) as mine; only a year younger. The handle is different so that feature was never fitted.

The fuse one may be the next route but will have to google where the fuse box is and what each fuse is etc. I already have a Forscan as I needed to reset all the warnings on my Focus last month though found the documentation lacking as nothing explained what you were supposed to do.

Ah, I see a new post saying that will not work. Okay, fingers crossed on my google search for focus 2012 fuse position and name etc.

Thanks,

James

[JJG]

okay guys, found it on youtube and found a video showing the same fusebox and taken a screenprint of it (although it is a US model). I cannot see a fuse plan anywhere that matches this layout. Any ideas? Also, it almost killed me getting to it so is there a way to 'bring it out' for easier access?

Thanks again,

JJ

[JJG]

okay, changed the 10a fuse (F2 in the boot as F46 had a 10a but the diagram says is not used). If I put the remote in the ignition, press the start/stop on then off and then remove the remote, pressing the unlock button gets the two indicator lights on the dash to flash once. Sometimes the door lock/unlock happens. From inside the car If I press the boot button, it opens and if I press lock it then locks. On getting out, the buttons again do not work. Back inside and nothing until I again put the remote in the ignition. Pressed on/off and got back out. Pressed lock and it did. Pressed open and nothing. This is a pattern I did around ten times. It seems as long as the remote has been in the ignition, turned on/off then I can use the remote once only for anything but that is it. 

Any more pointers?

JJ

[JJG]

Okay, connected the forscan and it came back with no errors on any modules etc. Also, the book opens via the remote only if the ignition is on (with the remote in). Really am having a bellyful of Ford cars. Perhaps I'm unfair here, but never had any problem other than standard wear and tear on my Granada (last model made) and did around 50k a year. Same with my Scorpio (wish there was something on the market similar now; that or like the Chrysler 300c (gorgeous!)). 

I've now exhausted what I can check from my own very limited knowledge and googling so will wait and hope someone here has seen similar and can point me in a new direction.

JJ

[Dan62]

Check fuse 81 5A

[DaveT70]

Are you positive that the battery (main) that you have fitted is fully charged?

[JJG]

23 minutes ago, DaveT70 said:

Are you positive that the battery (main) that you have fitted is fully charged?

I'm guessing so as the start/stop works without issue though I keep it off for now.

[JJG]

1 hour ago, Dan62 said:

Check fuse 81 5A

okay, I'll go snoopy for that and see if there is a spare.

[DaveT70]

Perform a master reset:

open driver's window (incase car locks)

Turn on ignition - do not start engine

open bonnet

disconnect battery negative cable

leave for 10 minutes, whilst waiting press brake pedal a couple of times

reconnect battery

start engine - do not touch throttle

leave to run for about five minutes

switch off and try remotes

[JJG]

replaced fuse 81 and it made no difference. I guess the next step is to disconnect the battery and get a charger put on it.

JJ

[Dan62]

2 hours ago, JJG said:

replaced fuse 81 and it made no difference. I guess the next step is to disconnect the battery and get a charger put on it.

JJ

The only other fuse I can see in the diagram that relates to the remote is F3 5A in the rear fusebox but not sure if its applicable to your model.