Hi, I've just bought a 2001 ford focus estate, however I'm having an issue with the key fob. I picked up the car yesterday, and found that the remote control locking (rcl) was only working about 30cm from the car, which defeats the object. So I changed the battery and found that the rcl was now not working. With abit of research I found that you need to reprogramme the fob by placing the key into the ignition and going from o to II four times in six seconds, then hearing a beep press any button on the fob to get another beep. This has resolved the issue of the rcl not working as it's now fully functional, but the key now won't start the engine.

I have tried reprogramming the fob and directly turning the engine on, however the engine will turn over but won't start fully.

Also, the spare key works fine, no issues. But it's a non rcl key.

Any ideas of what I have done wrong, and how to resolve the issue?

Thanks in advance.

Jon

When you put the first key into the ignition does the red light on the dash flash rapidly?

If that is the case then the key's transponder is broken or not programmed correctly.

The RCL and transponder are seperate in the key, The RCL works from the circuit board and the transponder is a small glass tube inside the key and must be coded to the PATSII immobiliser system to start the car.

You have three options basically- Take the car back to where you bought it and nicely request they get the key working, Ring around Auto Locksmiths for a quote to recode the key to the immobiliser or go to a Ford dealer and brace yourself for a rumping.

I would also recommend strongly that you acquire a third key for daily use and keep the original two keys safe at home as it can be a pain to replace a lost key