Hi All

 

I have been enjoying my mondeo for the last couple of years, pretty much trouble free.

 

yesterday however, I made the mistake of picking up my wifes keys for her fiesta (they look the same) and trying to start my car... clearly the key went in, but did not turn... then I realised, i got the wrong keys... so went back into the house and got the right keys, put them in and trued to start it up...

 

it would not turn over, and the dashboard lights went all 'disco like'... i thought it may have been a flat battery, but thought it strange as the car was fine earlier, showing no signs of a dead battery.

 

I got the jump leads out and connected wifes fiesta to my mondeo and tried to start... the  car wa sturning over, slowly but  not firing? 

I gave this up after a couple of tries, as I kind of figured it may be something else.. so I disconnect everything and try to start it again, but now I just see the  message 'immobiliser active' when i try...

oddly, now when I unlock the wifes car with remote, the alarm is being set off on my mondeo...

Can it really be that ford though it would be a good idea to wreck your car if you accidently put the wrong key in?  surely not?

Anyway, i have a problem now, because I dont have a master key,

anyone know what I can do to get it to start?

Any help will be greatly appreciated 

 

thanks

 

bit of a guess, as I am not familar with Fords, but sounds a bit like one of my cars - putting the wrong key into the ignition may have triggered off th SKIM module (sentry key immobiliser module). The SKIM works on receiving an RFID signal from a chip in the key and if the CPU or PCM on the car (the car's compiter) doesn't recognise the key signal from the SKIM it becomes immobilised. On my vehicle it will start but the engine runs for only a second or two. The remedy is to get a dealer with a scan tool to reset. As I say - this is a bit of a guess so I could be completely wrong. Hope it may help though. I would suggest first step is to scan the vehicle for a diagnostic trouble code (if you know someone with a scanner)  and take it from there.

try disconcerting the battery for 30 mins make sure the car open before you do

12 hours ago, bikerman said:

connected wifes fiesta to my mondeo and tried to start... the  car wa sturning over, slowly but  not firing? 

That sounds very much like a battery problem. When using jump leads on a dead battery, cranking will be very slow due the the poor connection. Normally you have to leave it a while to get some charge into the flat battery to get it to start. But a dead battery will not accept charge. Batteries can be ok one minute, and dead as a dodo the next, I had one do this.

Immobiliser can not cause slow cranking, it normally prevents any attempt to start.

I have heard of quite a few times where wrong or invalid keys have been used on a car, with no ill effects afterwards.

I suspect low or odd voltages have upset it. Remove the battery to charge. Test it with headlights on for a few minutes on re-fitting. Or use a voltmeter if you have one, a decent charged battery should hold 11.5 to 12.5v with headlights & ignition on.

 

 

 

thanks for the help, its looking like it may be the battery. In work today, so can't do much... Try again tonight..

 

cheers

 

 

 

Hi guys n girls, I have a Ford Mondeo 2009 1.8 tdci. I left my lights on and completely flattened the battery, I have put in a new battery now. I now have a message where the mileage should be saying “ immobiliser active “, the ignition lights go on, you hear relays doing their work, but that’s it. 

What can I do to rectify my situation ?

Regards,

 

M Bruce

5 hours ago, M Bruce said:

I left my lights on and completely flattened the battery, I have put in a new battery now. I now have a message where the mileage should be saying “ immobiliser active “

First step is to get Forscan running on a laptop or phone, and use an ELM327 to connect to the car. It can look for the error codes that will confirm if there is an immobiliser problem, and can, if needed, re-program keys to the immobiliser, though it is not a simple process.

You could try disconnecting the new battery for a few minutes, and re-connecting quickly and cleanly, to see if the car powers up ok, but I am not optimistic about this. The PATS (Passive Anti-Theft System or immobiliser) is obviously designed to withstand battery disconnection without being de-programmed, thousands of people do this ok, but it may be something went wrong in this case.

There are a number of different faults possible, and if there is an immobilser LED, it will flash out a code. Google PATS flash codes.

The old battery must have been pretty duff to go flat, in all these cars headlights and heavy loads go off with ignition or soon after, and even interior lights go off after about half an hour. Only parking lights may remain on, and these should be ok for 10 hours or more with a half decent battery. The long period with low voltage may have upset the ECU with the PATS.

The immobiliser will always be active once the ignition is turned off. It should de-activate as soon as a valid and recognised key is turned in the ignition. There is a little capsule inside the key which communicates with the car to verify it is valid.

PATS is almost entirely separate from the central locking & alarm remote control system. PATS is intended to be more secure than the remote control RF fobs.

To re-program PATS will need at least two different keys that are valid for the car.

Otherwise, a visit from a locksmith or auto-electrician who specialises in immobiliser re-programming will be needed, or towing the car to the nearest (and very expensive) Ford franchised dealer!