Ah, I can now sit back and relax having found this forum to be one of the most helpful sites I have visited for a while... I've just bought my fiancé, Emma, a 1998 Xsara 1.9 DT Exclusive in bright metallic blue. She loves it. I quite like it - certainly has a higher spec than her previous clio and you must not forget that I hail from the world of ever-so-agricultural classic landrovers! This is a big step for me... [:)]
Anyway, cutting to the chase, we were given two radio frequency (RF)keys with the car, one worked and one did not. I thought it was just a case of changing the battery which I duly did to no avail. Scratching about through the manual (no joy!) and on the web, I stumbled across "Andyspares" and found some most useful hints and tips, including this one that I can verify works very well!
To re-enable a two-button RF "dead" [xx(] plip (I didn't even know they were called 'plips'!) for a Xsara of this vintage ('98), open it up - find the small cross-head screw and remove. Gently prise the two parts of the casing apart, revealing the battery and circuit board. The battery is a lithium cell (type number CR 1620) and can be measured with a multimeter when gently removed. The battery should read from between 3 to 3.3 volts to show that it's in good to reasonable condition! Change it like I had to if necessary. Reassemble the unit.
This is the interesting bit. You will probably find that it does not open/lock the Xsara when you press the buttons as the coded memory specific to your car may be deleted, this is not a problem. Unlock the car with the key (ignore the alarm siren if set), get in, close the door and insert the key into the ignition. Turn the ignition on so that all the dash lights light up. Now press the unlock key on the plip firmly for 10 seconds. This should enable the car's coded transponder unit to re-program the plip to your car's unique code by RF. Clever stuff. [:P]
Now, turn the ignition off, remove the key, exit the car and try locking the car with the plip - you should find that it will lock and set the alarm as per normal! Try the unlock too, just to check. Hey presto! [8D]
Failing this, I suppose it might be a trip to the local Citroen dealer with your key-code card and see what they can do for a bunch of fivers!!
Thanks to members for your old postings that I used to help me with this - I will continue to use the forum and I thought that you might like to hear that I had a positive result! Now I'm off to help a friend with his Audi S2 turbo... ah the joys... [;)]
Oh, and I've got the hang of these smiley things too now!
[:)]
Plip reset really works for Ciroen Xsara!!
Moderator: RichardW