re program C5 fob

[Ben82]

Yup, of course

[deano1970]

no sign of the key yet ben?? my local locksmiths does keys that are chipped, would that still need to be programmed to my car if the copy is made from my original key?

[Ben82]

Not yet, posties here don't deliver on weekends, so hopefully tomorrow or Tuesday, any later and I'll be a little peeved
It depends on what they mean by chipped, there are keys over here where the key once in the lock it's chip gets read to see whether the door should be unlocked (often at the front door to flats, so people can use their own front door key to get in the main door).

[Ben82]

Right, key has arrived

It doesn't come with any instructions (I thought it said somewhere on the site that it did, but rechecking I can't see where it says that), so all I got was the key and an invoice. It does say on the homepage:

Transponder chips require programming into a vehicle's immobiliser before they will start the car. This is done by a manual procedure on some vehicles and with a diagnostic machine on others.

Which to be honest we knew it needed to be done with a Lexia anyway, but average Joe probably does not.

Visual inspection of the key is very impressive, to think it was done just by a digital photograph is slightly alarming!

Speaking of alarms, used it to unlock the car, that worked, but when I got in the alarm went off; D'oh! I just used the keyfob to "unlock" and that turned the alarm off. (Looks like now the key is paired, I can disable the alarm by putting the key in the ignition, not tried though).

Hooked up my Lexia, and went into Diagnostics - Global Test (guessing you can filter down another way but thats what the instructions Simon gave says anyway) - BSI - Learning (not initialisation) - Key Programming.
It then asks for the Confidential Code, put that in, it asked how many keys did I want to use, did 2, and followed through the instructions of taking the existing key out and putting it back in, and turning the ignition on, and it programmed that, repeated for the 2nd (new key). It then gave the instructions for the Remote Fobs, which I did as well.

Tried starting the car with the new key, worked fine. The key does sound a bit different when turning (no difficulty in doing so), but I'm guessing that's from it being freshly cut, whereas my existing key I guess has slightly smoothed out over the years of use.

So all in all £20 for a brand new spare working key isn't too bad, only downside is that when locking the car by key the alarm isn't armed (but isn't a fault of the key, but just the way the alarm system works).

[Mandrake]

Thanks for trying that for us Ben, 5 pages of speculation later and we have our answer.

It sounds identical to the programming procedure and behavior of the S2 Xantia, just replace the word BSI with CPH and everything else is the same.

If the alarm is armed with the fob, its normal for unlocking and opening the door with a key to set off the alarm as soon as you open the door, however as you say the alarm will be silenced if you insert the key in the ignition and turn it on. Only if the transponder of the key is programmed to the car of course, which would not have been the case initially.

Likewise its normal for locking the door with the key not to arm the alarm - the car can't tell this apart from you locking the door from the inside with the button on the door, thus the alarm is not set. When my alarm was misbehaving I always locked with the key to prevent it from being armed...

[deano1970]

hiya ben,
nice one...glad you got the key working ok and now have a spare.......so, when it gave instructions to re program fob, I take it from that,that I could indeed buy a remote off e bay and use that to unlock doors and lock doors?? or does the key from the fob need to be in the ignition?? If this was the case, and I only want a fob for locking/unlocking, could i program a fob with an existing key in the ignition?? hope I explained that ok? cheers,dean.......

[jgra1]

hmm Interesting Simon..
I have not proved my (aftermarket) alarm works.. but certainly I get all the flashers going off/on when I lock or unlock..

I guess my key must active or diable the alarm via the lock, as there are no buttons to do it..?

anyway, good news Ben, as said it does sound like the S2 xantia system for the most part..

John

[Ben82]

hiya ben,
nice one...glad you got the key working ok and now have a spare.......so, when it gave instructions to re program fob, I take it from that,that I could indeed buy a remote off e bay and use that to unlock doors and lock doors?? or does the key from the fob need to be in the ignition?? If this was the case, and I only want a fob for locking/unlocking, could i program a fob with an existing key in the ignition?? hope I explained that ok? cheers,dean.......

A key fob for pairing, needs you to put the key in the ignition, and within 10s, press and hold the lock button for 10 seconds.... you then switch off and take the key out for 10 seconds. (Lexia isn't required for this either)

It's a possibility that the key you put in the ignition does not need to be physically connected to the fob (as I don't think there is any electrical connection between the key and the fob), but I cannot confirm that to be the case. But going by the different pairing procedures, I would say give it a try if you can get a cheapo fob that you're willing to accept that if it doesn't work you've potentially wasted your money.

[deano1970]

cheers ben,
there is one on e bay for 8 quid and a couple of pounds postage so may be worth a try.......doesn't sound like it would actually work to me....i thought it would be able to be programmed using the lexia....I might just go for the spare hard key and give up on the fob idea.......although it's a paind especially in freezing weather and in the dark when it's hard to find the keyhole......I can't see it working by me putting my key in then pressing the lock button on a fob I have in my hand,just doesn't sound right?? don't you agree??

[deano1970]

I could always buy the fob and sell it on if it doesn't work..........they always seem to sell...I would have just thought it would have needed programming to the car with a lexia? although it is only needed in my case for locking and unlocking the car, starting it isn't the issue.......just the remote locking facility is what I really need,so I will give it a try...

[Ben82]

cheers ben,
there is one on e bay for 8 quid and a couple of pounds postage so may be worth a try.......doesn't sound like it would actually work to me....i thought it would be able to be programmed using the lexia....I might just go for the spare hard key and give up on the fob idea.......although it's a paind especially in freezing weather and in the dark when it's hard to find the keyhole......I can't see it working by me putting my key in then pressing the lock button on a fob I have in my hand,just doesn't sound right?? don't you agree??

True... though it is a Citroen, the fact that there are specific time frames for doing it in gives me that slight bit of "y'know it may just work".

Thanks for trying that for us Ben, 5 pages of speculation later and we have our answer.

No worries, wanted a second working key for securities sake.

the car can't tell this apart from you locking the door from the inside with the button on the door

Where are these locking buttons on the door that you speak of??

[deano1970]

well, I have paid out £10.25 for a second hand fob,even if it fails to work on my car, I will probably recoup my money.......I will keep you informed.....my local locksmith in town id doing keys with transponders,I just rang them, he said the price for a C5 key would be either £25.00 or £40.00....but he wouldn't know without first seeing my key. he says citroen keys sometimes have two chips in the,not one?? is this true or do they just not know what they are on about?? they are more into the business of house keys etc but have an offer on at the mo, not bad if it's already chipped to my car if its £25.00....not sure about 40,bit steep??

[Ben82]

£40 does sound a bit steep, what age is your C5? if it's 2001-2005, then it should be the same as mine, so would be single chip.. Not sure why a 2nd chip would increase the cost by £15.
£25 isn't too bad for the convenience factor, it looks like carkeyhelp are now saying Friday will be when new keys will be shipped, so I'm guessing they may have a backlog.
Are you going to wait until you get the Fob first? so that they can fit the key to that (hopefully - if it works)?

Good luck with the fob, I hope it works, if it does I may get one too

[deano1970]

is it a hard job to take out an old blade from a fob and get a new one cut?? I will wait to see if the fob works first,then,if it does, I will see if they can put my new key on the fob,that would be great......so, in the lexia,there wasn't anything you needed to do as regards your fob ben? from what you wrote it's just a matter of putting in a key and holding down the lock button? nothing to do with the lexia? if that's the case, it may work, i don't know but I am sure to find out over the next few days......fingers crossed...my car is an 03 so you say it will be single chip? if that's the case,I will probably get one done at £25.00 just as a back up.....

[deano1970]

oh, and ben, on the carkey site, they say that if you don't provide a code,they will send it with the key....did you already have your code? I do not have this and it may be worth finding that out if they supply that info as well as a key??