Xantia IR plip - replacing/cutting new blade

[chinkostu]

I've been watching a keyfob on ebay for a month or so now with someone shilling the price up to extortionate amounts. Today I noticed he had it on a BIN with a price I was happy to pay (given its condition and the fact that it has all the gubbins).


Now I've realised that the rivet part of the key is NFP at citroen and the new plip has a key attached that is already cut. How hard is it to pop the rivet apart and fix it back together so I can swap the blades over. Alternatively, is there anywhere that sells a blank blade that i can get cut?

[xantia_v6]

It is easy to pop the rivet by slightly spreading the ears of the case with a blade. The rivet is then re-usable.

[chinkostu]

Ah thats useful. The old fob is pretty goosed anyway but if its possible to pop the blade out I can at least use it to pair the new fob first!

The other question is then, is it possible to get a traditional key cut using the blade part of the fob? For at least a spare!

[elma]

Yes it is. It's just a standard key without the handle.
Timpson did mine, the key has 2 axis so quite a few key cutters can't do it.

[chinkostu]

Yes it is. It's just a standard key without the handle.
Timpson did mine, the key has 2 axis so quite a few key cutters can't do it.

Ah good to know

[chinkostu]

any tips on getting the rivet out? mine seems stuck fast, been prising for about an hour now. lucky i'm doing it on my shoddy fob first!


edit: gave up after taking a few chunks out of the plastic. is it just due to the fact its been pressed together for 20 years


hopefully i'll be able to get the new fob rivet out easily. if i can't, whats best to substitute it with?

[myglaren]

Small nut and bolt was the cure I heard years ago and wished I had known before I let the dealer do it.

[xantia_v6]

It is a while since I did it, but I know that the plastic is quite stiff. I think I used an old dinner knife with a sturdy stainless (but not too sharp) blade. You only need to spread the ears by about 2mm to partly pop the rivet, then you can get a fine screwdriver behind one of the heads to finish the job.

[chinkostu]

Theres a gap there but the damn thing will not seperate

[chinkostu]

Well new keys arrived and I think the rivet from my old key is unsalvageable. The new keys rivet sits slightly proud of the casing, so a small amount of pressure should see it out. My old rivet however sits deep into the hole!

Theres also a nice amount of resistance in the flip of the key, i'm hoping the old blade in the new fob will be the same!

Is there anything i need to do before trying to reprogram it to the CL? Had a quick go earlier and it only keeps the old one paired

[xantia_v6]

The ir receiver has storage for (I think) 4 codes, so after repeating the sequence 3 times, the old code should be erased.

[chinkostu]

Right, 2 steps forward one step back.

I can get the new key paired on its own so the old one doesn't work, or the old one repaired so the new one doesnt work. If i try to pair both i get the old fob locking the car and thats it!!

Is there a knack to pairing two? The instructions i found said to simply do the same with a second fob when pairing the first but thats not working

[xantia_v6]

Just give a brief press on the button of each fob while pairing.

[chinkostu]

Awesome will give that a whirl. New fob feels so much more solid, my old ones worn smooth!

Also just checked and citroen haven't got the key blade listed as NFP priced at £20 for a cut one, so i'm gonna peck my nearest dealerships head to see if they can order one in!

[chinkostu]

It wasn't pretty how I got the old blade out of the key. All matter of prising didn't work so I resorted to hacking the new keys blade off until it could be pulled from the plastic. That way I could get a decent sized screwdriver in the slot the key used to live in and finally the poor rivet popped loose. Minimum damage to the fob thankfully, just a few marks where i'd prised the rivet previously. Not a chance I can remove the rivet from the old fob.

So the new fob is now paired to the car (after many attempts) and my nearest dealer is able to obtain the keys code and a cut blade. So with any luck i'll have 2 keys soon. Also means I can use the old fob for if i'm grubbing about or if a garage has the car