Help programming key FOB

[LucasBS]

Hello !

My Fiesta 2015 FOB started to fail over time, so I bought two new ones from Aliexpress

But they are not programming.

I turn the key 8 times to position (II), and I only hear a sound alert when I bring the key back to OFF.
According to instructions, it should alert on position (II), after the eighth turn.

Regardless, I tried pressing buttons from ALL* the FOBs, before and after the alert, but nothing happens.

- The FOB I had working since forever was also bought from Aliexpress and programmed by me. Possibly the same seller. Same for my fourth and eldest FOB of them all*
- I made sure to buy of the right frequency: 433
- All new batteries.

- Is the immobilizer/alarm the problem ?
(4 FOBs* and none of them working is kind of suspicious)
- Is there a way to use Forscan to read the FOBs ?

Overall, there are no fault codes (bluetooth ELM327 over Infocar)

*Four FOBs in total: Two of them I bought just now. The third is the one that started failing, and the fourth is one I abandoned in some drawer. Not 100% sure if this last one is still programmed. I did not erase it.

[tractmec]

Hello !

My Fiesta 2015 FOB started to fail over time, so I bought two new ones from Aliexpress

But they are not programming.

I turn the key 8 times to position (II), and I only hear a sound alert when I bring the key back to OFF.
According to instructions, it should alert on position (II), after the eighth turn.

Regardless, I tried pressing buttons from ALL* the FOBs, before and after the alert, but nothing happens.

- The FOB I had working since forever was also bought from Aliexpress and programmed by me. Possibly the same seller. Same for my fourth and eldest FOB of them all*
- I made sure to buy of the right frequency: 433
- All new batteries.

- Is the immobilizer/alarm the problem ?
(4 FOBs* and none of them working is kind of suspicious)
- Is there a way to use Forscan to read the FOBs ?

Overall, there are no fault codes (bluetooth ELM327 over Infocar)

*Four FOBs in total: Two of them I bought just now. The third is the one that started failing, and the fourth is one I abandoned in some drawer. Not 100% sure if this last one is still programmed. I did not erase it.

I have two Questions which would have helped if you had stated at the beginning, Are these conventional Blade keys(assuming this since you said you turned the key 8 times) rather than Push button Start(Intelligent Access), and are these Keys IKT or Integrated Key Heads meaning the RKE(Remote Keyless Entry) Fob is part of the bladed key assembly or are attempting to add separate RKE fobs(IKT head fobs in other models like my 2010 Fusion can only be erased and reprogrammed during a full PATS erase and reprogram and in the Fusion and my 2005 F150 the key sequence is 5 and these models will only take 4 RKE fobs)!

According to all the Fiesta WS manuals(Ford service Information DVD) I have(and the Above IKT PATS process does not seem to apply), the Key sequence for RKE Programming is 4 Key turns from Off to Run in 6 seconds ending in Run with a Chime sound if programming is entered successfully(note that entering programming will erase all RKE fobs from memory)!

Within ten seconds of the chime, press and hold any button on a fob and hold until the chime sounds and do the same for each additional fob within 10 seconds!
Programming will time out if more than 10 seconds between fobs is reached or the Ignition is turned off!

I Know of no way in FORScan or in IDS/FJDS unless there is PID in the BCM(do not remember seeing such a PID in my vehicles only remember seeing a PID for number of Programmed FOBS) that will monitor if the BCM is receiving the FOB signal!

One other bit of advice and especially if you get a message upon Connection about your adapter being "unsuitable for this vehicle" from FORScan, Understand that FORScan is and has been for some time recommending to not use any adapters(specifically Older ELM327 as most all are Chinese built Clones with problems) other than those recommend on the FORScan Product/'Download page(OBDlink EX or vLinker FS in USB or their Bluetooth Products)!
FORScan will not even respond to Support requests(or they will advise to replace your adapters if want support) if these types of adapters show up in the Logs and Debug files sent to them!

Just an FYI!
Hope that helps?

[LucasBS]

Hello !

Are these conventional Blade keys

Yes. The car accepts blade-key only. A flat blade if it matters. There is no push to start function.

All the parts of the key are independent: the blade is replaceable, the transponder is loose inside the shell, and the FOB is also a replaceable circuit inside the shell.

All except for the spare emergency key, which is completely solid, has no FOB, and the transponder is glued inside

According to all the Fiesta WS manuals I have, the Key sequence for RKE Programming is 4 Key turns from Off to Run in 6 seconds ending in Run with a Chime sound if programming is entered successfully

The same for my instructions manual: it says to turn the key four times to enter programming mode. But youtube is full of people complaining that the manual is misleading, and some cars do with four, while others with eight.
I remember mine being eight, but that was some years ago.
Right now, not even THAT is working, as the chime (short) comes only when I bring the key back to OFF, after the eighth turn, instead of chiming (continuous, as I remember) at the position (II) (or RUN, in your case). And when it does, none of my keys, be them the new, the old, or the (maybe) faulty, give any sign of life when I press their buttons, very well within the ten-second timeframe
As far as I remember, I could program the FOBs myself. I probably did that two times, if my memory doesn't fail me. But the transponder I had to pay someone.

if you get a message upon Connection about your adapter being "unsuitable for this vehicle" from FORScan (...)

I certainly wouldn't expect to use the elm327 to program something important, but I remember using it long ago successfully along FORScan to read vehicle information.

I didn't try this time, as I wouldn't know where, and my laptop is unavailable this week

[tractmec]

Hello !

Are these conventional Blade keys

Yes. The car accepts blade-key only. A flat blade if it matters. There is no push to start function.

All the parts of the key are independent: the blade is replaceable, the transponder is loose inside the shell, and the FOB is also a replaceable circuit inside the shell.

All except for the spare emergency key, which is completely solid, has no FOB, and the transponder is glued inside

According to all the Fiesta WS manuals I have, the Key sequence for RKE Programming is 4 Key turns from Off to Run in 6 seconds ending in Run with a Chime sound if programming is entered successfully

The same for my instructions manual: it says to turn the key four times to enter programming mode. But youtube is full of people complaining that the manual is misleading, and some cars do with four, while others with eight.
I remember mine being eight, but that was some years ago.
Right now, not even THAT is working, as the chime (short) comes only when I bring the key back to OFF, after the eighth turn, instead of chiming (continuous, as I remember) at the position (II) (or RUN, in your case). And when it does, none of my keys, be them the new, the old, or the (maybe) faulty, give any sign of life when I press their buttons, very well within the ten-second timeframe
As far as I remember, I could program the FOBs myself. I probably did that two times, if my memory doesn't fail me. But the transponder I had to pay someone.

if you get a message upon Connection about your adapter being "unsuitable for this vehicle" from FORScan (...)

I certainly wouldn't expect to use the elm327 to program something important, but I remember using it long ago successfully along FORScan to read vehicle information.

I didn't try this time, as I wouldn't know where, and my laptop is unavailable this week

I have very little other advice to give other than to say a Read with FORScan(currently 2.3.66) or other scan tool and an approved adapter should be performed to see what DTC's there might be that are related to the issue(BCM U Type codes etc.)!

The one question I neglected to answer in your original post about the Immobilizer is, No, as the RKE and the PATS system are two separate systems(PATS is in the Instrument Cluster or IPC and the RKE is in the BCM/GEM (Body control Module or Generic Electronic Module) and programming is from different processes with a Scan tool(FORScan or IDS) not being involved at all in Programming RKE fobs(Key On-Off-On sequences only)!

If this Fiesta still starts with all of your keys then PATS is operating correctly!

It is suspicious that the BCM is not entering the RKE FOB programming mode and the fact that all of your FOBS have stopped working seems to point toward a BCM module failing!

A DTC read and running some BCM PID's(Osciiloscope Icon) like Lock/UnlockNumber, number of RKE Transmitters programmed, Last Remote transmission Key etc could provide more information!

Sorry! That is all the information I have!

[LucasBS]

It is suspicious that the BCM is not entering the RKE FOB programming mode and the fact that all of your FOBS have stopped working seems to point toward a BCM module failing!

Then we agree !

What bothers me the most is that the car appears to be trying to enter that mode, given that it chimes after the eighth. But only a short chime, and only after returning to off.

A DTC read and running some BCM PID's(Osciiloscope Icon) like Lock/UnlockNumber, number of RKE Transmitters programmed, Last Remote transmission Key etc could provide more information!

Will do that.
Got my eye on a pretty vlinker FS that will serve me later for the PATS part of the problem (unless advised otherwise)

Sorry! That is all the information I have!

Thank you ! That is probably all the information I need.

[hueypilot]

You purchased keys from Aliexpress and having a problem, I would think that is the problem. Can you ping the keys with TPMS reset tool and check the freq?

[LucasBS]

Hello

I would think the same, but I already programmed two keys that came from aliexpress in the past.

Also, neither the new or the old FOBs are working.
That is suspicious

I couldn't find information about TPMS reset tool
Are you sure you wrote correctly ?
All the results are concerning the tire pressure measuring system


Observation: my only hardware is a Vlinker FS adapter

[Joh150413]

Yes, a TPMS (tire pressure measuring system) tool. My Launch tool has a section where you can check the frequency of a remote, 315 mhz or 433 mhz. Other TPMS tools may have a similar function.

[boosted_diesel]

Whether it's 4/8/10 times with the key depends on model and year.

My immobiliser and key programming tool says the sequence for a 2015 fiesta is "cycle ignition from on to off 8 times quickly, then after the dong noise press any key on each remote to be programmed, a dong noise is heard after pressing the button on each key confirming its programming."

If this doesn't work on your car then you need to figure out whether it's the keys or the car. If you don't hve equipment to test stuff then perhaps try to program those fobs to another car to confirm if they work?

[LucasBS]

Hello everyone !
Solved
The problem was the battery, if you believe it

The story:

Finally found time to follow the good ideas you all provided, as in, (1) figuring if the problem is the key or the car, and (2) doing that with a tool

None of my friends had a similar vehicle, neither had I the TPMS receiver.
But I had something better: oscilloscope

The tests were killing the FOB's battery, so I decided to use a 3.3V supply to proceed, and that's when I heard the car's alarm five walls away !

A 3.1V battery does not work.
A 3.2V battery DOES (small variation between new and old FOBs).

"It was just the battery" may sound like a trivial problem that "should have been checked first", but those CR2032 batteries have 3V written on top of them (that led me to assume 3V was the FOB's working voltage)
But to my surprise, those batteries provide much more than that. And the FOB needs it all.

The answer to the second mystery came from some variants of the instruction manual:

(I'm gonna use ON/OFF notation instead of 0/I/II)

The most spoken procedure is going from OFF to ON eight times, and stopping at ON position. But it's NORMAL, and not a defect, to enter programming mode only after bringing the key back to OFF.

boosted_diesel's quote says the same thing with different words (actually makes more sense), when instructing going from ON to OFF eight times.


The manual also suggests to put the seat belt to enter programming mode. Unnecessary of course



I thank you all for the good ideas and support provided on this thread

Finally solved