1998 Renault Diesel Megane IR Key FOb immobiliser

[billysmart]

I have a question and some information for others. My first key fob for my 1998 Renault Megane diesel is not working and the second is slowly committing suicide and taking many presses to work and deactivate the immobiliser due to flat batteries. The batteries needed are two CR2016 Maxwell 3V batteries.

I know I can test to see if the signal is being sent, by pointing the key fob towards a mobile phone camera and pressing the button. If it shows two short bursts of light it is sending the signal to the car. If no light then test batteries or rest of key fob.

Having replaced the batteries the signal is still not being sent which might means the LED might be goosed. You can check this by using a digital multi meter and checking for a voltage when the button is pressed. The knackered one briefly shows 1.6 volts showing across the two LED prongs, which might indicate the LED is broken. I ordered a new one from www.rapidonline.com for 20p! Will let you know if it works.

The alternative you have is to pay about £90 to have your immobiliser turned off which also means your central locking wont work. They can come and do it for you at an additional charge or they send a box through the post for you to fit which requires basic electrical skills (a little more advanced than changing a light bulb!). Google immobiliser deactivation and you find several suppliers.

The question I have is about the deactivation get you home code that temporarily turns the immobiliser off. Where do I get it and how do I use it?

[billysmart]

After DAYS searching Google, I found the answer and it definitely works for me.

One key fob had dry joints when I took the key fob apart. Take the plastic top off, remove batteries and pull out circuit board. Very gently bend the LED a vary small amount of distance. If its a solder problem it will ping out or break. Good solder should hold the LED and allow a very small amount of stress!

The get you home code is also WELL worth having. Renault stealers charge £20 give you no end of crap over the phone. Some other bloke is selling a free piece of software on ebay for £9.99. You can find it here for free at http://renaulthelp.110mb.com/ImmBypass.html and http://renaulthelp.110mb.com/ImmBypass.html#CarType

It is all self explanatory but you can contact me at billysmart69 (at) hotmail.com (prevents spammers from getting my email address).

The best of luck to you all that get yourself stranded because of crap Renault design and ANYTHING I can do to undermine their thieving attitude, I will do.

[Lukatic]

Hi billy i just sent you an email as well but i thought i'd put this in as this might be of use to other people
My key stopped working the other day and my immobilser won't switch off as a result. My friend threw my keys at me the night before and they hit the ground quite hard, I believe the back of the case was dislodged slightly. I've changed the batteries, but it wasn't these as the light to show the key was working lit up anyway. Ive checked the interior reciever (above the aerial) this seems fine, without water.

I surmised that it was the diode emitter and ordered one in and soldered it in but still does not emit infra red as (attempted) measured by my iPhone camera. Nor does it turn the immob off. Is there
anything you can suggest? ..as I'm car-less and strapped atm for cash to spend at the stealers (thanks will use that alot now:) and really don't have any other option but to bite the bullet. i'm going to try and find a voltmeter to see if there is charge across the diode terminals, but what else can it be?

I just want to get it working so anything you can suggest will be much appreciated. Cheers,

[billysmart]

Something I have done with another key fob is to pry out the PCB (printed circuit board), remove the batteries and any plastic housing and put it in the oven on 200 degrees centigrade for 10 minutes. Any dry joints on the PCB will be melted and reset. On one key fob, I found I had to do this about once every 6 months so I guess the solder was just generally of a poor quality.