MX5Ireland

My van, a renault kangoo '08, is due its doe in two weeks. The ABS warning light started showing and I was getting feedback through the pedal at the latter stages of normal braking, left it in to my mechanic..he suspects drive shaft or hub assembly.. so no van for a day or two.
Went to bed last night, got a phone call at 1 am from herself to say that the focus '08 is not responding to the buttons and the key wont open the door?? Shes in Dublin!!( No spare key either) . The mx5 is not road legal so I had to go borrow a car to rescue her and two others.
So, I'm here now, having to walk to work..not too far...no vehicles to talk of..This bloody snow storm about to engulf us, have to try to get back up to Dublin again this evening , ..
My thoughts..new battery for buttons? , did she leave on lights and drain car battery?? Have the buttons lost the code?? Will I have to break in to the car?? Am I losing my mind???

AAAAGGGGHHHHHH !!!!!!

Have a nice day

An old trick with TV remote controls was to set a radio to AM (preferably a radio with an aerial !) and press the buttons. If the r/c was working then you would hear a clicking/buzzing pattern through the radio. It might be worth trying with the car one. My guess is though that if the car won't open via the blade part of the key i.e. sticking it in the door lock barrel, then the battery in the key won't make any difference ?? Maybe the car is dead locked ?
I hope it works out and isn't too much of a drama either way.

Blade part of key will always open the car, sometimes the key hole in on passangers handle ,may have cover to pop off.Regardless of fob/battery it is possible to access car/ignition etc.Some lads suggest....wait for it....rubbing th fob in your hair, on your head!!, as the static charges the battery for few seconds, enough to open the car .It worked once or twice for me but not very reliable me thinks !!

ah jeeez... have you a jump start pack to bring with you?
Kangoo issue sounds similar to one I had in the past on another car, abs sensor wiring was a bit chaffed. Any change of getting it back in time?

Feck John.... that's doing it in style. Did you get the Focus opened/started? Batteries in the fob should be an easy enough try at fixing that issue.

What was your weather like? The way it's been here in the Midlands, getting the car started would be one thing....driving it on the road would be quite something else. It has snowed here all day - and is like this all round the car (these are 17 inch rims). It's still snowing!!!!

Update..new rhs drive shaft for the kangoo..well , from the breakers, haven't seen my mechanic since as the weather fecked it all up so don't know the total cost yet.


As for the focus, we spent an hour trying to access the car via the old reliables..coat hangers, knotted string etc but the freezing cold got the better of me so I just put tape on a fly window pane and hit it with a hammer!!!
No problem starting the car, so at least the immobiliser is not knackered, did change the battery in the fob..twice.. but to no avail.

The weather conditions mean that I've not been able to attempt any look at the door lock mechanism..all in good time!!!

Been practically living at my job ( It's a Spar shop) for the last few days..Bloody hell, I hope we never have a really bad weather spell..We've just had 3 Christmas Eve's in a row, shelves are empty and the locals are offering their bodies for a litre of milk!!


John

Gah, driveshaft and a fly window Hope thats the end of it.

Ha ha! Yeah some hilarious scenes in the shops. A buddy had someone try to take a pack of apples out of his trolley! He put them back when he saw who had the trolley... buddy is 6ft 4 (and looks the same wide in his snow gear lol).
Had some good fun on Fri and Sat morning in the Kyron, I'd fitted some AT tyres last time round, they were great, had the previous version of them on our Jeep Cherokee :

Turns out the ABS ring on the driveshaft had a split, thus giving a false reading to the sensor. Replacement shaft (from a breakers) supplied and fitted only €180, happy at that. Now to get that fob sorted..when I get a day off!!! . As the door wouldn't open mechanically, I'm wondering if the ignition barrell was changed at some previous point , but we only got one key when we bought the car..never had an occasion to use the door lock manually before...
John

Does the focus still need the key inserted in the bonnet lock to be able to open it as in the older models?
This thread might help, it is similar to what I did for the spare key that lost its memory on my old 08 mondeo
https://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/t ... -solution/

It seems that there’s a fairly well buried central locking fuse that blows, one of the most common reasons is a short in the loom to the tailgate. Fault happens inside the rubber sheath by the hing

The bonnet does require a key to open it, but the boot doesn't. Shortly after buying the car I had to rebuild a barrell for the bonnet lock as they are a known problem. I built it to the contours of the ignition key. I've never used the same key to open the drivers door as the fob always did the job . Now I'm wondering if the barrell on the door is fecked, or is it a case that the ignition barrell was changed at some point, thus meaning that the key was never gonna open the drivers door..if you follow me...... I've been told there's a local motor factor that has a device to tell if your fob actually is transmitting..will give him a shout Friday morning.... Watch this space....
I do have an older model ford fob..might attempt to match it to the car as per the above post...
John

Pops wrote:It seems that there’s a fairly well buried central locking fuse that blows, one of the most common reasons is a short in the loom to the tailgate. Fault happens inside the rubber sheath by the hing

Bit of a bast**d to fix then if you are not able to open the tailgate???

I had a similar problem with an 06 Focus before - a microswitch in the locking mechanism went and boot lid (hatchback) wouldn't open. I ended up leaving in into a garage (cos my skills are somewhat limited!). I got the car back repaired, and asked how he got it open to fix it, and he said he went in through the back seats.... wonder did he use this method? Might this help you open the boot, John, so you can at least get a look at it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RS1ISBf5iRI

Oh, and forgot to say..... sexy tyres, Steve!!!!



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For those interested..update on the focus /key fob situation..
Spent a bit of time this week looking at various youtube vids on the subject. On the advice of my mechanic I went to a local ford dealer with the fob, tested it at the parts counter, it registered for an instant only..we opened it up and the circuit board had come free of its mountings, therefore I had a spurious connection. The dealer said that they could get me a new one, I would have to leave the car with them, at least an hours labour to "code" it and "Program" it...
€250...........BULLSHIT!!
As they say in all the best Sunday papers, I made my excuses and left...
And went straight to a car key specialist, forget their actual name, but they are located right on Newlands cross....used to be a renault garage once upon a time.
Anyhow, the chap in there had a look, said he could revamp it and even replace the blade of the key as it was bent, for only €100. As I don't have a second key, I asked how much for one, but with the transponder only..he said he'd charge an extra €40..so I took the deal....
Called into a windscreen centre on the way home, they've ordered a replacement quarter panel window that I had to break to get into the car, only charging €30 to supply and fit, they'll claim the rest from my insurer..
Result!!!
Mind you, that's a spend this week of €320 between the car and the van...I've a son getting married in 4 weeks..hope he's not expecting a massive present!!!

John