Ford PATS Programming Adventures

[Captain Furious]

I may have briefly mentioned that a week ago I managed to lose my keys, on them was a key to just about everything I own including the ST220 - fortunately they were lost a long way from home amongst nobody who knows me, so security isn't too much of a concern. 

 

I can get replacement keys for the house and other things without too much of a problem, however the car key is a problem and here is why.  In order to program a new key into the Ford PATS immobiliser you need to have 2 already working keys.  Now, you're probably thinking, like I was, If I already had two working keys then why would I need to code another one?  Well, I don't know but thems the breaks, if you only have 1 key remaining as you would in a typical lost key scenario, then officially you have to go to Ford and get them to code it for you.  (Note that this is a different system to the early PATS 1 systems with the red key - with those you could program a new key as long as you still had the red key).  So as a school of thought, if you want to guard against this scenario in the future you could get a 3rd key cut now and program it while you still have 2 working keys.

 

Out of interest I rang Ford and asked for a price for a replacement key and programming, who knows it might be really reasonable? - That will be just £180 for the key, plus £10 for the blade and £10 for cutting it, plus £56 for programming (Which I didn't actually think was too bad).  Hmm, so £250 give or take for a new key, not that reasonable after all.  I'm going to need to get creative

 

I can either continue onwards with just the 1 key, which is a non-remote key so i'd have to lock/unlock it manually and try really really hard not to lose that one too.  Or look at some alternative supplier for the key and the programming.  So I take to ebay, there is a huge number of keys but its a bit of a minefield of chinese copies, ads which look like complete keys but its just for the plastic outer casing and they have no internals, keys which are 'recon' or aftermarket but have no transponder chip, 2nd hand ones of unknown provinence...it was more difficult than I imagined.  Ford have used these keys for donkeys years and I expected them to be 10 a penny. 

 

To add to this it became clear that there are different types of transponders and you need to get the right one.  The right one for mine - supposedly - is a 4D-ID60. 

 

According to the website I bought it from - www.car-keys-online.com - it breaks down like this

 

ID4C - Ford Part Number 1235189
Ford Cougar (1998 - 2000)
Ford Fiesta (2000 - 2002)
Ford KA (2000 - 2007)
Ford Mondeo (1998 - 2000)
Ford Puma (1999 - 2002)

 

ID60 - Ford Part Number 1233541
Ford Focus (1998 - 09/05/2005)
Ford Mondeo (2001 - 2007)
Ford Transit (2000 - 2006)
Ford Connect (2002 - 2006)

 

ID63 6F Ford Part Number 1699827
Ford B-Max (CB2) 08/08/2012 +
Ford C-Max (CAP & CB3) 23/06/2003 - 23/07/2010
Ford Eco Sport (CBW) 12/01/2015 +
Ford Fiesta (CB1 & CCN) 21/07/2008 - 2017
Ford Focus (CAP & CB4) 03/05/2004 - 29/07/2011
Ford Focus Cabriolet (CA5) 17/07/2006 - 30/07/2010
Ford Galaxy (CA1) 03/06/2006 - 08/04/2015
Ford Mondeo (CA2) 19/02/2007 – 22/12/2014
Ford S-Max (CA1) 03/06/2006 - 08/04/2015
Ford Transit Connect (TC7) 30/07/2007 - 28/12/2013
Ford Transit Courier (C4A) 07/04/2014 +

 

They sell after market keys and allegedly genuine ford items.  I went for a genuine key which came in at £57.35 - an aftermarket is £27.90.  This gets you the remote section

 

 

In additon to this you need the key blade which is another tenner

 

 

They can also cut it for you, either from the code if you know it/know how to read it, or from a picture of an existing key.  Naturally there is a further charge for this.  I'm just going to get it cut at a locksmiths on my lunch break.  If you fancy yourself as a tibbe key botherer though there are plenty of guides online about reading them, esentially there are only 3 types of cuts and 8 positions starting at number 1 furthest from the tip of the key. so the resulting code will be an 8 digit number consisting of numbers 1-3 - eg 13323112

 

The Key arrived today and I have to say i'm not entirely convinced - It just came in a bag and the label was definitely not a Ford genuine parts label - but who knows, you pays your money you takes your chance. Internally it is marked up as Siemens and it has the Ford badge on it, maybe it is, maybe i've had my pants pulled down. To program the remote functionality you use a known good key in the ignition (doesn't have to be a remote key) turn it on and off 4 times ending in the on position.  You should hear a tone, press the lock button on the new key and you should hear another tone to say the system has recognized it.  Note that this is a replace rather than an add function, so if you have more than one remote key you need to press them both during programming, otherwise only the key you have just programmed will work and the other key will be removed.  cycle the ignition off and back on again and you're done.  I did this this morning and it worked like a charm, so the new key now locks/unlocks/opens the boot.  Happy days.

 

But i've still got to pay for programming....well, maybe I haven't, enter Forscan.  You are probably aware of this if you're a ford licker, its a piece of free software to access all the various electronic modules and read fault codes, i've used it before to diagnose an ABS fault and it worked great. You just need a laptop and an ELM327 lead which has the HS\MS CAN switch - available on ebay for a few quid.  However if you obtain the extended licence, forscan can allegedly also do key programming.

 

To obtain an extended licence I simply had to register an account on their forum and use a licence key generator.  This gives you a 2 month trial and enables the software to perform key programming and other 'coding' features.  As far as I can tell though, when the trial expires, you just use the generator again to generate a new key file.  I have connected it to the car to confirm the PATS programming is supported on my car, and it is.

 

So join me later when I try it out and end up either with a completely immobilised Mondeo, or two working keys and a £180 saving over Fords prices...

 

[SiC]

I programmed a new key on my Smart Roadster with my totally* legit** DS150e. I totally crapped myself when it got stuck in a part programmed mode and didn't want to register the only key I had. After frantic trying keys and pushing buttons on the keys, it suddenly all miraculously working with both keys. After that incident I vowed I'd much rather pay someone else to do it.

 

Have you tried local auto locksmiths? Could be very reasonable, especially for those type of Ford keys.

 

If not, good luck!!

[sierraman]

Get another standard key cut and tape the one you have with the transponder to the steering column under the shroud. It only needs to be close to the ring that how's round the ign barrel.

[Captain Furious]

I have looked at a couple of local places and a mobile guy that a friend of a friend has used and to be honest, they're not as cheap as you might think.  If I was going to go down the paying route i'd rather just send it to Ford.  I don't think £56 to code a key is actually that bad, it usually costs you more than that just to get it through their workshop door, but I prefer free.

 

I have also read about taping the transponder from the working key inside the ignition cowling and just getting two transponderless keys, but where is the fun in that?

 

No guts no glory..

[sierraman]

I don't know about fun but it saves chucking money at a problem you won't see back ultimately.

 

I don't know if you've took a tibbe lock apart before but its a fiddle. Reading the key isn't textbook either once its worn.

[SiC]

Have you tried Timpsons? They often can clone keys cheaply. Like £40 with the key cheaply. Even if its just to take the transponder tag out of it and then stick it in a remote keyfob. I believe the remote keyfobs are straightforward to program on Fords unlike most manufacturers. I.e. put in the ignition, turn on and press a button on the keyfob or something.

[SiC]

I've always been loathed to do the tape the ID chip onto the transponder ring thing. Especially as those Ford keys aren't the most unique or secure. Entirely plausible that you get some old, confused giffer that uses his key in your door and ignition then drives off all without realising.

[sierraman]

No, he couldn't unlock your door for a start...

[Captain Furious]

Yeah as per the OP I have already got the remote functionality working, as you say it is straightforward with Fords.  It's just the immobiliser programming.  So this is where the guide I have read isn't 100% clear.  It says that you cannot simply program an additional key, you can only erase ALL keys currently programmed and then program a minimum of TWO new keys.   However there appears to be an option in the software to program an additional key without erasing all existing keys, which is safer but doesn't remove the lost key from the system. 

 

This is why I went with a genuine key because once you're at the stage where you have removed all existing keys - supposedly - if one key doesn't work or has the wrong transponder type or for any other reason can't be programmed, you can't program any keys and you end up with a big blue driveway ornament.

 

But I will let you know at about 7pm...

[sierraman]

Probably need Forescan for that.

[Captain Furious]

So...I know you're all on the middle of your chairs wondering what happened....well, let me tell you the news is great success!

 

This is the crack...You can program new keys without removing the old ones, but you cannot delete a single key, you can only delete ALL keys.  When you recode them you apparently have to code at least TWO. 

 

So what I did was, code the new key as an additional key to prove it worked.  It did, so then I had 3 keys programmed.  Then I erased all keys and re-programmed in the two I have.  Voila, I have two keys again, the old key is deleted from the system, immobiliser is still functional and the total cost was £70 for the replacement key rather than £260 if i'd taken it to a dealer.

 

Classing that as a result, and a shoutout to forscan, that software is the shit.

[SiC]

Did you wear your brown trousers during this job?

[Captain Furious]

There was a part when it was generating a code for accessing PATS that it appeared to have frozen and I got a bit of a clench on.

 

And then when I had it working with 3 keys programmed I thought, right...just leave it now, its not like anyone is going to find the key and match it to the car...but oh no wait, OCD kicking in and before I know it I have clicked erase!

 

I mean, I was fairly confident, but there is a reason I waited until I was at home and didn't do it on the works car park..

[Des]

I recently, and contemptuously, used a diagnosis port for the first time ever, with the Forskin software and it only went and worked without any fuss, say what you like about Ford and their drunken who can rip the piss more bet with Vauxhall, they write a good program.

[SiC]

Forscan is nothing to do with Ford Motor Company. Completely independent bunch of guys developing it.

[Captain Furious]

I should upgrade this really to a GUIDE now it’s certified working. I’m still basking in that glory, sticking it to the man, no I’m not paying 1/4the value of the car on a friggin key you crazy mofos

 

In my head I'm £200 up, £200 I can spend on shite or roffle tickets or general shonky tat. In reality im still £80 down because that £200 never actually existed in the first place, but fuck reality.

[tooSavvy]

Man Maths YKIMS*

 

*pending bank manager approval :/

[Dave_Q]

This is the cutting edge of shiting, end of the day your average £400 heap is now full of electronicals and if they go wrong you need to be able to lob some binary at the problem yourself rather than go to a dealer.

 

I have programmed keys on VAGshite using pirate tackle before, no problems, in fact on their IMMO1 system on some late 90s stuff you can reuse 2nd hand transponders!

 

My current C8 only came with one key, but it did come with the keycode thing, I would be happy to program in a new one with my pirate Lexia but they're difficult to find new (has to be new) and about 80 quid is the best I can find so far.

[Guest]

I had much the same success with Rover 75 keys, a blade cut from a photo, some chinese virgin transponders and a BMW emulator. Quite satisfying!

[Isaac Hunt]

You just need a laptop and an ELM327 lead which has the HS\MS CAN switch - available on ebay for a few quid.  However if you obtain the extended licence, forscan can allegedly also do key programming.

 ..

 

Bloody hell. I got as far as decoding my key to get the code, getting a blank cut and tuning in a second fob. I stopped short of any programming. Mind you as soon as I read HS\MS CAN switc, I glazed over

[sierraman]

I'm in the situation of only having 1 remote key. Going to try Timpsons at dinner for a price on a standard non remote spare.

[Des]

Forscan is nothing to do with Ford Motor Company. Completely independent bunch of guys developing it.

 

Well that's shattered my newfound feelings of warm and fuzzy, back to considering Ford as just another purveyor of plastic bumpered dross. And calling them Fud  again.

Still, an impressive bit of diagnosis kit for 13 quid and an otherwise unusable Win10 tablet, makes buying an old Fud more viable.