Actually, part of the problem is putting the poorly marked sockets and bits BACK into their cases, which have much better markings. I've started an index card list of the sizes of the items around the house that always need the occasional tightening so I can save myself the trouble of trying five sockets to find the right one. Owned a Jag and a Triumph before I swore off British cars forever. Got all those damn oddball sizes and know all the jokes like: Why do the English like warm beer? Because Lucas makes refrigerators.
OK there are two ways to approach this one. First is as I suggested would be to stash the transponder key inside the car somewhere and use a standard key for entry. The second way would be to bypass the transponder system. Here you could remove the antenna ring from around the lock and tape a key inside and use a mechanical key to start the car.
This is not advised if you are in an area that you are likely to have a minivan stolen, and your insurance company may very well balk if it is and you file a claim and they find out you had bypassed the theft deterrent, but the choice is yours.
Aha, OK. I'm not always that organized - half the time I end up with a small pile of socket bits on top of the case, and every few months they'll end up back where they should be :-)
:-) I've had several Triumphs, a couple of old British Fords, and worked on many a vintage Rover... much of the problem was the vast number of owners that many of these cars have had over the years though, and they'd use whatever bits they could get their hands on to fix things. Although Triumph's quality control could be a bit random too (and you wouldn't believe the amount of casting sand I've pulled out of their engine blocks...
Oddly, I've never had much trouble with Lucas electrics, despite the reputation.
Oh, I always wanted a classic Jag XJ6 or XJ12 but could never have afforded to run it back in the UK, but of course it's a lot cheaper here in the US (like, 1/8th of the cost) and I think they did export quite a few, so I might find one this side of the Pond someday...
I sold my TR6 shortly after a neighbor's kid beheaded himself in a TR4. Got a used Ford LTD patrol car at auction - a heavied up version that could probably roll right over a Triumph. Only got 7 MPG, had a monstrous engine in it and a trunk that was probably large enough to hold a disassembled Triumph. That was back when gas was 32 cents a gallon and no one had ever heard of global warming. Hard to believe.
Neither have I, but there are enough similar jokes that I suspect there's a grain of truth in it. SU carbs were a totally different case. Hope I never see another one. Every bad thing I had ever heard about them was true, plus some things I had never heard.
Maybe. I had a Mark X and belonged to the local Jag club. I remember when one of the guys invited me over to see his new XJ12. I was standing next to it when I asked him why the hood was so hot. The answer was that it was running! I had no idea because it ran so quietly it made almost no noise. Looking under the hood revealed a mass of cross-linkages the likes of which I have never seen before. It was the most complicated automobile engine I've ever seen, before or since. I wonder how long it stayed as ghostly quiet as those first few 1000 miles. With all the moving levers, I suspect it wasn't long. What I'd really like is an X-KE, but those are incredibly expensive now, even old rusted through hulks. I always thought Ford/Jaguar could have made a fortune reviving that version, or one very much like it.
Some of the "chips" are an electrical resistor. And some are a RF transponder. Depending which kind of car it is, and what they were using. On some vehicles, replacing the column should not change the resistor value. Not sure about the transponders. I've got less learning about those.
When they returned the parts to me, one of them was labelled "immobiliser" - yes, Brit spelling, dunno why. I guess it's time for a post mortem on that, too. My understanding is that it's device like the little foil anti-theft things they put into high priced items at Wal-mart and other similar stores with electronic exit gates. If the car's sensor doesn't detect such a device during starting, the engine turns but never starts.
I found some instructions for a "Autotop Skim programmer" that's sold to work around the problem that gives you an idea of how it works:
"This is a small standalone device that can overwrite the pin code stored within the skim module fitted to Chrysler/Jeep & Dodge. This will then allow new keys to be programmed into the vehicle. The skim module is Chrysler terminology for a combined immobiliser and aerial module. Writing a new pin code to the skim module involves removing the Skim module, which is located around the ignition barrel, from the vehicle, which is a fairly simple process. The pin code that is written to the skim module is a fixed code that will be detailed with each kit. Once the new pin code has been written to the module, keys can be programmed into the vehicle by using any Diagnostics key programming tool which is fitted."
Not sure that helps me with two dead RF keys and one live one. I don't like the idea of having to leave the RF key hidden in the car, either, although that will be the cheapest solution. More research needed
Since my need for a spare key came about as a result of kids trying to steal the van, and the insurance company only providing one replacement key, I would have to say I live in an area where minivans are stolen. (-:
I've been Googling all over to try to find the cheapest way to get a second or third key made up, and it turns out that the equipment to do so would cost as much or more as the getting the keys made from a locksmith, and there's no guarantee they would work, either.
So, it's back to Google and then the phones on Monday to see who's got the lowest prices on Chrysler minivan RF keys.
Do you have the paperwork for the new column they put in? The 'magic number' should be in there- with that, you can just start calling locksmiths directly.
OK see your local locksmiths. There will be two options here, one is to clone the key you have and the second option is to have the locksmith reprogram with standard keys. You can get by cheaper if you go without the remote buttons on the duplicate keys.
That is what I did, mainly to get smaller keys. Sure wish all the doors had lock cylinders, though, like my old van. Or at least a separate fob for the buttons, like it had. Damn cheap Chrysler.
I hated them to, but not so much after the immobiliser kept a pair of teenage kids from taking my van on a joy-ride to who knows where! It was bad enough that I had a very high deductible and it cost me nearly $500 to get fixed, but that's much, much better than having the car savaged by savages and left in a ditch somewhere after all the insides had been ripped out.
Thanks for your input, I'll check out my local locksmiths first.
Not just Chrysler but all makes are omitting mechanical lock cylinders on trunk and passenger doors. An option is to buy the handles for the base model without the keyless entry but that is expensive.
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