What no one mentioned when changing an ignition barrel on a car.
A few weeks ago my car broke down when the ignition barrel broke so the key didn't click around but spun without resistance.
With everything else going on at the time a costly repair bill for the car was the last thing we needed so it was time to search the internet to see how to fix it myself. Youtube had a few videos on all showing different ways to remove the barrel but I finally found the right one and got the barrel out.
A phone call to the local car dealers gave me a price of £95 for a new barrel, a phone call to a local car breakers would get me a new key and barrel for £15 so you can guess what I went with. When I went to the breakers yard the guy showed me how I had to flick back the drivers lock before inserting the new barrel to avoid damaging it and we were good to go.
New barrel fitted I discovered the battery was dead so I had to charge it over night and then we were ready to go again...
The car wouldn't start and I had this warning sign flashing on my dashboard.
A quick google search told me it was an immobiliser fault, a call to my local garage had me informed the keys are chipped to the immobiliser and I'd need it reprogramming.
Now this is the bit no one told me about the chipped keys, they come apart.
Just inside next to the front half is a small metal chip, on my new key this had been removed so the guys at the breakers know this. Removing the chip from my old key and putting it in the new key and Bobs my Uncle and the car is working.
With the car back on the road it's one less thing for me to be worrying about but I'm still wondering why nobody mentions such a simple hack for dealing with chipped car keys.
Outstanding post and narrative. Thank you for sharing!
In the good old you'd have been able to jemmy a flat head in and off you go, in actual fact that probably works in the Mk2 - good key hack
Had a Metro I drove around for ages using a flat head to start it
Exactly, simplicity not particularly safety conscious though, especially if you want your car where you left it.
The reason i had to do it was because someone tried to steal it but didn't pull the choke out so it kept stalling. They managed to get it about 8 feet down the road before they gave up.
That would have been amusing to watch 😃
I learned something today. I had no idea that the chipped the keys to the immobiliser. They certainly don't make it easy to repair your own car. I wonder whose idea this is?
It is getting harder to do your own repairs, especially on the newer cars where they have the computer systems on them. If i hadn't already known the keys come apart I'd have never have looked to see if i could swap the chip.
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