FIAT Punto (1994 - 1999) - 1998 - CODE 1 key chip | Technical matters | Back Room Forum

Sat 5 Apr 2008 18:58

1998 - CODE 1 key chip - jim234

I bought my Punto 1.3 SX this morning ( 71,000 mi , £200 ) then went along to get spare keys cut as I normally do when I get a new used car. At the Sainsburys heel bar the woman serving said "thats £25 each for the keys" and explained that the key was chipped. I said I will glue the chiped key under the ignition and have 4 x £5 keys please. She suggested I was a criminal : end of conversation. I already have the car key : get it ?

Anyway I found a kind gentleman who cut 4 x £5 keys and tried them. They open the car but will not start it. I have a need for spare keys as I have only one working ignition key and like anyone else the keys can go missing ...

I googled this issue and something called a "CODE 1" system comes up. See www.keyprogrammers.com/Fiat.html.

I want rid of this thing as the car is worth £200 and I don't think anyone would want it anyway.

What do I have to do to get rid of / bypass this key code system.

Regards

Jim

Edited by Pugugly on 06/04/2008 at 09:18

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Sat 5 Apr 2008 21:58

year?? - CODE 1 key chip - JohnPug

I don't think you can bypass these, (I may be proven wrong) as the keys are programmed to the ECU.
Is it a MK1 Punto? These came with 3 keys originally 1 red and 2 blue.

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Sun 6 Apr 2008 08:28

year 1998 - CODE 1 key chip - jim234

BTW the car is 1998.
I have only one blue key.
The key must be RFID ( Radio Frequency ID tagged ) meaning that the chip in the key is pulsed frequently by a scanner which sends the results back to the CODE 1 box.
I tried placing the chipped key beside the plain £5 key as I turned the £5 key in the ignition as my idea was to glue the chipped key beside the ignition system and use the plan key.
However this did not work and I believe it did not work because either or both of the RFID scanner in the car ( part of the CODE 1 system ) is both location sensitive, tag orientation sensitive ( i.e. it scans the key as it moves through a particular angle ) or that becasue the plain £5 key is in the location that the chipped key should be when I use the plain key that the plain key metal is providing a Faraday cage ( insulation ) effect interfering with the RFID scanners ability to pick up the code of the key beside it.
There must be a way to get rid of this system. I ain't paying £25 /key for some keys. That just is not going to happen.

1. Anyone got more information ( e.g. web site ) that provides information.
2. Anyone know of cheap site on the internet that will do £5 chipped keys
3. Anyone know how to bypass this system

Regards

Jim

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Sun 6 Apr 2008 10:41

year 1998 - CODE 1 key chip - Chris M

Appreciate your concerns over only having the one blue key, I'd want a spare. We only have two blue keys for our Mk1 Punto. It's a very well known issue and from my searches a few years ago, I don't think you will find a way around it. The 'reader' is, I believe, around the ignition barrel. I don't know how it works, but imagine it was designed not to be overriden easily.

I think if there was an easy answer, it would have been found by now. Stories abound of owners paying hundreds of pounds for a new ECU and locks. There are a number of Fiat and Punto forums, suggest you search there for an answer. Good luck!!

Edited by Chris M on 06/04/2008 at 10:42

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Sun 6 Apr 2008 13:38

year 1998 - CODE 1 key chip - jim234

Any system can be bypassed if you know how.

The scanner scans the chip on the key and sends the result to somewhere as a verified result or as a result for verification. It is the flag bit that says "key verified OK" that I need to set perminantly be an eight bit 1 or 0 so that the car ECU always believes that a verified key is in the ignition.

Someone will know how to do that or just simply take out the whole gubbins and by-pass it. I'll bet it is really simply to do if you know how.

Anyone know how ?

Regards
Jim

Edited by jim234 on 06/04/2008 at 13:42

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Sun 6 Apr 2008 17:41

year 1998 - CODE 1 key chip - Chris M

Please post when you find out.

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Sun 6 Apr 2008 17:53

year 1998 - CODE 1 key chip - oilrag

Be great for car thieves, to have that information on an open forum, don`t you think?

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Sun 6 Apr 2008 18:05

year 1998 - CODE 1 key chip - Pugugly

Agreed - don't !

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Wed 16 Apr 2008 22:44

year 1998 - CODE 1 key chip - Red

Its impossible to "wire out" the immobiliser, so if you lose the last key you can have problems. Also no one can drive the car away without a key.
Best to pay £25 for a cloned key and always keep a spare.

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Thu 17 Apr 2008 08:16

year 1998 - CODE 1 key chip - Collos25

Its not the value of the car its the value to you if you loose the key its going to cost you a lot more than £25 and if you cannot afford £25 then you shouldn't be running a car.

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Thu 17 Apr 2008 10:01

year 1998 - CODE 1 key chip - Chris M

My comment was meant TIC as I don't believe there is a way.

I've searched the Net and looked on forums that have a more 'liberal' moderating policy than this one and I couldn't find an answer, or even anyone claiming to have found an answer.

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Wed 30 Jul 2008 00:06

year 1998 - CODE 1 key chip - jimmyybob

If any mod feels this is to old to drag up please remove my post.

There is on the MK1 punto a bypass for the code but its for emergency use only and is not a 'fix' it involves some very precise movements of the throttle with the ignition on.
You need the fiat 'code' training manual to hand....which you wont have and cant get.!

I cant tell you anymore...........but there is as always a way around everything.

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Wed 30 Jul 2008 07:58

year 1998 - CODE 1 key chip - The_Flexible_Flaw

It seems you should have listened to the nice lady that offered you a key for £25!

You've spent £20 on 4 keys that won't work.

You need the red key. It's a well known issue. A few years ago collecting some stuff I'd won on eBay I commented on the sellers Fiat Coupe. Her hubby was in the trade and they got it cheap as it didn't have a red key. Some types have even removed the plastic collar from blue keys and put the red plastic collar on, so some poor buyer buys a car with a red key that isn't. It's just a blue key with the red collar on it.

In Car Mechanics magazine possibly in 2006, rather than 2007 they featured an Auto Electrician up north that had developed a work around. I think it involved you mailing him your ECU and him supplying you with a new red key.

I'd imagine that it was a lot more expensive than the £25 key cutting lady.

I wonder if the Auto Electrician that 'hacked' or reverse engineered this system has supplied these key programmers that key cutting booths are equipped with?

I understand from the Alfa Owners forum that some of these mobile Auto Electricians that operate from vans and do alarms and stereos installations may have the kit to 'clone' red keys too.

All these different colour keys is quite confusing. I understand that for Alfas of the same period there is a Brown 'Master' key that can be used to program other blank keys.

It's a pain? Well that's the part and parcel of having more secure, more difficult to steal cars.

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Tue 5 Aug 2008 04:39

year 1998 - CODE 1 key chip - ProProductions

I fitted one of those fancy remote start gadgets to my 96 P reg 55 SX punto and came across the same problem, it won't start without the original key, so I got messing around and found out you can open up the coded key case and place the chip from it right next to the barrel, place the chip with electrical tape right next to the black bit which sticks out at a 45 degree angle across the barrel and that should get you sorted, it's sorted mine and I can now remote start on a winter morning, nice!

Edited by ProProductions on 05/08/2008 at 04:39

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Sat 19 Dec 2009 08:35

year 1998 - CODE 1 key chip - Chris Cleasby

I own the site "keyprogrammers.com" and have just found these old posts.

The system that is fitted to the early punto 1998 can be bypassed. The reason for doing this is that a fault can develop whereby the engine ECU cannot communicate with the immobiliser ECU. When this happens the car will not even start with the correct transponder key. When this is done the insurance company should be informed that the vehicle no longer has the factory fitted immobiliser system.

And, yes, bypassing it is more technically challenging than cloning a key for £25 so is therefore a lot more expensive.

This involves modifying the engine ECU electronically - not joining wires etc.

Removing chips from keys and placing them next to the reader coil in the car makes the car thief's job much easier ! I would strongly suggest not doing this, as this also would require you to contact the insurance company and tell them that you no longer have a working factory immobiliser system (as effectively you've bypassed it).

HTH

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Sat 19 Dec 2009 11:20

year 1998 - CODE 1 key chip - bell boy

its easy to get round a mk1 punto no sending of ecu to workshops required
mk2 punto needs a different approach if key fails to be read by transponder and associated silicone dippies

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Fri 24 Sep 2010 13:52

year 1998 - CODE 1 key chip - TRUCKER46

re - Punto replacement keys

Just for information all fiat keys come from the dealers PART PRECODED to each vehicle with a few exceptions

if you loose your only key call an auto locksmith such as www.autolocksmith.net they will come out to the car avoiding towing charges remove a lock and make a key onsite then remove the Ecu read it and put it back into the car then code in a precoded key which puts the car back as it would have been as new

No need to inform insurance unless you have key cover that will pay for it

You can have as many keys as you want I think it will cost around £100 to £250 depending on the car a lot less than the dealers £600 - £1000

But of course some early cars can simply cloned for £25 doesn’t seem so bad now does it

The later ones use a chip called a 48 this at the moment cannot be cloned

Under no circumstances glue or tape up the key or chip you actually will find you won’t be insured if they find out after its been stolen and recovered

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Mon 2 May 2011 20:39

1998 - CODE 1 key chip - CHPman

Jim where did you see the key for £25, I have a PUNTO bought for my Daughter, one of many, and it has only one Blue key..... I would like a spare, £25 seems OK for some peace of mind.

Steve

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